Crawler vs Nailbomb vs Holydiver for PRS Custom 24

[skeeter]

Hi, I recently got a PRS Custom 24 - though a little unusual as it has a maple neck and ebony board. It definitely gives a cool different character from other PRS I've own, definitely a lot brighter.

It also came with 57/08s which are great pickups, but I generally think better suited for thicker body, mahogany, and/or short scale for more vintage tones.

I want this guitar to have more power and use it in my current hard rock band.  I've considered just upgrading to the 59/09s, but fear that it would only be a slight change.  Outside of BKP, Dimarzio Air Zone/Norton are appealing as I like that family of pickup from my EBMM Axis.

Looking at BKPs, I want something that will thicken up mids, lows, and low-mids and sweeten the top end somewhat.   So the three I've been considering are the Alnico NB, Crawlers and HDs. 

Just curious what you all think of these different pickups for this application.  I don't want to lose too much of the definition from the 57/08 PAF type tone, but do want a pretty powerful pickup. 

Besides hard rock, I play just about everything - blues, jazz, fusion, but not black metal or djent or anything like that - metal to me stops at 80s thrash/modern Petrucci.  I don't need this guitar to do everything, but versatility is always a plus - which has me considering the Crawler the strongest. 

Thanks for any input!

[seancorker]

Hi, I recently got a PRS Custom 24 - though a little unusual as it has a maple neck and ebony board. It definitely gives a cool different character from other PRS I've own, definitely a lot brighter.

It also came with 57/08s which are great pickups, but I generally think better suited for thicker body, mahogany, and/or short scale for more vintage tones.

I want this guitar to have more power and use it in my current hard rock band.  I've considered just upgrading to the 59/09s, but fear that it would only be a slight change.  Outside of BKP, Dimarzio Air Zone/Norton are appealing as I like that family of pickup from my EBMM Axis.

Looking at BKPs, I want something that will thicken up mids, lows, and low-mids and sweeten the top end somewhat.   So the three I've been considering are the Alnico NB, Crawlers and HDs. 

Just curious what you all think of these different pickups for this application.  I don't want to lose too much of the definition from the 57/08 PAF type tone, but do want a pretty powerful pickup. 

Besides hard rock, I play just about everything - blues, jazz, fusion, but not black metal or djent or anything like that - metal to me stops at 80s thrash/modern Petrucci.  I don't need this guitar to do everything, but versatility is always a plus - which has me considering the Crawler the strongest. 

Thanks for any input!

I've never used the nailbomb but from your description, the Crawler would be just the ticket. It's fat, muscular and rounded - great for fusion and classic rock. It cleans up and splits well for some great funk cleans as well. In my experience it doesn't do modern metal too well anyway.

[darrenw5094]

Am i the only member to hear honky mids with the PRS CU24?

I would go with a scooped set like the Cold Sweat for that, but obviously that won't fatten anything up.

[Duck2587]

Crawler or holy diver. Both are alnico 5 magnets but very different IMO. To me, the crawler is like a 80s shred one trick pony fat pick up. I'm sure it can do more but it excelled in that area for me. The holy diver can do the same, a little less fat, with a tiny bit more tightness but a lot more versatile. I used to hate on the holy diver until a week ago. It was in my friends charvel and it sounded awesome. I would personally choose the holy diver for the bridge. 

[Telerocker]

If you use the bridgepickup for blues, jazz and fusion too, I would go Crawler. It produces great thick PAF-ish tones. With a little breakup from the amp you can find a lot of bluessounds. The Crawler also has a very nice clean palet for jazzy stuff.

[skeeter]

If you use the bridgepickup for blues, jazz and fusion too, I would go Crawler. It produces great thick PAF-ish tones. With a little breakup from the amp you can find a lot of bluessounds. The Crawler also has a very nice clean palet for jazzy stuff.

I think that sounds just about perfect, as long as it has the power to get to VH, Satriani hard rock territory.  Which as it's described, sounds like it's plenty hot for that type of music too.  Also, I didn't mention before, but I play through a Bogner XTC, so I have plenty of pre-amp gain available.  And for jazz/blues I have dumble-style amp. 

I like the idea of the AIV neck for jazz, blues and nice Slash-type vocal tones.  It sounds like it's calibrated so it won't be an unbalanced drop off when switching from the bridge?  The splits in positions 4 and 2 on the newer CU24 5-way really sound good with rich clean pickups too - and the neck split seems like it would be great with those more PAF type characteristics.

The Holydiver sounds good too, and it seems quite popular on these boards.  Something about it screams those old fizzy Super Distortion pickups that I dislike.  But obviously it's much better and more than that.  As I understand, the point of the higher gain BKPs is to retain clarity and prevent the mud and fizziness associated with hot pickups. 

But the versatility and fatness of the Crawlers sound like what I really want. I'm not sure if there's anything about the HDs that would necessarily be better/add something that I'm looking for.   I play a lot of lead and really like FAT single notes that stay full, sustain and really sing all the way up the neck.  So I will probably go ahead and order a set of Crawlers.

Thanks everyone!

[Sarkasis]

Thought I'd mention the Abraxas, if you wanted something in the same ballpark that retained a little more PAF character and had a different balance. Not as focused as the Crawler, it still has some compression going for it, the highs can wail if you push it and it has just enough thickness in the mids.

[Telerocker]

If you use the bridgepickup for blues, jazz and fusion too, I would go Crawler. It produces great thick PAF-ish tones. With a little breakup from the amp you can find a lot of bluessounds. The Crawler also has a very nice clean palet for jazzy stuff.

I think that sounds just about perfect, as long as it has the power to get to VH, Satriani hard rock territory.  Which as it's described, sounds like it's plenty hot for that type of music too.  Also, I didn't mention before, but I play through a Bogner XTC, so I have plenty of pre-amp gain available.  And for jazz/blues I have dumble-style amp. 

I like the idea of the AIV neck for jazz, blues and nice Slash-type vocal tones.  It sounds like it's calibrated so it won't be an unbalanced drop off when switching from the bridge?  The splits in positions 4 and 2 on the newer CU24 5-way really sound good with rich clean pickups too - and the neck split seems like it would be great with those more PAF type characteristics.

The Holydiver sounds good too, and it seems quite popular on these boards.  Something about it screams those old fizzy Super Distortion pickups that I dislike.  But obviously it's much better and more than that.  As I understand, the point of the higher gain BKPs is to retain clarity and prevent the mud and fizziness associated with hot pickups. 

But the versatility and fatness of the Crawlers sound like what I really want. I'm not sure if there's anything about the HDs that would necessarily be better/add something that I'm looking for.   I play a lot of lead and really like FAT single notes that stay full, sustain and really sing all the way up the neck.  So I will probably go ahead and order a set of Crawlers.

Thanks everyone!

The Crawler-neck is one of the warmest BKP's. If you want a bit more bite, you could think about an Abraxas-neck or an Emerald-neck.

[skeeter]

Quickly reviving this thread - I'm all set to get a Crawler bridge. 

BUT am conflicted about the neck!  I like the idea of having an AIV neck for a rounder, vintage vibe that splits well.  Though I want more power - my current PAF style neck pickup is ~ 7.5k as well, and I find it underpowered for this particular application.  So I'm concerned the Crawler neck will be too similar.

So I'm thinking I could pair an Emerald neck with a Crawler bridge to get some extra power for more modern sweep picking, shred stuff.  Or should I go for an HD or even a CS neck?

The Emerald seems like the perfect solution, my main concern is the general brightness of the Emerald pickups - I'm not sure how much this applies to the neck though?.  But this guitar is VERY VERY bright, and I am really trying to tame that (hence the Crawler bridge).  The neck placement on PRS Custom 24's allows just about any neck pickup to remain articulate and focused - it doesn't need any more cut or brightness to be useful.

Anyways - thanks for any thoughts!  I guess the Abraxas neck could also be considered?

[Telerocker]

The Emerald-neck is the oppositie of the bridge. The eq-chart is all about the bridge, not the neckpickup. I think that combo will work well.

[darkbluemurder]

In my PRS Custom I have a Crawler bridge and a VHII neck - which is what I would recommend.

Cheers Stephan

[Telerocker]

In my PRS Custom I have a Crawler bridge and a VHII neck - which is what I would recommend.

Cheers Stephan

Yeah, that's a good combo too.

[skeeter]

Great, thanks for the input guys.  Not to complain, but it would be nice if there was a little EQ chart or indication on the neck pickups.  In the PRS 5-way, the neck is utilized in 4 of the positions, so it's pretty crucial.  And I like to solo on the neck very often.   

I'm thinking of going with the Crawler bridge/Emerald neck combo - sounds just about perfect for what I'm looking for.  Looking forward to have nice clean organic split sounds from the neck, while having enough power for warm, fluid leads on full bucker.   I do want to try the VHII's someday, but on a different guitar that isn't so bright.

Now the age old question - should I get an F psaced bridge? I see it go both ways all over these boards.  The current pickups measure a little over 51mm, so I can't see the harm in getting F spaced 53mm.  I'd rather it cover a wider field than a narrower one, though I realize it probably doesn't make much of a difference.

[Telerocker]

I doubt if you can tell the difference.

[darkbluemurder]

Most of the time it does not make a sonic difference but an optical one. Best move is to measure the string spacing.

Generally when in doubt (with emphasis on the last three words - best to clarify beforehand) I would

- choose the 53mm string spacing (better too wide than too narrow)
- choose short leg (in 95% of all cases it will fit into guitars that had long legged pickups) and
- choose 4 conductor wire (it's easier to ignore the separate set of wires than to change the wire on an existing pickup).

Cheers Stephan