80's shred/metal tone in a PRS

[itamar101]

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...

The VHII doesn't sound like a very good match with the MM, to be honest. If you were to get the MM bridge then the Cold Sweat neck or MM neck would be the most ideal match. The emerald might work too, though.

[Sir_Palomid]

I have a PRS Custom 22, without tremolo, and I've tried a couple of BKPs - Nailbomb bridge, Cold Sweat (both neck and bridge), and Holydiver set.
Less versatile combo - Holydivers, but they nail 80's rock\metal tones perfectly, and I haven't found them smooth as described, thay are pretty midrange-agressive pups, focused and dry.
I tried to dail right height to make them "smooth and fat" but haven't succeded yet.
Crawler in my Suhr is much more smooth, thick and less cutting, actually I like it more than Diver (also I like Suhr more than PRS, he-he)  :lol:
Currently I have them in my PRS because I need a good cut through the mix on leads (we have another two guitarists in the band, and also a keyboard player).
I play heavy progressive rock, close to metal.

But my favorite for neck PU would be still Cold Sweat, on of my favorite pup's ever.
Nailbomb also great pickup, but more modern voiced (say, modern, new-metal) than CS or HD.

[itamar101]

I have a PRS Custom 22, without tremolo, and I've tried a couple of BKPs - Nailbomb bridge, Cold Sweat (both neck and bridge), and Holydiver set.
Less versatile combo - Holydivers, but they nail 80's rock\metal tones perfectly, and I haven't found them smooth as described, thay are pretty midrange-agressive pups, focused and dry.
I tried to dail right height to make them "smooth and fat" but haven't succeded yet.
Crawler in my Suhr is much more smooth, thick and less cutting, actually I like it more than Diver (also I like Suhr more than PRS, he-he)  :lol:
Currently I have them in my PRS because I need a good cut through the mix on leads (we have another two guitarists in the band, and also a keyboard player).
I play heavy progressive rock, close to metal.

But my favorite for neck PU would be still Cold Sweat, on of my favorite pup's ever.
Nailbomb also great pickup, but more modern voiced (say, modern, new-metal) than CS or HD.

I don't know what it is with your set of holy divers but mine, and seemingly almost everyone else's, are certainly not dry or mid-range agressive. The Cold Sweat and nailbomb are both reasonably scooped pickups which which may accentuate the mid range of the holy diver to you but it is actually quite balanced. The nailbomb is far more aggressive. Also, I find it hard to believe that the holy diver is less versatile than the nailbomb, I know that there are numerous users on the forum who would argue against that.

I'm not dismissing your experience with certain pickups or what you have said, I just believe that there is something in your rig, whether it be amp or guitar or both, that is giving you different results to the ones that people normal describe getting...

[ericsabbath]

the diver I had in 3 guitars wasn't that aggressive, but the other I had in my '73 lp custom was quite aggressive in the upper mids and sounded definitely drier and tighter
they both were uncovered and read 16k
guess that was the guitar, not the pickup
my lp custom has a very thin neck (thinner than today's slim taper 60's neck), ebony board and a quite dark and dense body
it has a deeper and more aggressive tone than most les pauls I played
"modern" les pauls (anything post-norlin) are usually middier, more resonant, little less punchy on the bass and not as spanky on the picking attack
koreans/chinese are usually less evertyhing... less resonance, less middy, less bassy, less bright...
but that changes for each guitar, so that kind of comparison can get quite messy, specially considering the pickup height relationship with the particular guitar resonance...
there are plenty of dry sounding clips of the holy diver out there

[Sir_Palomid]

I'm here with Eric with no offence to the ohers, but I had this pu in three different guitars - PRS Custom 22, Fender Strat Plus and Washburn WI66, and on each of them HD shows pretty the same character - dry, focused, aggressive. Maybe it's perfect guitar for shred, but for tasty, thick leads I would take Crawler anyday - much richer, less aggressive, less focused and scooped but with nice roar, which I like.
My HD is covered, don't if that will make a difference.

As for my gear - it's pretty simple, I don't like pedals a lot, only delay, rest I try to achieve through my amp - Marshall JVM 205, or Peavey Classic 30. Sometimes I use external OD - Tonefreak Abunai 2, to saturate sound a bit.

[Slartibartfarst42]

Interesting. My Holydiver was in the Jackson and I loved it because it was smooth and thick but with a bit of aggression. I've heard some great clips of a Holydiver in a Les Paul too so I see no reason why it wouldn't work in a PRS, especially as Tim thought it was a great choice. As for the Crawler; I've always liked the clips I've heard but assumed it would be too dark in mahogany and perhaps a tad too tame and vintage for my tastes. Having said that, my PRS is hardly excessively dark so I can believe it could work. The only other pickup I've ever really considered for the PRS is an Abraxas.

[nightflame159]

Ok guys thx a lot for your help! I think i decided to go with the miracleman set. I have 2 last questions

1- is it easy to make it sounds like this? http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KnERleA2DuE
because ive hear some really good clips of it and on some other it sounds way more brutal and death metal...wich is not really what i want but this youtube clips is pretty much the kind of tone im looking for.

2- is the neck miracleman anything like an emg85 in the neck? Cauz emg85 in neck is way too thick and boomy to my taste...i want a clear paf style neck...maybe a nailbomb? The coldsweat neck is not really my thing...kind of not scooped and paff enough.

[ericsabbath]

Ok guys thx a lot for your help! I think i decided to go with the miracleman set. I have 2 last questions

1- is it easy to make it sounds like this? http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KnERleA2DuE
because ive hear some really good clips of it and on some other it sounds way more brutal and death metal...wich is not really what i want but this youtube clips is pretty much the kind of tone im looking for.

2- is the neck miracleman anything like an emg85 in the neck? Cauz emg85 in neck is way too thick and boomy to my taste...i want a clear paf style neck...maybe a nailbomb? The coldsweat neck is not really my thing...kind of not scooped and paff enough.

depends on how you use it
it smooths out and cleans up quite well in the right amps and settings

the neck model sounds a bit boomy for my tastes, at lest in les pauls
it sounds amazing in the bridge position, though
quite different from the actual bridge model (they are the same, with different magnets)
it's middier, fatter and smoother than the bridge model
really thick lead tone

the nailbomb neck is quite scooped and high output
very trebly and focused, though
quite different from the cold sweat, which is less aggressive and more midrangy

[Slartibartfarst42]

I've heard some really good clips of it and on some other it sounds way more brutal and death metal...wich is not really what I want

I haven't found the Miracle Man to be particularly brutal or Death Metal at all otherwise I wouldn't be using it. That was more my experience with the A-Bomb. The Miracle Man has aggression but it's controlled and not OTT at all. It always makes me smile when I play it and I've heard the same response from others.  :D

[Sir_Palomid]

As for the Crawler; I've always liked the clips I've heard but assumed it would be too dark in mahogany and perhaps a tad too tame and vintage for my tastes.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WZtPULUgWso

Too "vintage" you say?  8)  :lol: