Zach Myers upgrade - Seths vs WLH vs other?

[titaniumbolt]

Long time listener, first time poster.

I just picked up one of the new Zach Myers SEs and love everything about it except for the pickups. The middle position is gorgeous but the neck and bridge positions don't do it for me. I have a Silver Sky to feed my single coil obsession and a SE Paul's with a Seth Lover neck/JB bridge that I use to get a nice versatile range of sounds, including more "modern" rock sounds with the JB - I basically use it to get up to Pumpkins-esque tones. I'd like the ZM to be my vintage rock machine and already have another Seth Lover neck laying around that I intend to drop in it.

I was wondering if people have strong feelings as to what I could pair the Seth Lover neck with in the bridge. I definitely intend to use this axe for Zeppelin-era rock and hope to further complement my other setups with the SS and Paul's without going so far as the JB. I naturally gravitated toward the Whole Lotta Humbucker but am not necessarily looking to recreate Jimmy's tone (especially since that can mean so many different things). I'm more looking for the vibe of that general era.

 

[playas]

Seth bridge

 

[Mincer]

Welcome to the forum!

I'd say a Seth bridge, but in that case, I'd also suggest any pickup that isn't too hot. You essentially have to pick the EQ you want or your guitar needs. If you want a PAF-type EQ but with more power, look at the 59/Custom Hybrid.

 

[beaubrummels]

What I've paired with Seth neck for the same music:

59N as a bridge
59/Custom
Custom
Custom-Custom
Custom 5
Jazz bridge
59B
Brobucker
JB/A2

 

[Condemnedsoul]

Running WLH - neck and 59/Custom in the bridge of my SE. This pair made the guitar come alive

 

[playas]

I didn't notice it was your first post, welcome to the forum.

I suggested the seth bridge as, well the set is a good match.

You also said you like the jb and while the seth is quite different it does have some mids to it, that I think you might like, albeit nothing like as pronounced as a jb.

...As for vintage...well it's a paf

 

[alex1fly]

Since you already have a PRS SE with Duncans, why not give the stock pickups a shot? Or replace with some American PRS pickups? PRS designs their pickups a little differently than most, and it's a cool flavor to have. The SE pickups are quality, and a lot of thought goes into pairing pickups with guitars, even with the SE line. The Zach Myers has 245 pickups, which are PRS' take on a PAF. Doesn't get much more vintage rock than a PAF set.

When I got my PRS SE Custom, it took me several months and a LOT of experimentation before I settled in with the pickups. We're good now, but I had to throw out my expectations in order to understand what they were offering me. Now we make a lot of cool stuff together.

Another, perhaps more useful, electronics mod would be to add a coil tap if there isn't one already.