Author Topic: best PUs for mahogany/ebony guitar? (Read 3504 times)

uglyfunk · « **on:** September 04, 2006, 05:31:55 PM »

Hi,
am a newbie to BKPs and the forum, have recently been converted from being a long-time die hard lindy fralin fan, but heard a set of stormy mondays in my friends les paul that blew me away! the note separation was phenomenal!
anyway, have recently been given(long story) a mahogany body/ebony fretboard parker and i'm wondering what BKPs to use in them? basically its a very(too) bright guitar acoustically, maybe because of the ebony board? and i want some PUs that will 1) fatten up the tone 2) tame the highs a little but not kill them and 3) still sound good clean. i dont want modern sounding PUs at all, i just want the guitar to have really good fat vintage humbucking sound but with more bite(since the guitar is bright) than a les paul ordinarily would. (like what tele deluxes with the 2 hums or firebirds, or mini hums sound like, sorta?) yet still retaining that wonderful BKP clarity and note separation. am i asking for too much? the holy grail? any suggestions? a mule set? unpotted? potted? i use both clean as well as high gain tones, but not super high gain metal tones, just good hard 70s rock tones. Most importantly, the PUs must fatten the tone yet TAME the HIGHS!! please help!

sgmypod · « **Reply #1 on:** September 04, 2006, 05:41:44 PM »

Emeralds give me that 70's tone and much much more in my bluesbird Lp

CaffeineJunkie · « **Reply #2 on:** September 04, 2006, 05:52:13 PM »

Black Dogs?? basically just a Mule with more bark to them

robyogi · « **Reply #3 on:** September 04, 2006, 06:05:58 PM »

Well, I am by no means an expert here, as I'm still seking my first BKP too, but I will share the info Tim gave me in our email exchanges...maybe it can help you decide.

VHII = classic early EVH tone, clean, clear plenty of warm bottom end with a nice cut in the highs.

Black Dog = typical Brit mid range growl, lots of high end bite too

Emerald = my version of an early LP Custom 'hot' humbucker that actually wasn't that hot - warm, articulate and bright

Abraxas = similar to the Emerald but with less high end cut and broader mid Q, the hottest of this bunch but not over the top.

Also, I'll add from my own experience with other makes of vintage and vintage plus pickups, you may want to consider one of the lower output ones with an Alnico II magnet. I found the Alnico II rounded off the top end in a guitar that was too bright. It's not that it cut the top end (like a cap or volume pot change would do). It just smoothed and rounded it. For this, maybe a Stormy Monday or Mule with an A2?

Hope this helps!

CaffeineJunkie · « **Reply #4 on:** September 04, 2006, 06:07:34 PM »

A2 magnets get muddy easily under higher-gain situations, personally i'd go for A4 in a Mule, or the A5 BD

robyogi · « **Reply #5 on:** September 04, 2006, 06:21:23 PM »

Quote from: CaffeineJunkie

A2 magnets get muddy easily under higher-gain situations, personally i'd go for A4 in a Mule, or the A5 BD

Yeah, but A2s will easily handle the 70s rock tones uglyfunk's after. This was actually ultimately my issue with my A2s. The pickup I have an A2 in is pushing the limits of what the A2 can handle in terms of # of winds. Apparently that makes it get muddy under heavy distortion, especially the bottom end. It's fine until I push into hard-rock/metal territory, which sounds like it's further than uglyfunk wants to go. Then again, Slash did okay with his A2s, so I'm sure there's some magical formula where the winds, wire gauge, and magnet mesh. And then there's the amp...too many variables!

(EDIT) Oh yeah, when I'm saying A2, I'm thinking bridge position. For the neck, I'd say A4, since A2 might be prone to muddiness. Again, all this on experience with other similar p'ups, not specifically BKPs.