Suggestions for the middle position of my PRS Singlecut?

[Twinfan]

OK, so I have Black Dogs in the neck and bridge which sound really good - clear, full, beefy and like a 'polite' PAF with lots of punch.

I was planning on leaving the stock PRS #8 pickup in the middle but it's muddy and indistinct and sounds naff when combined with the BKPs.  I guess I need another BKP!

It'll be a short legged, 4 conductor, Zebra neck pickup - but which one?

I don't want anything hotter than the Black Dogs, or out of phase, so I guess my choices are:

* Stormy Monday
* Mule
* Riff Raff
* VHII
* Black Dog

What would you go for, and why?

[Mr. Air]

Maybe the often described single coilish quality of the VHII would add an interesting flavour to your tone...

[Telerocker]

I'd say a RiffRaff, punchy, crispy, nice cleans and a counterpart of the middier BD's. Would make your PRS more versatile. A Mule came to my mind too, I love mine for the 3D-tones, the great balance, the crispiness and good splitted tones (if yours wired that way), but I don't know if AV and AIV combine that well.

[Twinfan]

The humbucker won't be split, but I was wondering whether to wire the middle pickup in parallel instead of series?

[Telerocker]

Parallel could be nice for cleaner and cruncy stuff, series for fat and extra bass.

[Twinfan]

The middle pickup is only used with either or both the other pickups, so maybe parallel will be the way to go to stop it sounding too fat.  In which case, I should just go with a Black Dog to ensure a good match?

[ericsabbath]

MQ

[Telerocker]

The middle pickup is only used with either or both the other pickups, so maybe parallel will be the way to go to stop it sounding too fat.  In which case, I should just go with a Black Dog to ensure a good match?

I think parallel will be a good addition, the BD's are fat enough I guess  :). A BD will match the voicing, though a Mule- and RiffRaff-bridge sits outputwise between the BD-bridge and BD-neck. I wouldn't be afraid to put a Mule in it.

[Twinfan]

MQ

No thanks - it'll look wrong, and I didn't much like the one I had.

[Philly Q]

I'd go for a Mule - can't really justify it, but it just seems like a good idea (to me) to have a slightly lower output, kind of "generic PAF" pickup* there in the middle.

Don't know about the parallel option, but I think I'd wire it out of phase with the other two for a really different sound.


(* no offence intended)

[gordiji]

I'm not sure of the switching options on this guitar but if it were mine i'd put a stormy II in there.If it could be used in isolation you'd have a great guitar for cleans, messing about when your head isn't in the mood for distortion.(although
the stormy does great distorted tones).
The black dogs in the other positions give everything you'd want from a rock guitar.In effect you'd have a 2 in 1 guitar.
 

[PhilKing]

I think that a VHII would be a great choice.  It works really well in parallel wiring and would give you some nice combination sounds with the other pickups.  You might also want to get the magnet flipped to put it out of phase with the other 2 pickups.  I am sure this is what the original wiring on the Chris Henderson did as it gave very nice clean tones when it was switched on (was looking at one a couple of moths ago).

[Twinfan]

Cheers Phil.  I'm not a fan of the out-of-phase sound, so I'll just get something stock and wire it in parallel.  As that will drop the output a bit I think I'll needed something towards the hotter end of my scale.  So the VHII would seem to be the obvious choice if I don't fancy another Black Dog.

Decision made I think...

[FELINEGUITARS]

I still favour the Stormy Monday - the clarity when played clean is unsurpassed

[Twinfan]

Just to close this one off, I ummed and ahhed about what to put in the middle for ages but I've just ordered a Mule.  I decided against the parallel wiring option as I think it'll cut the output too much, so I've gone for a slightly weaker, more balanced and 'neutral' full humbucker.  I can always switch it to the neck and put the BD in the middle (wired in parallel) if I fancy mixing it up a bit.

Job done - I think you won me over Philly, as did a quick call to BKP  ;)