My MQs Arrived!

[AndyR]

Wooo!

My new pair of MQs arrived yesterday while I was at work. Put them in last night so that I wouldn't waste playing time today.

What can I say?

"deep, DEEP joy!!.... WOW!"

I love these pickups in this guitar (an Epi SG). Just as I've been hoping this past week, suddenly it's turned from "the other guitar" that I don't pick up much into something rather special.

It had Riff Raffs and then lost them to a Gibson Explorer recently.

It was putting up with the Explorer's ceramic gibson jobbies (500T and the "other one" - 4somethingR? - althought they look identical to me, both with a T on the bottom). Now, there's nothing wrong with these gibbo pups - I quite like them, but they're not really my cup of tea soundwise - and I really prefer the look of covered pups.

When I originally bought the Riff Raffs for the SG, it was a toss-up between them and the MQs, so after a bit of umming and aahing, I ordered MQs the other week. I was more excited and "hopeful" about this order than the previous ones, I just had this gut-feeling that something wonderful was about to happen...

And I wasn't wrong  :D - with the MQs the guitar sings, spits, growls, squeals and grinds. And that's all in response to the attack from my fingers  - no changes to any controls on guitar or amp settings! For me, it's a truly gorgeous rock n roll blues machine now - and it's great for strumming rhythm type stuff as well. It really is a "strap it on, turn it up and play..." guitar now.

I love all the others (and the Riff Raffs are gorgeous in the Explorer by the way), but suddenly the SG has stepped up and joined the team. I've only been playing it a couple of hours since the transplant, but so far it's successfully done everything I've ask of it.

I'm impressed with all of my BKPs, but I'm very, very impressed with these...

[38thBeatle]

Excellent. It is good to see the enthusiasm that BKP's bring.

[Philly Q]

Sounds great, nice review!  I'm about 90% decided on an MQ neck pickup for one of my Tokai SGs now.

How do they compare in terms of (perceived) output with the Riff Raffs, Andy?  I know that may be difficult to answer.  I'm wondering if I can get away with a low(ish) output bridge humbucker with the MQ neck.

[AndyR]

Sounds great, nice review!  I'm about 90% decided on an MQ neck pickup for one of my Tokai SGs now.

How do they compare in terms of (perceived) output with the Riff Raffs, Andy?  I know that may be difficult to answer.  I'm wondering if I can get away with a low(ish) output bridge humbucker with the MQ neck.

You're dead right on the "difficult to answer"! I'm new to P90s (and obviously loving them!), but I had been assuming that the Riff Raffs were higher output - right up until reading this and then going and comparing the SG and the Explorer.

My "perception" now, for what it is, is that the Riff Raffs and MQs are comparable, with the MQs possibly slighlty more powerful.

I have a "no amp" "Guitar Test" patch on my POD XT that I use for setting up pickup heights etc. I tried this out, and the MQ'd SG registers slightly higher on my mixing desk through the patch than the Riff Raff'd Explorer does. But the MQ's definitely have a "fatter" sound, so that might be what I'm seeing on the light meters...

Both guitars seem to push my current favourite patch roughly the same amount. They perform roughly the same sort of job through the same amp setttings, but with a different kind of "soul" - if that makes sense...

Distance from the strings is roughly the same, and both guitars are mahogany body/neck with rosewood boards, but the Explorer is a lot "darker" sounding accoustically.

Trying to reach a conclusion of some sort(!), I played (through my fav amp patch) first the Explorer bridge (full vol/tone on the guitar) and then "switched pickup" to neck on the SG (again full vol/tone) - and if someone offered me a guitar with those two sounds, I wouldn't be complaining that they were unbalanced. Remember these two guitars sound a lot different though (I much prefer the Riff Raffs in their new home - they seem more rounded in the Explorer), and I do supect that the Riff Raff bridge might sound a bit thin against an MQ neck in the same guitar...

What about an MQ Bridge as well? When I was waiting for them to arrive, I was a little worried about the bridge, because everyone was talking about getting a neck MQ, but no-one mentions a bridge MQ... Well, the neck is everything folks have said, and for me, the MQ bridge is it's perfect mate... (I have no idea whether Tony Iommi had switched to humbuckers by the time he recorded Sabbath Bloody Sabbath, but the MQ bridge pickup in my SG does it like no guitar I've owned - and many a Slade classic has been heard here in Tooting as well today!)

Hope that helps!

[Philly Q]

Thanks very much Andy, that certainly does help, you've gone way beyond the call of duty there!   :D

Your experimental results are pretty much what I was expecting - I should think the actual volume/output of the MQ neck and Riff Raff bridge are similar, but I wouldn't be at all surprised if the RR sounds a bit too thin next to the MQ.

As regards getting an MQ bridge (I hope Twinfan isn't reading this because he's heard it a million times, I'm like a broken record...  :oops: ):  I've had a few guitars with pairs of P-90s and I always find there's not enough contrast (for me) between the two pickups.  And a P-90 bridge doesn't give that tight crunch you get from a humbucker (with a lot of distortion).  Having said all that, I love a single P-90 like I have on my Lp Jr.

But I'm pretty much sold on the MQ neck  :) !  I'm going to try it with the Black Dog bridge from my V - a bit more bass/low mids and power than the Riff Raff.  If that doesn't work I'll have a rethink.

[AndyR]

No problem - you made me want to know the answer myself!

I was actually wondering Black Dog bridge, but I like the idea of balanced sets.

I can see where you're coming from on the lack of contrast idea, though. I think it must be down to how we use our guitars and amps to say things.

In my case, I want a decent contrast but not TOO much. I can't ever see me going for an HSS now, for example. Years back, I had a SD Hot Rails put in the bridge of my strat. It was very nice, they even balanced volume-wise quite well, but I ended up on the bridge all the time during gigs - the sounds were too different for me to use them together.

[badgermark]

Need clips dammit! I'm so very close to ditching the holydiver in my tele for a MQ bridge, the MQ in the neck is so sexy it's making me turn on the HD! and i love the hd so much...

but yes, any chance of some clips?

[AndyR]

Ah yes, oh dear, clips - that is on my agenda, but I haven't figured out how to do it yet... or even got round to thinking about how to figure out how to do it... (converting from wav and then posting the things, that is, recording's no problem as long as I get off my a*** to do it!)

Been too busy buying pickups and installing them - I've just realised, I haven't done any recording at all since I started buying BKPs!!

But(!) I was thinking about various people and their teles while I was playing the SG yesterday and trying to figure out where in the scheme of things this guitar fits now. No one is going to mistake it for a tele, and it has it's own soul, but one way of describing it is "it does the job of a souped up tele for me", if you see what I mean...

The question I'd ask is - with your MQ neck, are you getting what I'm experiencing? With my preference for "just past breaking up" early-70s type marshall sound, I'm finding that I can get a wide variation of clean-to-dirty sounds (actually very dirty for me) with just picking technique! No volume control changes! I'm astounded - loving it. I get it on all pickup types to some extent - but nothing like the versatility of the P90-type MQ.

Now, if that's one of the things you like about your MQ neck - well I can tell you, the MQ bridge does it just as well, if not better, on my SG.

[badgermark]

If you have trouble converting .wav to .mp3 send them my way, I can convert them round really quickly using iTunes on my mac.

Pretty much decided to punt out the MQ neck on my tele. I liked it better with the single Holydiver in the bridge, but have a loving home (my battered epi les paul) for the MQ, just need a bridge to match...

[_tom_]

I've been thinking about getting an MQ neck for my Pearl and if I like it getting a bridge one to match.. the Rebel Yell sounds good but I dont think I really need another les paul sounding guitar afterall as I have my Mule'd epiphone for that..

Reckon they'd sound good in an all mahogany LP?

[Brow]

How do they compare in terms of (perceived) output with the Riff Raffs, Andy?  I know that may be difficult to answer.  I'm wondering if I can get away with a low(ish) output bridge humbucker with the MQ neck.

I have a Riff Raff bridge with a MQ neck in my V and the 2 balance up very well and seem to compliment each other perfectly.

[Philly Q]

OK, I'm definitely going to invest in an MQ neck!  :)

I have both a Riff Raff and a Black Dog in other guitars, so I can do a bit of chopping and changing and see which combo I like best.