85/15 "S" pickups?

[george7117]

Anyone had any experience or care to comment on the new 85/15 S pickups? I'm looking at a S2 with these and was wondering what they sound like/how close to regular 85/15s? Any help would be great. Thanks.

 

[Basauri]

I have no experience with core 85/15s but I have korean 85/15 S in my SE custom 24 and don´t like them very much. They sound ok, good output and well balanced tone, but they are a little harsh to my ears. They break up easily and rolling down the volume they don´t clean up as nicely as my other pickups. Obviously, I´m comparing apples and oranges because here we´re talking about regular korean pickups, and my references are 57/08s, 245s, modded Gibson Burstbuckers, BKP Mules... top notch pickups.

 

[Ovibos]

I have no experience with core 85/15s but I have korean 85/15 S in my SE custom 24 and don´t like them very much. They sound ok, good output and well balanced tone, but they are a little harsh to my ears. They break up easily and rolling down the volume they don´t clean up as nicely as my other pickups. Obviously, I´m comparing apples and oranges because here we´re talking about regular korean pickups, and my references are 57/08s, 245s, modded Gibson Burstbuckers, BKP Mules... top notch pickups.

I'll take em off your hands.

 

[umo]

I have no experience with core 85/15s but I have korean 85/15 S in my SE custom 24 and don´t like them very much. They sound ok, good output and well balanced tone, but they are a little harsh to my ears. They break up easily and rolling down the volume they don´t clean up as nicely as my other pickups. Obviously, I´m comparing apples and oranges because here we´re talking about regular korean pickups, and my references are 57/08s, 245s, modded Gibson Burstbuckers, BKP Mules... top notch pickups.

Have you ever tried the PRS Tone Furnace pickups which used to be on the PRS SE Custom 22 when it still had a hardtail bridge?

 

[Basauri]

No, I haven't.
Are they better or worse than 85/15 Ss?

 

[umo]

No, I haven't.
Are they better or worse than 85/15 Ss?

I haven't tried the 85/15 S's yet. Been trying to find a place but nothing close by just yet. I tried the Tone Furnace pickups though and they were pretty good

I just asked because I was trying to gauge if the 85/15 S cleaned up about as well as the Tone Furnace or not and possibly how well they handled heavy distortion.

I tried the Tone Furnace pickups and they handled heavy distortion just as good as some other hard rock/heavy metal pickups from other brands like the Seymour Duncan Invaders or EMG 81 pickups. Easy to shred, play big chords, and legato all around. They also managed to clean up much better when rolling off from the volume knob as well, and I had the amp going pretty high on gain.

How do you find the sustain on the 85/15 S pickups?

 

[umo]

2017 PRS SE Guitar Demo Review w/ Tom Quayle

2017 PRS CE 24 Electric Guitar Demo Review with Tom Quayle

Same player, same rig.

I think comparing the 85/15 S on an SE Custom 24 to the 85/15 on the CE Custom 24 might be the most accurate way to compare as they are the most similar models.

85/15 S video at 6:20

85/15 video at 4:10

Also, watch out for which pickup is being used when Tom is playing certain parts. He starts with the bridge pickup for distortion in the CE 24 video and he starts with the neck pickup in the SE 24 video so make sure its right pickup when comparing.

And the CE 24 video is louder for me on the max volume compared to the SE 24 video so try balancing them out otherwise the CE 24 might sound 'better' by virtue of volume.

I think the 85/15 sound a little brighter with more presence, and punch which cuts through a bit more.

The 85/15 S sound a bit darker and warmer but overall 'voicing' is really similar.

There are also these two videos from PRS

SE Custom 24 vs. SE Custom 22

The PRS Custom 24 vs Custom 22 | PRS Guitars

I don't think the rig is the same but same player and two selections of guitars with similar specs and the two pickups to compare.

 

[garrett]

Keep in mind that part of how the pickups clean up is due to the guitar's electronics. On the SE you have generic but decent Alpha pots with no treble bleed vs. CE and Core (generally) have PRS spec CTS pots with 180pf treble bleed cap.

 

[Basauri]

I just asked because I was trying to gauge if the 85/15 S cleaned up about as well as the Tone Furnace or not and possibly how well they handled heavy distortion.

How do you find the sustain on the 85/15 S pickups?

I think this is the key. As I said before, my references are PAF based pickups and blues tones. 85/15 S are more in the gain ballpark and probably that's the reason I don't like them very much.
As "modern" pickups I find them more transparent and balanced than, for example, the Gibson 496R/500T set.
They sustain ok, I have noticed neither lack of it nor an extraordinary sustain. Regular.

 

[umo]

I think this is the key. As I said before, my references are PAF based pickups and blues tones. 85/15 S are more in the gain ballpark and probably that's the reason I don't like them very much.
As "modern" pickups I find them more transparent and balanced than, for example, the Gibson 496R/500T set.
They sustain ok, I have noticed neither lack of it nor an extraordinary sustain. Regular.

Gotcha. I have been moving more towards warmer fatter tones and less distortion these days. Trying to avoid that bitey, super treble-y, 'shrill'-ness on the high end. Good to know they are more balanced and transparent tone wise though. I gotta check out some of the other sets you mentioned as well.

The PRS videos showcasing them always mentioned that the high end wasn't too shrill or ice-picky so I really wanted to put them through their paces. Especially since they are in almost every guitar from the S2 and SE range.

 

[Basauri]

Thinking about it, IIRC my 85/15 S's measured something near 7.9k and 8.5k
That's why I thought that they were classic or vintage pickups but they aren't in spite of not having that high gain pickup usual DC resistance

 

[Sagebrush]

Anyone had any experience or care to comment on the new 85/15 S pickups? I'm looking at a S2 with these and was wondering what they sound like/how close to regular 85/15s? Any help would be great. Thanks.

I have the PRS S2 Custom 24 guitar. I compared these pickups to the ones on my Gibson Les Paul, which are Seymour Duncan, Antiquity, humbucker. Playing through a Fender Twin Reverb and pulling out the tone control knob, I find I get a better sound with the PRS pickups. They sound brighter than the Antiquity, which I used to love until I heard these. I think it depends on the amp and setting you are using that makes the difference.

 

[Paul Reed Slut]

I think this is the key. As I said before, my references are PAF based pickups and blues tones. 85/15 S are more in the gain ballpark and probably that's the reason I don't like them very much.
As "modern" pickups I find them more transparent and balanced than, for example, the Gibson 496R/500T set.
They sustain ok, I have noticed neither lack of it nor an extraordinary sustain. Regular.

They sustain for days! I was playing the outro solo to hotel California legato part where you hold the last note of each pattern. Took so long for the note to decay I had to drag it off each time. So much sustain. Particularly at full volume.

 

[parallyze]

My 2017 CE24 has the 85/15, my 2017 SE Cu22 has got the 85/15 "S" in it. To my ears the 85/15 fit the CE very, very
well and the ones in the SE sound close. But there's definitely more "high fizz/noise" on higher gain settings than
on the CE, which makes them sound a bit harsh at times.

Maybe that has to do with what garret said:

Keep in mind that part of how the pickups clean up is due to the
guitar's electronics. On the SE you have generic but decent Alpha pots with no treble bleed vs. CE and
Core (generally) have PRS spec CTS pots with 180pf treble bleed cap.

 

[BeautyOfTheBirds]

Gotcha. I have been moving more towards warmer fatter tones and less distortion these days. Trying to avoid that bitey, super treble-y, 'shrill'-ness on the high end. Good to know they are more balanced and transparent tone wise though. I gotta check out some of the other sets you mentioned as well.

The PRS videos showcasing them always mentioned that the high end wasn't too shrill or ice-picky so I really wanted to put them through their paces. Especially since they are in almost every guitar from the S2 and SE range.

I recently bought a SE C24 with roasted maple neck and 85/15 S on it. I also find them (maybe also because of the maple neck?) very harsh in the highs and a bit unfocussed on the low e and a strings (10s NYXL).

Last weekend I changed them against a set of 57/08 plus new electronics (CTS pots, Oak Grigsby Switch, Switchcraft Plug).

This fixes the highs issue and also is more useable on the lows. But I find the neck in comparison... How to say... Not terribly dark, still very nice, but not so open. And the bridge sound is very very close to the 85/15 S one. When coil tapped I find the sounds of the 85/15 S much closer to Single coils (glassy) - maybe I have to experiment with the resistor values on coil tapping.

Resume:
85/15 S I really find not so bad at all! I would keep them If I could solve the two mentioned issues without lowering them to much (maybe changing magnets to better quality unoriented?).
57/08 are great!!! Maybe also not the right comparison to 85/15s (lower gain, Alnico 2).. But is the price difference really worth?

 

[NBW]

Keep in mind that part of how the pickups clean up is due to the guitar's electronics. On the SE you have generic but decent Alpha pots with no treble bleed vs. CE and Core (generally) have PRS spec CTS pots with 180pf treble bleed cap.

The SEs certainly do have a treble bleed. I've had both a 2018 SE Custom and a 2015 SE Standard open and they both had bleed caps on the volume pot.

 

[Shredheqd]

Anyone had any experience or care to comment on the new 85/15 S pickups? I'm looking at a S2 with these and was wondering what they sound like/how close to regular 85/15s? Any help would be great. Thanks.

Yeah they sound like ****. I got a SVN and they sound like a telecaster single coil. Swapping them out asap. Not sure why yet.

 

[Eddie kim]

I have absolutely no problem with my S2 cu24 with 85/15s pickups. Then again, I’m not season enough to tell you why I like them so much....

 

[dogrocketp]

I also have an S2 Custom 24 with 85/15S pickups. Mine has a katalox fingerboard. I wouldn’t Change the pickups under any circumstances. It goes from clean to distortion, humbucker to single better than any guitar I’ve ever played. I think it varies from guitar to guitar, and amps and ears figure in as well. YMMV.

 

[littlebadboy]

Here's my demo of the stock 85/15 S on a PRS S2 Standard 22, clean, dirty, and high gain. I like them, but not much... but not enough to urge me to take them out, because I'm a high output person. But, it has its own character that grows on me.