Advice needed - PRS HFS/Vintage vs BKP Miracle Man

[blackstrat]

I'm looking for replacement pups for my new PRS Custom 24.
The stock pickups actually sounds pretty good, I just want to try something else. So far I love the focus and tightness of the HFS, it's definitely among the tightest bridge pickup I've played so far. The midrange is throaty, and very compressed, which gives good definition with drop tunings.
The Vintage bass is OK, it warms up the neck position of a 24 fretter quite well. But I wish it's a little more "liquid" for shred runs.
So how does BKP miracle man compared to HFS/VB?
From the official description and after reading some reviews, seems like MM bridge is close to the HFS.
I understand that the MM was designed for metal, but is it versatile enough for anything else? Like jazzy clean tone from the neck position?
I read rave reviews about the cold sweat neck, how does the CS neck compare to MM neck?

[ericsabbath]

brige miracle man  is less compressed and midrangy than the hfs
it has a punchier bass and clearer response, with much more top end detail

the neck miracle man is a lot higher output than the vintage bass, but not over the top
it's a quite thick and smooth tone, which works well for jazz and fusion stuff
voicing reminds me of a tone zone, but without the huge output and muddiness
clean tone is FAT and the leads are very fluid

the neck cold sweat is thinner, cleaner and more articulate, leaning towards the vintage side, but still retaining some modern vibe
more like a PAF pro than a real PAF based model
think Paul Gilbert

[Slartibartfarst42]

Because of their astonishing articulation, I find that every BKP I've tried has sounded less compressed than other pickups but that's in no way a bad thing. I use a PRS SE Custom 24 and like you, I quite liked the HFS/VB pickups but ultimately had to change them for BKP. In total, I've tried five different bridge pickups and two different neck humbuckers from BKP and most have spent at least a short time in my PRS to see what they were like so I'll try to compare them all to your experience of the PRS pickups.

The stock pickups actually sounds pretty good, I just want to try something else. So far I love the focus and tightness of the HFS, it's definitely among the tightest bridge pickup I've played so far. The midrange is throaty, and very compressed, which gives good definition with drop tunings.
The Vintage bass is OK, it warms up the neck position of a 24 fretter quite well. But I wish it's a little more "liquid" for shred runs.

Emerald bridge
Much more open sounding than the HFS with a tone that's frankly too bright for the PRS but it has a beautiful tone, is extremely articulate and feels like a hot PAF.

Cold Sweat bridge
Although still a bright pickup, it's nothing like as bright as the Emerald. It has a more modern cutting edge to it, is very tight but nothing like as compressed as the HFS and not as thick sounding.

Holydiver bridge
This is what I settled with in the PRS and overall it's my favourite BKP bridge pickup. Compared to the HFS it's at least as thick sounding and has less flub in the bass. The HFS is good but I still found that there was an element of muddiness at the bottom end when using a lot of gain. You just don't get that with the Holydiver, which also has a sweeter lead tone than the HFS and a richer and smoother distortion with chords. Just as tight, a lot more articulate and much better tone. Extremely versatile with plenty thick mids to help it cut through the mix. Awesome pickup in every respect.

Alnico Nailbomb bridge
The tightest and most aggressive sounding pickup I've ever tried. It has quite a thick tone and worked a little better in my PRS than in my Jackson but compared to the HFS it's brutal. Much tighter and much more aggressive. Very 90s Metal. Great if that's what you want but I didn't find it anything like as versatile as I'd hoped.

Miracle Man bridge
Has an awful lot in common with the Holydiver so as I've already compared that pickup to the HFS, I'll just say how this is different to the Holydiver. It shares the thick, smooth and articulate tone but has a more pronounced top and bottom end. It's a bit tighter than the Holydiver and has a bit more aggression to the tone with more screaming highs but it's also not as versatile as the Holydiver and the tone isn't as sweet.

Cold Sweat neck
Fantastic neck pickup for shredding with a highly articulate sound and nice and fluid. Not particularly compressed, retaining a PAF feel to it. Certainly less mud than the VB. I never thought I'd find a better neck pickup and it's still a close second.

Emerald neck
A bright pickup but nothing like as bright as the bridge version. Has a number of things in common with the Cold Sweat in that it's very articulate, has no mud, is very fluid and great for shredding. The alnico IV magnet used in the Emerald however gives it a much sweeter lead tone than the Cold Sweat and greater versatility. I find it gives me everything the Cold Sweat neck did and then more besides. I was all set to get another Cold Sweat but went for the Emerald thanks to Tim and it hasn't let me down.

It's obviously up to you what you take from all this but for me, the best combination to replace the HFS/VB was a Holydiver in the bridge and Emerald in the neck and like you, I really liked the stock pickups. If you want a bit more aggression but less versatility, the Miracle Man/Cold Sweat combo will serve you well too.

[blackstrat]

Wow that is super duper helpful. Thanks for taking your time writing such detailed review. I didn't initially consider the holy diver as I'm afraid it might be too 80s sounding/honky mids, but from your description it might be what I'm looking for.
BTW, I once played BKP alnico nailbomb in my friend's handmade PRS replica, it was absolutely amazing. Really thick and brutal, with crazy harmonic richness rivalling dimarzio FRED in my HSS strat.
So the A-bomb is tighter than the miracle man?

[Slartibartfarst42]

There's a few things you raise here so I'll try to take them one at a time:

Holydiver - It's natural home is certainly 80s Metal so I suppose you can primarily think of the Dio tone, Jake E. Lee and Doug Aldrich but I honestly find that a little limiting in terms of what it can actually do. I play Classic Rock with it very effectively and I can also use it to play much lighter material. It loves an overdrive and with a decent boost it can get some really heavy tones. I use mine to take me to just beyond 80s Metal and after that I usually use my Jackson with the Miracle Man but I've used it to play Metallica and Children of Bodom before now and it copes fine. As I said, it's very versatile. If you liked the Nailbomb you might prefer the Miracle Man as it retains the warmth and smoothness but has more aggression and tightness to it, though the price of that is some versatility and ultimate tone. As always it's a balancing act. I have heard people mentioning honky mids when a Holydiver is in a PRS but it's never bothered me in the slightest and I know others who love it too. Maybe we just like plenty mids  :D When I first mentioned the idea of a Holydiver in the bridge of my PRS, Tim said he was 'really excited' by the idea and thought it would be great so I figured it couldn't be that bad and it's turned out to be fantastic. I then suggested a Cold Sweat neck to go with it and that's when he suggested the Emerald instead because it would give a huge palette of tones. It turns out the Holydiver bridge and Emerald neck is one of his favourite combinations.

Nailbomb - Tricky this one  :? I find it tighter than the Miracle Man but I've often wondered if it just seemed that way because of its other characteristics. The A-Bomb is so very aggressive that it sounds 'edgy' and 'hairy' to me and I think that accentuates the tightness whereas the Miracle Man is a lot smoother, warmer and more organic (to my ears at least) than the Nailbomb and that possibly masks some of the tightness that is undoubtedly there.

In my personal experience, in terms of tightness and especially aggression, they'd run on a scale of Holydiver - Miracle Man - A-Bomb. I'd say the HFS slots in somewhere between the Holydiver and the Miracle Man. The HFS has a bit more of an aggressive edge to it than the Holydiver but less so than the Miracle Man. 'Tightness' can be a misleading term for me because I always used it to suggest the articulation of a pickup as I really don't like mud but as soon as I heard the Nailbomb I knew I was wrong. The A-Bomb was tight to the point where the bass tracked so fast that it was the aural equivilant of being in a straightjacket and that really didn't suit me unless I wanted that particular sound. Something like the Holydiver isn't as 'tight' but the articulation remains incredible so every note in a chord is distinct even under a healthy amount of gain but because the bass tracks less fast, I find the pickup more useable for a variety of styles. The HFS isn't as articulate as any BKP I've tried.

EDIT: It may be worth me pointing out that although I play in a covers band, I invariably play with more gain than the original songs and 90% of the time I use an overdrive boosting my amp's dirty channel with some extra gain cascaded into the mix. I like distortion! I mention this because I cut the overdrive when I want to back things down a bit but otherwise my guitars are always boosted with an overdrive and the Holydiver responds really well to that. I'd say it responds more to an overdrive than the Miracle Man or A-Bomb and maybe that's what helps me to see it as more versatile.

[darkbluemurder]

Well the HFS was definitely not one of the tightest pickups in the bass I played. I rather see the slight mud in the bass as one of the HFS's shortcomings, along with the slightly nasal midrange. I replaced the HFS in my PRS Custom with the Holydiver bridge which cured all complaints I had. In place of the Vintage Bass is a Cold Sweat neck.

Cheers Stephan

[darrenw5094]

Have to agree with DarkBlue. The HFS is horrid flubby in the bass end. I had to roll all the bass off my amp to make it sound normal. The natural sound from the PRS CU24 has honky mids, which i don't like and would need rather a slightly scooped pickup in there for me.

Honky mids and flubby bass is the tone from the PRS CU24. Not for me really. :)

[Slartibartfarst42]

Have to agree with DarkBlue. The HFS is horrid flubby in the bass end. I had to roll all the bass off my amp to make it sound normal. The natural sound from the PRS CU24 has honky mids, which i don't like and would need rather a slightly scooped pickup in there for me.

Honky mids and flubby bass is the tone from the PRS CU24. Not for me really. :)

I quite liked the HFS, though I'd agree that it could get rather flubby in the bass. As for the mids, a pickup that is rather more scooped would suggest the Miracle Man but as blackstrat rather likes the HFS, that would suggest that the mids aren't a problem. They're certainly not a problem for me or darkbluemurder as we both seem to have found that the Holydiver works really well in a CU24 so I can only conclude that the Holydiver will suit blackstrat very well. As for the neck, I prefer the Emerald while darkbluemurder has the Cold Sweat but quite honestly, they're both so good nobody could be disappointed in either one of them.

[ericsabbath]

keep in mind that the SE version sounds a lot different than a PRS USA
most don't even have a real maple veneer (I've only seen really good looking but still fake fotoflames), while the original ones have a VERY thick maple top
the SE's are more dense and dark sounding, in my experience, kinda like schecters (which makes sense, considering the similar construction and same manufacturer)

[dvorak]

keep in mind that the SE version sounds a lot different than a PRS USA
most don't even have a real maple veneer (I've only seen really good looking but still fake fotoflames), while the original ones have a VERY thick maple top
the SE's are more dense and dark sounding, in my experience, kinda like schecters (which makes sense, considering the similar construction and same manufacturer)

The SE Custom 24 also has a maple neck.

I have a nailbomb in my SE Custom and it's quite aggressive! For me the Holy Diver would be a perfect match in an US Custom. I agree that it's much more versatile then the Nailbomb. The HD is very nice cleaned up with the volume pot, more so than the NB. If I were to change pups in my US Custom I would try the HDs in it for sure. As Slartibartfarst42 said: They work well for many styles, even very high gain. It won't be as aggressive as the NB, but it makes up for that by being so right in so many other styles.

[darkbluemurder]

As for the neck, I prefer the Emerald while darkbluemurder has the Cold Sweat but quite honestly, they're both so good nobody could be disappointed in either one of them.

I never tried the Emerald neck but have only heard praises about it.

Cheers Stephan

[ericsabbath]

keep in mind that the SE version sounds a lot different than a PRS USA
most don't even have a real maple veneer (I've only seen really good looking but still fake fotoflames), while the original ones have a VERY thick maple top
the SE's are more dense and dark sounding, in my experience, kinda like schecters (which makes sense, considering the similar construction and same manufacturer)

The SE Custom 24 also has a maple neck.

I have a nailbomb in my SE Custom and it's quite aggressive! For me the Holy Diver would be a perfect match in an US Custom. I agree that it's much more versatile then the Nailbomb. The HD is very nice cleaned up with the volume pot, more so than the NB. If I were to change pups in my US Custom I would try the HDs in it for sure. As Slartibartfarst42 said: They work well for many styles, even very high gain. It won't be as aggressive as the NB, but it makes up for that by being so right in so many other styles.

didn't know about the neck thing
I had the SE 22, which was mahogany
what pissed me off was the fake top
it looked great, but I could see the lines of the mahogany back pieces glued together over the top as well (that means it was only  a photo over the back and no maple veneer at all)
it was a great sounding as stock guitar already
but sounded nothing like a PRS
my first though for  the SE I had was the nailbomb too

the holy diver should sound sound great in the US indeed, but I think he might feel a considerable drop in output if he's not an overdrive user
stock PRS pickups are quite compressed, even the low output models

[dvorak]

keep in mind that the SE version sounds a lot different than a PRS USA
most don't even have a real maple veneer (I've only seen really good looking but still fake fotoflames), while the original ones have a VERY thick maple top
the SE's are more dense and dark sounding, in my experience, kinda like schecters (which makes sense, considering the similar construction and same manufacturer)

The SE Custom 24 also has a maple neck.

I have a nailbomb in my SE Custom and it's quite aggressive! For me the Holy Diver would be a perfect match in an US Custom. I agree that it's much more versatile then the Nailbomb. The HD is very nice cleaned up with the volume pot, more so than the NB. If I were to change pups in my US Custom I would try the HDs in it for sure. As Slartibartfarst42 said: They work well for many styles, even very high gain. It won't be as aggressive as the NB, but it makes up for that by being so right in so many other styles.

didn't know about the neck thing
I had the SE 22, which was mahogany
what pissed me off was the fake top
it looked great, but I could see the lines of the mahogany back pieces glued together over the top as well (that means it was only  a photo over the back and no maple veneer at all)
it was a great sounding as stock guitar already
but sounded nothing like a PRS
my first though for  the SE I had was the nailbomb too

the holy diver should sound sound great in the US indeed, but I think he might feel a considerable drop in output if he's not an overdrive user
stock PRS pickups are quite compressed, even the low output models

Maybe the earlier ones had some kind of cheap print on them. My SE CU24 has a real (wow!) veneer :D

Good point about the output. I do think the Nailbombs would be a nice upgrade from the HFS/VB. I believe they would keep the same aggressive sound but be more open, especially the Alnico version.

I'm still liking the 59/09s in my CU24 (and they are far from compressed like the HFS, think hot PAF) and that's why I tend to like the Holy Divers more. If you are more into the hot ceramic camp and like playing metal the Nailbomb would be a nice choice.

[Slartibartfarst42]

Certainly my SE Custom 24 looks like more of a veneer than simply a photo. The quality is astonishing for the money. The A-Bomb is a LOT more aggressive sounding than the HFS. I was happy to keep the HFS in mine for a year before I eventually put Bare Knuckles in it and the Nailbomb was so different to the HFS that I knew very quickly it was never going to work for me whereas the Holydiver, especially with an overdrive, gave me everything the HFS did and more.

[dvorak]

Certainly my SE Custom 24 looks like more of a veneer than simply a photo. The quality is astonishing for the money. The A-Bomb is a LOT more aggressive sounding than the Nailbomb. I was happy to keep the HFS in mine for a year before I eventually put Bare Knuckles in it and the Nailbomb was so different to the HFS that I knew very quickly it was never going to work for me whereas the Holydiver, especially with an overdrive, gave me everything the HFS did and more.

That's really a different view, but you might be right. I didn't keep my HFS in for long, and it was quite some time ago I placed the NBs in it.

I do love both the NB and the HD though, but my favorite is the HD!

Agree about the quality, the SEs are great guitars.