Archtop pickups?

[matonanjin]

what are the thoughts on archtop pickups? How are they different from other humbucker type PRS pickups? How would they sound differently than the humbuckers in my Paul's? I'm looking at a Hollowbody I with them. Should I ever learn to play it would be used for blues & blues/rock.

 

[garrett]

They were an underwound version of the original McCarty pickups (which were a somewhat overwound PAF type). They're very low resistance and low output for humbuckers. Surprisingly though, they can sound a bit wooly especially in the neck position. They're great for a fat and warm jazz or blues tone, but they're not the best for rock with gain.

Compared to the Paul's pickups, it's night and day. To me, those narrow 408 pups are powerful, on the brighter side, with fantastic clarity. They can do anything, whereas I feel like the Archtop pups are limited.

 

[Rider1260]

I am pretty new to the Archtop pickups in my HBII but I liked them enough at first play to to try and get it from the owner at the time.
I find them a GREAT fit for this guitar they they sound great with gain or clean to me.
To me the 408s have a flatter overall EQ curve ( balanced might also fit ) the Archtops like like most buckers have some peaks and valleys that give them there sound.
The 408 pickups are hard to compare with other humbucker for me they have a different ( wonderful ) feel and attack and EQ , I love them especially when searching for a new tone or tweaking a new amp and they are my #1 for first jams

 

[walrus]

They sound great in my Hollowbody Spruce, for jazz and rock. With the gain up they rock, and the guitar does not feed back like I thought it would. i think they are a perfect fit for a hollowbody guitar.

 

[bodia]

I didn't care for them, at first. I was going to throw some 57/08s in my HB, but then figured I should tinker first. After that, they grew on me. I decided they were keepers for that guitar. Now Rider1260 has it, and he likes them too (the trade we did worked out great for both of us!). When I get around to finding another HB, I'd leave the Archtops in it.

 

[dogrocketp]

Remember it's always different strokes for different folks, I believe you should live with the pickups for a month or 2, and tune them if you're not getting the sound you want. I think it makes sense to exhaust all the adjustment possibilities before you replace them.

 

[shinksma]

I knew there was another thread on these pickups recently:

https://forums.prsguitars.com/threads/archtop-pickups-vs-57-08.28129/

Anyway, as stated there, I have Archtop pups in my HB Spruce, and they are completely the right pups for that guitar, IMHO. Anything with more gain would be taking away the uniqueness of that wood and hollowness. I don't preceive any wooliness like garrett mentions, but maybe it is there and I just like it. Hmm, now I need to go play and listen.

I have 53/10s in my just-acquired JA-15 (bigger bodied HB), and those work very well too. They are less gainy/aggressive than 57/08s, but a bit more than the Archtops, I think.

But the 57/08s sound great in my P24. And the 58/15s sound great in my P245 SH.

Anyway, I think the Archtops would sounds really good in a HB I. And if you don't like them (after giving them a while), you can get them swapped out for something you do prefer.

 

[matonanjin]

I didn't care for them, at first. I was going to throw some 57/08s in my HB, but then figured I should tinker first. After that, they grew on me. I decided they were keepers for that guitar. Now Rider1260 has it, and he likes them too (the trade we did worked out great for both of us!). When I get around to finding another HB, I'd leave the Archtops in it.

Remember it's always different strokes for different folks, I believe you should live with the pickups for a month or 2, and tune them if you're not getting the sound you want. I think it makes sense to exhaust all the adjustment possibilities before you replace them.

Guys, these are great points and I need to keep this in mind. A year or two ago I bought a Gibson 325 with mini-humbuckers. I love playing it but for the longest time I just thought it sounded too "thin". but at some point, and I don't know what changed, I all of a sudden loved it. The tone grew on me? I don't know. But now it is a toss up between grabbing it and my PRS Paul's.

I'm probably going to go ahead on the HB I.

Garrett, Rider1260, walrus, bodia, dogrocketp, and shinksma thank you for the advice.