Suhr - change pickups or not?

[spirit7]

Hi all,

Recently picked up a Suhr Guthrie - incredible instrument.

Now, it comes with Suhr SSVs. In my other guitars I'm a pretty die-hard BKP enthusiast - I don't think any other pickup comes close in the clarity, girth or punch department. My PRS's are equipped with Nailbombs and sound massive.

However, I do really like the lower-output SSV bridge through the Herbert and Mark - it's really percussive, but doesn't have that massive punch that I get through the PRS's with the Nailbombs. It's not necessarily WORSE though, just very different.

I'm getting tempted to at least try replacing the SSVs with BKP Cold Sweats or Aftermaths. I just wonder whether the Suhr's wood composition and construction (bolt-on vs neck-thru, mahogany body/neck with pau ferro board) is giving it the "percussiveness" over the PRS, rather than the pickups. Do you think it's possible to get the best of both worlds by putting in BKPs - the massiveness, but with the tight percussiveness as well?

I'm also aware that re-wiring the blower switch, push-pull etc might be a gigantic pain...

Cheers,

-C

 

[Beret]

I own a Suhr Custom Modern with the same specs as the Guthrie except for I have Aldriches (I originally had SSV/SSH+ just like the Guthrie model) in mine. The percussive-ness is coming from the bolt-on. That percussive-ness is at the cost of massive-ness. You could put the same pickups in it you have in your PRS and it'll be louder and hotter than it is now but it won't be as massive as the PRS. That being said, it will always be clearer and more percussive because of the bolt-on and pau ferro. You get that articulation and "snap" from the bolt-on but that same property takes away from the "massive" a bit.

I've explored this extensively.

~B

 

[thegame]

Beret is right. The pickups can only "pick up" what is being generated by the guitar itself. Different woods, construction methods (bolt on, set neck, neck through), hardware all contribute to a guitar's resonance. The pickups "hear" this resonance (the way the string vibrates) then filter it their own way.

In other words, the guitar itself is the voice, the pickups are the microphone. Sure, different mics sound different but its secondary to the voice itself.

 

[spirit7]

I own a Suhr Custom Modern with the same specs as the Guthrie except for I have Aldriches (I originally had SSV/SSH+ just like the Guthrie model) in mine. The percussive-ness is coming from the bolt-on. That percussive-ness is at the cost of massive-ness. You could put the same pickups in it you have in your PRS and it'll be louder and hotter than it is now but it won't be as massive as the PRS. That being said, it will always be clearer and more percussive because of the bolt-on and pau ferro. You get that articulation and "snap" from the bolt-on but that same property takes away from the "massive" a bit.

I've explored this extensively.

~B

Thanks - I figured the same thing. Looks like I'll explore putting some BKPs in, then. Question is, which ones?! I'm thinking Aftermath bridge and some kind of vintage neck...maybe an Emerald or a Riff Raff.

-C