Georges Harrison Humbucker Tone

[julio77]

Hey everyone,

I'm looking for a new bridge humbucker for my Gibson The Paul II (thin mahogany body, no maple cap, mahogany neck).
I want pure PAF vibe out of it and I'm particularly looking for Harrison's tone when he was using humbuckers in his SG or his Les Paul in the Beatles (you know ?).
I'm thinking Taxman chords, Come Together & Something solos...

I would say Stormy Monday or Riff Raff unpotted, what do you think ?

Thanks.

[AndyR]

Either will get you there. I have both, both unpotted.

My SMs are in a Les Paul Traditional
My RRs are in a Faded SG

I personally lean towards the SMs - I have a new set on order for another SG that has Gibson 57 Classics in at the moment (they'll do it, as well, a very good job of it... but they're slightly mushier than the BKPs)

Of the two:
RRs give a harder sound. Bites nicely, can jingle as well, but I personally find them harder sounding.
SMs, in comparison, are much sweeter. They can bite as well, but I find them more versatile. And I love the neck pickup.

I play all sorts of stuff - blues/rock/pop/etc - my guitar sounds probably start in the 60s and end at 1980...
Stormy Mondays can do it ALL for me (including stuff I only used to use strats for). The Riff Raffs tend to push me towards 70s rock, so I pretty much only use that guitar for that kind of thing.

Having said all that, my gut feeling is that Riff Raffs would be your best bet. They've got more punch in the mid-range. The SMs aren't lacking at all, the RRs just have more of it. The reason I like the SMs is because I like to put the aggression in with my playing (I dig in a fair bit), I have to watch what I'm doing with the RRs and play a bit softer.

I had the impression that Harrison played softer than this, so the Riff Raffs would give a player like that the bite he got.

[julio77]

Thank you for this Andy.
One thing I forgot to mention is that very specific hollowness or honky thing that I particularly seek.
I can't get it out of my bridge Mississippi Queen because it is somehow too fat, too much mids in the recipe I guess (at least in my guitar).
So now, I'm being careful with strong magnets and the mids they carry, maybe the slightly mid-scooped Alnico 2 SM are the way to go.

[AndyR]

Ah, hollow or honky... and I've also been listening to the tracks, playing along a bit (I CANNOT play like George Harrison!! That vibrato... LOL)

Yes, Stormies. You'd get away with Riff Raff, but they're somewhat "thicker" sounding - that's the "harder" I was trying to describe.

I've got the SMs in my LP set so that the middle position gives me all sorts of interesting sounds just by balancing the two volumes - if I want "hollow" or more "strat-like", that's where I go.

Just before I hit send, though, I did wonder... so I went upstairs and got my ES-335 with... Mules...

Obviously the guitar lends a bit to it as well, but I think Mules aren't a bad fit... a better bet than Riff Raffs, anyway. They're good for Taxman - they have a nice rasp where the Stormies have a sweeter top end, but I can get SMs as "rude" sounding as the Mules by fiddling with the EQ and gain.

But for the solo sounds on Come Together and Something (even though I can't play like that - I pluck too hard), it has to be SMs. I can get close with them, but not so close with Mules or RRs.

[Kiichi]

Hard one, and Andy certainly can make (and has made) better points on this than I could.

However, being no stranger to the Beatles either, I will just contribute my gut feeling: Stormy Monday.

The hollowness, vintage softness without loosing bite while still being rounded....with the amp and pedal possibilities you have the SM just seems like not only the better, but also more versatile choice to me.

Mostly just a gut what would I do thing though.

[metale]

Actually, Taxman's solo is McCartney, and if I remember correctly it's P90s :) Between the choices given, I would go Riff Raff (unpotted).

[julio77]

Thank you Metale, I was pointing out the rhythm guitar on Taxman.
Anyway, I did a little bit of research here and now I am wondering if an unpotted Alnico IV Stormy Monday may be a good contender for the bridge position.
Also, I'm thinking about pairing it in the future with a HSP90 Blue Note (I wish it could be unpotted too but the guys at BKP are not too keen on doing it... 50's P90 were not actually !)

[JCN1218]

+1 for Stormy Mondays. They're a seriously underrated set. I have them in an Epi ES-175 right now and they sound fantastic. In a Les Paul they should definitely get you the sound you're after.