Considering trying 57/08s on my CU22, thoughts or advice?

[slide13]

Few weeks back I picked up a Custom 22 for my first PRS. So far I’ve been blown away by the feel, playability, and appearance of the guitar. But, I’m finding the sound a little too powerful, hifi ish, and the bridge can get a little harsh in the high end for my taste.

I come from single coils, playing an EJ Strat with low output vintage pickups that I run set pretty low as well. Sweet sound.

So, wondering if the 57/08 might give me that slightly softer and warmer vintage sound that I prefer compared to the 85/15s. The seem readily available on the PRS store which is nice and I like th covered look quite a bit actually.

 

[Big Mike]

Never tried them myself, but hear good things from people I trust.

Being that they seem to be alnico 2 loaded and vintage based, I'd absolutely give them a go.

 

[Bowtiefanatc]

They are great pickups. I just ordered a 57/08 neck pickup for my CU24 to pair with a 59/09 bridge.

 

[dogrocketp]

I put them in my 2003 CE 24. They are very full and powerful, and are my fave humbuckers. They also coil tap very well. Bowtie’s setup is extremely popular as well.

 

[Bowtiefanatc]

I'm actually swapping out an 85/15 neck pickup (which I love, but it's been mentioned before that it can be a little too overpowering in the middle position). Looking forward to getting this dialed in!

 

[slide13]

Pulled the trigger and have a set on the way, even sprung for 2-day air shipping so they'd be here for the weekend....looks like I have a project for Saturday!

 

[Bowtiefanatc]

I cheaped out with ground, should arrive tomorrow. I'll be putting it in this weekend, might try it out on Sunday or I'll stick with my go-to which is my Siggy

 

[CyFan4036]

Pulled the trigger and have a set on the way, even sprung for 2-day air shipping so they'd be here for the weekend....looks like I have a project for Saturday!

I've been thinking of doing this as well. I look forward to hearing your impressions. I swapped out the tone cap on mine, which warmed things up nicely in the mean time.

 

[slide13]

I've been thinking of doing this as well. I look forward to hearing your impressions. I swapped out the tone cap on mine, which warmed things up nicely in the mean time.

Oh yeah? What did you swap to for the tone cap? That's intriguing as well.

I don't tweak guitars too often but I really really like this Custom 22 and feel like dialing in the tone just how I like it will be worth the effort and expense long term.

 

[CyFan4036]

I have the CU22 Semi Hollow SE and found the pups a bit harsh in the upper frequencies as well. I've been modding my guitars for years so when I discovered a .033 cap in there i knew a .047 could help. I just didn't know how much. It helped significantly in providing a more vintage, warmer tone. It's a <$10 fix if you do it yourself. Fwiw, the brand of tone cap isn't as important as the value. I used a Panasonic cap leftover from a previous project.

I have to give PRS credit for these pups...it's very rare to get this kind brightness from a humbucker, especially on an import guitar. A .047 is generally used for single coils!

 

[markd21]

My CU22 came with square bobbin 57/08s. It sounds amazing.

 

[garrett]

I did an A/B with the 85/15 equipped one I ended up buying and another with 57/08.

The 57/08 set were great in the other guitar, but it took it into vintage humbucker territory, and I was looking for that brighter, modern sound.

I think you will like them.

 

[bodia]

They'll sound great in your Cu22. I have a Cu22 with a 57/08 neck and 59/09 bridge, and love how it sounds.

 

[Rider1260]

I think you will love the 57/08s , I do like the covered ones better for me.
I just put a McCarty set in my CU22 after having hotter pickups in there.
Really happy with the results

 

[gush]

They are great pickups. I just ordered a 57/08 neck pickup for my CU24 to pair with a 59/09 bridge.

I have this setup in my 97 ce24. 5708 neck is a fabulous pickup.

 

[Tone-y]

I have the CU22 Semi Hollow SE and found the pups a bit harsh in the upper frequencies as well. I've been modding my guitars for years so when I discovered a .033 cap in there i knew a .047 could help. I just didn't know how much. It helped significantly in providing a more vintage, warmer tone. It's a <$10 fix if you do it yourself. Fwiw, the brand of tone cap isn't as important as the value. I used a Panasonic cap leftover from a previous project.

I have to give PRS credit for these pups...it's very rare to get this kind brightness from a humbucker, especially on an import guitar. A .047 is generally used for single coils!

I thought .047uf capacitors were used in vintage strats and stuff back when the amplifiers were a lot brighter. Modern single coil guitars are often fitted with a 0.022uf. To make my PRS a bit more vintage sounding I disconnected the 'treble bleed' cap on the volume pot, which for me darkened the tone a bit, then I swapped the 0.033uf tone cap for a 0.022uf cap, which then brought a little bit more upper mids back and brightened the tone back a bit.

 

[CyFan4036]

I thought .047uf capacitors were used in vintage strats and stuff back when the amplifiers were a lot brighter. Modern single coil guitars are often fitted with a 0.022uf. To make my PRS a bit more vintage sounding I disconnected the 'treble bleed' cap on the volume pot, which for me darkened the tone a bit, then I swapped the 0.033uf tone cap for a 0.022uf cap, which then brought a little bit more upper mids back and brightened the tone back a bit.

.047 caps have been used in every single coil Fender I’ve ever had from the factory and is also what I use in my single coil builds. The .022 is much more commonly found in Humbucker equipped guitars, although I preferred .033 caps with Fender’s modern WRHBs. These are just basic rules of thumb, I’ve found many guitars can benefit from being a little outside the box. As for the treble bleed, this is the first guitar I’ve had with one. It’s my understanding that it’s intent is to keep the treble from rolling off when the player decreases volume. In any case, it’s fun playing around with caps and pots to find unique tones. Cheap and easy to reverse if it isn’t right.

 

[slide13]

Project complete.

First I clipped a leg of the treble bleed. That let me push it back in place to make contact and A/B it back and forth which was great to decide I prefer it without. That definitely helped the stock pickups for my taste and I almost decided to call that good enough and return the 57/08s.

But I finally decided to take the plunge and swap the pups. And really glad I did! The 57/08s gave it just the mid range character I was looking for and missing from the 85/15s. I can see why people like the 85/15....if you want a more modern sound they’re a great pickup. But I like the warm vintage midrange you get with a PAF and the 57/08s are doing that for me.

A/B’d the treble bleed again with th new pickups and it was much closer now, could easily live with the treble bleed and the 57/08s but ultimately decided I still prefer without.

The one slight issue is the bridge pickup seems rather weak compared to the neck. I’m running the neck really low (4/32” from strings), so much that you can see a gap because it sits below the bottom edge of the pickup ring. The bridge is at about 3/64” at most, probably a little less and it still feels slightly weak compared to the neck.

Thankfully I can live with that as like to run with my volume at like 7 to give me room to kick it up when needed. So if I have to raise my volume 1/2-1 on the dial that’s fine. And worth it to get the kind of tone I want.

Is there anything I could have done in wiring it up that could cause that? Even just taking my ruler and tapping the pole pieces gently, the bridge is much quieter than the neck, which seems odd.

 

[CyFan4036]

Project complete.

First I clipped a leg of the treble bleed. That let me push it back in place to make contact and A/B it back and forth which was great to decide I prefer it without. That definitely helped the stock pickups for my taste and I almost decided to call that good enough and return the 57/08s.

But I finally decided to take the plunge and swap the pups. And really glad I did! The 57/08s gave it just the mid range character I was looking for and missing from the 85/15s. I can see why people like the 85/15....if you want a more modern sound they’re a great pickup. But I like the warm vintage midrange you get with a PAF and the 57/08s are doing that for me.

A/B’d the treble bleed again with th new pickups and it was much closer now, could easily live with the treble bleed and the 57/08s but ultimately decided I still prefer without.

The one slight issue is the bridge pickup seems rather weak compared to the neck. I’m running the neck really low (4/32” from strings), so much that you can see a gap because it sits below the bottom edge of the pickup ring. The bridge is at about 3/64” at most, probably a little less and it still feels slightly weak compared to the neck.

Thankfully I can live with that as like to run with my volume at like 7 to give me room to kick it up when needed. So if I have to raise my volume 1/2-1 on the dial that’s fine. And worth it to get the kind of tone I want.

Is there anything I could have done in wiring it up that could cause that? Even just taking my ruler and tapping the pole pieces gently, the bridge is much quieter than the neck, which seems odd.

Something is wrong...can you take pics of your wiring and post? The bridge pup typically is the higher output of the two. In full disclosure, I have no personal experience with your particular set.

 

[slide13]

Here is a shot of the wiring. The soldering job is poor, I know. I went to three stores and nobody had desoldering wick/braid to let me clean up the old solder. I plan to redo it at some point, but surprisingly it works just fine and is dead quiet so I assume it’s okay.

I took notes and photos of the original wiring and this seems to match.

If you saw my help thread I did have the neck pickup ring backwards after swapping it oddly seems a little better...probably just a slight visual change in that the pickup doesn’t look so wonky sifting in the ring now.

But, when tapping the pole pieces with my machinist ruler the neck gives a nice thunk and the bridge sounds very thin. But...when I tap the bridge cover over the other coil spot without the exposed pole pieces that is louder. On the neck that part is quieter. No idea it that is normal?

But, either way, it’s actually feeling a lot more balanced now that I swapped the pickup ring to the correct direction. So maybe that was throwing the angles off and doing something weird.