Gibson 57 Classic Pickups in a PRS?

[funkywrench]

I've been looking to upgrade the Dragon II's in my CE-22 and I've been offered a set of Gibson 57 Classic Plus pickups as a trade for something else I'm selling. Has anyone tried the classic plus or the regular 57 classics in a PRS?

Did they mesh well? Were they an improvement over the DII's?

 

[maxtuna26]

It depends on what you want to hear from your guitar. I've heard people praising both and I've heard dissing both as well. I personally suggest you get the 57/08 from PRS for the best of both worlds (I guess?) It's based on the Gibson's 1957 humbuckers, with a touch of PRS magic in the tone, so yeah! The 59/09 and 53/10 could work too, if you're after vintage tones. But don't be afraid to try out the 57 Classics if you're feeling curious. We all are, as well. If what you're putting up for trade is of less personal value than the 57 Classic, why not you try it out and give us your review on it? :wink:

 

[hippietim]

I've not tried the 57 Classics in a PRS but my old R9 had them and it sounded fantastic. My Keef Tele has a 57 Classic in the neck and it is totally awesome. Nice clarity, bright but not piercing, good chunk - I think they're great pickups. I'm not sure about the Plus version though.

 

[maxtuna26]

^ the plus version should just be the bridge version right? maybe a tiny bit hotter than the 57 Classic

 

[gush]

Although 57 classics are fabulous pickups, I haven't tried putting a pair in any of my prs guitars. I can tell you that mods may be needed as I did put a 500T in the bridge of my mccarty for a while. The tabs for the screws and springs are too deep and the p-up cavity wasn't quite deep enough to mount them correctly. I set the p-up in there and used a pencil to mark the holes on the tabs then used two tiny screws to mount them to the p-up cavity. It worked but the p-up was nonadjustable and may have been a tiny bit too high.

Anyway, I grew tired of that p-up and put mccarty back in there.

You may want to do some measuring first. Good luck.

 

[dbonanno]

I put a pair in my SE245 and they were just "okay".
A little weak and not enough mids and/or definition.
I ended up putting a PRS Deep Dish II in the bridge and man, what a difference!

To answer your question ... I think you'll be disappointed.

 

[Paul L]

^ the plus version should just be the bridge version right? maybe a tiny bit hotter than the 57 Classic

That is correct.

 

[John Beef]

Although 57 classics are fabulous pickups, I haven't tried putting a pair in any of my prs guitars. I can tell you that mods may be needed as I did put a 500T in the bridge of my mccarty for a while. The tabs for the screws and springs are too deep and the p-up cavity wasn't quite deep enough to mount them correctly. I set the p-up in there and used a pencil to mark the holes on the tabs then used two tiny screws to mount them to the p-up cavity. It worked but the p-up was nonadjustable and may have been a tiny bit too high.

Anyway, I grew tired of that p-up and put mccarty back in there.

You may want to do some measuring first. Good luck.

I was going to say just this, exactly. You put them in a McCarty but the CE22 is thinner bodied with a trem rout in the back, so the long legs Gibson uses are incompatible with the relatively shallow PRS pickup routs.

I do not understand why any humbucker was ever made using long legs. Short legs make more sense.

 

[Armycopter]

Not sure how they would sound in a PRS but I have the 57 and 57+ in my LP. Great classic rock tone. They are some of my favorite humbuckers.

 

[Paul L]

Not sure how they would sound in a PRS but I have the 57 and 57+ in my LP. Great classic rock tone. They are some of my favorite humbuckers.

+1

 

[SharkAtl]

For what it's worth, I dropped some Gibson 56 Classics in my SE Singlecut and was very impressed. It really did transform that guitar into something great. I regret getting rid of it, but GAS is a vile mistress.

 

[BrianC]

Go for it - I put BurstBuckers 1 and 2 in my SCT. Huge improvement over the 6's for me...

 

[Brad737]

Personally, I find 57 Classics to be pretty good pickups...better than Burstbuckers to my ears. I will say that I've never tried any in a PRS. By comparison, I don't really care for the Dragon 2s. I find them dark and muddy. My CE-22 has a set of Dragon 1s, and they sound awesome.