Pickups…

andyp13

andyp13

Power User
Hi all, I’m having a guitar made for me, very similar to a PRS with a trem etc… I need to choose some pickups which I also want to be tapped.
Looking for recommendations. I love the TCI pickups in the PRS ME-V but as these are not available to purchase I’m a bit stuck. I hate bright/trebly pickups, I’m wanting a darker sound…the bridge will be used for the solo setting so something nice and powerful would be good, the neck pickup is what I usually have tapped for rhythm keeping it from not getting too thick and muddy.
 
What kind of music are you playing? Also, what can you tell us about the guitar, like bolt-on/set/thru-neck, what kind of woods, stuff like that?
 
Churchhill said:
What kind of music are you playing? Also, what can you tell us about the guitar, like bolt-on/set/thru-neck, what kind of woods, stuff like that?
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It will be a glued in neck, body black limba, mahogany flame top. Mahogany neck with rosewood board. Will be a 22 fret.
Music I play is everything from Soul to Steely day.
Here’s my playing style, using my old PRS 24fret - preference 22’s

 
andyp13 said:
Wish I could but no TCi available which is why I’m looking for an alternative
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I had a PRS SE with TCI pickups. They split very well, especially the neck. I didn’t bond with it though and sold it. The thing is that they did what some call a partial split, with a resistor in series between the coil and ground. You could do that to any humbucker. You can even use resistors to balance pickups. Fralin has an article on the subject. There’s plenty of info on the net and opinions of what values to use. The TCI thing sounds pretty slick, but the most coveted pickups were the originals and they were low tech and somehow managed to sound great. There are plenty of nice pickups out there. Duncan has their deal where you can exchange within a certain time frame if you don’t love the pickup you bought. It’ll cost you shipping but it’s nice to know you can back out and try something else without buying another pickup.
 
as skolacki mentioned above with regards to the partial split here's a link:

https://www.fralinpickups.com/2021/01/27/5-powerful-ways-to-coil-split-your-humbucker/

there are also things you can try to 'darken' pickups , be it with 250k/300k pots or things like that, and there are also bass roll off sorts of mods you can in terms of electronics or something like the yamaha dry switch

https://www.premierguitar.com/mod-garage-inside-yamahas-dry-switch

in terms of pickups, i guess something in the hot PAF might do well (e.g Bare Knuckle Rebel Yell, Emerald, or maybe pickups from Rio Grande (BBQ etc..) Suhr Doug Aldrich pickups perhaps, a lot of options out there in any case
 
skolacki said:
I had a PRS SE with TCI pickups. They split very well, especially the neck. I didn’t bond with it though and sold it. The thing is that they did what some call a partial split, with a resistor in series between the coil and ground. You could do that to any humbucker. You can even use resistors to balance pickups. Fralin has an article on the subject. There’s plenty of info on the net and opinions of what values to use.
Click to expand...

Peavey used to use a capacitor instead of a resistor, which also works well....
 
Based on your video, I've got a couple of PRS including two that are black limba. One has a BKP Crawler set and the other has a BKP Rebel Yell set. @Paul Bradshaw mentioned the Rebel Yell, which is a great choice, but I think I'd lean more toward the Crawler. It's not overly bright and it cleans up really nicely, more vintage than modern, but it was the first thing I thought of when I watched your video.

From Duncan, I'd look at the Custom Custom. It might be a little hotter than you want, but it's not overly bright and is similarly voiced. Maybe the Alnico Pro II (or Slash) for a lower output option.

Others have had some great suggestions, too, like using 250k pots or partial splits. Fralin, Suhr, and many others make some great pickups similar to what you're looking for. Being in the UK, though, BKP or maybe Monty's (I have no experience with them), might be an easier option.
 
I've been quite happy with the tapped sound of Tom Anderson humbuckers, they don't sound too thin (although at times the full HB can get almost too thick). But I've been satisfied with them in my custom made PRS style (semi hollow) single cut guitar. I don't remember exactly which pickups they are, though. H1 or H2 maybe.
 
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