Quote Originally Posted by AaeCee View Post
I'm a big fan of the HB I, especially with a spruce top, and most especially the deep dish version marketed as the Archtop Jazz. I like the somewhat rounder tone from the mahogany back, and the fact that it's made by routing out a single fat piece of wood, rather than gluing it to the sides. I'd love to see one of the enormously thick unfinished pieces of mahogany they used to make the HB Jazz.

As for pickups, those with 57/08's I've played sounded great, and I've gotta believe that the 53/10's would be ideal as well. I loved the McCarty Archtop pickups in the HB Jazz, but not as much for some reason in the other HB's.
I have the McCarty Spruce top in Black with Birds and I just eat it up every time I play it...for some reason the Archtop pickups just work in this model...I play in a hard rock/heavy blues band and have put it through Mesa's, Rivera's, Bogners, Marshall's, Zinky, PRS, etc...and it just screams warm thick and fat.

that being said any of the vintage PRS pups IMHO would be a good match.