How do you choose pickps for a hollowbody?

[Nick1420]

Hi All

How do you choose pickps for a hollowbody?

I’ve got a PRS Hollowbody 1 McCarty (mahogany back, sides and neck with maple top and rosewood fretboard – no peizo) which I really like. The pickups, however, are very average (imho). I’ve been trawling this excellent site for info on replacements and believe that for my music I need a slightly hotter vintage set than my present PRS archtops. I play blues and blues rock and need to get Gary Moore, Steve Miller, Santana, BB King, Robin Ford type sounds i.e. a woody vintage drive through to a rich Gibson LP overdrive / distortion sounds (is that too much to ask from one guitar?). A good clean sound is important too. So I’ve had my eye on the Stormy Monday and the Mule pups but how do they sound in hollowbodies? All the demos I can find are played on solid bodies so what sonic differences should I expect when fitting to a hollowbody and which pups would be most suitable?

All replies gratefully received

PS I play through a Boss GT-6 (to be upgraded) and a Blackstar HT5 (mostly).

PPS I have read some strange things about the wiring of PRS’s Hollowbodies but have been unable to find any definite info on it. I currently find mine is too bright and harsh at the bridge and too brittle at the neck while the middle position is an unimpressive blend of the two. Does anybody know how the Hollowbody 1 is wired? Or is this just down to the pickups?

PPPS I have varied the height of my pickups and changed string size and type.

[darkbluemurder]

Hi,

From my experience with the PRS pickups I can say that these guitars deserve better pickups.

You are looking at the right BKP models already. You can expect a rounder and clearer sound overall with these. But how they will sound exactly in your Hollowbody I am afraid nobody will be able to answer. But I don't think you can make a mistake with either the Stormy Monday or the Mule. For a Hollowbody I would choose the lowest output pickup, i.e. the Stormy Monday.

Cheers Stephan

[Philly Q]

I don't really know the answer, but the "perceived wisdom" seems to be that hollowbodies or semis work best with lower-output pickups i.e. Stormy Mondays, Mules, PG Blues perhaps.  Maybe AIV magnets, rather than AII, in the SMs to tighten them up a little.

I'm sure I've also seen Riff Raffs recommended for someone who wanted a slightly brighter, '70s Larry Carlton kind of sound from a 335.

[AndyR]

I've just got me an ES-335 with 59 Classics (or Classic 59s, whatever they are anyway).

I'm reasonably happy with these pups at the moment, so I'm not planning on changing in the short to medium future.

But my guts are telling me the following two are the contenders for my guitar/needs:

Stormy Mondays
Riff Raffs

At the moment I'm leaning towards Riff Raffs because of how they work in my Faded SG and how the two guitars compare accoustically. Also cos I likes me a bit of crunchiness from my semis. I suspect the stormies would do a good job in this department as well, but I think bottom strings might get a little too lost on the SM neck pickup for my liking.

I believe the Riff Raffs will do a more effective but less constricted version of the job that the 59s do at the moment. I can also tell you that the way I have them set on my SG they go from crunching and screaming through to a nice clean - especially both pickups combined.  I would feel comfortable enough to take a punt on Riff Raffs myself for the 335. It is so close though (what I suspect the difference between the 59s and RRs will be), that at the moment I can't face the hassle of changing pups in a 335.

Which leads me on to something you can experiment with (if you haven't already). I learnt this a week or two before getting the 335 and it came in VERY handy.

Too bright/harsh on the bridge pickup. As supplied, my 335 had that in spades. I couldn't get an amp setting where I could live with both the bridge and neck.

So I lowered the screw polepieces into the bridge pickup's metal casing - imagine you're lining the edges of the screw heads up with the bobbin under the cover. Assuming your screw poles are nearer the bridge, this is reducing the treble side of the pickup's contribution. You can then possibly raise the pickup as a whole as well (also increases body, if you're lucky). Give it a go, it might be just what you need for the moment while you decide what you want to do upgrade-wise. (If it works, you'll then be tempted to fiddle with the screw poles on the neck - Do(!)... it does something... but I can't figure out what I'm hearing and why, nor make my mind up what I like best... )

[PhilKing]

I have a pair of AII Mules in a PRS Hollowbody clone.  I found that the acoustic tone was slightly brittle and using the AII magnets gave me the tone I wanted.  In my 335 I have unpotted AIV Stormy Mondays, which give me a great tone (I can get all the classic 335 sounds, from Clapton's Crossroads to BB King's Thrill Has Gone).  For the PRS clone, I wanted a little more rocky sound and so went with the Mules.

btw.  I always start with the pickup screws flush with the top of the coil, which puts the dome slightly below the cover.

[Philly Q]

I've just got me an ES-335 with 59 Classics (or Classic 59s, whatever they are anyway).

'57 Classics.  :lol:

It is so close though (what I suspect the difference between the 59s and RRs will be), that at the moment I can't face the hassle of changing pups in a 335.

The sheer hassle would definitely put me off changing the pickups in my ES-339.  But I quite like the '57 Classics anyway.  They're Alnico II, so I assume fairly close to Stormy Mondays in specs.  I can see the appeal of something a little tighter for the bridge pickup, but I like the slight woofiness of the neck pickup.

[AndyR]

btw.  I always start with the pickup screws flush with the top of the coil, which puts the dome slightly below the cover.

Yep... that's where mine have ended up after my fiddling (including my BKPs - they sound even better now). I'd never thought of doing this before, I'd just assumed they should be lined up with the cover because they look better :roll:

The Gibson 59s in the 335 had screws standing very tall and proud. Twas a very interesting sound - I'm sure some folks would love it - but it was a bit harsh and gritty for my tastes.


And I am not reading that comment about unpotted AIV Stormy Mondays at the moment... la, la, la, can't hear you, etc... :lol:

It's put me back on the fence over Stormies vs Riff Raffs now... I still think in the long run I'm probably the sort of guy that wants Riff Raffs in my 335. With my usual 11s on it, it's got a very warm and thickly resonant acoustic tone - I think it can handle that Riff Raff bite and focus to give me just what I want from it...

But I'm NOT considering a change myself at the moment (I know... two months, three tops :lol:)


EDIT: ahh...

Philly posted this:

I've just got me an ES-335 with 59 Classics (or Classic 59s, whatever they are anyway).

'57 Classics.  :lol:

It is so close though (what I suspect the difference between the 59s and RRs will be), that at the moment I can't face the hassle of changing pups in a 335.

The sheer hassle would definitely put me off changing the pickups in my ES-339.  But I quite like the '57 Classics anyway.  They're Alnico II, so I assume fairly close to Stormy Mondays in specs.  I can see the appeal of something a little tighter for the bridge pickup, but I like the slight woofiness of the neck pickup.

Oh... 57, er, ho hum... :roll: :lol:

But that bit about the AII in them, didn't know that... Food for thought. Yes, "slight woofiness" on the neck - not what I generally go for, but I'm finding lots of applications for it at the moment.

[Telerocker]

Mules come to mind, but I think Abraxas would be a good alternative. A sort of hotrodded Mule (still AIV), but with enough air/openess for good cleans.

[Nick1420]

Hi All

A big thank you to all those replys.

I am going to try lowering the pickup pole pieces as suggested by AndyR over the weekend.  As for doing the job, working on a PRS Hollowbody is a real b**ch so I going to to take it to my local luther. Has anybody tried a RS Guitarworks upgrade kit? If I am going to have the pups changed I might as well get the pots and caps done too, me thinks?

[Philly Q]

Has anybody tried a RS Guitarworks upgrade kit? If I am going to have the pups changed I might as well get the pots and caps done too, me thinks?

Are you in the USA?  I wanted to order an RS Guitarworks kit for my Les Paul Junior, but the shipping charges to the UK were almost as much as the kit itself - so it didn't happen!

[BigB]

Which leads me on to something you can experiment with (if you haven't already). I learnt this a week or two before getting the 335 and it came in VERY handy.

Too bright/harsh on the bridge pickup. As supplied, my 335 had that in spades. I couldn't get an amp setting where I could live with both the bridge and neck.

So I lowered the screw polepieces into the bridge pickup's metal casing - imagine you're lining the edges of the screw heads up with the bobbin under the cover. Assuming your screw poles are nearer the bridge, this is reducing the treble side of the pickup's contribution. You can then possibly raise the pickup as a whole as well (also increases body, if you're lucky).

Tried this yesterday on my SG's ABomb bridge - not that it was harsh, but it didn't balance that well with the Mule neck (had hard time finding an EQ that worked well with both), and I also missed the body and fatness of the JBj that was there before (but definitly not it's lack of definition and dynamic :lol:).  It's still a bit too soon to say but it seems to have worked JustFine - better balance with the Mule neck, a touch more body, and just as much cut and definition, so kind of best of both worlds.

I also tried the same think on the Mule neck to see if it would be even better. I'm not yet sure it was a good idea in this case (the Mule is already quite clear sounding for a HB neck), so I'll possibly reset it as it was - but it indeed gave more brightness and a lil'bit more definition in the low end, so it might be a good trick too cure dark / boomy neck buckers (which the Mule is not in any way).

Gonna give it another try this evening see how it sounds with "fresh" ears and decide what I do with the neck 8)

[Nick1420]

Hi

Yes, I live in the UK but I am supprised that postage is so expesive as the packs look quite small and light. I don't suppose there is a UK / Euro equivelent to Guitarworks?

From the replys I think a set of Stormy Mondays or Mules is what I need but whick one ..... Oh! the delicious agony!

[Philly Q]

Yes, I live in the UK but I am supprised that postage is so expesive as the packs look quite small and light. I don't suppose there is a UK / Euro equivelent to Guitarworks?

Well..... BKP sell custom-made CTS 550k and 250k pots, and some nice Jensen caps.  Take a look in the Accessories section of the BKP shop.  :)

So, that's all equivalent in quality to the stuff RS Guitarworks sell.  Not available as a prewired kit though, unfortunately.  :(

Having said that, BKP do sell prewired Strat scratchplates.  :idea:  Maybe they could also offer prewired kits for Les Pauls/SGs, Teles and Les Paul Juniors?  I think there could be a market...