PQ pickup questions

[Eric Pykala]

I'm looking at replacing the P90s in "another brand" of guitar and with all the great buzz going on around the PQ-series pickups thought they might be the answer. I love the fact you can run them parallel for a second musical sound. I was thinking a PQ1 for the neck, but am unsure as to whether I should use a PQ2 for the bridge, or go for a PQ3? My concern with the PQ3 is that I might lose some of the woodiness with both pickups on. Has anyone tried these two combinations in a mahogany/maple cap guitar like a Bulldog? Mine would be going into a chambered LP that has a fabulous acoustic tone; trying to maintain that but get more sounds and lose the hum. I play classic rock (not really heavy), blues and country through some nice pedals and tube amplification. Love to hear any input you folks might have!

[Eric Pykala]

NO ONE has any input on PQs?

[tom]

sorry i missed this one over the weekend.
i am always affraid of the neck pickup being too fat for me, so i always go for the weakest one. so the pq1- is perfect for me. for those who are more adept at making bigger neck pickups work, the pq1 is great. i am head over heels for the pq2 in the bridge position and can't ever see myself wanting a bigger sounding pickup there. one of our bass players comes up to me every week i play my pq2 and comments how just loves the growl that it does. but, there are those who would like it to get closer to what a full size humbucker will do and the pq3 does that. not lots louder, but a fuller middle and a little less snarl on top. i have no problem going further into gainier tones with the pq2 and a pedal. oh, and the parallel tone on the neck pickup is pretty yummy for those strat neck pickup moments.

[SonicGator]

I have a guitar in process of being built (Thorn) and I asked Ron to use the PQ series - PQ1 : PQ1 : PQ2

He makes his own 90's, but I have to have noiseless because of using IEM's at church and hum is a no-no in our ears.

Tom, did I choose wisely on those PQ's for a 3 P90 setup? I played the Bulldog at Make N Music with the PQ1 and PQ2, which was very nice.

[tom]

those will work great, but you need to get the pq1r for the middle. it has nothing to do with humcancelling, but with three they get really close together and the middle one needs to have the magnets reversed so they don't get all confused about where north and south are.

[SonicGator]

Thanks Tom!

Ron will be ordering the PQ's soon and will get the PQ1R for the middle. :cool:

[tom]

always a pleasure to speak with him.

[GDane1]

I have a Bulldog with PQ1 and PQ2. I play classic rock mostly, but a few songs we play are more high gain. I love the combo of the PQ1 and PQ2. I don't seem to have any trouble or desire for a "hotter" bridge pickup. It seems to give a very clear vintage tone, but also distorts very well with either the amp overdrive or a pedal. I am using the Suhr Riot pedal for heavy stuff with great results, otherwise I used my electradyne with overdrive channel for bluesy leads and most rock leads.

The PQs have allowed me to take the noise suppressor off my pedalboard as well.

I don't have experience with the PQ3 though.

Let me know if you want me to try and send some audio clips, I've recorded a few of our practices, and normally I like to hear the guitar over everything (like most guitarists), and since I control the recorder, I get good volume from the Bulldog:)

[Eric Pykala]

Wow, thanks for the great responses! I'm determined to turn this LP into a guitar regardless of its dubious parentage, because its core tone is just excellent, almost acoustic. Tom's comment on maybe the PQ1- for the neck is especially interesting.
My Good Friday project is encapsulating an M1 mini into a soapy cover and hearing what that sounds like (stealth baby!). Report to come...

[tom]

remember that those covers are fairly thick so you'll want to set the pickup a little closer than you normally would.

[Eric Pykala]

Thanks Tom! It was your explanation of how you made the stealth M1s-under-a-HB-cover that got me going. Too busy doing repairs today; maybe tomorrow we find out what it sounds like.

[davetcan]

Working on one of mine as it happens, sorry to drag you away from your experiments, LOL. I'll be very interested to hear this when you're done. :)



Thanks Tom! It was your explanation of how you made the stealth M1s-under-a-HB-cover that got me going. Too busy doing repairs today; maybe tomorrow we find out what it sounds like.