El-Bastardo's NGD

[El-Bastardo]

So I'm a newbie here, just joined yesterday. I figured now would be a good time to share my first PRS purchase. I really like this guitar. It plays as smooth as can be. I love the QM top, it's beautiful and it has a Floyd to boot. I got this in on Tuesday and have about 6 hours of playtime on it. Just not sure about these pickups. Very high treble on these things. Has anyone changed theirs out? If so, what did you drop in there? Still very pleased with the purchase even with the so/so pickups. What say you?

image by erkim98, on Flickr

That's much better

 

[El-Bastardo]

Sorry for the crappy links, I'll use my photobucket next time.

 

[Dusty Chalk]

Very pretty, I like the dark grey. Yeah, I still plan on changing mine out, but I have very particular needs. I don't mind the treble, but I want more detail -- probably just lower output for me. BKPs are good, they have everything you could possibly want.

 

[El-Bastardo]

probably just lower output for me. BKPs are good, they have everything you could possibly want.

The HFS sounds good and beefy to a point, great for blues, and sabbath style riffs, and the coil tap is great for that Strat sound but the treble is seemingly too bright.

I was considering a Duncan set like Slash, Black Winter or Pegasus/Sentient.
I may have to consider those Bare Knuckles though I haven't really played them

 

[bodia]

The HFS sounds good and beefy to a point, great for blues, and sabbath style riffs, and the coil tap is great for that Strat sound but the treble is seemingly too bright.

I was considering a Duncan set like Slash, Black Winter or Pegasus/Sentient.
I may have to consider those Bare Knuckles though I haven't really played them

I really like the BK p/u's. Great customer service, and customer experience. Lots of good samples on their website too. Contact them about your needs and they'll get right back to you and help you make the right choice.

 

[CantankerousCarl]

Welcome...great looking axe. Hope you sort out the pickup thing!

 

[dogrocketp]

Try adjusting the pickups before you swap them out, raise or lower the pole pieces, and raise or lower the pickups. My first suggestion would be to lower the pole pieces a full turn. Listen, and then think about dropping the pickups if it`s still too bright. I just did a Singlecut SE trem. It took me an hour, but the pickups are literally perfect now. PRS pickups are more adjustable than most brands. Also try old style nickel wrapped strings, or nickel coated strings.

 

[Dusty Chalk]

Yeah, that's good advice, too -- you can change the sound a lot by changing the pickup height and by changing the action. Small amounts make a big difference, do quarter turns all the way around and then play and listen again. Maybe start with a full turn as Dog Rocket P says, but when you're fine tuning it, stick with quarter turns.

...but the treble is seemingly too bright.

I'm not saying you're wrong, I'm saying I don't hear it that way. To me, there's no such thing as too bright. I like open, detailed, airy, presence, etc. Whenever anyone says "too bright" or "ice pick", I just sort of shut down, because I never hear those things. I mean, listen to Santana, when he surfs the crest of that feedback wave -- I totally love that tone. And you can't get it without treble.

I'm also probably twice your age, so deaf at some of those frequencies that are bothering you.

 

[El-Bastardo]

Try adjusting the pickups before you swap them out, raise or lower the pole pieces, and raise or lower the pickups. My first suggestion would be to lower the pole pieces a full turn. Listen, and then think about dropping the pickups if it`s still too bright. I just did a Singlecut SE trem. It took me an hour, but the pickups are literally perfect now. PRS pickups are more adjustable than most brands. Also try old style nickel wrapped strings, or nickel coated strings.

This is a great idea. I'm going to give this a shot before I do anything.

To me, there's no such thing as too bright. I like open, detailed, airy, presence, etc. Whenever anyone says "too bright" or "ice pick", I just sort of shut down, because I never hear those things. I mean, listen to Santana, when he surfs the crest of that feedback wave -- I totally love that tone. And you can't get it without treble.

I'm also probably twice your age, so deaf at some of those frequencies that are bothering you.

I totally agree with you about that Santana sound. He has great tone. I don't know about twice my age though, that would make you 92. Lol

 

[Dusty Chalk]

Okay, maybe not.

 

[]-[@n$0Ma☩!©]

Before swapping the pickups, try nickel wound or even pure nickel strings.

 

[dogrocketp]

Santana uses an insane length on his instrument cord. I heard it was about 50 feet. That would diminish the high harsh frequencies a great deal.

 

[RGM]

Beautiful top on that thing! I love me some quilted maple! Congratulations!

 

[vchizzle]

Nice! Grey black FTW!

 

[El-Bastardo]

Thanks guys. I really like this guitar. I've been tweaking the pickups height and poles. I lowered the trem a bit and changed the strings to super Slinky's as far as the pickups go, I'm eventually going to change them out. I'm used to playing EMG's so that's probably why I'm hearing these a bit differently. They still seem bright on the high end to me. Overall though, the playability is insanely smooth.

 

[László]

Welcome! That's a sweet looking guitar!

 

[sleary]

Nice

 

[CoreyT]

Gorgous guitar!

 

[prsrocker1988]

Congrats.

 

[Tosca]

Nice and evil looking....good luck with your pickup search.