watelessness
Member
- Joined
- Apr 26, 2012
- Messages
- 2,827
i still have them in an old Cu24. balls and power from the HFS. i never use neck pickups so i can comment on the VB.
I absolutely agree that D1 is a better PU but I've never heard hfs described as muddy???I don't care for the HFS at all, and I do play with very high gain and typically prefer high output pups in general. HFS is dark and muddy to my ears. Fat, but not in a good way. The original Dragon Treble was a much better high output ceramic pup IMO.
VB is fine, I wouldn't swap it out if it's already there, but there are better neck options if you are swapping.
This is my take too and also not really a fan of high output pups so not that much of an Outlier. I do have a Cu24 'Floyd' that came with the \m/ pups - my 'outlier' in my collection though and find these to be more versatile than the name suggests but they certainly wouldn't be my 'first' choice for a majority use case. I would also say that for me, PRS Pups were the weakest part - OK, but not what I would prefer until around 2008 as well.I've been a PRS player since 1991, and never loved a PRS standard humbucking pickup made before 2008. I've loved every PRS pickup made since (but haven't tried the 'M' series).
Keep in mind, though, that I don't play high gain stuff; the post-2008 pickups work better for me with 'edge of breakup' amps that I want to have a vintage tone,
I'm probably an outlier.
I love my late 90s CE22 with Dragon 1 pups, but didn't connect nearly the same way to the sound of the Dragon 2s in my early 2000's CE22. Reminiscent of my first PRS (a mid-90s CU24 that I really loved the tone of) I just pulled the trigger on a set of mid-90s HFS/VBs on Reverb and am looking forward to making the swap.That's the thing with Pups is that they are truly subjective. There will be someone that absolutely loves the HFS/VB or Dragon II's over anything they make today but unless I owned a Vintage PRS that came 'stock' with HFS/VB, I wouldn't be buying them to stick in my more modern PRS guitars - but each to their own...
Not an outlier, as I firmly fit into this camp as well. I never really jived with the pickups in my early PRS's and that includes the HFS. 2008 and the 57/08 was game changing IMO. I grew up playing with my father's (he is 80) Gibson's and really bonding with the response, dynamics and feel of old PAF's. The post 2008 PRS pickups do a really good job of capturing that mojo IMO. I should add, I am a "high gain guy" as well.I've been a PRS player since 1991, and never loved a PRS standard humbucking pickup made before 2008. I've loved every PRS pickup made since (but haven't tried the 'M' series).
Keep in mind, though, that I don't play high gain stuff; the post-2008 pickups work better for me with 'edge of breakup' amps that I want to have a vintage tone,
I'm probably an outlier.
I defnately am in this camp as well. Older PRS PUs never rocked my boat.Not an outlier, as I firmly fit into this camp as well. I never really jived with the pickups in my early PRS's and that includes the HFS. 2008 and the 57/08 was game changing IMO. I grew up playing with my father's (he is 80) Gibson's and really bonding with the response, dynamics and feel of old PAF's. The post 2008 PRS pickups do a really good job of capturing that mojo IMO. I should add, I am a "high gain guy" as well.
As for the HFS, like Sergio said, you have to look at context: it was designed in an era of huge racks/signal chains and players trying to get more gain out of available amps. The HFS is super tight, has plenty of juice and an upper mid attack that does exactly what it was designed to do and does it well. That said, that upper mid/top end attack has just never really worked with my playing (and ear). For a high output PRS pickup, I would grab a \m/, which while bright, has much broader mids or a Dragon 1, which is probably my favorite old school PRS pickup.
Yes, so I could do a back and forth A/B comparison.What did you put them in, the SE?
As A Metal Player Primarily, I Have Found Many Better Choices For Me Over The HFS. Of Course We All Like What We Like But I Have Never Been Particularly Fond Of It.I’ve pulled the HFS out of my guitars and used the 59/09. I like that combo. I don’t understand why metal players aren’t gobbling the HFS up. If I played that style, it would be all I used.