Author Topic: PRS + BKP hmmm (Nailbombs???) (Read 6711 times)

MM-S MIKE · « **on:** November 15, 2007, 07:42:50 PM »

Hi everyone, this will be my first post.

Recently bought a new PRS SE Singlecut. I tried one at Music Live and absolutely loved the tone and the build plus it looks so good, possibly the best guitar for less than £500 that I've encountered. The stock pickups are a bit weak though so I'm looking to replace them with a calibrated BKP humbucker set.

I need something pretty versatile, my own playing leans towards heavy rock/metal. Really digging Alter Bridge, Avenged Sevenfold, Jane's Addiction, Linkin Park. So I'm looking for something with a razor sharp and clear tone that can really burn :twisted: when the gain gets high, powerful but not too muddy. On the other hand I quite often indulge in some less heavy influences e.g. The Stone Roses, SRV and RHCP, so whichever pickup set I buy it needs to have a pretty sweet clean tone as well without fraying.

At the moment I'm liking the Nailbombs (especially with the burnt chrome covers :) ) I wonder if anyone thinks this is a good combo. I was also wondering what other PRS players have put in their guitars, there seem to be a lot of VHII loaded ones around but I'm interested to see if someone has tried something else in a PRS, or if any BKP users have an opinion on what I should use.

Thanks and ROCK ON!!!

Simon D · « **Reply #1 on:** November 15, 2007, 08:29:28 PM »

Hey man, welcome.

I've got an SE Singlecut - found exactly the same as you did with the stock pickups - the only slightly weak link in the whole thing.

Conveniently, I use mine to play stuff like Alter Bridge (huge fan) Alice in Chains, Dream Theater etc. I've got a set of Holy Divers in it, and I would recommend you at least consider them - they really do nail the tone, and I can assure you they suit the guitar; they bring out the balls. Clean up very nicely too, especially the neck pickup, and of course tapping them via a push-pull on the tone control is always an option.

The Nailbomb would also be a decent choice for the tones you're after. I had one in the bridge of a Les Paul for about 18 months, and it is an excellent pickup. Can't comment on the neck model though, as I've never played one.

Either is a good choice, but I would say the Holy Diver is just that little bit better for the sounds you're after, especially in that guitar. Hope this helped.

Antag · « **Reply #2 on:** November 15, 2007, 08:43:11 PM »

I have a Nailbomb bridge/VHII neck in my Singlecut. It rocks, extremely versatile & the Nailbomb has a really nice clean sound as well as being capable of extraordinary ferocity under high gain. VHII neck balances well with it, but if I bought it again I'd probably get a Cold Sweat neck instead - slightly brighter & just a better tonal match IMO than the warm VHII neck. The Nailbomb neck is OK, but just a little hot for my tastes (I use my neck for cleans a LOT more than lead work).

Agree with Simon D that Holy Diver is a great pickup - IMO the best clean tone of all the high-output BKPs. I don't have it in a PRS but I do have it in Les Pauls, neck-thru Jacksons, bolt-on HSS strat & it's wonderful in all of them so I have every confidence it would kick ass in a PRS.

I haven't BKP'd my Custom 24 yet, if I do it will probably be a Cold Sweat set (mainly because I don't have a CS bridge yet) or a nice safe (for me as I know I love it) Holy Diver bridge with something wacky like an Abraxas neck. Haven't really made my mind up yet... :)

MM-S MIKE · « **Reply #3 on:** November 15, 2007, 10:20:19 PM »

Thank for the advice guys, very useful.

Just had a look at the shop again and it seems mixing pickups works out at the same price as buying a set (for some reason I thought calibrated sets were cheaper). I'm trying to find more sound clips for Holydivers, (there don't seem to be many) but the ones I've found sound pretty nice clean.

I'm now considering maybe a Nailbomb bridge and Holydiver neck combination. I use the neck for high gain leads as well as the sweeter/cleaner stuff (probably about 50/50) so chances are the HD will be more balanced than the neck Nailbomb, but I'm guessing it still has the power to keep up.

Would be great to hear back from you again on this (I'm just itching to get my hands on some BKPs but I'm researching because I don't want to make a mistake)

MM-S MIKE · « **Reply #4 on:** November 15, 2007, 11:52:30 PM »

Oh and am I right in thinking its 1/4" depth I need and 50mm spacing?

Antag · « **Reply #5 on:** November 16, 2007, 09:41:07 AM »

I'd say the Cold Sweat neck is a better bet than the HD neck to match with a NB bridge.

The HD neck is very bright & clear but doesn't really excel at neck lead work. The CS neck is a little hotter with just a bit more low end.

From memory (at work so don't have the cards handy):
NB neck = 10.3k A5
CS neck = 8.2k A5
HD neck = 7.8k A5

Antag · « **Reply #6 on:** November 16, 2007, 09:41:55 AM »

Quote from: MM-S MIKE

Oh and am I right in thinking its 1/4" depth I need and 50mm spacing?

Yes, short legs are probably a better bet, though IIRC the NB/VH2 combo in my SC had long legs, so either ought to fit.

Actually, I think a 53mm spaced bridge might be better for a PRS, especially if it's a trem model (the spacing choice only applies to the bridge as all neck pickups are 50mm). PRS' stock pickups are narrow spaced, but if you look closely they don't exactly line up with the strings. Safest way to tell is to measure the distance between top/bottom strings over the bridge pickup pole pieces & choose whichever spacing you think will fit best (the overall width of the pickup is the same, it's just the spacing between the pole pieces that changes).

Philly Q · « **Reply #7 on:** November 16, 2007, 10:25:11 AM »

Quote from: MM-S MIKE

Just had a look at the shop again and it seems mixing pickups works out at the same price as buying a set (for some reason I thought calibrated sets were cheaper).

Normally buying a calibrated set saves you about £10 compared with the price of two individual pickups.

As far as I know, you don't get that discount with a mix & match set, but the last BKPs I bought were a calibrated set so maybe it's changed.

MM-S MIKE · « **Reply #8 on:** November 17, 2007, 01:14:45 AM »

Quote from: Philly Q

Normally buying a calibrated set saves you about £10 compared with the price of two individual pickups.

As far as I know, you don't get that discount with a mix & match set, but the last BKPs I bought were a calibrated set so maybe it's changed.

My mistake, it turns out that mixing pickups is roughly £10 more expensive than buying a calibrated set, but that's a small price to pay for a tone hunter, (and you have to be really to buy BKP)

So many decisions ....... :?

Nailbomb bridge + Cold Sweat neck is my current thinking, I'll just browse through the demos and reviews to be sure that's a good sound. thanks for all the advice

Simon D · « **Reply #9 on:** November 17, 2007, 11:56:40 AM »

As far as spacing goes, I'm pretty sure you'll need a trem spaced (53mm) bridge pickup. If memory serves right, that's what I ordered. Best to measure the distance between the polepieces on the current bridge pickup to be sure though.

MM-S MIKE · « **Reply #10 on:** November 17, 2007, 12:30:06 PM »

I've just measured the distance between the 2 E-strings over the bridge pickup and it seems to be about 51mm, :? which may have something to do with the bizarre 25" scale length that PRS use. Based on that, 50mm will be a closer fit than 53.

The SE singlecut is a non-trem model but the pole spacing clearly doesn't make a massive difference to the sound if PRS have been getting away with standard sized humbuckers in all their guitars for so many years.

Simon D · « **Reply #11 on:** November 17, 2007, 05:50:12 PM »

Just checked mine, and it's definitely a 53mm spacing, which lines up perfectly. Shouldn't make too much difference though. Just out of interest, what colour is your PRS?

MM-S MIKE · « **Reply #12 on:** November 18, 2007, 09:57:54 PM »

It's a Grey Black SE singlecut

MM-S MIKE · « **Reply #13 on:** November 19, 2007, 01:27:04 PM »

Which colour is yours?

Simon D · « **Reply #14 on:** November 19, 2007, 08:32:48 PM »

Mine's the whale blue - I was curious because I was wondering if you'd considered open coiled zebra pickups (whichever combo you go for), as they seem to suit the guitar very well visually - perhaps because a lot of the US ones have zebra pickups!