Daveporter33765
New Member
My Studio is a fantastic guitar. Plays easily, sounds great and looks amazing!
Do I really need a PRS Studio guitar?
- Thread starter JasonE
- Start date
JasonE
New Member
I got to play the Studio and compare it to a few other guitars yesterday. One of those guitars is my DGT. I know someone on here was wondering how they compared. Initial impressions at this point, I like the bridge pickup tone on the DGT better. I like the neck Narrowfield tone better on the Studio for neck pickup tone. I like where it sets better compared to both the humbucker and split tone on the DGT. I plan on doing more play testing today with a different amp to see if that still holds true.
A couple of interesting things, I don't know if my ears were getting tired or what but I was not hating the 58/15 LT pickup in the Studio. It is still brighter than I like and the 57/08 in my 594 still sounds better to me as well as the DGT bridge. However, I was not hating it like I first did. It is going to require more testing to determine if I will hold off on putting the 57/08 in when it gets here.
Another thing, ergonomics. One of the guitars I was comparing the Studio to is my P22 Trem. It has uncovered 57/08 squabbins in it. The 57/08 definitely had a better punch to it and warmer tone. The thing that really stood out to me though is the location of the 5 way switch. Why PRS didn't put the switch on the Studio on the same place as they did on the P22 is beyond me. The switch on the P22 is farther forward and much easier to get to without the trem arm being as much in the way. The switch on the Studio is more toward the back of the guitar and is harder to get to fast with the trem arm in. I suppose more playing time will get me finding a way to make it work but my first impression is that they have that switch location programmed in for the P22. It should have been easy to put this one in the same place. The 5 way on my Suhr is even farther forward than my P22 and is really in a great place to be able to flip it with my pinky on my picking hand and make quick selection changes.
A couple of interesting things, I don't know if my ears were getting tired or what but I was not hating the 58/15 LT pickup in the Studio. It is still brighter than I like and the 57/08 in my 594 still sounds better to me as well as the DGT bridge. However, I was not hating it like I first did. It is going to require more testing to determine if I will hold off on putting the 57/08 in when it gets here.
Another thing, ergonomics. One of the guitars I was comparing the Studio to is my P22 Trem. It has uncovered 57/08 squabbins in it. The 57/08 definitely had a better punch to it and warmer tone. The thing that really stood out to me though is the location of the 5 way switch. Why PRS didn't put the switch on the Studio on the same place as they did on the P22 is beyond me. The switch on the P22 is farther forward and much easier to get to without the trem arm being as much in the way. The switch on the Studio is more toward the back of the guitar and is harder to get to fast with the trem arm in. I suppose more playing time will get me finding a way to make it work but my first impression is that they have that switch location programmed in for the P22. It should have been easy to put this one in the same place. The 5 way on my Suhr is even farther forward than my P22 and is really in a great place to be able to flip it with my pinky on my picking hand and make quick selection changes.
JasonE
New Member
Wow! What a difference an amp makes. I ran this through my Twin Sister today with and without OD pedals. I was really surprised at the difference in tone. I like the DGT neck pickup better in this scenario than the Narrofield. However, the real surprise is that I kept tweaking the pickup height on the Studio as I was comparing and I found a spot where the 58/15 LT sounds better than the DGT bridge pickup to me with this amp. I am now going to wait and see how I feel over time about this pickup in this guitar instead of swapping it out when the 57/08 gets here. I like it better than the 57/08 in my 594 with this amp too. The 594 has a bit more mid push to it. The 58/15 LT just sounds fat with this amp and it has this thickness to it but is not muddy at all. The only thing I need to do to this guitar at this point is lower the trem a littel bit. The action is a little higher than my other guitars. This is normal for a PRS trem for me. I like them a little lower than they ship from the factory. I know it is only going to take about a half turn on each screw to get it where I want it.
JasonE
New Member
I took today and tomorrow off of work to burn up some of my PTO days. After doing my errands this morning I came back and did a full setup on the Studio. I only had to lower the trem a 1/4 turn on each screw. It plays sooooo much better now. I was tripping over the strings a little higher up on the neck. It now has a fairly straight neck and the action is where I like it. It is amazing now a small fraction of an inch can make such a difference in playability.
Today when playing it after the setup, I found the guitar a bit bright again to me using the second (Friedman Twin Sister) amp. I found rolling the tone back to about 7 and lowering the volume to also about 7 gave it a nice tone. I ride the volume knob a good bit when playing so I am okay with it changing tone when doing that. That is the reason I ride the volume knob. I am not used to riding the tone knob though. Thankfully lowering the tone for the bridge pickup also worked for the narrowfields. The more time I spend with it, the more I am good with the guitar in it's stock form. I am sure at some point I will put the 57/08 I ordered for it into the guitar. I am also sure when I do that I will like it better and think I am hearing a huge difference, whether that is true or not.
I have decided that I am leaving the stock pickup in it for now. I did measure the pickups at the jack. The 58/15 LT that is in this guitar is a little lower in resistance than the ones I took out of my 594. Here is what they measure.
6.82k Neck Narrowfield
6.83k Middle Narrowfield
7.03k 58/15 LT Bridge Humbucker
The 58/15 LT pickups I removed from my 594 both measure 7.76k and are not marked for position.
Today when playing it after the setup, I found the guitar a bit bright again to me using the second (Friedman Twin Sister) amp. I found rolling the tone back to about 7 and lowering the volume to also about 7 gave it a nice tone. I ride the volume knob a good bit when playing so I am okay with it changing tone when doing that. That is the reason I ride the volume knob. I am not used to riding the tone knob though. Thankfully lowering the tone for the bridge pickup also worked for the narrowfields. The more time I spend with it, the more I am good with the guitar in it's stock form. I am sure at some point I will put the 57/08 I ordered for it into the guitar. I am also sure when I do that I will like it better and think I am hearing a huge difference, whether that is true or not.
I have decided that I am leaving the stock pickup in it for now. I did measure the pickups at the jack. The 58/15 LT that is in this guitar is a little lower in resistance than the ones I took out of my 594. Here is what they measure.
6.82k Neck Narrowfield
6.83k Middle Narrowfield
7.03k 58/15 LT Bridge Humbucker
The 58/15 LT pickups I removed from my 594 both measure 7.76k and are not marked for position.
jak3af3r
Jake
Those NFs measure quite a lot less than mine in my SAS.I took today and tomorrow off of work to burn up some of my PTO days. After doing my errands this morning I came back and did a full setup on the Studio. I only had to lower the trem a 1/4 turn on each screw. It plays sooooo much better now. I was tripping over the strings a little higher up on the neck. It now has a fairly straight neck and the action is where I like it. It is amazing now a small fraction of an inch can make such a difference in playability.
Today when playing it after the setup, I found the guitar a bit bright again to me using the second (Friedman Twin Sister) amp. I found rolling the tone back to about 7 and lowering the volume to also about 7 gave it a nice tone. I ride the volume knob a good bit when playing so I am okay with it changing tone when doing that. That is the reason I ride the volume knob. I am not used to riding the tone knob though. Thankfully lowering the tone for the bridge pickup also worked for the narrowfields. The more time I spend with it, the more I am good with the guitar in it's stock form. I am sure at some point I will put the 57/08 I ordered for it into the guitar. I am also sure when I do that I will like it better and think I am hearing a huge difference, whether that is true or not.
I have decided that I am leaving the stock pickup in it for now. I did measure the pickups at the jack. The 58/15 LT that is in this guitar is a little lower in resistance than the ones I took out of my 594. Here is what they measure.
6.82k Neck Narrowfield
6.83k Middle Narrowfield
7.03k 58/15 LT Bridge Humbucker
The 58/15 LT pickups I removed from my 594 both measure 7.76k and are not marked for position.
JasonE
New Member
I was wondering how many different versions of the Narrowfields there are. I was thinking at one point I saw them stating 57/08 Narrowfields on a model in the past. They could be winding these lower to match up better with the 58/15 LT humbucker in this guitar. What do yours measure?
jak3af3r
Jake
8.4, 8.41, and 8.4 Neck Middle and Bridge.
JasonE
New Member
When I wear the strings out, I will probably pull the pickups and see what, if anything, is on the back of them. The humbucker is a little lower than the other set of those pickups I have too. They may have tried to get them all to balance well and play nice together.
jak3af3r
Jake
Mine are marked for their respective positions despite all measuring almost identically.
Years ago (2011ish) a local music store became an official USA PRS dealer. They had a custom 24 which I really wanted and a studio. I played them both and my head kept telling me get the 24 but the studio sounded incredible. That stuck in my head so long I started looking for one and never found one in good shape that wasn't more than what I wanted to spend. Then out of nowhere the 25th SAS came up for a stupid dela and I took it.
I still wonder though what I'm missing without the full sized humbucker in the bridge....
Markcarl
New Member
- Joined
- Jul 19, 2023
- Messages
- 181
You all may get a kick out of this.
I was wondering if my wife realized that I stopped asking her, red or blue? I kept quiet about the guitar since it didn't move over the weekend and was going to take longer to get here due to that. It showed up yesterday. I got it out, put the box up in the garage where I keep the boxes for my guitars and then hid the case. I took one of my other guitars off of the wall and put it on a stand in the room. I hung the new guitar on the wall. She had to walk right past it when she came in the room after she got home from work. I kept waiting for her to see it while she was in here talking to me. She didn't notice and was heading out the door. Right after she walked past it I said hey, and she stopped and turned around. I looked over at it and she finally noticed it. She approves! I asked her if she was happy with her dicision for me to get the red one. She said yes.
I am telling all of you, I have the best wife in the world!
I took today and tomorrow off of work to burn up some of my PTO days. After doing my errands this morning I came back and did a full setup on the Studio. I only had to lower the trem a 1/4 turn on each screw. It plays sooooo much better now. I was tripping over the strings a little higher up on the neck. It now has a fairly straight neck and the action is where I like it. It is amazing now a small fraction of an inch can make such a difference in playability.
Today when playing it after the setup, I found the guitar a bit bright again to me using the second (Friedman Twin Sister) amp. I found rolling the tone back to about 7 and lowering the volume to also about 7 gave it a nice tone. I ride the volume knob a good bit when playing so I am okay with it changing tone when doing that. That is the reason I ride the volume knob. I am not used to riding the tone knob though. Thankfully lowering the tone for the bridge pickup also worked for the narrowfields. The more time I spend with it, the more I am good with the guitar in it's stock form. I am sure at some point I will put the 57/08 I ordered for it into the guitar. I am also sure when I do that I will like it better and think I am hearing a huge difference, whether that is true or not.
I have decided that I am leaving the stock pickup in it for now. I did measure the pickups at the jack. The 58/15 LT that is in this guitar is a little lower in resistance than the ones I took out of my 594. Here is what they measure.
6.82k Neck Narrowfield
6.83k Middle Narrowfield
7.03k 58/15 LT Bridge Humbucker
The 58/15 LT pickups I removed from my 594 both measure 7.76k and are not marked for position.
Hi Jason. I just got back from a trip out of town and have been catching up on this thread. Congrats on your guitar! It looks stunning! I posted a separate thread re: input on how the studio compares / contrasts to a DGT.
I’m planning on taking my DGT to Haggerty’s Music in Rapid City this coming weekend to compare it to a PRS Studio they have assuming it’s not sold by then. I was really impressed with the Studio last time I played it!
SinSir
Mad Scientist
- Joined
- Sep 7, 2020
- Messages
- 4,535
You are correct about that.
JasonE
New Member
I hope it is still there. It will be interesting to hear your thoughts on how they compare. I still have the DTG out and hanging on the same stand as the Studio and will continue to compare them in different situations. I also have my 594 and CU22 out with different versions of the 57/08 pickups on them. I have been dialing up tones on various amps and pedals and then swapping through guitar comparing how they sound with those amps and pedals. It has been interesting to me how I can leave something setup from one day and fire it up the next day and it sounds different to me. I can only attribute it to my ears getting tired and then having fresh ears the next day.
Rod/
Vibrato & String Bender
If I was contemplating purchasing another PRS core guitar that is in the $5000 range, I would do a road trip and even stay overnight in a motel to find some good dealers so that you can try these guitars in real time……..
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JasonE
New Member
That would be a fun way to buy one. The only challenge with that is finding a dealer that has a good variety of the models you want to try out. That is where the internet helps out. You can see inventory of the various places.
thewesdavis
New Member
- Joined
- Aug 2, 2022
- Messages
- 88
Can we please get a NGD picture once all the dust settles?
JasonE
New Member
The 57/08 I ordered for this guitar showed up yesterday. However, I am not sure if I am disappointed or just confused at the moment. It reads much lower than the last 57/08s I purchased from the accessories store. I sent PRS an email about it because it is pretty far below the rating listed on their website. It reads lower than any of my other 57/08s and I have them in 8 of my guitars. It is a treble pickup and it reads lower than my bass pickups too. I really want an answer before I even think about putting it into the guitar. I want to make sure I didn't get a pickup that was not produced to their standards.
I tend to queue up YouTube videos to listen to while working and one of them were on PRS pickups and it made me think of something I had not though of yet. This video was comparing a TCI version pickup with a non TCI version of the same pickup. This guitar is a 2023 so it has the TCI 58/15 LT in it. From my understanding TCI is a process to get everything in the circuit to much tighter tolerances to have a consistent result that PRS wants. The 57/08 I received does not say TCI on it. It has the sticker for 57/08 Treble. I am now wondering how this whole TCI thing factors into this equation. In another thread someone else bought a 57/08 right about the same time I bought mine. Thiers read a little higher than mine but still lower than what was stated on the website. I am also now wondering if this is a TCI pickup how it might sound different than the others I have. I thought I knew what I was getting into with this but it is becoming very clear that I did not.
I tend to queue up YouTube videos to listen to while working and one of them were on PRS pickups and it made me think of something I had not though of yet. This video was comparing a TCI version pickup with a non TCI version of the same pickup. This guitar is a 2023 so it has the TCI 58/15 LT in it. From my understanding TCI is a process to get everything in the circuit to much tighter tolerances to have a consistent result that PRS wants. The 57/08 I received does not say TCI on it. It has the sticker for 57/08 Treble. I am now wondering how this whole TCI thing factors into this equation. In another thread someone else bought a 57/08 right about the same time I bought mine. Thiers read a little higher than mine but still lower than what was stated on the website. I am also now wondering if this is a TCI pickup how it might sound different than the others I have. I thought I knew what I was getting into with this but it is becoming very clear that I did not.
Bogner
Redwood Original - Pure Blood
- Joined
- Jun 20, 2016
- Messages
- 3,917
Maybe They Sent You A 28.5/04 Instead Of A 57/08?
Rod/
Vibrato & String Bender
What does the impedance read on your ohm meter for the new 57/08?
I just bought a new 57/08 treble pickup from PRS on sale and I’ll let you know what it reads when I get it.
I bought a used newer pair earlier this year and they do not say TCI on them but the treble pickup has the typical 9.4K reading. My older 57/08’s That came stock in my 2011 stripped 58 (pictured in my avatar) read 8800 ohms on the bridge pick up but honestly they sound about the same and have very similar output than my newer ones that have the higher readings.
if your brand new one is reading in the 7000 ohm range, that’s a whole different ball game. And pickup impedance is only one of the factors, as I’m sure you know concerning pick ups.
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JasonE
New Member
The one I just received reads 8.32k and is a 57/08 Treble TM pickup.
The treble pickup in my SC-58 reads 8.64k from the jack on the guitar.
The newest set I have is from 2017 and the treble pickup in that set reads 9.27k from the jack of the guitar.
I’d be surprised if the 57/08 and other pickups of that generation have had TCI versions created. I’d suspect that what PRS is selling are leftovers from some time ago. I really can’t see them doing a run of say, older Dragon IIs just to sell the occasional set online.
