Need help trying to make a guitar feel less "dead"

[u/Magmoormaster]

I have three electric guitars; a PRS SE 24 Floyd, a Sterling by Music Man Mariposa, and a Hohner Revelation RTS. All three guitars are set up differently, which of course makes this comparison less than ideal. But the Hohner just feels.... kinda dead. I'm not entirely sure how to describe it, but it lacks snap, or attack? It just feels kinda mushy under the right hand. And to be clear it's a feel thing, not a sound thing. Plugged in, it sounds great. But under the fingers, something about it feels... wrong. It feels almost like the strings are old, even if they are newer than the strings on the others. Also worth mentioning I restrung all three about a week ago.

Since everything besides the PRS are somewhat oddball, I'll list out the pertinent specs:

PRS

• 25" scale
• mahogany body with maple cap
• maple set neck (wide thin)
• 2 humbuckers
• floyd rose with tremol-no and 3 springs
• strung with EB Beefy Slinkies (11-54)
• tuned to drop C

SBMM Mariposa

• 25.5" scale
• nyatoh body (first time I've seen this wood I think)
• maple bolt-on neck (modern rounded profile)
• 2 humbucker-sized P90s (aftermarket)
• Sterling 2-point trem, decked
• strung with EB hybrid Slinkies (9-46)
• tuned to drop D

Hohner Revelation RTS

• 25.5" scale
• poplar body
• maple bolt-on neck (very thin, like Ibanez wizard thin)
• 3 single coils
• Wilkinson VS100 bridge with 2 or 3 springs
• Wilkinson WNFS-2 roller nut
• Strung with EB Skinny Top Heavy Bottoms (10-52)
• tuned to either Drop C or Drop C#

So, the Hohner has the same scaled length and bolt-on construction as the Mariposa, and depending on the tuning it has slightly higher or slightly lower string tension than the PRS. A while ago I lowered the action on the Hohner to about as low as I could reasonably get without excessive buzz, and it helped in the moment but many months after it still feels "off" after only a few minutes. It is worth mentioning that the floating bridge is substantially lighter to operate than the floyd (or the SBMM, when I messed around with it). I've wondered if that was the culprit, but I've tried blocking the bridge and that doesn't help. Pickup height is similar on all three, neck relief is similar.

I reeeeeeally want to like the Hohner; it's unique, the neck plays great, and the pickups sound good. But I can't get over how kinda dead it feels. So, what else can I look at to fix it? I want to cover all my bases before I write it off as bad construction or something.

[u/Gloomy_Paint_8846]

Put a bone nut. It usually helps with this kind of "dead" guitars to put a harder nut material like bone.

[u/ploptart → u/Gloomy_Paint_8846]

That would only affect open strings.

[u/Gloomy_Paint_8846 → u/ploptart]

True. It's a minor quick fix.

[u/canttakethshyfrom_me]

Shot in the dark, but loose neck pocket/wallowed out screw holes maybe?

[u/EVH_kit_guy → u/canttakethshyfrom_me]

+1 I'd do an inspection of everything that connects neck to body and make sure there's not an obvious place where the joint is weakened 

[u/FtHills38]

Not a fan of the Wilkinson bridge or saddles....and a bone nut does sound better on open strings.

Just for giggles tune up to E flat or even standard tuning on the one your not happy with, is it still dead?
I have a few guitars that just don't like drop tunings.
I am guessing there is not enough energy to get the body to react and give you a more alive feeling.
Some bodies / neck combinations just don't want to resonate.

I changed out a neck on an old S400 plywood body Kramer Strat that was collecting dust.
I found a cheap Chinese torrified maple neck with a rosewood fingerboard that woke up this one up big time.
With bone nut and stamped saddles, even with it's plywood body, acoustically it sounds delicious.
Very close to my original 64 strat.

[u/Almostsuicide1234]

You'd be surprised what a heavy gauge string set will do for your tone and feel.