HC2 pickup?

[northern1]

I have been using H2+'s for the most part, has anyone tried the new HC2 bridge chrome covered pickup, any feedback would be great.

[pipedwho]

I have an MMH Hollow Cobra S that sounds great with both of these pickups. The H2+ is IMO a better pickup for heavy rock in that guitar, and the HC2 does Classic rock and blues a little better than the H2+.

Both have very nice cleans, but the HC2 also has some of that 'alnico chime' going on and a more traditional mid flavour, whereas the H2+ is just a very clear and faithful reproduction of the guitar's raw tone.

The H2+ has more bass than the HC2, which is great for chunking power chords. The HC2 has a traditional honkier vintage sound (with more sparkle than your average PAF) that lets it cut a bit more in a mix where the H2+'s bassiness might be a little too overbearing in a classic rock setting. The HC2 is also a slightly brighter pickup than the H2+, and I tended to run the tone rolled off slightly further with the HC2 than I did when using the H2+.

The HC2 also does a more convincing 'quack' when paired with the neck (or middle) pickup (M1/M1/Hxx in this guitar) than the H2+. (I haven't split either of these pickups yet, so I can't comment on that aspect. But, they both sound great with the 'kickback' switch engaged.)

[grapeshot]

I played a Drop Top with an HC2 and it sounded great!

[malabarmusic]

I have an MMH Hollow Cobra S that sounds great with both of these pickups. The H2+ is IMO a better pickup for heavy rock in that guitar, and the HC2 does Classic rock and blues a little better than the H2+.

Both have very nice cleans, but the HC2 also has some of that 'alnico chime' going on and a more traditional mid flavour, whereas the H2+ is just a very clear and faithful reproduction of the guitar's raw tone.

The H2+ has more bass than the HC2, which is great for chunking power chords. The HC2 has a traditional honkier vintage sound (with more sparkle than your average PAF) that lets it cut a bit more in a mix where the H2+'s bassiness might be a little too overbearing in a classic rock setting. The HC2 is also a slightly brighter pickup than the H2+, and I tended to run the tone rolled off slightly further with the HC2 than I did when using the H2+.

The HC2 also does a more convincing 'quack' when paired with the neck (or middle) pickup (M1/M1/Hxx in this guitar) than the H2+. (I haven't split either of these pickups yet, so I can't comment on that aspect. But, they both sound great with the 'kickback' switch engaged.)On my Atom I swapped out an H2+ for an HF2 (basically the HC2 without the cover), and I couldn't describe the differences any better than the above post.

Curiosity leads me to ask about the tonal differences between the HO2 and the HF2 (or HC2). My only HO2 experience was on an ash-body HDTC and I thought it sounded excellent.

- DB

[pipedwho]

Curiosity leads me to ask about the tonal differences between the HO2 and the HF2 (or HC2). My only HO2 experience was on an ash-body HDTC and I thought it sounded excellent.

The HO2 and the HC2(HF2) have a very similar flavour. The main difference I found was the top end of the HC2 sparkles more and the overall frequency response is a little less 'choked' in the HC2.

The HO2 is a great sounding pickup and probably more akin to the narrow band PAFs of yore. The HC2 is IMO sort of 'backwards compatible' and can be made to sound more HOish by rolling off the highs via a combo of amp EQ and the guitar's tone control. But the mid hump is also in a slightly different location between the two pickups. I can't remember exactly, but I felt the HO2 had a slightly lower frequency mid emphasis than did HC2. The mid hump also felt a little more emphasised on the HO2 due to the slightly narrower band of the pickup.