Manhattan or Mississippi Queen PUs for ES-330/335 styled guitar?

[gracehoper]

Hi guys, first time poster here.

I've got this Japanese Gibson copy from the 70s that I quite like and have been wanting to upgrade for a while. The current pickups sound a little flat and don't much body to them. The guitar looks like a 335 (got humbuckers) but is "full hollowbody" like a 330 (is "center block" the right term in English? Well, it doesn't have one).

So I'm thinking about throwing some humbucker sized P90s in there to make it as close to a vintage 330 as possible. Only problem is that I can't figure out if it should be the Manhattans or the Mississippi Queens.

I play a variety of musical styles but mostly folk and indie rock.

What would you guys suggest for getting as close to a nice vintage sounding ES-330 as possible?


Cheers, T.H. from Copenhagen

[Telerocker]

The alnico III Manhattans have a balanced tonespectrum and are superb for clean, detailed sounds. 
The alnico V Mississippi Queens have dominant mids and ooze blues, bluesrock and rock.
If you're playing jazz, funk and blues the Manhattans are the first choice. I think they'll fit your guitar very well.
For rockapplications I would pick the MQ's.

[gracehoper]

Hey, thanks for the reply.

I know that conventional wisdom dictates that I should go for the MQs since I play more rock than jazz. The reason that I'm also leaning towards the Manhattans is that I'm simply thinking about what the best sound for the guitar - or actually what would get it closest to an old 330 sound. I usually grab a solid body when I want to crank the drive anyways, so it doesn't have to be all rockin and rollin.

From the clips on the website it sounds like the Manhattans are a little rounder and fuller, where the MQs are more in your face. But I can't really tell how the Manhattans would respond to some light drive.
As mentioned my guitar could do with a somewhat fuller sound, but if the Manhattans turns the low end to mush when driven then obviously the MQs would be a better choice for me. I dunno.

[Telerocker]

The Manhattans can handle gain, but I don't know how much and when things would get muddy in your guitar.
I believe Feline (our honorable masterbuilder- Feline Guitars) has them in one of his guitars. Maybe he can chime in.
Further you can mail/call the BKP-team for their opinion, since they know their pickups best.
Personally I would go MQ's here, but I must admit the Manhattans sound glorious clean and with a little breakup.

[FELINEGUITARS]

I would chance a mix of MQ in bridge and Manhattan in the neck
Then you would have something raunchy for rocking out and a more restrained neck pickup which will be good for jazz too
The Manhattan works fine with gain on it - the restrained top end just means it's almost as if you have the tone control notched back a hair, but the sound is smooth and flutey.

A pair of Manhattans will yield a nice well mannered guitar that nobody would object to , but you might just prefer the chance to rock out some more.