Lewguitar
Old Know It All
The PRS Dragon 1 set and 57/08 set are still my all time favorites. And I'm a long time fan of the Duncan Antiquitys.
But I'd never heard Bare Knuckle pickups before. Nor Wolfetone Marshallheads or Chubtone Single Coils.
But I'd never heard Bare Knuckle pickups before. Nor Wolfetone Marshallheads or Chubtone Single Coils.
- Bare Knuckle Abraxas in '00 CE22. These have alnico 4 magnets. I didn't try 57/08's in this guitar, but the Abraxas sound better to me than any other set I did try in it. A little hotter and more modern than a 57/08 set but I can use these Abraxas pickups to play any style I’m comfortable with playing. A little more chime from the neck pickup than the 57/08's but the bridge pickup get’s a nice vocal tone with overdrive and gets killer Jeff Beck style whammy bar sounds.
- Bare Knuckle Nantucket P90's. I have these in my PRS SE Soapbar. They're not humcancelling but they're very quiet for a single coil and they get a great sound. An old Gibson P90 gets a little sassier snarl, but the BKP's don't get muddy when I turn the volume down and the old Gibsons do. The Nantuckets are ballsy with a deep twang, and they're great for slide and blues.
- Duncan Antiquity in Bernie Marsden. Antiquitys are a lower wind PAF than 57/08’s. There's more space or breath in the note and they're a nice change of pace when you want a different PAF sound that’s more open and a little brighter and clearer than the 57/08. MEDIA=imgur]rhjJgJm[/MEDIA]
- Wolfetone Marshallheads in Bernie Marsden. I prefer the alnico 2 Marshallheads but Wolfe prefers alnico 5 and that's what he shipped me. I put them in a PRS Bernie Marsden but the treble was too sizzley and I wasn't hearing the thick honk in the mids that I like. So I replaced the polished A5 magnets with roughcast alnico 2 and WHAT a transformation! Strong, thick PAF tone with crunch on top. These are not a heavy metal pickup. They're a strong PAF like the 57/08's and in terms of tone they're between the Antiquitys more open and airy voice and the deeper, thicker, denser midrange voice of the 57/08's. The treble is more textured and a little grainy with the Marshallheads, but in a crunchy Marshall sort of way. They make me want to put on the Eric Clapton/John Mayall Beano CD and jam with the Bluesbreakers. MEDIA=imgur]0Hpxfiw[/MEDIA]
- Chubtone '61 and El Gordo in my SE Silver Skys. The stock pickups in the SE Silver Sky are very good, but I like the pickups in the Core Silver Sky better. Duncan Antiquity Surfers got me very close but the SE SS has a flatter fingerboard radius than the Surfers raised polepieces. Then I discovered Chubtone pickups. I put a set of the 61's and a set of the El Gordos in my two SE Silver Skys and they're great for everything: Mark Knopfler tones, Hendrix tones, SRV tones...The Chubtone 61's have three identical pickups like the Silver Sky so the bridge pickup is the same pickup as the neck pickup. The El Gordos are slightly overwound compared to the 61's and have a hotter bridge pickup.
Last edited: