Mothers Milk for Brian May?

[Lizard on Ice]

I'm looking for some single coils that can deliver a tone similar to that of Brian May's.  Enough mids to cut through, and cleans up relatively well.  They'll be in a maple neck hollow Warmoth Strat.  Maybe Mother's Milk?  Or should I go with something hotter?  

[deg0ey]

Remember that it's not JUST the pickups that make a Brian May tone, you have to remember that all the coils are wired in series and can be switched out of phase with one or two of the others...And then you'll want the treble boost to compensate for the high frequencies lost in the series wiring...and then you probably gonna want an AC30 as well...

I'm sure you knew all of this already, though, and unfortunately i don't know enough about the BK single coils to advise which would be best - except that he used Burns Tri-Sonic pickups, which are still available so you may be better off with those (sorry Tim)

[steve]

I have the Mothers Milk singles and i dont think you will nail his tone with those. They are great for blues,rock,country and funk.
I would say a slow hand single would be closer it has more mids and a darker tone.

[deg0ey]

And the Tri-Sonics were quite high output anyway - which the slowhands are too...

[Searcher]

As far as I know, Brian's Tri-Sonics, which were from the 60s, were lower output than the later, hotter, Tri-Sonics.    Also, AFAIK, the original pickups were fairly flat in their frequency response, without any distinct spikes or dips in the output, so Mother's Milk pickups might suit better than the Slowhands.  I'm guessing a bit, although I'll be installing one of each of those pickups in a guitar today or tomorrow.

[deg0ey]

I knew Brian's were different, but i thought they were hotter (thanks for correcting me) however, you can request either old or new style when you buy them (as far as i can remember...) and tbh if you're trying to emulate someone's sound the best idea must surely be to use the same gear as them

Obviously if you just wanted something similar then i'm sure BKs can do it - but i don't know which ones...

[steve]

As far as I know, Brian's Tri-Sonics, which were from the 60s, were lower output than the later, hotter, Tri-Sonics.    Also, AFAIK, the original pickups were fairly flat in their frequency response, without any distinct spikes or dips in the output, so Mother's Milk pickups might suit better than the Slowhands.  I'm guessing a bit, although I'll be installing one of each of those pickups in a guitar today or tomorrow.

I still think the Mothers Milk are to funky and strat sounding to get a Brian May tone. I have just tried and i cant get close.

[deg0ey]

But are you wired in parallel or in series? and in or out of phase? and through an AC30? :P that could be the issue (or maybe the fact that the pcikups aren't the best for that tone)

[steve]

But are you wired in parallel or in series? and in or out of phase? and through an AC30? :P that could be the issue (or maybe the fact that the pcikups aren't the best for that tone)

One of my guitar students owns 2 guild Brian May guitars and 1 Burns.These are very good examples and really nail his tone.
The Mothers Milk really nail the Chilli Pepper,Stevie Ray, bluesy side of guitar tones which is far away from a BM tone.
But having played the Slow hands in my opinion i would say the tone is closer, just my opinion though.

[deg0ey]

Are the guild ones the ones that were made back in the 80s? They're actually quite rare now if they are...(if what i read is truthful :P)

[steve]

Yep, the guilds where a very limited model, i think he had number 3 and 10 if i remember correctly! I personally dont like the neck and fretboard,its a bit weird to a strat/les paul player.

[deg0ey]

And (if i remember rightly) they weren't amazingly true to the original...http://www.rsguitars.com/ those are supposed to be the best - expensive though