Queen tones from semi-hollow (long post alert!)

[metale]

Hi guys.

I'm contemplating getting another BKP, in this case for the bridge of my semi-hollow. This is the guitar:



I want to take out the gibson dirty fingers pickup and put something on that both sounds and looks better. I'm after some Brian May inspired tones.
I know identical tones to the red special aren't possible because the pickup disposition is alot diferent and body wood is miles apart (laminated maple on this one, it's bright and snappy). Both guitars are semi-hollows though.

For reference, tones I like, and would like to get on the ball park of:

Who Wants to Live Forever: http://youtu.be/_Jtpf8N5IDE?t=2m (solo 2:00 to 2:41)

The Show Must Go On: http://youtu.be/lSkx34M3XtY?t=2m27s (solo 2:27 to 2:47)

Mother Love: http://youtu.be/WLDsd6lUiR8?t=1m27s (1:27 to 1:50 only; the rest of the guitar work in this song is a Parker Fly)

Princes of the Universe: http://youtu.be/VEJ8lpCQbyw (whole song, this is the most distorted I need it to go)

So I need a low to meddium output pickup that adds some body into the guitar, that is sweet and fluid-sounding, that cleans up well with the volume knob BUT I don't need pure cleans. My ideia of cleans for playing Queen is backing off the volume knob and picking lighter.


I've been considering this pickups, and have had these doubts:

Stormy Monday - too soft? not enough mids?

The Mule - not enough single coil sounding? (BM's pickups give him a delicate balance between humbucker richness and single coil attack and string separation)

Riff Raff - too bright for an already bright guitar?

VHII - description and tone chart look good... haven't thought about it until writing this post.

Black Dog - too much mids?

Abraxas - not sure it's worth considering in this case instead of a Mule with boost pedals.

Mississipi Queen - On my LP (neck) it has more punch than the bridge Black Dog. I'm afraid the punch/snap/attack is too much and the tone will become too 'hard'...


I will want a covered pickup unless there is a big tone disadvantage. If the pickup sounds good split or in parallel (I don't usually do those on the bridge position) I will add a push-pull to the volume pot.

Looking forward to your thoughts. Thanks!

[metale]

Will have to post one more, sorry - live tone without overdubs or layering:

http://youtu.be/ktZVZSFSILk

[PhilKing]

I can get the tone on let me entertain you with my mules.  I wouldn't dismiss them from your choices so easily.  They are very versitile. Brian May is using fat single coil pickups so the MQ wouldn't be too far off either.

[metale]

I can get the tone on let me entertain you with my mules.  I wouldn't dismiss them from your choices so easily.  They are very versitile. Brian May is using fat single coil pickups so the MQ wouldn't be too far off either.

I haven't dismissed any of the pickups I mentioned on my post, all of them are on the table :)

The tricky part is that while Brian's guitar has (fat) single coils, he almost never used one of them alone. His main tones were always 2 of them combined in series as a humbucker.

[gwEm]

You'll certainly need lower output pickups and a treble booster for that sort of tone. Since anything will be an approximation anyway, I think a Riff Raff would be fun.

[Telerocker]

I can get the tone on let me entertain you with my mules.  I wouldn't dismiss them from your choices so easily.  They are very versitile. Brian May is using fat single coil pickups so the MQ wouldn't be too far off either.

I support that.

[metale]

I spent some time with the guitar today. With the gibson pickup, the guitar is dry sounding and tracks extremely fast, especially for a hollow-body. The bass is tooooo tight. The pickup is perfect for pop-punk (go figure), which is not what I want from the guitar. It will find home on one of my squiers.

Acustically, the guitar sustains well but is indeed bright sounding. Because of this, and because I already have it on another guitar, I've rulled out the Riff Raff.

Also the SM because it's too soft (would love it on a LP), and the BD because I also have it on another guitar and it's a bit modern sounding for this application IMO.

For the time being, it's down to between the Mule, the VHII and the Mississippi Queen. And a treble booster.

[Dave Sloven]

What is it that appeals to you about the VHII?  I am thinking this is the one I would choose out of the three, if it were for me.

[Telerocker]

Considering the bright tone of your guitar, you might want to look at a Abraxas-b-/Mule-n combo. The Abraxas will tame the highs and provide some extra mids without loosing chime. The Mule-neck..., well to me this is one of the best neck-PAF's ever. Open, full, balanced, complex, with enough snap.

[metale]

What is it that appeals to you about the VHII?  I am thinking this is the one I would choose out of the three, if it were for me.

The description of it on the product page caught my attention. The assymetrical winding seems to give it a bit of the single coils' string separation and clarity, and the fact that it splits well is a plus. Also, the sound samples I heard of it sounded very good to me. I worry a bit that it could be too hot... but it can't be worse that the 16K ceramic humbucker that is in there now :)


 

Considering the bright tone of your guitar, you might want to look at a Abraxas-b-/Mule-n combo. The Abraxas will tame the highs and provide some extra mids without loosing chime. The Mule-neck..., well to me this is one of the best neck-PAF's ever. Open, full, balanced, complex, with enough snap.

No neck pickup, this is a single pickup guitar. The Abraxas seems to be quite hot at 14k, I would prefer something with lower output. I'm still considering the bridge Mule though.

[Dave Sloven]

The VHII also has a reputation for being one of the less finicky BKPs with regard to what guitar you put it in, which means that it is more likely to sound like the audio clip.

I'm not sure about the output on the VHII.  What I would think is that you are looking for something open (rather than compressed) sounding, and I think it might fit the bill there.  The two things that people tend to dislike in hot pickups are (1) a compressed sound (BKPs in general don't suffer from this much at all) and (2) the pickup overdriving the amp on clean.  With the latter issue I don't think the VHII is hot enough to really cause that problem, and you could overcome it by rolling the volume knob down to 8 or 9 if you did get it.  A '50s wired harness would help.  On choosing between the Mule and the VHII I would probably focus on the sound you want, rather than the two considerations mentioned just now. I don't think the VHII is hot enough for these to really be factors.

[metale]

Agent Orange, would you also throw the Mississippi Queen in the mix, or do you also think I would be ok with one of these two + treble booster (which boosts high mids, not treble)?

[Dave Sloven]

I would seriously consider a pair of Mississippi Queens for your application, but it is very different from the humbuckers and might be like comparing apples and oranges.  Both can taste great, but different tastes.

I really like clips for the VHII, especially the parts where you can hear the neck pickup.  I don't like many neck pickups for distorted sounds (as opposed to cleans), but I really like the VHII, Emerald, and Nailbomb necks in the clips.

[metale]

I would seriously consider a pair of Mississippi Queens for your application (...)

Can't fit a pair on the guitar, this is a single pickup guitar ;)

[Dave Sloven]

Oh, okay.  Well the VHI neck pickup is really nice anyway, LOL.

One of my guitars only has one pickup, a Stockholm P-90.  That would be way too hot for your needs but do keep in mind the other P-90s like the MQ, but I tend to think a VHII will give you enough power and still clean up okay for what you want.