New pickup to replace a Riff Raff

[markr76]

Hello then,

I talked to Ben at BKP today about a bridge pup to replace the riff raff that is there at the moment. The guitar is a PRS satin finish single cut which originally had the prs #6 pups in which i found a little muddy in the low end. I replaced them with a mule in the neck and the riff raff. Ive had the pups in there since last october so they have had a good test.

I love the mule in the neck and that is there to stay but i found the riff raff a little lacking in the low end for my taste. The guitar is all mahogany so it is quite dark sounding. So the idea was that the riff raff would open the top up a bit and get rid of the flabby bass. Also the stock pups had a nasal quality to the top end that i can't stand. I really do like the riff raff, i love the top end and the clarity it has added to the guitar, but i wish it had more punch. I reckon it would be perfect in a Les Paul as they are much chunkier sounding than the prs. Not that my prs is thin sounding, my les paul is a beast!

Well the pup we talked about trying was the emerald as it has a good top end but a bit more body/punch than the riff raff. Was wondering if anyone had any other suggestions.

I mainly play classic and heavy rock. Grunge and i like to dip into the more bluesy stuff too. So i would like a pup that cleans up nicely.

Cheers

[Dave Sloven]

If you want more bottom end you should consider the Cold Sweat bridge.

I would ask Ben about it.  It is not an especially vintage sounding pickup - it has more of an early '80s sound - but it is very versatile and retains the top end clarity you are wanting, avoids muddy mids, and has a good solid bottom end that the Emerald lacks with an excellent clean sound that you won't believe is from a ceramic pickup.  I'd say that the clean sound is as good as or better than the clean sound of my alnico Nailbomb.

[metale]

I would even consider a Mississippi Queen. I find it too punchy in the neck to balance with lower output bridge pickups, but since it's going in the bridge it will work.

[ericsabbath]

did you try to set the pickup VERY close to strings?
it helps a lot with the low end
raising the strings further from the scale also helps a lot

if that doesn't solve your problem, you could try the vhII
sounds quite similar, but it has a bassier and more aggressive response

[markr76]

Tried the pups at different heights, also I don't play with my action too low as I like to be able to get under the string. I have considered the vhii thought it might work well for that guitar.

When I adjusted the riff raff as high as it could go to the strings it just seemed to get a lot louder. Didn't really add more bass.

I do really like the riff raff but just want the same type of tone just a bit fatter.

[Philly Q]

I've had a couple of those satin finished mahogany PRS models (a Singlecut and a Standard 22).  I read reviews which claimed the thin satin finish helped the guitars "breathe" and feel more resonant, but I actually found both of mine were quite muffled and woolly-sounding.

I ended up selling both those guitars, but I thought a slightly hotter, relatively tight pickup with a decent amount of bass might've improved things.  I was going to try Cold Sweats, but I reckon your Emerald idea could work too - and would be a bit closer to the vintage tone of the Riff Raff.  I'n not sure if the Emerald necessarily has "more" bass than the Riff Raff, but I think the extra bit of power would help.

[ericsabbath]

I read reviews which claimed the thin satin finish helped the guitars "breathe" and feel more resonant, but I actually found both of mine were quite muffled and woolly-sounding.

well, it does help with the resonance, but a maple capped equivalent with thick finish will still sound way more open

[Philly Q]

I read reviews which claimed the thin satin finish helped the guitars "breathe" and feel more resonant, but I actually found both of mine were quite muffled and woolly-sounding.

well, it does help with the resonance, but a maple capped equivalent with thick finish will still sound way more open

Yeah, I can see the improved-resonance thing in theory, but maybe the ones I had just weren't great examples, they didn't feel resonant. 

My McCarty (maple-topped) does indeed sound more open, but it's also considerably more resonant.  And come to think of it, so was the (gloss finished) McCarty Korina I had.

[markr76]

My satin single cut only sounded a bit wooly if the gain was ramped up. It has a lovely woody tone, more so since the BKP's were installed.  It was the loss of body with the riff raff thats the problem. The mule in the neck sounds sweet as! The guitar is very resonant when played acoustic, quite dark though with a big midrange punch. Not as much punch as my les paul, but enough.

I ordered the emerald today, I mentioned the other pups mentioned in this thread to him and he said the cold sweat might be too modern sounding for my taste. Asked about the vhii and the rebel yell as these were some others i was considering.

I chose the emerald on Bens recommendation, as he said it is very similar to the riff raff but with more balls! Also said if installed it carefully and didn't like it i could send it back and try one of the others mentioned. Gonna be a couple of weeks til i get it though as they are really busy with orders.

[ericsabbath]

I read reviews which claimed the thin satin finish helped the guitars "breathe" and feel more resonant, but I actually found both of mine were quite muffled and woolly-sounding.

well, it does help with the resonance, but a maple capped equivalent with thick finish will still sound way more open

Yeah, I can see the improved-resonance thing in theory, but maybe the ones I had just weren't great examples, they didn't feel resonant. 

My McCarty (maple-topped) does indeed sound more open, but it's also considerably more resonant.  And come to think of it, so was the (gloss finished) McCarty Korina I had.

never played all mahogany or satin finish PRS models, but those cheap gibson faded and vintage mahogany models are considerably more resonant than their painted equivalents
I think I had 4 faded sgs and a couple vintage mahogany les paul studios
played a 2005 les paul standard faded (maple capped, non chambered)  alongside my long gone 1981 les paul standard (maple neck) and the faded one was FAR more resonant than the norlin era one, but I guess that isn't a fair comparison, as they used different woods back then

[mtpatty]

I'd try the Emerald Bridge- YMMV

[Dave Sloven]

I read reviews which claimed the thin satin finish helped the guitars "breathe" and feel more resonant, but I actually found both of mine were quite muffled and woolly-sounding.

well, it does help with the resonance, but a maple capped equivalent with thick finish will still sound way more open

Yeah, I can see the improved-resonance thing in theory, but maybe the ones I had just weren't great examples, they didn't feel resonant. 

My McCarty (maple-topped) does indeed sound more open, but it's also considerably more resonant.  And come to think of it, so was the (gloss finished) McCarty Korina I had.

never played all mahogany or satin finish PRS models, but those cheap gibson faded and vintage mahogany models are considerably more resonant than their painted equivalents
I think I had 4 faded sgs and a couple vintage mahogany les paul studios
played a 2005 les paul standard faded (maple capped, non chambered)  alongside my long gone 1981 les paul standard (maple neck) and the faded one was FAR more resonant than the norlin era one, but I guess that isn't a fair comparison, as they used different woods back then

That's interesting.  My SG Standard with the thick nitro cherry finish is quite resonant, but my SG Junior with the thin satin coral pink finish is the most resonant solid body guitar I've ever heard.