Should I switch pickups?

Jkendrick · March 27, 2014, 06:46:47 PM

And if so, to what?

I have a PRS 1989 Custom 24 "10" top that I bought new in early 1989. For 25 years it has remained virtually unchanged. But I find myself rarely moving off the Gibson-sounding humbucker to any of the other four selectors. Should I consider switching to PAFs or some other pickups that would, perhaps, give me more of that sound I prefer?

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Jkendrick · March 28, 2014, 12:47:30 PM

I should have noted that I currently have the PRS Standards in there now.

Poster · March 28, 2014, 01:00:54 PM

Well you could either mess with pups you have or get new ones, and potentially mess with those? You could have them unpotted, ie melting the wax out of them? Otherwise, there are some pretty great pickups out there if you look. People would argue with me, but what matters most is the neck pickup. A bridge pickup is just a bridge humbucker, depending on output. Perhaps try swapping just the neck out for something cool like a Gibson 57 4 conductor. Those tapped are very usable in a solid body guitar like yours. PRS neck pickups have not been my favorite, great guitars though. Ive had a custom 22, and hollowbody I with dragon 2's in it.

Jkendrick · March 28, 2014, 01:33:27 PM

I was looking at the Lindy Fralin Pure PAF but it says it is not recommended for coil tap. Any other suggestions?

I'm going to continue to experiment with PUP height but the more I read, the more it seems the PRS Standard is not for me and may be a root source of some of my tone issues.

Buffered · March 28, 2014, 01:35:38 PM

I'm in agreement with Poster as far as the importance of neck pickup usability, but I would stick with the originals. Are you considering, or do you think you will consider selling it down the line? IIRC The 88 PRS's are pretty early and sought-after making them worth a good amount. Originality of the pickups has a lot to do with that I believe, and if I was going to swap I'd start with the neck only and make sure the mod could be reversed. Pickups 99% of the time are reversible unless you plan on drilling any holes for additional switches/routing etc. I could be wrong but that's what I think. The 57's are nice, it's dark in my ES339 but they're very different guitars from a PRS and it's a nice, affordable PAF sound.

Poster · March 28, 2014, 02:15:44 PM

Yeah definitely keep the original pickups safe somewhere. Sometimes on other pickups, you can adjust the poles, but Ive found that PRS pups just arent my thing. Too modern of an eq to my plebeian ears.

Jkendrick · March 28, 2014, 02:23:44 PM

Oh I'd definitely keep the original. I was only thinking about swapping out the neck PUP. I'm well aware of the demand for this guitar. I was lucky enough to make some good money gigging with my band in HS and that's when I bought it. It was only $1700 then. It may be my best investment ever.

A lot of my preferences have changed since, but I could just never part with it. And I wouldn't go for any PUPs that required any modifications to the body. "Too modern of an eq" is a good way to put it.

Jkendrick · March 30, 2014, 11:24:23 PM

I'm thinking about trying out some Seymour Duncans. I think I have it narrowed down to either the 59s or the Seth Lovers. Anyone have any opinions/experience with these? Any others I should include in my short list (any brand)?

Heady Jam Fan · March 31, 2014, 08:28:31 AM

Never used Seth Lovers, but I like 59's. Languedoc has used those for many years and they seem to be the standard for a lot of builders (I know Artinger also uses them). Some people go with a 59 in the neck and a JB in the bridge (some people find the bridge 59 not hot enough compared to the neck). The 59 is a clone of the Schaller Golden 50 and they sound very similar to me (I had both at the same time). I ended up with Lollar Imperials which also sound very similar to my ear, but are slightly more balanced between neck and bridge, and humbucker and single-coil (not sure if its worth the price).

Jkendrick · March 31, 2014, 02:31:12 PM

Okay, that makes sense I guess. I never knew the 59s were clones of the Schaller. I just listened to some samples of a lot of PUPs that are said to be good fits for what I'm looking for. One of my issues is that, since I spend the majority of my time in the neck position, I set up my rig in that position. And it sounds good, particularly clean, in that position. But the other four positions sound downright awful. I'm hoping something a little warmer and more balanced will help make the other positions more usable.

Is it common for people to buy multiple sets and try them out and return the ones they don't like? It'd be downright impossible for me to find a late '80s PRS Custom with these different PUP configurations to try. The Lollars are twice the price, so I think I would try the SDs first to see if I'm satisfied.

Heady Jam Fan · March 31, 2014, 02:36:21 PM

I don't think you can return them after testing them, since testing them requires soldering them.

Also, if you need someone to install them for you, this would get expensive.

I'd suggest also contacting SD as another resource - they are good at describing their pickups.

tsbot · March 31, 2014, 06:09:10 PM

Artinger is using the Electric City RD-59's. There are a few demos on YouTube of them - they sound sweet in my Artinger! Of course ymmv.

Heady Jam Fan · March 31, 2014, 06:43:30 PM

Quote from: tsbot on March 31, 2014, 06:09:10 PM
Artinger is using the Electric City RD-59's. There are a few demos on YouTube of them - they sound sweet in my Artinger! Of course ymmv.

Hmm, his site says SD 59's and thats what were in mine (albeit mines from 2002).

tsbot · March 31, 2014, 09:38:14 PM

Yea we (Matt and I) talked about it during my build that was finished this Jan 2014 - when I asked for SD's to cope treys tone he said he's loving the Electric Cities and has been using those for a majority of his builds - so I said to use what he thinks is best for my end use and he put those in...

Buffered · April 01, 2014, 08:29:45 AM

The JB gets distorts from pick attack pretty easy but once you get used to it the pickup is great for fusiony/D Style smooth lead tones. It's EQ is pretty balanced but the high end is never ice picky.. The Jazz is almost "too polite" for a rock rhythm tone but I don't play that and it sounds fantastic clean and split.