Bare Knuckle Pickups Forum
Forum Ringside => Pickups => Topic started by: MyName on August 02, 2012, 01:43:28 PM
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Hi there,
First post here but have been reading through this forum for a while trying to get some ideas for replacement pickups for my 1999 PRS McCarty.
I picked it up second hand a few weeks ago for £650 with the smallest chip in the body that can hardly be seen, other than that its a cracking guitar.
Not overly impressed with the pickups though.
I have restarted playing again after about a 12 year break (wife and kids blah blah) and bought a new Strat 2 years ago and love the pants off it playing through a Cornford Roadhouse amp. But after picking up this McCarty, I'm loving this just as much, love the wide thin neck.
So I now find that I love to play blues and blues rock creeping into a more classic rock but every now again find old habits coming back and whack up the gain a bit, nothing too heavy.
So the 2 ideas spring to mind are a calibrated set of either
VH11's, for classic rock and split coil tones. I'm liking some of Hunters clips for this.
or
Mississippi Queens.
I have done some looking and can't find to much info on here about the Mississippi Queens, especially on a McCarty.
So can anyone help me decide? I would like to know more about the MQ's, would they be much thinner than the buckers?
Do they rock?
Or do you think the VH11's would be better? I would need good split coil tones if so.
I am keen to keep it vintage but would like to avoid that strange tone everyone seems to like on the neck pick up, the only way I can describe it is like a distorted electric piano, i.e. Slash Sweet child o mine, Santana (love his music but not a great fan of the tone) which is why I ruled out the Mules and Abraxas (I'm sure I would be fine with these) I know I am always going to get a bit of that with a Mahogany set neck guitar but the PRS pickup do it a little but not too bad and coil split is fine.
Wake up, you've come to the end. Any advice or ideas.
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You'll enjoy Riff Raffs and VHIIs if you don't want that creamy neck tone. Maybe riff raff slightly more. But TBH that a standard neck tone... Most neck humbuckers are like that because being in the neck position makes them very warm sounding. BTW, slash played sweat child of mine on the bridge pickup with the tone turned all the way down.
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Both rock, but in a different way. I would go for a calibrated RiffRaff-set, but I must admit the VHII is wicked too, just more a brownsound rockpickup. I have one in an ash-strat and kills. Also the splitted tones are quite good.
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Sounds like RRs or VHIIs would both serve you well. VHIIs will split a little better. MQs would be FAT.
Are you sure you got a McCarty? You mention a Wide Thin neck and they only come with Wide Fats......
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Sounds like RRs or VHIIs would both serve you well. VHIIs will split a little better. MQs would be FAT.
Are you sure you got a McCarty? You mention a Wide Thin neck and they only come with Wide Fats......
Wondered that myself. All McCarty models have the Fat necks. They are fatter than the CU22 in neck and body. More Les Paul type sound compared to the CU22. The RR might be a better balance with the McCarty.
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I had a 1996 mccarty with a riff raff in the bridge
it was the best sounding guitar I ever played
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I had a 1996 mccarty with a riff raff in the bridge
it was the best sounding guitar I ever played
Where is she now? You sold the best? :lol:
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I am keen to keep it vintage but would like to avoid that strange tone everyone seems to like on the neck pick up, the only way I can describe it is like a distorted electric piano, i.e. Slash Sweet child o mine, Santana (love his music but not a great fan of the tone) which is why I ruled out the Mules and Abraxas (I'm sure I would be fine with these) I know I am always going to get a bit of that with a Mahogany set neck guitar but the PRS pickup do it a little but not too bad and coil split is fine.
That made me laugh, personally I absolutely love that "strange tone" but a lot of the guys here on the forum seem to like a brighter, more defined neck pickup tone. :)
Incidentally, the Abraxas neck pickup isn't particularly guilty of that "distorted electric piano" tone, it's actually a bit brighter than some neck models (e.g the Crawler).
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I am keen to keep it vintage but would like to avoid that strange tone everyone seems to like on the neck pick up, the only way I can describe it is like a distorted electric piano, i.e. Slash Sweet child o mine, Santana (love his music but not a great fan of the tone) which is why I ruled out the Mules and Abraxas (I'm sure I would be fine with these) I know I am always going to get a bit of that with a Mahogany set neck guitar but the PRS pickup do it a little but not too bad and coil split is fine.
That made me laugh, personally I absolutely love that "strange tone" but a lot of the guys here on the forum seem to like a brighter, more defined neck pickup tone. :)
Incidentally, the Abraxas neck pickup isn't particularly guilty of that "distorted electric piano" tone, it's actually a bit brighter than some neck models (e.g the Crawler).
I also thought that comment was weird... I was under the impression that most people liked that tone... Including myself.
If I didn't have that tone and the neck was bright and cutting then I would only ever use the bridge pickup.
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Yeah thanks guys, good comments so far.
Sorry Twinfan I realised I said wide / thin after, I did mean wide fat, for my fat fingers. I was hunting for a Strat with a fat neck a while back and I picked up a Mccarty in store to feel the neck and fell in love, absolute perfect for my hands so I had to hunt one down any condition. I am a bit clumsy so bound to put a few knocks in it at some point. I felt pains in my hand with the modern c shape on the strat after a few hours playing. Not so with the Mccarty.
Don't get me wrong I do like that tone in the neck when I listen to others playing but for me I just like the neck pick up slightly brighter and clearer. I have a balance issue with the stock Mccarty pickups where if I dial in the neck pick up how I like it, the bridge is to bright and thin. Neck is very muddy though.
Tim suggested checking the pots first so I will be doing that this weekend, I would be surprised if PRS didn't use 500k in these things. I hope to be placing the order for the Riff Raffs or VH11's also. The Riff Raffs did catch my attention at the beginning of my search but was not sure how they would split.
Thanks again guys
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Or Abraxas.. Too hard to choose :x
Sure I'll love any of them.
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If anyone is intereasted, here she is.
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Nice! We do love a PRS round here.
Or at least some of us do.... there is the odd bit of "lawyer guitar" banter occasionally! :wink:
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£650 was a great price - have they got any more? :lol:
Stock McCarty pickups aren't brilliant, as you're finding. They use 500k pots, it's the pickups that are dark and flubby.
Get some BKPs and you'll be sorted :)
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I had a 1996 mccarty with a riff raff in the bridge
it was the best sounding guitar I ever played
Where is she now? You sold the best? :lol:
well, I kept the pickup :lol:
I'm a les paul guy and the wide and long scale just doesn't work for me
I love the deeper and heavier tone of my '73 les paul custom, but that mccarty sounded better in every other aspect
never heard such a rich tone in any other guitar
it was heavily beaten up and had the neck plucked off the body twice, but sounded nicer than any gibson or other prs I had or played, and the riff raff just made the difference even bigger
it would retain that rich natural breath even under the heaviest amp gain, like I had some sort of cleanish vox amp blended in the mix
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£650 was a great price - have they got any more? :lol:
I hadn't noticed that in the original post, that's a hell of a price!
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Thanks, I got it on Ebay, the poor bloke had posted as Pick up only and he was based out in the sticks about 45 mins from my house. I felt really bad taking it off him. Although it does have a small knick in the body and I didn't get the hang tag so it's probably about right. I'm not fussed it makes me more comfortable playing it knowing that it did not cost too much.
I think I'm swaying Riff Raffs today. Not sure what it will be tomorrow. If the tone is that good, I wont need split coils much right?
Thanks again for the help.
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There is a push/pull tone pot on that PRS, so you might as well buy a 4 conductor wire set and have the split coil option. Why not?
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There is a push/pull tone pot on that PRS, so you might as well buy a 4 conductor wire set and have the split coil option. Why not?
Agreed!
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I'll defo keep them tapped, I just thought the Riff Raffs might be a little weak for coil spitting. Thats why I was considering either VHii's or the MQ's.
How are the VHii's for blues?
Would I be right in thinking from reading descriptions about the Riff Raffs, that they might sound a little P-90 ish? That would be good.
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mccarties should come with stock riff raffs :D
seriously
as far as I remember I didn't notice a huge output dropout on coil splitting
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I actually loved the stock pickups on mine, but they were microphonic, and taking the cover off didn't fix it.
I am really happy with the RiffRaff, lower gain HBs are just more clear than high output ones. Right now I have a VHII in the neck, and I mostly play it for cleans in split mode, sounds really great. In HB mode it's still a bit too meaty. I wonder myself what the RR neck would sound like.
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Oh dear, had every intention of waking up this morning and going down to my local dealers and ordering a set of Riff Raffs but still keep thinking if the Abraxas or VH11's might suit me better. not sure about the vhii's for blues though, I guess split cool neck might give me a half decent stratish sound.
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VHII might be a bit too fat in the McCarty for me. Abraxas is another cool option. :P
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Dang, just come back from the store where i ordered the vhii set. They won't order until Monday morning so i have until they shut today if i change my mind.
Hope they will be ok for me..
Thanks for all the help, i probably won't get the guitar back until next sat. They will be checking and changing pots if needed too.
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Dang, just come back from the store where i ordered the vhii set. They won't order until Monday morning so i have until they shut today if i change my mind.
Hope they will be ok for me..
Thanks for all the help, i probably won't get the guitar back until next sat. They will be checking and changing pots if needed too.
I'm sure it'll be great. The VHII is a great pickup and I've always imagined it to work very well in PRS guitars. Don't over think it... If you do you will regret whatever desicion you make. Just see how it works out.
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Thanks Itmar, the wait is driving me nuts. Hopefully I should get the guitar back Saturday otherwise I will have to wait another week as I work away next week.
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Hi there,
Got guitar back Saturday, anyone interested in my initial thoughts on the pickups?
I plan on posting a few sound clips later this week if anyone's interested in how the VHii's sound in the Mccarty.
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Hi there,
Got guitar back Saturday, anyone interested in my initial thoughts on the pickups?
I plan on posting a few sound clips later this week if anyone's interested in how the VHii's sound in the Mccarty.
Interested here.......what you think of them?
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Ok,
Spent a good few hours playing through my Cornford Roadhouse and also through my Cakewalk VS-20
Bridge pickup sounds absolutely great, so clear, open cords ring out nicely even with gain. Great classic rock tone, great with more drive. Stunning. Not as thin as the Mccarty bridge but not too fat either. Love it. :D
Neck pickup took some getting used to, nice cleans and mild gain sounds and very FAT, but through the Cornford it gets far too Flutey? (I think that's how to describe it, sounds more like a Kazoo) when gain is applied. More so than the Mccarty bass pickup did, it also has lost a bit of Chime that I liked about the Mccarty pickup. The VHii neck has got rid of all the muddiness that was there with the old pick up and has a lovely crisp attack, quite amazing how these humbuckers are so well defined.
Through the VS-20 amp modeller though I could get some good tones out of the neck, after plugging back into the Cornford I think the boost channel seems to be the culprit, on the normal channel which is by no means high gain there was a lot less flute going on.
Where this neck pickup really shines though, for me is the coil split tone, it's outstanding, same great tone but just cuts some of the fat. Both clean and mild gain is where I normally play and this split neck tone is awsome.
Mid position split, clean almost sounds like an acoustic guitar when strumming open cords, it's weird but amazing.
So verdict, VHii's are great in the Mccarty, they do pretty much cover anything, including great blues tones. Its not really advertised for blues but covers it very nicely.
I think if I could choose again, I would love to hear the Riff Raff set or the Abraxus set, I think they would cover my style slightly better, however if I just picked up this guitar as it is now and not known about the choice and quality of BKP's I would not change a thing, it's just I think I've got the bug now.
I will try and get a few clips up here soon.
One quick technical question. I think there may be a slight problem with the wiring, as when bridge pickup is selected (full bucking) there is a little hum, not a lot but not had that with other humbucking guitars, when change to the neck it's gone. Can anyone let me know where to be looking for this? I am not clued up with electrics.
Also checking your still reeding.
Thanks
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does it hum much louder if you're not touching strings or metal parts?
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No it doesn't seem to. Just constant hum.
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I wonder if that's due to the asymmetrically-wound coils of the VHII bridge? Presumably that gives less than perfect hum-cancellation?
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Hmm i wonder.
Anyone else with vhii's notice this?
The Cornford amp is usually very quiet circuit. Even my strat is almost silent even with a dynocomp and clean boost in front of it as long as im not sat facing the amp.
This hum is just constant. Its not that loud but at jam volume it would be very notice.
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Hmm i wonder.
Anyone else with vhii's notice this?
The Cornford amp is usually very quiet circuit. Even my strat is almost silent even with a dynocomp and clean boost in front of it as long as im not sat facing the amp.
This hum is just constant. Its not that loud but at jam volume it would be very notice.
VHII in ash Fender-strat: no hum.
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You guys thinking wiring issue or pickup fault? Don't think it can be pots or cap as the neck pickup is fine.
I'll have another look at the wiring tonight but unless its obvious I probably wouldn't know what to look for.
Thanks for the help guys.
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Just posted a dirty you tube clip of them in action.
Volume was a bit too low as can hear me bashing the strings. Not the finest playing you'll ever hear, a bit mashed, probably regret uploading it in the morning. Just the PRS going into a Cornford Roadhouse amp.
http://youtu.be/VCWAoIKbPNY
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Did you remove the clip?
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Yes, sorry. Was not very good, I'll try and do better next time. Plus the Mic on my macbook sounded like a phaser some of the time.
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More dislike for Mcarty PU's then? i don't think I've ever spoken to anyone with a Mcarty that didn't change the PU's, me included. I don't like PRS PU's in general, i just don't think they have any character whatsoever..
I do hear stories of the "when you find the right guitar for them" type as far as the Mcarty PU's go. Have heard some Gibson owners who also owned mcarty's and changed the PU's in the mcarty then put them in a high end paul and thought they were incredible. Go figure.
I've held onto my set, either to put them back if i ever sell the mcarty or in the hope that i someday own a guitar they get along with
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More dislike for Mcarty PU's then? i don't think I've ever spoken to anyone with a Mcarty that didn't change the PU's, me included. I don't like PRS PU's in general, i just don't think they have any character whatsoever..
I do hear stories of the "when you find the right guitar for them" type as far as the Mcarty PU's go. Have heard some Gibson owners who also owned mcarty's and changed the PU's in the mcarty then put them in a high end paul and thought they were incredible. Go figure.
I've held onto my set, either to put them back if i ever sell the mcarty or in the hope that i someday own a guitar they get along with
I've got two McCartys and haven't changed the pickups, but only out of laziness... :wink:
They are a bit woolly sounding, I think. I read an interview with David Grissom the other day where he said although he liked the McCarty pickups, they did sound like there was "a blanket over the amp".
If/when I get round to changing them I'll probably put the McCarty pickups in one of my Japanese SGs or LPs.
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More dislike for Mcarty PU's then? i don't think I've ever spoken to anyone with a Mcarty that didn't change the PU's, me included. I don't like PRS PU's in general, i just don't think they have any character whatsoever..
I do hear stories of the "when you find the right guitar for them" type as far as the Mcarty PU's go. Have heard some Gibson owners who also owned mcarty's and changed the PU's in the mcarty then put them in a high end paul and thought they were incredible. Go figure.
I've held onto my set, either to put them back if i ever sell the mcarty or in the hope that i someday own a guitar they get along with
Apart from the new 57/08 PRS pickups, the other were not great sounding in the guitars. I assume at this stage that guitar companies realise that most people are swapping stock pickups for their favourite ones. Maybe time to surrender to this, and not waste too much money in manufacturing costs.
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I agree with that Dave Grissom comment, i like what they tried to do with the Mccarty pickups, unpotted vintage style PAF but defnatly sound dull and the bridge is too thin. The VHii set removes that blanket but keeps the vintage tone.
Just had a chance to compare my mccarty with my mates prs 20th anniversary single cut. I wouldn't say my Mccarty totally blew it away but was sweeter sound, more focused tone. Felt the SC was trying to hard to cover everything but not mastering anything. Don't know if that makes sense, i mean it didn't seem to have as much character.
I don't know what pickups they have but they were much better than the original Mccarty pickups.