best bridge pup replacement for Korina McCarty

What pickup for Korina McCarty bridge

  • 58/08

    Votes: 1 14.3%
  • 59/09

    Votes: 6 85.7%
  • \m/

    Votes: 0 0.0%

  • Total voters
    7
  • Poll closed .

hord1080

New Member
Joined
Apr 11, 2018
Messages
101
Location
New Jersey
Hey all. I love my new to me 09 Korina McCarty (stock McCarty PUs) but after a few months and playing my buddy's Cu24 with 85/15's I feel like I need to try something new in the bridge. I just was smitten with his tone and more so the ability to cover lots of ground with power and clarity, and I know I might be trying too hard with this (I really just need a 2nd guitar, but not it the cards any time soon) so would like to make it a little more versatile. Would like to cover ground anywhere from 311 to Creed, Zeppelin to Incubus, Foo Fighters to Slash solos and into the metal zone. I hear the newer PRS pickups are outstanding and was thinking 57/08, 59/09, or \m/ - thoughts on the best match for me? I feel like to combo of Korina and stoptail may influence things. For reference I used to have a Seymour Duncan Distortion (ceramic) in my Fat Strat that I loved that really gives you that amazing PRS-like drop D power chord sustain and palm muting tight chunk but also killed Slash solos and cleaned up nice - it covered all the tones I mentioned. I also will replace the neck at some point but mostly play the bridge PU.
 
57/08 in the neck position, and a 59/09 in the bridge position could be a killer versatile combination. (That 59 should get you just a little bit more into the 311/Foo/Slash range that you're looking for.)
 
I went 59/09 as well. My fav PRS pick up. Also, don't let the \m/ scare you. They are very versatile, and are great for styles other than metal.
 
thanks all. Yes the \m/ is intriguing, i have read good things about the versatility and sounds almost similar in description to the Duncan Distortion. Did/does the 59/09 ever come covered? I kind of like the nickel look on this guitar.
 
thanks all. Yes the \m/ is intriguing, i have read good things about the versatility and sounds almost similar in description to the Duncan Distortion. Did/does the 59/09 ever come covered? I kind of like the nickel look on this guitar.
You may be able to find one in the wild, if you are very patient. They don't pop up often. I got mine when I had a guitar at the PTC for a refinish and some switching mods. I asked for a 57/08 in the neck and a 59/09 in the bridge, and they are both covered. I don't recall if I asked for covered specifically.
 
Can’t go wrong either way - 59/09 will get you a little more push, but many amps and ordeals have plenty of gain on tap anyways - I’ve done hard rock on 57/08’s with fantastic results. So it just depends on the rest of your rig. If you don’t need to kick the amp extra hard to get what you want, and you want covered, 57/08 is a fine choice.
 
thanks all. Yes the \m/ is intriguing, i have read good things about the versatility and sounds almost similar in description to the Duncan Distortion. Did/does the 59/09 ever come covered? I kind of like the nickel look on this guitar.
IMHO adding a cover to a pickup is pretty easy. Brush w steel wool to get std PRS brushed finish.
 
I really like the 5708 set that the PTC put into my Korina McCarty. It was done in 2009 and was a promotion PRS was running at the time. Honestly, I recall digging it with the stock MCCarty pickups but the 5708s were more to my liking and they will stay.

I’m curious about the current crop of 5708s sold separately by PRS....the spec sheet on them makes them seem to be a hotter wind than my older 5708s seem to be. Anyone using the current ones who also has the originals circa 2009? Was thinking about a set for a 2008 SC245 that still has the stock pickups.

Enjoy that Korina McCarty OP, and good luck as you’re searching for the sound!
 
photo4.jpg
 
What amp or modeler are you plugging into? Any of the options you listed could work depending on the combination of everything. At one point, Tim Mahoney put 5708 in most his PRS. He was playing an Uberschall at the time.
 
Nice guitars! Tahlee - mine looks exactly like tdarian's with the outline birds. Love the way it looks.

I don't have a crazy setup, just an old Marshall Valvestate solid state 100w 2x12 that I have always enjoyed. Not really a pedal guy, usually i do channel 1 for vintage and channel 2 for heavier stuff, seems to work well. My buddy's Custom 24 sounded amazing on it.
 
What amp or modeler are you plugging into? Any of the options you listed could work depending on the combination of everything. At one point, Tim Mahoney put 5708 in most his PRS. He was playing an Uberschall at the time.
Yes I saw that Tim Mahoney put 57/08's in his guitars - he liked the string separation. he uses a lot of pedals and multiple amps at once so probably hard to get his exact tone but worth trying! I am still up in the air on which pickup but thanks all for the feedback, I will post up any findings if and when I do something.
 
Many folks like the 5708s and while I do like the neck, the bridge 5708 just doesn't trip my trigger.

5909 Bridge is a little hotter but it also has a different tone.

I have 5909s in a cu24 and sometimes I think it sounds like a really hot tele pickup. Weird, I know.

When I first put 5909s in my McCarty it sounded very simular to my cu24 and it was glorious!

The 5909 Bridge i have in it now sounds a lot different but my switching is different than before.

I'm swapping out the 5909 bridge.
 
I was finally able to grab a covered 59/09 on Reverb! Took a while for one to pop up and snagged it.

I am nervous to mess with the the exquisite wiring - looks like the braided cable is soldered to the neck pickup's braid and maybe the McCarty has only one wire instead of 4 like a lot of pickups. Thoughts? Would you bring this to a shop or am I just connecting the hot wire to where the existing pickup attaches on the 3-way switch?

ShhQzME.jpeg


PHBoBFN


ShhQzME
 
I have a 2000 McCarty and have had a ton of different pickups in it.

First, if you are standard or Eb 5909 is an excellent choice. I had a 5909 set in it early on with stock switching and it sounded incredible. Unfortunately I do not like 5708 bridge, at all.

However, I'm still in Eb and have 408 style switching. Push pulls on both vol and tone pots. The 5909 bridge doesn't sound the same, lost a little of the sweet stuff.

I have 8515 neck in it and the 5909 struggles to stay balanced with it. 8515 neck is absolutely incredible sounding but I scored a squabbin dragon 1 bridge pickup so that's what is in there now.

I am running my guitars differently now than I have in the past. I am recording only so I can set up the guitar controls to suite my needs for any given track so the dragon 1 may not work so well in a live situation but works just fine for me now.

In D or lower hfs/vb works pretty well even though in standard tuning i dislike the HFS. If you're going for high gain the hfs can be a little much. A little loose and woofy sounding.

M pickups work incredibly well in D or lower. Very powerful, tight and very good string separation. Nearly impossible to make them sound muddy, almost like they just won't produce muddy tones. Ms were just ok in standard pitch.

Hope this helps
 
Back
Top