2023 Current Opinion on HFS & Vintage Bass pickups?

[watelessness]

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.

 

[dogrocketp]

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.

 

[Bowtiefanatc]

I put an Alnico 8 magnet in an HFS once. It was suuuper aggressive, but it lost that high end sparkle the ceramic has.

Fun experiment, but the HFS is technically better with a ceramic magnet.

The VB with an A4 is also better.

 

[gush]

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.

I absolutely agree that D1 is a better PU but I've never heard hfs described as muddy???

I consider hfs sharp and harsh. People get good tones with it but I don't know how?

 

[Going Modal]

You'd be hard pressed to prove to me that the very-much-loved 57/08 neck pickup isn't essentially a Vintage Bass neck pickup, and that that wasn't the same as the previous Standard Bass. (All three AlNiCo II and ~8.5k. They sound great, and if they ain't broke don't fix 'em!) Very nice neck pickups.

As for the HFS, sorry I ain't got any...

 

[Mozzi]

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.

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.

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...

 

[thewesdavis]

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...

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.

I think this is part of the beauty of PRS - subtle differences like this that allow so many of us to find our sound!

 

[JJDon]

I tried the HFS/VB combo in a Custom 24 and personally didn't like them either, but would love to give them another chance sometime through my current rig. I think the M Metal pickup is a much better and more articulate pickup. I also prefer the 85/15s, just wish they had a bit more output. From what I remember, it had a distinctive ceramic sound which is why people may describe it at "harsh, spikey, or trebly", which I don't think is fair, as evidenced by it being used on a bunch of 90s/00s famous nu-metal and rock songs. Like someone else said, it has a very distinctive sound and fits with a certain type of rig. Wouldn't say its super versatile though.

 

[VHTStark]

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.

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.

 

[Gtrbldr]

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.

I defnately am in this camp as well. Older PRS PUs never rocked my boat.

Had a 92 CE24, my first PRS and hated the HFS/VB. Put in some SD59s I had in a drawer. They improved the guitar tremendously, although not the best fit in retrospect. Should have put a Pearly Gates in the bridge. I love that PU. Same holds for the dragon 2 in my CU22. They were gone very quickly.

Now, the new offerings post 2008 are a different story. There js good stuff there, but I am in the low to medium output PUs.

 

[Torvald]

Hmmm. Interesting older thread. It happens that I have a Maryland HFS/Vintage Bass set. First set of pickups I ever swapped. I'm dying to see how they compare to the 85/15 "S" set in my S2 Standard 24, which actually sound so good I'm not inclined to swap them. Maybe I'll put them in my SE Single Cut, that I currently have for sale, just to compare. I know some of the S2'S came with them, but, most people preferred the 85/15 "S".
Only one way to find out, I guess.

 

[Torvald]

I swapped the Maryland HFS/VB into the Single Cut, complete with a push/pull and the resistors like the S2 has, and what a difference between them and the S2 85/15's! It's like a blanket has been pulled off the amp. So clear and clean and the split tones are just excellent. Of course the HFS will get mean and knarly if you want, too. Didn't intend to start modding this one right away but I couldn't resist trying the HFS/VB out again. Glad I did!

 

[dogrocketp]

What did you put them in, the SE?

 

[Torvald]

What did you put them in, the SE?

Yes, so I could do a back and forth A/B comparison.

 

[Torvald]

Just a theory, but maybe the G&B pickups are over potted and the Maryland pickups were done just enough. Aside from other differences in materials etc.

 

[markd21]

Crap. I hate them. It took YEARS for me to try PRS again after multiple CU and CE24s with those horrific pickups

 

[Gtrbldr]

After many years of reconsidering I still dont like them

 

[Bogner]

I Never Was A Fan.

 

[Torvald]

FWIW my HFS/VB set is an older set that I bought off eBay several years ago. Also I'm playing them straight into a Tweaker 15 into a Red Fang speaker as well as an Orange Micro Dark into a 2x8 cabinet with Celestion PA type speakers. I like 'em.

 

[Bogner]

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.

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.