Black Dogs for a semi-hollow ? Or Riff Raff ?

[BigB]

The guitar is this Höfner Verythin, and while fairly decent (and bit more) for a guitar in this price range,  the stock pups are lacking the clarity, dynamic and definition of your fav' pickup make. I'm looking for a very clear, "no fat" (but not "thin" neither) neck and a punchy, somewhat (but nothing like the ABomb) throaty bridge. Excellent clean tone required on the neck, but it must be able to stay defined enough with overdrive, the bridge will be mostly used for bluesy crunch to hard-rock. I won't obviously use this guitar for modern higher gain tones - first because my SG and Vox already provide eveything I need and then because that's not what you buy a semi-hollow for :lol:.

I'm mainly thinking of the Black Dog. I know SM are great for semi-hollows but I'm not sure they'd give me enough punch. and the other candidate is of course the RR (quickly tried the RR bridge on the SG last winter, it had strong points but was not what I wanted for the SG)

For the record, stock pups read about 9.1K (bridge) and 8.6K (neck) and are obviously not ceramic hence very probably AV, and I suspect a slightly asymetric winding at least on the neck (has a quite clear, a bit hollow, clean tone).

Opinions, gentlemen ?

[edit]
found this clip of RR in a 335, and wow... Not exactly the kind of blue I like (way too "clean"), but great "clear yet warm" tone.
[/edit]

[darkbluemurder]

Bridge: Throaty, bluesy crunch = sounds like Black Dog to me.
Neck: excellent clean tone and definition with overdrive = VHII would do it. Abraxas would do it. Riff Raff should do it. Don't know about the Black Dog, apart from the fact that it has a lower DC resistance than the VHII, which could be beneficial for a semi hollow in order to cut down on the boominess.

Best to ask Tim.

Cheers Stephan

[Twinfan]

From your descriptions, I'd consider a BD bridge and an RR neck.

RR neck is very clear and transparent, the BD bridge will be 'chunky'.  Sounds like a great combo to me!

[Telerocker]

I think so too. Btw, have you considered Mississippi Queens?

[BigB]

I think so too. Btw, have you considered Mississippi Queens?

I did, yes, but I'd rather have vintage / vintage-hot (but not too hot) 'buckers on this one and keep the P90 option for the day I'll get myself a LP DC.

[Twinfan]

Sounds like a wise move to me!

[Telerocker]

I think so too. Btw, have you considered Mississippi Queens?

I did, yes, but I'd rather have vintage / vintage-hot (but not too hot) 'buckers on this one and keep the P90 option for the day I'll get myself a LP DC.

They'll be great in LP DC.

[Philly Q]

I tend to instinctively think "low output" for a semi, but I don't know why (or if) slightly hotter pickups wouldn't work - maybe because semis seem to have a slightly extended range in both bass and treble, so perhaps there's a risk of hotter humbuckers sounding "boomy"?

I'll be interested to know how the BD turns out.

[seancorker]

've got a Riff Raff in the bridge of my Tokai 335 and would highly recommend it - classic rock / crunch nirvana! Just need a neck version to come up on ebay

[AndyR]

I'll be interested to see how this turns out too.

I have a 335 that is likely to get BKP'd in the near future. I'd been thinking the same as you (RRs, BDs, etc rather than SMs)... and then a while back I read on here about Mules in semis.

I just happen to have a set of unpotted Mules in a guitar that doesn't get used too much at the moment... so that's what's going to get tried at some point in the next few months.