Hey all. I am new to the forum and recently purchased my first PRS guitars. It is an S2 singlecut in black satin. So far, I LOVE the guitar. It feels amazing, looks amazing and sounds great. With that said, the guitar I have previously played the most is an 88 Gibson SG Special with a DiMarzio Super Distortion in the bridge and a Seymour Duncan 59 in the neck. I really like the clarity of the 59 combined with the SD for clean tones while I love the SD for high gain stuff. So that's my frame of reference... Without playing the PRS a ton, my initial impression of the tone is that offers greater clarity and dynamic range on a dirty amp channel. However, it sounds slightly thin and lacks some punch vs. what I am used to. I get that this is to be expected considering the different pickups. When clean, the #7 neck pickup sounds slightly dark to me vs the 59. All of my impressions may change in time and I would not be surprised if I fell in love with the #7's as-is. I know the #7 pickups were carefully crafted for the s2 singlecut so I am hesitant to start swapping out pickups. My question is as follows... Has anyone ever swapped out magnets in the #7's? I believe the stock magnets are A4's. I was considering A5's for the neck to brighten it up. This in my mind would be a minor tweak without taking much away from the careful thought that went into the crafting of the #7s and the way they were wound to prevent volume drop when tapped. Thoughts? Experiences?
Ya but I already think the tone is a bit dark... Wanna brighten up the neck when clean. I am assuming it's a 500K stock?
IIRC, all PRS pots are 500k. If you haven't already, take some time to play with the pickup height, and adjusting the poll screws. A small tweak can make a huge difference with PRS pickups. That said, lots of guys swap pickups without giving it a second thought. It all comes down to personal preference. Congrats on your first, and welcome to the forum!
Thanks! I am in no rush and definitely plan to play it for a while before making any decisions. I already moved the pickups a little bit to get them closer to the recommended setup specs but I will probably tinkle some more. Any recommendations? I have heard that lowering the pickup while raising the poll screws can create some desirable improvements.
I always raise the pole screws to match the string radius, and then just play with the pickup height as a whole to get it where it sounds best. The 7's are nice pickups, but I did swap the bridge on my satin 22 because it was just a little to nasal/high mid focused. On my semi hollow 22 I love them.
Regarding the bridge, I considered swapping out for Seymour Custom 5 but I haven't played the guitar near enough to make a decision yet. What did you put in the bridge?
I do as Andy mentioned with matching the string radius. Meaning, if you look at the arc of all 6 strings, sighting down the fretboard from behind the bridge, you'll notice that the saddle heights are different for each string (assuming a trem). You adjust the pole pieces to match that. I do that, and then adjust the height by 1/4 turns until I get what I like. Depends on the type of pickup, and the guitar, more so than a specific height for everything.
Thanks. All great feedback. I just played with the screw height on the neck pickup and it really seemed to help to the point that I think I am happy. Boosted the clarity and brightness for sure. It no longer sounds as dark to me. I do agree on the bridge pup being a little thin and nassly though.
I went with a covered 59/09, and it put the tone right where I wanted it, more balanced. The output is a very good match for the neck #7.
