Another pickup swap

[gush]

I've had 8515 pickups in my 2000 McCarty. Loved neck hated bridge.

I've since moved on............. HOWEVER..........I keep reading people's remarks about how good the 5815LT pickups are and how many feel like they are the best pickups prs has ever released.

I'm a sucker.........or something like that. Lol

I picked up a set of LTs fairly reasonable so now I will find out for myself.

I've got a HUGE work project going on right now so I won't be able to do the swap till this project is behind me.

Might be a couple weeks but I'm really anxious to get these in and try em out.

Wish me luck! Would be nice to make this the last PU swap for this guitar.

 

[Prs Mods too]

I've had 5815 pickups in my 2000 McCarty. Loved neck hated bridge.

I've since moved on............. HOWEVER..........I keep reading people's remarks about how good the 5815LT pickups are and how many feel like they are the best pickups prs has ever released.

I'm a sucker.........or something like that. Lol

I picked up a set of LTs fairly reasonable so now I will find out for myself.

I've got a HUGE work project going on right now so I won't be able to do the swap till this project is behind me.

Might be a couple weeks but I'm really anxious to get these in and try em out.

Wish me luck! Would be nice to make this the last PU swap for this guitar.

Good luck!

Keep us posted.

 

[Greywolf]

The 58/15 LT's are a nice pickup , tapped they are delicious, very versatile but I prefer the warmth of the 57/08's .

 

[JasonE]

What did you have and what didn't you like about them? What are you hoping for with the 58/15 LT?

I ask these questions because I like the sound of the 58/15 LTs in my 594 but I did not like the volume of them. They were a lot less output than my guitars with 57/08s in them and when I would swap guitars at a gig, it was quite noticeable to me. I pulled them and put a set of 57/08s in it and love those pickups in there.

 

[SinSir]

Good luck! I still think the crown goes to 5708 and/or 5909, especially the bridge.

What I've done is use the 5815LT in the neck with both of those in the bridge. My SAS has the 5708 and 5815LT combo and my KL33 has the 5909 and 5815LT combo. I think those combos are superb. The 5815LT is amazing split In the SAS. It's almost a push to me 5708 or 5815LT neck, but I had a pair of 5815LT and used both for the neck in each guitar. Used in the middle position it truly does sound excellent in both.

Looking forward to your tone report..

 

[garrett]

I love the original LT, back when it was just the one pickup.

I put in a set of the new aftermarket ones for Mark and I wanted to steal that neck pickup, it's so good.

They don't push the amp like the other pickups, but they have a great cleanness and clarity about them. I think my pick for versatility would be the LT neck and 57/08 bridge.

 

[gush]

What did you have and what didn't you like about them? What are you hoping for with the 58/15 LT?

I ask these questions because I like the sound of the 58/15 LTs in my 594 but I did not like the volume of them. They were a lot less output than my guitars with 57/08s in them and when I would swap guitars at a gig, it was quite noticeable to me. I pulled them and put a set of 57/08s in it and love those pickups in there.

When I tried the 8515s I really loved the tone of the neck PU but the bridge was weaker and uninspiring.

The neck isn't high output but it would over power most bridge PUs i tried.

I hope the LTs are more balanced and I hope the bridge PU has a little more PAF tone.

I'm not using as much OD as I was when I tried the 8515 PUs.

Fingers crossed.

 

[László]

It'll be interesting to see how you like them.

My bet is you won't. And not because they're bad, I just doubt they'll be your kinda thing.

 

[gush]

It'll be interesting to see how you like them.

My bet is you won't. And not because they're bad, I just doubt they'll be your kinda thing.

You're probably right but I REALLY WANT to like them. I'm guessing I'll love the neck PU and hopefully the LT version will mate better with something else than the 8515 did.

 

[SinSir]

You're probably right but I REALLY WANT to like them. I'm guessing I'll love the neck PU and hopefully the LT version will mate better with something else than the 8515 did.

I'm sure you'll find something in that Scrooge McPickup stash drawer of yours.. Pairs really well with one of those covered 5909. My covered 5909 isn't as balsy though as my uncovered one. More like a new version 5708. Maybe somewhere in between the two.

 

[gush]

I'm sure you'll find something in that Scrooge McPickup stash drawer of yours.. Pairs really well with one of those covered 5909. My covered 5909 isn't as balsy though as my uncovered one. More like a new version 5708. Maybe somewhere in between the two.

I'm almost to the point of needing two drawers for pickups..................

 

[gush]

I'm sure you'll find something in that Scrooge McPickup stash drawer of yours.. Pairs really well with one of those covered 5909. My covered 5909 isn't as balsy though as my uncovered one. More like a new version 5708. Maybe somewhere in between the two.

I have a 2011 cu24 with 5909s and it sounds killer. I had a set in my McCarty for a while and it sounded very close to my cu24.

I've had a 5909 in it recently and it didn't have that magic which is another reason why I think my hearing is jacking me up.

 

[SinSir]

I have a 2011 cu24 with 5909s and it sounds killer. I had a set in my McCarty for a while and it sounded very close to my cu24.

I've had a 5909 in it recently and it didn't have that magic which is another reason why I think my hearing is jacking me up.

Interesting..my ear plays tricks on me sometimes too. It's weird or just change in preferences I guess.

My 5909 are very different sounding in two guitars. Cu24 and all Korina KL33. Ones covered and another isn't, but the difference is definitely more than that. Maybe even more than wood, too. But they're different with somewhat of the same flavor.

My 2011 with 5909 is absolutely killer too. It's the papa smurf around my house. Not sure what pixie dust PRS was using on these, but man that guitar sounds phenomenal. It even rings different unplugged just tapping. A never going anywhere guitar.

 

[László]

I've had a 5909 in it recently and it didn't have that magic which is another reason why I think my hearing is jacking me up.

Might be good to know for sure. Never hurts to have your hearing tested.

Beyond the ability to enjoy music and tone, there are strategies for saving your hearing if it's in danger.

 

[gush]

Got 5815LTs in my McCarty today.

Spent 30 minutes playing it to make sure everything works.

First, I'm not using as much OD as I was when I tried 8515 set.
These LTs are a lot different from what I remember of the 8515.

There is still an unbalance between neck and bridge but it's not as bad as 8515. I started with both PUs flush with rings so I can go up with bridge to cure that.

Haven't spent more than 30 minutes but my first impressions are very good.

Neck is super creamy and very smooth. Still likes having tone pot rolled down so thats good.

The biggest difference is the bridge PU. So far I'm just shocked how different it is. Best way to describe it is ACDC Back in Black tone. Those guitars don't really have as much OD when you REALLY listen to it.

It seems this is where the bridge pickup shines. Again......I'm shocked. I didn't expect this at all after being let down by my 8515 set.

I'm getting excited to play more which is a good thing.

I tend to want to go all in with new PUs or amps or whatever only to realize.......
Maybe I don't like it as much as I thought.

We shall see. I'm glad I took the time to do the swap and I hope I love them more as time goes on.

Thanks for listening to my agonizing journey of pickup musical chairs.

I'll report back later.

 

[LunarRock]

Nice one gush. I just put 58/15lt+ in my S2 SC too, after going from 85/15 to a bareknuckle set for couple of years

They came out of a custom24 so bridge was reverse polarity, I wired them up to mini block connectors hot glued to pick guard and ran cloth pull back from there.

So far so good, experimenting......I'm not exactly sure what the original guitar was, but have seen cu24 limited reviewed online, with neck reversed....here on stock wiring the bridge slug is dominant on split, and screw neck, with HBs orientated conveniently, and the polarity is off. I'm going to play over weekend and see which configuration I prefer. Block connectors & pickguard make this easy. I've left the stock S2 capacitors (33). I have orange drop 22's for 594 circuit, but they sounded a bit woofy to me when I used them before.....maybe a character of that origin, I dunno. Tend to only use treble roll off anyway..

I want to add that I read online where someone opened a bridge tof.ip polarity, and found it had 3 bar magnets......so not going there....

 

[Lewguitar]

I want to add that I read online where someone opened a bridge tof.ip polarity, and found it had 3 bar magnets......so not going there....

Three bar magnets? Humbuckers only use one. I suppose you could go nuts and stack three….

 

[ViperDoc]

I love the middle position possibilities with the 4-knob arrangement and 58/18LTs. Neck rolled off just a touch, what a fantastic tone.

 

[gush]

I love the middle position possibilities with the 4-knob arrangement and 58/18LTs. Neck rolled off just a touch, what a fantastic tone.

With me, I can get a pretty good idea of whether or not I'll like a PU by noodling for a few minutes.

The 8515 bridge was an immediate "no" within seconds of plugging it in.

Absolute huge disappointment. Just the opposite with neck though. Wonderful PU.

This LT neck is very simular. All the good tonal qualities of the 8515 but just lower output.

The bridge is a different story. The very first strum was a pleasant surprise. No resemblance to 8515 at all. IMO

So far, I'm happy. My next step was going to be T and B reissues with blue wafer rotary! That would be an interesting McCarty!

On a side note, I had contemplated putting stock McCarty PUs back in but I couldn't find them.

While looking for my rosewood switch cap I found McCartys!!!!!

Different parts drawer............

On yet another note, everything changes everything.........what if the two amps i let go would have been keepers with the LT pickups??????

Ugh

 

[László]

The 8515 bridge was an immediate "no" within seconds of plugging it in.

That surprised me at first when I read it. The 85/15 is the perfect bridge pickup for my CU24 PS.

But it makes sense: The CU24 is a very different guitar, with a more focused midrange.

As I understand it, the 85/15 was designed for the CU24. It makes perfect sense that it would work differently in one of the 22 fret, thicker-bodied models.