Hey, all. I have a 594 with a solid ebony neck and fingerboard. The guitar is amazingly resonant, but its natural tone is a little thin and bright, both acoustically and amplified. I'm like to tame the brightness slightly. Would replacing the 58/15 LTs with 57/08s help or hurt the situation? Thanks!
57/08s or 58/15 LTs in a bright guitar?
- Thread starter JDutch
- Start date
Alessandro
New Member
- Joined
- Jul 30, 2018
- Messages
- 167
I find the 58/15 lt pickups to the brightest pickups in any of my guitars. The 57/08 is 2nd in line. If you’re looking to seriously tame brightness, particularly in the bridge pickup, I’d recommend a 59/09. I’ve used it with a 57/08 neck pickup and also a 58/15 neck pickup and I liked the results.
Hmmm . . . possible to post pics without using a file sharing service?
Thanks for the response!
Ironically, the warmest PRS I own has 58/15 LTs but with a Brazilian rosewood neck and fingerboard.
Uncovered 53/10s and covered DGTs in other guitars appear about as warm as each other, but the DGTs are smoother.
The uncovered 59/09s in a Santana are almost as bright as the covered 58/15 LTs in the guitar with the ebony neck. Maybe those 59/09s appear bright because they aren't covered and because the guitar is thinner. I'd be willing to try the 59/09 in the bridge of the ebony-neck 594 if I could cover the squabbins.
The guitar sounds really, really good. I was hoping a pickup change would slightly reduce the brightness. No recent experience with 57/08s, but maybe I'll try the 57/08s if they're only slightly less bright than the 58/15 LTs.
dogrocketp
I drank the PRS kool aid, and it was tasty!
I’m a huge fan of the 57/08’s. I have a set in my parts drawer waiting for a guitar that needs them.
gush
Where is that speedo pic
Ebony neck??? Wouldn't that be ridiculously heavy? Surely you mean rosewood???
Sounds like a great combo.
Nope. Solid ebony neck. The guitar is ~ 8 lbs even with the thicker 594 body. No neck dive at all.
gush
Where is that speedo pic
Wow
Nice recommendation. I really like the voice of Archtop pickups, which are supposed to be low-wind McCarty pickups.
JasonE
PRS Fan Boy
I put 58/08s in my 594 but it was mostly to get a little more volume out of it compared to my other guitars. The pickups are the hotter variety of the 57/08 and they really woke the guitar up. They are a perfect match for my guitar. I would go that direction.
Thanks, Jason! Did you find the 57/08s generally to have a similar tonal character 58/15 LTs, but with less brightness and more output?
The guitar sounds good with the 58/15 LTs, so I'm hoping the pickup swap will be more evolutionary than revolutionary.
JasonE
PRS Fan Boy
Yes, that is exactly how I would describe it. It has less brightness and more output. Keep in mind that the current variety of 57/08 isn't quite as hot as the ones I have in my 594 so the output will be a little less than what I experienced but should still be noticeable. These pickups are also very sensitive to height adjustments. You will definitely want to play with that. 1/2 to a full turn on the height screws can make just enough difference to go from dislike to like. I had that with the 58/15 LT that is in my Studio. I bought 57/08 when I ordered the guitar with every intent on swapping it out based on my prior experience with my 594. After playing the Studio every day for about a week and just tweaking it a little at a time I got the pickup in a place where the output is good and the tone is good. I was kind of surprised because I expected to not like it.
Similar threads
