80's shred/metal tone in a PRS

[nightflame159]

Hey guys!  I have a beautifull PRS custom 24 with the usual mahogany neck/body,maple top but this one have an ebony fretboard so the tone is punchier, its got a fast attack and a spanky top wich i like(acousticaly) but i dont hear it in the stock pickups.They sound too vintage and noisy when i crank the gain.

As this guitar is super easy to play and it got 24 frets, i want it to be my shred guitar. I play mainly 80's stuff, Dokken, Ratt, Iron Maiden, Ozzy, Megadeth, Metalica, Paul Gilbert...i like my tone to be clear with good top end and searing solos but still i want a bit of warmth to it.I want tight but not ultra death metal tight.And i like my lead to be wet and smooth(not too stiff or raw sounding) I play thru an Egnater mod 50 with el34 for the marshally stuff and i have a Mesa Mark IIC+ for the thrash metal stuff.Both amp played thru scumback j75lhdc speakers(they are warm and have a good 80's mid to them with smooth top end)

Pickups i tried in different guitars include: Tone zone(too muddy/thick didnt like it at all) EMG 81(good for downtuned stuff but in std tuning,way too stiff unatural sounding,sounds like a chainsaw) Emg 85(liked the top end and warmth of it but was too thick in the low end/low mids) Duncan JB(my favorite so far but there is someting i dont like in the midrange) So it could be something in between the emg 85 and JB, Id like the emg 85 to be less thick and less modern but keep the high mids and clear top end.

Heres some lead/rythm tone that i like:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=98mBitgGUxI
                                                                http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LEMaEaZA8D8
                                                                http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u_DFsM-w-xw
                                                                http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yo5ZnwQy0Pk
                                                     
                                                               

[darrenw5094]

How many members will vote for the Holydiver? Probably 90% 8) at least.

[TheyCallMeVolume]

How many members will vote for the Holydiver? Probably 90% 8) at least.

Count me in to that 90%

[nightflame159]

I considered the Diver but all the clips ive seen didnt had the clear top end that i like, it seemed too rounded polite top end to my taste...look at the links i posted youll have a good idea of what i like.

[darrenw5094]

The HD is more balanced than most other branded pickups. There is plenty of high end in the HD, plenty of mids and tightish bottom end. The thing that bothers me about the CU24 over the CU22, is the honky low end. The HFS bring out that natural honky tone that i am not too keen on plus some very loose bottom end.

That Miller dude is ace, i don't think the HD would be a million miles from that. My other fav is the VHII.

[nightflame159]

Ok so the Holy diver would probably be the best bet. Did any of you compared it with a suhr aldrich? I never tried the suhr but i always liked Doug aldrich tone...also wich neck pickup would fit best with the Holy diver? I tend to like clear hot paff in the neck...the duncan 59 i think is too boomy and so far i liked the air norton i had in an ibanez the best.

[darrenw5094]

The Air Norton was not a bad neck pickup, too bad it's always paired with the Tone Zone. The Mule is the best PAF style neck that BK do, but not totally sure if it pairs perfectly with the HD. Maybe the Abraxas neck would pair with the HD better.

The Aldrich Suhr pickup seems to be swapped out on many guitars. Can't comment as i have never tried one.

[itamar101]

Ok so the Holy diver would probably be the best bet. Did any of you compared it with a suhr aldrich? I never tried the suhr but i always liked Doug aldrich tone...also wich neck pickup would fit best with the Holy diver? I tend to like clear hot paff in the neck...the duncan 59 i think is too boomy and so far i liked the air norton i had in an ibanez the best.

The Holy Diver almost nails Doug aldrichs tone with a bit of Tweaking. It's much less muddy than the Suhr Aldrich pickup though. Doug Aldrichs tone is one of my favourites and it's what I asked for when I wanted pickups. I was recommended HDs and rightly so. They rock!

[Slartibartfarst42]

Holydiver would do what you want for sure but if you need it with a touch more aggression and tightness, get the Miracle Man. Both are awesome.

[nightflame159]

Im really torn between the holydiver and miracleman right now the clips ive heard of the miracleman i liked the tone but i didnt had good experience with ceramic magnets..the emg 81 i tried was stiff and cold and i see the miracleman is supossed to sound like the emg but is it warmer and less surgical? Also wich neck would go well with the miracleman if i go with it?

[itamar101]

Im really torn between the holydiver and miracleman right now the clips ive heard of the miracleman i liked the tone but i didnt had good experience with ceramic magnets..the emg 81 i tried was stiff and cold and i see the miracleman is supossed to sound like the emg but is it warmer and less surgical? Also wich neck would go well with the miracleman if i go with it?

Although the miracle man is a great pickup I honestly think that the HD would be the perfect fit for what you've described, as do most other users here. Bare in mind that most of the clips of the HD are extremely poor and a real injustice to it. Often with too much gain to be plausible for any pickup or just recorded very badly.

[Slartibartfarst42]

The Miracle Man is NOT cold and too surgical but I do understand your fears as the same thing put me off a Miracle Man for a long time. I've owned both pickups and I also have a PRS CU 24, albeit an SE version, so my own experiences seem to be really relevant here. I started by putting a Holydiver in the bridge of my Jackson Soloist (maple neck-thru with alder wings) and here is the review I wrote about it:

https://bareknucklepickups.co.uk/forum/index.php?topic=24376.0

Obviously I was very impressed; in fact, I was so impressed I decided I wanted to put a Holydiver in the bridge of my PRS and sounded Tim out about it. To quote his reply: 'I love the idea of a Holydiver in the PRS' and so it seemed to make a lot of sense. I was VERY tempted to keep the Holydiver in both the Jackson and PRS but eventually decided that it would make more sense to give each guitar a distinct character but I didn't want to move too far away from the Holydiver tone. I asked for something that was warm, thick and fluid like the Holydiver but tighter in the bass, more screaming in the highs and with a bit more aggression. The unanimous response was Miracle Man so I decided to take the plunge and that's exactly what the pickup is. The review I wrote of the Miracle Man is probably a bit further down but here's a link anyway:

https://bareknucklepickups.co.uk/forum/index.php?topic=28004.0

Both will do exactly what you're looking for but the Holydiver will give you more versatility while the Miracle Man will give you a more Metal feel. As for a neck pickup to go with them; when I talked to Tim about putting a Holydiver in the bridge of my PRS, I asked for a neck suggestion that would give me a kind of Dave Murray neck tone but from the early Maiden albums when he was using PAF pups and I'm guessing you may be after something similar. Tim said that in many ways the Cold Sweat was the obvious choice but his personal preference was the Emerald neck as that would nail the required tone and give a tremendous amount of versatility, especially when paired with a hotter bridge pickup like the Holydiver. I see no reason why it shouldn't work equally well with the Miracle Man.

So, either the Holydiver or Miracle Man will be awesome in the bridge and put an Emerald in the neck  8)

[ericsabbath]

I would be the 10% if you weren't complaining about something being "too vintagey"
I was gonna recommend the NECK cold sweat in the BRIDGE position
one of the best lead pickups I've tried in the bridge position and definitely the clearest and most articulate one
sounds a lot like Paul Gilbert's work with his main PGM guitars but with all the BKP mojo
second "vintagey" option would be the VHII, which is hotter a little more scooped

BUT, you want something hot, so the holy diver is hard to beat
being a JB fan that's missing "something", I bet you'll find it in the holy diver

the NECK miracle man, which is the same as the bridge MM but with an alnico magnet, is also a great lead pickup in the bridge position
quite fluid and thick, like the holy diver, but even fatter and little more modern sounding
a bit like the emg 85, but no near as hot and way more organic

the bridge ceramic miracle man is amazing for leads, but sometimes gets trebly in the higher strings
I love the clarity on faster shredding and thickness on lower strings

[darkbluemurder]

I was also one of the 90% for the Holydiver but if you fear that it will be too polite, consider the Rebel Yell - lots of mids and bright cut. Another good option would be the Miracle Man - same tonal color but more aggression in the lows and highs compared to the HD.

Cheers Stephan

[nightflame159]

I think im gravitating towards the miracleman bridge with the vhii neck..would they go whell together? If down the road i dont like the MM i could always send it back and get the holy diver. Another set that caught my curiosity is the Emerald  set...i like the eq, it seems to cut and be clear but could it handle 80's metal tone? I have a boost i can use, as long as it stay clear and tight enough...