85/15 pickups - Replace them ?

[amit]

Hi, a long time that i dont feel connection to the 85/15 stock pickups in my 2016 custom 24. they sound good but they are lack of mids and they are very dry.. wanted some more open pickups that can be also versatile and do good cleans but also plexi and even metal. they need to be medium to high output. thought on paf style of dimarzio and seymour duncan but not emg and bare knuckle. need a good lead (petrucci fun) but also a good clean. im also play plexi style.

I will be happy if there is someone that have done that in the past and can recommend me a good pups. thank you.

 

[matt3310]

I'll buy yours if you want to sell them!

Check out the Tremonti set if you want to stay with PRS pickups. If you want to go outside PRS the SD distortion is pretty cool!

 

[Screamingdaisy]

Been thinking of pulling the 85-15s out of mine too. They're great for classic rock, but I didn't buy a Custom 24 to play classic rock.

I've been leaning towards either a PRS HFS or \m/. If you want a little less output the Duncan Custom is your classic hotrodded PAF sound.

 

[elvis]

I recommend against high output. They tend to sound terrible clean. The Tremonti set is awfully ice pick in standard tuning, better down tuned. My experience has been that medium output pickups plus a high gain or boosted amp is better both clean and dirty. You might try boosting your amp with an od808 or ts9 before you decide you don’t have enough mids.

Duncan custom custom, distortion, dirty fingers, etc may be reasonable alternatives. I like 58/15 for clean through hard rock. Cold sweats for rock through metal.

 

[amit]

Been thinking of pulling the 85-15s out of mine too. They're great for classic rock, but I didn't buy a Custom 24 to play classic rock.

I've been leaning towards either a PRS HFS or \m/. If you want a little less output the Duncan Custom is your classic hotrodded PAF sound.

glad to hear that, i heard the HFS and loved them. will consider replace the 85/15 in them.

 

[amit]

I'll buy yours if you want to sell them!

Check out the Tremonti set if you want to stay with PRS pickups. If you want to go outside PRS the SD distortion is pretty cool!

i dont think i will sell them because if i will ever want to sell my guitar i prefer to sell it with them.

 

[amit]

I recommend against high output. They tend to sound terrible clean. The Tremonti set is awfully ice pick in standard tuning, better down tuned. My experience has been that medium output pickups plus a high gain or boosted amp is better both clean and dirty. You might try boosting your amp with an od808 or ts9 before you decide you don’t have enough mids.

Duncan custom custom, distortion, dirty fingers, etc may be reasonable alternatives. I like 58/15 for clean through hard rock. Cold sweats for rock through metal.

i have tried everything man! had a maxon od9 and right now i have the awesome mjolnir klon from mythos pedals for it. they sound very trebleie, dry and very thin. the sound is very good and in high level but its not my taste at all. the mids that come from ts9, od808, od9 bring more mids but dint affect the pickup itself. thank you.

 

[Ovibos]

i have tried everything man! had a maxon od9 and right now i have the awesome mjolnir klon from mythos pedals for it. they sound very trebleie, dry and very thin. the sound is very good and in high level but its not my taste at all. the mids that come from ts9, od808, od9 bring more mids but dint affect the pickup itself. thank you.

Thin, trebly and high level might mean the pickups are too high up? Did you try lowering them?

 

[elvis]

What amp and settings are you using?

 

[amit]

Thin, trebly and high level might mean the pickups are too high up? Did you try lowering them?

i sent the guitar to setup 2 weeks ago but it didnt change anything in the pickups. the 85/15 are just little bit thin and very dry. they sound awesome but dont seem to fit my playing style. they just lack something.. considered the dimarzio 36h ann.. any opinions?

 

[amit]

me

What amp and settings are you using?

sa boogie mark v 25 with eq set to 12 oclock plus minus. i have a good sound but im sure other pickups will give me better structure to start with..

 

[Ovibos]

i sent the guitar to setup 2 weeks ago but it didnt change anything in the pickups. the 85/15 are just little bit thin and very dry. they sound awesome but dont seem to fit my playing style. they just lack something.. considered the dimarzio 36h ann.. any opinions?

Setup may not solve that for you; it's a sound taste thing. Setup is gonna give you the playability you ask for.

 

[Screamingdaisy]

In fairness, PAF type pickups are generally kind of weak and bright sounding relative to a high output pickup. You can make all the adjustments you want to it, at the end of the day it still sounds like a PAF type pickup.

I know some people believe you can boost a PAF with an overdrive to give it more output and mids, but it's not the same as a hot pickup. Totally different animal.

 

[elvis]

I disagree with daisy on this one. Lower output pickups tend to be more full range with additional character and clarity. High output pickups are constrained in frequency to avoid flub, so they tend to sound thin when you're not in heavy overdrive. In my experience, a medium output pickup with great character like a 58/15 sounds great clean and with moderate drive, adding a boost that can tighten the lows and push the amp gives excellent results for high gain.

Petrucci and lukather both have boost built into their Sig guitars.

 

[Boogie]

In fairness, PAF type pickups are generally kind of weak and bright sounding relative to a high output pickup. You can make all the adjustments you want to it, at the end of the day it still sounds like a PAF type pickup.

I know some people believe you can boost a PAF with an overdrive to give it more output and mids, but it's not the same as a hot pickup. Totally different animal.

I disagree with daisy on this one. Lower output pickups tend to be more full range with additional character and clarity. High output pickups are constrained in frequency to avoid flub, so they tend to sound thin when you're not in heavy overdrive. In my experience, a medium output pickup with great character like a 58/15 sounds great clean and with moderate drive, adding a boost that can tighten the lows and push the amp gives excellent results for high gain.

Petrucci and lukather both have boost built into their Sig guitars.

I think you’re both saying something similar, with minor exception. Ultimately, if the target music style is heavy, and you have an amp rig dialed exactly as you like it with other guitars, you’d better continue to buy guitars - or pickups - with similar character. Anything else will possibly not work with your amp gain staging and EQ, meaning you’ll have to completely change the setup. Optimize the rest of the rig for the guitar or optimize the guitar for the rest of the rig. I’ve not found a way to have both.

 

[elvis]

That's another point as well, though I use a pretty good variety of pickups. Compression helps a lot with level equalization. If you're really particular about matching guitars, worth considering boogie's point.

I will agree with daisy that a "vintage" or underwound pickup is not a very good place to start. Boost can only do so much. But I'm not a fan of very.high output pickups in general. I like stuff like 58/15, cold sweat, evo, 57/08.

 

[winstonk2001]

I am with you on this one amit. I have a 2016 CE that has the 85/15's, and the only amp I can play it through where it really sounds good is my Benson Amps Monarch Reverb on the American Channel. The American Chanel tends to boost all things the 85 / 15's miss. I can see where they would be really good for highly distorted metal style playing. The clarity is unparalleled in that regards. Just that's not what i'm into. I have moved the pickup heights and the only way I can get the sound I want out of the guitar is to bump up the height of the bridge pickup and drop down the height of the neck pickup then play in the center position. the dropped neck pickup adds a little warmth to the higher bridge pickup and I can cut through the mix with it. I have tried and tried and really tried to like these pickups. The Benson Monarch is the reason I have kept them in there so long... yesterday I sat at the house and ran the guitar through the house amplifier; a Kay 703, and finally had to switch to my SG. After hating the sound for an hour I plug in my 2013 SG and it's like... "Oh there it is that was the sound I was looking for from a set of humbuckers." Even when switched into the single coil mode it just ain't right. There is no bite to the bridge pickup and the compression is minimial on the bridge pickup.No warmth to them. I realize that there are a lot of people who like this and that's fine. I have just reached the point where I need to go with something else. If you don't want to swap out the pickups; my recommendation to make them a little fatter is to buy yourself a Mad Prefessor "Little Green Compressor. This compressor has a "sustain mode on it which doesn't affect the sound of the pick attack, but adds a little beef and sustain to the sound with minimal coloring of the tone. It works well with the 85 / 15's I have personal experience. I just hat leaving it on all the time, so for me it's time to start investigating replacements... If I can get the SD Pearly Gates or antiquity Hubuckers to Coil tap correctly I will likely go with them.

 

[HANGAR18]

Hi, a long time that i dont feel connection to the 85/15 stock pickups in my 2016 custom 24. they sound good but they are lack of mids and they are very dry.. wanted some more open pickups that can be also versatile and do good cleans but also plexi and even metal. they need to be medium to high output. thought on paf style of dimarzio and seymour duncan but not emg and bare knuckle. need a good lead (petrucci fun) but also a good clean. im also play plexi style.

I will be happy if there is someone that have done that in the past and can recommend me a good pups. thank you.

My strategy is multiple PRS guitars which are divided into two different job categories. Guitars which are for doing the job of a "Rhythm Guitar Player" and guitars which are for doing the job of a "Lead Guitar Player". Think Def Leppard for example. The job of the Rhythm Guitar Player is to have a softer fatter warmer tone and play the rhythm while the Lead guitar player is to play the part which is more harsh, crispy and jagged in order to be heard separately and stand out from the rhythm being played at the same time.

Yes, each guitar has a bass and a treble pickup; and yes everyone is looking for one guitar which can do the work of both jobs in the event your band is a trio and thus has only one guitar player; and yes, PRS makes guitars which are very versatile. However, my strategy is to assign one role or the other to an individual guitar. As a result, I will have PRSi with 57/08's which I designate as rhythm guitars and PRSi with either 58/15LT's or 85/15's which I designate as lead guitars. In Def Leppard, the rhythm guitar is always a Les Paul while the lead guitar is always a shred machine. Same goes for Metallica. Rhythm guitar soft tone, lead guitar sharp tone.

So, don't change out your 85/15's. Keep them and play the songs which sound better with those pickups. Then buy more PRSi with different pickups.

 

[Boogie]

My strategy is multiple PRS guitars which are divided into two different job categories. Guitars which are for doing the job of a "Rhythm Guitar Player" and guitars which are for doing the job of a "Lead Guitar Player". Think Def Leppard for example. The job of the Rhythm Guitar Player is to have a softer fatter warmer tone and play the rhythm while the Lead guitar player is to play the part which is more harsh, crispy and jagged in order to be heard separately and stand out from the rhythm being played at the same time.

Yes, each guitar has a bass and a treble pickup; and yes everyone is looking for one guitar which can do the work of both jobs in the event your band is a trio and thus has only one guitar player; and yes, PRS makes guitars which are very versatile. However, my strategy is to assign one role or the other to an individual guitar. As a result, I will have PRSi with 57/08's which I designate as rhythm guitars and PRSi with either 58/15LT's or 85/15's which I designate as lead guitars. In Def Leppard, the rhythm guitar is always a Les Paul while the lead guitar is always a shred machine. Same goes for Metallica. Rhythm guitar soft tone, lead guitar sharp tone.

So, don't change out your 85/15's. Keep them and play the songs which sound better with those pickups. Then buy more PRSi with different pickups.

That is an excellent suggestion; well put!

Personally, I’ll grab an all hog guitar for support roles. The right stompbox will give me a good lead tone that will step up over the mix. OTOH, my other guitarist often plays an all-hog Les Paul, which screws up that approach...but a DGT Std with big strings can be as warm as you want. Experiment!

 

[László]

Honestly, there are tone and volume controls on the guitar and on the amp. If the pickups are bright, all of these settings affect the tone. Then there are pedals.

The 85/15s are fantastic pickups, and sound great with the guitar volume at literally 3 on up. The tone control on my CU24 actually works and is useful. My guitar is equipped with PRS’ Sweet Switch, because it’s a PS, so that’s something worth exploring as well. It reduces treble output.

Then I have midrange, treble, and presence controls on my amps.

For players who simply set a guitar volume and tone on 10 and wail away, you might try using the controls.