P-Rails worth it as just a humbucker?

[RandolphCarter15]

I put P-Rails in my semi-hollow a year or so ago for more versatility, but recently bought a Tele. So I think I'll end up using the semi-hollow for traditional humbucker tones. What do you think of the P-Rails in the series humbucker setting? I mostly used them in parallel or the P-90 so am still trying to figure it out. Basically, should I keep it, or replace it with something more dedicated to humbucker tones (I'm intrigued by the Psyclone).

I play country/rockabilly if that helps.

 

[ragamuffin]

When I had P-rails I was never too enthralled with the series humbucker tone... I almost exclusively used the p90 mode.

I haven't played the Psyclone, but from what I've seen/heard it would probably be right up your alley for rockabilly tones. For more PAF type humbucker type tones you could try the Seth Lovers, Antiquities, or 59's.

 

[Mincer]

I'd say it is a good parallel humbucker tone. The series tone may be the least appealing sound of the P-Rail. If you are putting it into a semi-hollow for traditional tones, and using it in series...I don't think you'd be happy with that.

 

[JamesPaul]

I have a set of P-Rails in Triple Shots in my Epi Elitist LP Custom. In the LP, series sounds mostly like a hot humbucker. Almost as hot as a Duncan Custom. Which I truly like.

But if you play the series P-Rail back-to-back against a matched coil humbucker, you'll know there are some trade-offs being made in the P-Rails. I don't consider this a negative. I think it's probably like all those mismatched coil DiMarzio's.

Great P90 tones! Enough said here.

Still to answer your question, I would not use the P-Rails for traditional humbucker tones. I have other LP's for those tones myself.

 

[Aceman]

I think they are bad@$$ wicked evil humbuckers in the vein of the DiMarzio X2N. I think they would suck balls for Country / Rockabilly.

I really like them, but I like X2N's, Distortions, and such. I think that is the only downside of them, that they give single, P-90, parallel (awesome sound), and you'd just WANT them to do a decent maybe slightly sporty PAF....but that is not how you get all those other cool sounds.

You go from cutting Strat, to fat blues, to pristine parallel, and then WHAM - it's Pantera-time. A really awesome mod would be to TAP (yes I mean actually tap) them so that it gave a PAF level humbucker sound in series or full on 18k mode.

 

[Jack_TriPpEr]

Anybody ever try a neck version Prail in the bridge position, ro see if its In-Series mode yielded a better PAF like tone? I've got a neck one laying around, with the goal to do that, someday....

 

[Mincer]

Even with a weaker P-Rail, the combination of the P90 coil with a Hot Rails single in series won't give you a scooped tone of a PAF at all. It is its own sound, but not a PAF one.

 

[JamesPaul]

Even with a weaker P-Rail, the combination of the P90 coil with a Hot Rails single in series won't give you a scooped tone of a PAF at all. It is its own sound, but not a PAF one.

They just don't give an accurate PAF.

Having typed that, what PAF can give a P90 or single coil when split? I'm not looking to poke the bear, just noting that most times there are trade-offs. I still like the P-Rail series. ... enough to let my kid borrow my Custom/Jazz LP.

 

[Mincer]

Well, no, a PAF can't be a metal pickup either. Things do what they are designed to do. Sure, we are free to experiment outside of their parameters, which I love to do, too. But sometimes those guidelines are there for a reason.

 

[Aceman]

Well, no, a PAF can't be a metal pickup either. Things do what they are designed to do. Sure, we are free to experiment outside of their parameters, which I love to do, too. But sometimes those guidelines are there for a reason.

I will disagree with that. A LOT of PAF's were metal pickups before metal pickups existed. Amp > Pickup

 

[Mincer]

Not as we think of metal today...maybe metal in 1978. But it was also boosted after the fact. No young metal guitarist is going to pick a PAF-type pickup to put in their ESP. There are simply better tools for the job now.

 

[ItsaBass]

The series humbucker tone is thick, not classic Gibson style. That's even on the lower output version of the P Rails. It's not as thick as a Custom or JB, but it's definitely significantly thicker than a PAF.

If your amp has a good bass control, or you have a nice graphic e.q. unit, you can lower the bass and get it sounding more classic Gibson-esque, with the lower output version of the P Rails.

On my 2xHB guitar with P Rails, I use two of the lower output models. I mostly use them both on P90 mode, but I occasionally make the bridge one into a humbucker, and occasionally make the neck one into a single coil rail pickup.

On my 1xHB guitar with P Rails, it's the hot version. I can deal with the hot one there, because it's a single pickup guitar. That means I don't need to set the amp to sound good with both pickups. If it's too hot and/or bassy, I can just dial that out at the amp.