New Bridge Pup for PRS Singlecuts?

[ibanez4life SZ!]

Hey guys!

I'm back on the hunt for a bridge pickup for my two USA PRS Singlecuts. I really like the neck pickups, but I have yet to find the perfect pup for the bridge.

I'm done with Dimarzio and Duncan....they aren't bad pickups, but everyone I try always falls short in one way or another.

The last pickup I tried was the PRS Tremonti Treble...it's a high output, Alnico V pup. It's pretty close, but can be a little too compressed at times, and I'd also like the pup to be nickel covered, which the Tremonti is not.

I play through a Mesa Mark IV into a Mesa Traditional 4x12 with Mesa V30s and C90s. Love the tone overall...the amp and the cab are tweaked to perfection...I'm now looking for that final tweak with a very good pickup.

I play hard rock/ modern rock/ alternative rock....I need a fat, aggressive distortion, with punchy palm mutes, and fat chording and single note runs. Must retain clarity, a tight low end, present, but not harsh highs, and defintiely not a spikey midrange. The Mark IV is VERY mid heavy, and I do not scoop my tone, but with all the mids on the Mark IV, a pickup that is slightly scooped wouldn't necissarily hurt.

So, what pickup would you recommend for my needs? Should I be looking high output again, or a more moderate output for what I need?

More specifically, I'm looking into Bareknuckle pickups...they're expensive, but I'm willing to go with them for one good and final pickup. More specifically, the Holy Diver looks VERY interesting, and has the same Alnico V magnet as my current pup.

My first Singlecut is tuned to EADGBE amd DADGBE...what would you recommend for it?

My Second Singlecut goes to DGCFAD amd CGCFAD...what would you recommend for it?

Sorry for the novel, and thanks for the input!

PS...What is the best way of obtain bareknuckles in the US?

[Antag]

I put a Nailbomb bridge & VHII neck in my Singlecut.  It's a damn fine combination & far superior to the PRS Dragon IIs that were in it.  It's probably my most versatile guitar now.  The Nailbomb is Alnico V too.

Holy Diver is my favourite BKP - have them in several other guitars.  However, it does have a very full fat midrange which according to your post isn't what you want.  IMO it would work well in a PRS though...

[Nolly]

Nailbomb would be my call as well. It's fat, tight, and very very clear.

Since you have two guitars, I'd say Nailbomb in one and Miracle Man in the other since it has a more scooped smooth sound.

[ibanez4life SZ!]

I wouldn't mind a full midrange in the slightest....like I said, I do not scoop my mids  :D

Which ones would you recommend for each particular guitar according to their tunings?

[ericsabbath]

The last pickup I tried was the PRS Tremonti Treble...it's a high output, Alnico V pup. It's pretty close, but can be a little too compressed at times, and I'd also like the pup to be nickel covered, which the Tremonti is not.

actually, the tremonti treble is ceramic, probably based on the gibson 500t that Mark used for years in his PRS's (so the BK equivalent would be the Painkiller, if you're looking for a pickup in the same ballpark)

I play through a Mesa Mark IV into a Mesa Traditional 4x12 with Mesa V30s and C90s. Love the tone overall...the amp and the cab are tweaked to perfection...I'm now looking for that final tweak with a very good pickup.

I play hard rock/ modern rock/ alternative rock....I need a fat, aggressive distortion, with punchy palm mutes, and fat chording and single note runs. Must retain clarity, a tight low end, present, but not harsh highs, and defintiely not a spikey midrange. The Mark IV is VERY mid heavy, and I do not scoop my tone, but with all the mids on the Mark IV, a pickup that is slightly scooped wouldn't necissarily hurt.

So, what pickup would you recommend for my needs? Should I be looking high output again, or a more moderate output for what I need?

More specifically, I'm looking into Bareknuckle pickups...they're expensive, but I'm willing to go with them for one good and final pickup. More specifically, the Holy Diver looks VERY interesting, and has the same Alnico V magnet as my current pup.

from the 4 bridge BKP's i've played (holy diver, painkiller, alnico warpig, miracle man), my favorite is the holy diver
if you want metal tight palm mutes, i wouldn't recommend it for Mesa amplifiers, but it is very punchy
it will sound very different from your pickup, as your pickup actually has an oversized ceramic magnet (like the PRS HFS and duncan distortion)
if you want real tightness through a Mesa, try a miracle man, cold sweat, ceramic nailbomb or painkiller (something ceramic)
the holy diver is great for Alice In Chains, Doug Aldrich and Tool stuff
as you're using a higher output pickup, you may miss the strong ceramic output and tone, so if you just want to perfect your tone without a radical change, stick with ceramics

[hunter]

Probably a MiracleMan would be good. It does give you the rhythm tightness and lead smoothness you are looking for. Just wondering if it's a good match for your neck PU output wise.

[PhilKing]

I would look at the Cold Sweat for one guitar and the Nailbomb for the other.  The cold sweat will give you the punchy palm mutes and all the fatness you want, the Nailbomb will be a good contrast, while still giving you the sounds you are after.

However if you wanted a total contrast, I would look at the VHII instead of the Nailbomb, it has great bottom end and really singing lead tones.  I used to have a set in my PRS Artist, but changed them to Mules because I wanted a bit less bass - I wanted more bluesy tones.

[ibanez4life SZ!]

I don't necessarily need extremely clear metal palm mutes....I'm not that much of a metal head. But a certain clarity is of course a must. I play hard rock, so at certain parts, the puppy has to get aggressive.

I'm willing to veer from the Tremonti a bit....I believe I made a mistake, and the Tremonti BASS is Alnico V....the Treble, as you guys mentioned, is Ceramic. So, I think I'd like to try something with the Alnico V magnet...might just be the ticket. Alice in Chains and Tool get pretty heavy at times too, so if you say the Alnico V magnet works for that, I think we're getting close!

If you guys could, please mention which pickup you think would be better for which guitar, as the different tunings will definitely react differently to different pickups.

[AC]

I'm looking for a pickup for my PRS SC trem and this is some good reading. I want a rather singing hard-rock metalesque trem yet I have some bone-crusher guitars so I don't need it to be that hard. I think the miracle man would be what I need

What do you think...