Pickups for PRS Se Custom

[Gafar312]

Hey guys! I'm new here to BKP (Joined last night) and I've become really impressed with all of BKP pickups. So I'm looking at getting my own :D Tho I do have a few questions since my research alone has been leading me to dead ends. So I'd love some insight from more experienced people with BKP pups!

1. I play a lot of different music styles (Modern Jazz, Alt Rock/Hard Rock, R&B, Gospel,) and I am trying to figure what pickups would be best for hitting a good amount of these styles. I've been really liking the HSP90's Mississippi Queen and Stockholm and then the regular Crawlers. This question is do any of these pickups go best with the style or are there others that'll work?

2. The thought also crossed into my mind about doing a HSP90 in the neck and a Humbucker in the bridge. I was curious as to if there were some good matches with them?

3. If I were to go along with above question, would the wiring be an issue? I was looking at the schematics of the MQ and saw it would need a 2 vol, 2 tone and 3-way toggle for wiring where as the Crawlers and alot of other wiring. My PRS only has one vol and one tone. Would I have to add in additional vol and tone pots for soldering? Can this pickup config work? Any suggestions or instructions?

I hope none of these questions are vague, if so I'll re-write to be sure they're clarified. Stoked to join and learn from all you guys, and thank you already for any suggestions :)

[Deafcat64]

Hey there! I'm new here myself. I recently put a Mississippi Queen HSP90 and an Abraxas humbucker in an SG Standard. going to write a review  of  them soon I'm that I have a good feel for them. I can tell you that it's all good so far!

[Telerocker]

Hi and welcome! Many options for the mentioned styles. Does your guitar sound bright or dark? Do you want an open and dynamic or a little more compressed pickup?
I have a Crawler and that's a very fat and growling pickup, which splits well too, though it has some compression. The Mules in my other guitar sound very open, deep and dynamic, full yet crisp at the same time. The neck is fantastic and certainly suitable for jazz.
The Crawler/MQ-combo would make the PRS more a rocker then a jazzer, though I have doubts about the Crawler for your guitar. Personally I would go for a calibrated Mules-set. The inbetween position is great for R&B and gospel, the bridge can do easily hardrock and the neck provides the tones for jazzy stuff too.

[Deafcat64]

sorry for the jumbled post. It should have said: I'm giving it a little time before I write a review, so that I have a good feel for them. The Abraxas bridge is amazing. The tone is so rich, and full. The highs are still very present, and the pickup isn't dark by any means. Very good for classic rock and I've tried it for 80s hair metal with great results. Sounds good for grunge too. It really shines for slide guitar. Very vocal, and actually sounds like a human voice at times. The Mississippi Queen neck is amazing as well. It's ALNICO IV as well. The openness is the first thing I noticed with this one. Again, very rich, even tone. The clarity is spectacular, and the bass is nice and tight. It's incredibly musical. Clean it sings with a bell like quality. Driven, it growls and  snarls for rock and blues. It's incredibly touch responsive, just as responsive as the Abraxas bridge. They both respond incredibly well to the tone controls, and clean up very well with the volume knob. You can cover jazz territory with the MQ in the neck if you use the tone knob a little.

In a nutshell, this setup, so far, has made my #1 SG Standard the most versatile, responsive guitar I've ever owned. The openness and clarity are spectacular and the fullness makes everything you play sound huge. From a whisper to a roar, the Abraxas bridge and Mississippi Queen neck, so far, has proven to be the best set of pickups I've had in any guitar I've owned in my 35 years of serious gigging.

[Gafar312]

Woot! Thanks for the responses.

In response to TeleRocker: the guitar itself is a naturally bright guitar and I wanted some pickups that would darken or mellow it out. So the calibrated Mule set you think would hit better? I'll have to check them out. I'm looking for some really open and dynamic pickups too tho I'm not sure what the difference would be with them.

In response to DeafCat64: So the MQ and Abraxas are a great combo to check out? I'll have to see

Any more insight and wisdom I'm all ears for hearing. Thanks fellas for your responses :)

[Mr. Air]

Like Telerocker said I think a pair of mules will suit the guitar and your music style. If you want a hotter bridge pickup than the mule go for the abraxas. It's often described as a mule on steroids. The abraxas neck should be quite similar to the mule so you can probably match an abraxas bridge and a mule neck without problems.

[Telerocker]

The Abraxas would mellow out things a bit more and you can always work with the volumeknob. Just to know: I have Mules in an all mahogany bolt-on Saint Blues Missisippi Bluesmaster, a LP-tele hybrid which hasn't a dark tone either, and Mules kill in this one (played through an Orange Rockerverb 50/2x12 cab). Nevertheless, The Abraxas would serve you well too, though the depth of the Mules is imho first class.

[Deafcat64]

+1 on the Abraxas. I have an Abraxas in the bridge of my SG. It isn't "tame"  overall, but the highs aren't as pronounced. It's pretty much  a beefed up Mule. It has the same A IV magnet. It's got a great, rich, even  response.

[Cpt_Gonzo]

I'll go as far and recommend the Holydiver bridge Humbucker just for it's versatility.
Of course, If you want something PAF-oriented, Abraxas, but the HD doesn't sound THAT modern. Afterall it's designed to put out hot-rodded humbucker tone of the 70s/ 80s. And they weren't going chugga-chugga back then.

[TheyCallMeVolume]

I'll go as far and recommend the Holydiver bridge Humbucker just for it's versatility.
Of course, If you want something PAF-oriented, Abraxas, but the HD doesn't sound THAT modern. Afterall it's designed to put out hot-rodded humbucker tone of the 70s/ 80s. And they weren't going chugga-chugga back then.

While that's true, I would think an HD would be a bit too much for his styles, since he says hard rock is the heaviest he goes. I'm not sure how well an HD would handle Jazz, R&B, Gospel, etc. Definitely wouldn't be my first choice. I think Mule is the way to go here.

[Gafar312]

So it seems like a general consensus on the Mule's and Abraxas's. I saw a demo of the abraxas's on  youtube and leaned a little more towards them but I don't know if it was slightly slanted since he was playing through a Dumble amp and I've heard those amps are like euphoria-esque? Anyway, I play through a stock Fender Blues Jr, so I believe either will sound good. I the Seymour Duncan Sh-2 and Sh-4 combo but it felt like it needed more power.

Should wiring be an issue? I've only got one vol/tone knob and don't know if I need to install more knobs/pots to handle the pickups?

[Deafcat64]

I can vouch for the Abraxas. I have an Abraxas bridge paired with a Mississippi Queen neck in my SG Standard. I also have a hand wired Dumble style amp that I built myself. I love the Abraxas through the Dumble, but I also have a hand wired JCM 800 (another of my builds), a Fender Twin and I also played the Abraxas through my friend's 1962 Vox AC15. The Abraxas is spectacular through each of them. It has a fantastic feel to it. Very vintage feeling. It actually sounds like the guitar does naturally. It seems to capture the tone of the wood. If you want to get into Mule territory, just back off the volume a little. The ALNICO IV seems to have a more open, natural sound than ALNICO V. The bass is still nice and deep, with fast response, and the highs are sweet but not overpowering and certainly not weak. It's a very balanced pickup tonally. The IV magnet seems to have a little less output that the V, in that at 14k the Abraxas has about the same perceived volume as another pickup with ALNICO IV at 12.5k. I really is very versatile and it really screams when you want to play heavier stuff. Very rich with great overtones and harmonics. You can really get that great Santana lead tone or you can get just about any classic rock tone you like from it. It isn't limited at all. Wiring should be no problem. If you want separate volume controls, you can get a concentric pot and wire it up for a separate volume on each pickup. I can tell you that any Bare Knuckle Pickup will make you a better player. The clarity on every one I've tried (Mule, Black Dog, Abraxas, Cold Sweat, Emerald, Stormy Monday and Mississippi Queen), has been amazing. You will hear every mistake you make. Even with heavy distortion, the clarity is there. You won't be disappointed in any of them.

[Telerocker]

So it seems like a general consensus on the Mule's and Abraxas's. I saw a demo of the abraxas's on  youtube and leaned a little more towards them but I don't know if it was slightly slanted since he was playing through a Dumble amp and I've heard those amps are like euphoria-esque? Anyway, I play through a stock Fender Blues Jr, so I believe either will sound good. I the Seymour Duncan Sh-2 and Sh-4 combo but it felt like it needed more power.

Should wiring be an issue? I've only got one vol/tone knob and don't know if I need to install more knobs/pots to handle the pickups?

There's no good reason to slam a Blues Junior. I play one myself occasionally on small gigs and especially with humbucker the result is a very loose tweedy drive that farts sooner or later bec the stockspeaker is good for cleans but not so well for drive. With a tele things are better to a certain degree.
What I do: Blues Junior into 2x12 cab: preamp on 3 or max 4, fat knob engaged, volumecontrol with the master. Saint Blues Missisippi Bluesmaster with a calibrated Mules-set through an (handmade) Emma Reezafratzitz-pedal (gain at 10-11.00 o'clock) and voila: great mature classic rock tone that cleans up perfect too. Sounds then times better then the BJ flat out.

 

[Gafar312]

My bad Telerocker. I wasn't trying to appear as if I were slamming the Blues Jr. I love that amp. I prefer that to other amps any day. I meant that I didn't know how the pickups would sound through a stock Blues Jr, since I heard the demo on a Dumble. I assume tho that the pickups and Blues Jr. would kick some butt and stomp some mudholes in the places I play.

Thank you gents! I appreciate your insight and responses! It helps tremendously and I'm grateful :D

[Telerocker]

My bad Telerocker. I wasn't trying to appear as if I were slamming the Blues Jr. I love that amp. I prefer that to other amps any day. I meant that I didn't know how the pickups would sound through a stock Blues Jr, since I heard the demo on a Dumble. I assume tho that the pickups and Blues Jr. would kick some butt and stomp some mudholes in the places I play.

Thank you gents! I appreciate your insight and responses! It helps tremendously and I'm grateful :D

Hey hey hey, I did mean to slam the preamp with something medium output like the Abraxas. Lower output pickups work imho a bit better on the BJ. BTW, I like my BJ too, just it hasn't much weight in the bassdepartment (cannot be expected from such a small open back combo).