Which pickups for SC594??

elvis

Hamfisted String Banger
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I am working on a spec to order an artist SC594. While I like the vintage vibe, I am more of a modern player. I will likely use the guitar more for classic rock, blues and a bit of modern rock, plus maybe some jazz, or at least jazz-y stuff, probably in roughly that order.

I think that the 58/15LT is likely to be a bit anemic for my tastes. I suspect I'd want either 58/15 or 85/15 (though I wish 85/15 could come covered).

I don't like SC245 (too anemic) or SC250/Tremonti (WAY too much output and trebly at the bridge).

I love BKP Cold Sweats (strong output but not too much, good bite, but also balanced), but would like to see what PRS has in that neighborhood, or maybe a touch less aggressive.

I'd like a full tone that has lots of character, but not so much that it turns to mud with crunch or is unuseable with high gain.

I'm also open to other suggestions, though the guitar will obviously ship with PRS pickups, so I'm only interested in what they can put in it.

EDIT: OK, I'll throw 57/08 and 59/09 into the mix, but 59/09 only comes uncovered, for what that's worth.
 
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I thought 85/15's were just uncovered 58/15's? But I could be wrong about that.

The 57/08's aren't high output, but they react to gain in a wonderful way, even high gain applications. I've heard the same about all their newer pickups. Unless you're worried about not being able to drive something hard enough, I wouldn't worry a bit about any PRS pickup not being able to do a job.
 
I have both the 85/15 and the 58/15 and i could swear the 85/15's are a touch hotter, but im not sure if thats the covers and the thick body of the SC245 making it seem that way as opposed to the thin body, longer scale and uncovered pickups on he CU24. Both of them i find incredibly versatile. The 58/15's i consider to be my favorite pickups, and the 85/15's are just a hair behind. I play blues, jazz, funk and a **** ton of heavy metal. With both pickups no matter what i play i do not find them to be lacking, im never wanting with them but my affinity for one over the other seems to alternate. To me the LT's are a bit thin and weak, id never trade em for the 58/15's, so take that for what its worth.
 
I've got a 59/09 in the bridge on one of mine. Love it. That guitar just screams for some heavy-ish rock. Sounds great for Ozzy, Maiden, Lizzy, etc. etc. I got covered 59/09's in a Cu22 that I sent back to the PTC. Not sure if a Dealer would have enough pull to get those.

I also think you'd be surprised by the LT's. While they are low output, you can still get there. With them, I feel more like playing something from Bad Company, etc. With the 09's, it feels better on 10!
 
I am working on a spec to order an artist SC594. While I like the vintage vibe, I am more of a modern player. I will likely use the guitar more for classic rock, blues and a bit of modern rock, plus maybe some jazz, or at least jazz-y stuff, probably in roughly that order.

I think that the 58/15LT is likely to be a bit anemic for my tastes. I suspect I'd want either 58/15 or 85/15 (though I wish 85/15 could come covered).

Give the 58 15LT's a chance before you change pups. These will get it done. They cover, jazz. blues, and classic rock perfectly just like PAFs. which are mild pups themselves, hence the 58 15 LT's. A little distortion of some sort will take care of the modern tones. Give them a try first, I think you will like them, just like green eggs and ham.
 
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I agree. Give the Stock pickups a chance because I think they can do all the things you listed.
 
While you say you are more of a modern player, you also indicate that you want to use the guitar to play classic rock and blues, both of which seem kind of "vintage" to me. I would give the the stock pick ups a good test run before I would think about swapping them out. I have a 594, play classic rock and blues with it and really like the 58/15 LT's.

If you decide to swap, I would take a good look at the 57/08's.
 
I thought 85/15's were just uncovered 58/15's? But I could be wrong about that.
They are a touch hotter, exactly because they're the exact same pickups except covered.

I highly doubt the 58/15LT will be anemic, but I do not have any experience with them.
 
My WL 594 has a 58/15lt in the neck, and a 57/08 in the bridge. I also have a P22 with 57/08s, and a CU24 with 85/15s.
I find that the 58/15lt is my favorite neck pickup for clean to classic gain. On the lead channel of my Mesa MKV (at least the way I like to set it), the 58/15lt can get a little "wooly" under high gain, so I tend to run it on the lower gain channel two with a bit of a brighter OD added when I want to drive it. The neck 85/15 exhibits this same characteristic to a somewhat lesser extent.
My best high gain neck pickup sound out of the three guitars is the uncovered 57/08 in the P22.
For the bridge pickups, I absolutely adore the sound of the 85/15 under high gain, particularly the way it compresses. 57/08s sound awesome here as well, I just wish they had a bit more output. I suppose if they were the only pickup I was dealing with, I would compensate at the amp.
Long story short, for me if I were choosing the pickups for a custom build, I would probably go with 57/08 neck and 85/15 (or 58/15 if you want to stay with covered) in the bridge. YMMV
 
I would stick with the stock pickups. Test them thoroughly. Address the individual guitar and then if need be , look at all the aftermarket options. They are many excellent winders out there who know exactly what they are doing and will wind you exactly what you want..
 
I have yet to succumb to a 594. (I have to clean house a bit first----An ongoing project of dealing with an accumulation of guitars). I ask myself sort of the same question, even though I do not play much at the high gain end of the scale.

My recent experimentation has been with Lollar Low Wind Imperials which might, arguably, be in the same camp at the stock 594 LTs. By way of comparison, the WL Ted (pictured to the left) has a 57/08 and 59/09 (both covered) combo and a rosewood neck. I more or less have my amp (either Fuchs ODS30 or Mesa Mk V) set for that guitar. There are certainly differences between guitars other than just the pickups. That said, I have no trouble with the "low Winds" getting to the "heavier gain" end of my playlist---Think Gary Moore or Santana---By just tweaking the gain. And, just a slight tweak of the treble/presence.

I am open to the idea of settling on a 594 with a stock neck and beefier bridge, but am inclined to avoid doing that just because I like the 59/09s in the bridge. Or, for that matter, the 57/08s in the bridge on another guitar.
 
While you say you are more of a modern player, you also indicate that you want to use the guitar to play classic rock and blues, both of which seem kind of "vintage" to me. I would give the the stock pick ups a good test run before I would think about swapping them out. I have a 594, play classic rock and blues with it and really like the 58/15 LT's.

If you decide to swap, I would take a good look at the 57/08's.

Yes, I am throwing some conflicting requirements together. I guess I would say that I have a modern approach, in that I am used to more modern pickups and their tone and dynamics, and have precious little experience playing vintage PAFs. So when I play jazzy stuff, it's with a modern pickup rolled back a bit.

I also don't consider classic rock to necessarily be any sort of "vintage" in the sense of a 1958-era pickup. I was into EVH, Lynch, Maiden, Rush, Ozzy, Vai, etc. These guys were using overwounds and modded amps.

I am certainly on the fence about just going with the LTs. I have really high-gain amps, so I can just turn them up, or add a boost with this guitar if it's not punchy enough, and then go to my Archon's clean channel and get super clean clear tone with the LT. So it's worth a try.

So many different pieces of advice, so many options. I may go with 58/15LT in the neck and 58/15 in the bridge. Argh. First world problems...
 
Yes, I am throwing some conflicting requirements together. I guess I would say that I have a modern approach, in that I am used to more modern pickups and their tone and dynamics, and have precious little experience playing vintage PAFs. So when I play jazzy stuff, it's with a modern pickup rolled back a bit.

I also don't consider classic rock to necessarily be any sort of "vintage" in the sense of a 1958-era pickup. I was into EVH, Lynch, Maiden, Rush, Ozzy, Vai, etc. These guys were using overwounds and modded amps.

I am certainly on the fence about just going with the LTs. I have really high-gain amps, so I can just turn them up, or add a boost with this guitar if it's not punchy enough, and then go to my Archon's clean channel and get super clean clear tone with the LT. So it's worth a try.

So many different pieces of advice, so many options. I may go with 58/15LT in the neck and 58/15 in the bridge. Argh. First world problems...
I must admit, my definition of classic rock was a bit more subdued than yours. I was thinking along the lines of early to mid 70's bands that used humbucker pick up guitars, primarily to play blues based rock. Example - many Southern Rock Bands). I am sure you will make the right call. All the best.
 
Yes, I am throwing some conflicting requirements together. I guess I would say that I have a modern approach, in that I am used to more modern pickups and their tone and dynamics, and have precious little experience playing vintage PAFs. So when I play jazzy stuff, it's with a modern pickup rolled back a bit.

I also don't consider classic rock to necessarily be any sort of "vintage" in the sense of a 1958-era pickup. I was into EVH, Lynch, Maiden, Rush, Ozzy, Vai, etc. These guys were using overwounds and modded amps.

I am certainly on the fence about just going with the LTs. I have really high-gain amps, so I can just turn them up, or add a boost with this guitar if it's not punchy enough, and then go to my Archon's clean channel and get super clean clear tone with the LT. So it's worth a try.

So many different pieces of advice, so many options. I may go with 58/15LT in the neck and 58/15 in the bridge. Argh. First world problems...

Best bet for that type of stuff, from a PRS perspective, would be the 59/09, IMHO. If you're on the fence because you can't get a covered one, I think I would go 58/15 regular.

Although, personally, I dig the uncovered look :)

20160923_082419_zpse7y2mrfb.jpg
 
Well for what it's worth, I play mainly 70s hard rock...Rush, UFO, Thin Lizzy, Zep, etc.

All of the players in the bands I mentioned above played really low output pickups. T TOPs for Schenker's V, T tops in Lifeson's '68 335 (and either that or tarbacks in the 355) and T top for Page (in the bridge of his #1 post '72) . Vast majority of Gorham and Robbos work was mini humbuckers.

Randy's white custom too...T tops.

The 57/08s in my 2014 SC245 (along with a Marshall and g12m speakers) handle those tones no problem. In fact I would prefer a bit less bass thump and bit more high mids, so 58/15 or the LT version would probably be perfect in my book! :)
 
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