Have you upgraded your S2 pickups?

[armybass]

If so with what? I have recently acquired an S2 McCarty 594 and am thinking of replacing the 58/15s pickups with the 58/15 LT’s. Appreciate any input.

 

[Sybo]

I went with Duncan Pearly Gates on my Satin Standard and it’s perfect……….I’m also using 11s on her also. What a machine!

 

[Herr Squid]

I have a S2 594 Thinline and I've left the stock pickups in it, despite having several guitars with 58/15 LTs and 57/08s and their cousins. I've not been shy about swapping pickups on other guitars, but I think the stock pickups suit that guitar very well.

 

[SinSir]

There's lots of info on here in other posts about swaps. The 5708 or 5815LT would be good PRS choices depending what you're after tone wise.

 

[armybass]

There's lots of info on here in other posts about swaps. The 5708 or 5815LT would be good PRS choices depending what you're after tone wise.

Yeah my bad. I went a few pages down and found several threads.

 

[bodia]

Looks like I need one more guitar after all!

I like how you think!

 

[SinSir]

I've been using Wolfetones for a while now and have experimented with almost all of them, including custom winds, in lots of different guitars and woods. I have nothing but praise to say about Wolfe. Probably the nicest and most knowledgeable guy to deal with, plus an excellent product and service. His pickups sound good in probably every guitar I've tried. If I've been looking for a specific sound all I have to do is drop him a line and go with his recommendation.

For the 594, I'd highly recommend the Dr V. (Dr Vintage) If you like a little more sizzle go with the MH (Marshallhead) in the bridge instead of Dr V, but absolutely keep the Dr V in the neck. One of my favorite neck pickups, especially in a singlecut.

 

[Tony M.]

Nope.

I have five S2s.
They all have their original pickups.

If it ain't broke...

 

[Russ73]

Nope.

I have five S2s.
They all have their original pickups.

If it ain't broke...

I have 5 S2s as well...changed pups in 2 of 3 Standard 22s.....jb/59 in one and bk Mules in another...one stock and Vela and Mira stock...

 

[MarcWink]

Before stupidly parting ways with my S2 594, I replaced the 58/15S pickups with a set of 58/15 LT's and really dug the tones I was getting from them. I also swapped the 85/15S pickups in my S2 Custom 22 Semi Hollow for a set of Bare Knuckle Abraxas that I also really dig. If you want something close to the 58/15 LT, but don't want to spend quite that much, I'd highly recommend a set of Bare Knuckle Stormy Mondays.

 

[rockinforJesus]

Before making the decision to replace pickups, might I suggest an electronics upgrade? Seems the weak point for S2’s is weak pots. Change the pots for good quality ones, then reassess whether the pickups need to be replaced.
My S2 Starla pickups will never leave this guitar… unless I find some Core Starla pickups

 

[madmarcus1960]

My S2 hollowbody 22 Custom has BKP Stormy's, while my S2 Custom 22 has SD Saturday Night Specials. All my SE's have aftermarket PuPs as well.
I have a Zach Meyers SE with BKP Nantucket HB sized P90's. A 2010ish Santana SE w/BKP Rebel Yells. A 22 Custom hollowbody SE(1 F hole) w/ Fralin Pure PAFs.
I never leave OEM pickups in anything, it's a disease, it's a disease.

 

[littlebadboy]

DiMarzio D-Activator X set on mine.

 

[Lewguitar]

Before making the decision to replace pickups, might I suggest an electronics upgrade? Seems the weak point for S2’s is weak pots. Change the pots for good quality ones, then reassess whether the pickups need to be replaced.
My S2 Starla pickups will never leave this guitar… unless I find some Core Starla pickups

If you're going to unsolder all the controls and replace them, that would be the perfect time to upgrade the pickups too.

Upgrading the controls won't really change the tone of the guitar much, unless the controls in there now are defective.

Upgrading pickups will usually make a night and day difference tho.

 

[dogrocketp]

Three S2’s, all with stock pickups. Love the way they sound.

 

[SinSir]

Upgrading the controls won't really change the tone of the guitar much, unless the controls in there now are defective.

Upgrading pickups will usually make a night and day difference tho.

I used to feel similar. I was surprised on my tweakers journey with my Cu24 Floyd se.. I modified the pickups to JB/59 but kept stock electronics, big improvement, but when I replaced the wiring with core there was also a noticeable improvement in tone. Also, to my surprise when I dropped the stock se pickups in a LP with a RS guitarworks kit, they sounded great but not pleasant in the stock se. Go figure.

I now just replace it all, but have often wondered what the se would have sounded like with the stock pickups and core wiring? I'll never know as it now has a set of DW tomahawks that are never going anywhere.

 

[armybass]

I found a great deal on a new set of 58/15 LT’s on Reverb so that’s gonna be my next step. I was thinking of replacing the pots but I’m not sure.

 

[armybass]

I used to feel similar. I was surprised on my tweakers journey with my Cu24 Floyd se.. I modified the pickups to JB/59 but kept stock electronics, big improvement, but when I replaced the wiring with core there was also a noticeable improvement in tone. Also, to my surprise when I dropped the stock se pickups in a LP with a RS guitarworks kit, they sounded great but not pleasant in the stock se. Go figure.

I now just replace it all, but have often wondered what the se would have sounded like with the stock pickups and core wiring? I'll never know as it now has a set of DW tomahawks that are never going anywhere.

How did you purchase Core wiring? From the PRS website?

 

[SinSir]

How did you purchase Core wiring? From the PRS website?

You can, or about any other dealer or site. From Amazon, reverb, to sweetwater. John Mann is an excellent choice too.

 

[Lewguitar]

I used to feel similar. I was surprised on my tweakers journey with my Cu24 Floyd se.. I modified the pickups to JB/59 but kept stock electronics, big improvement, but when I replaced the wiring with core there was also a noticeable improvement in tone. Also, to my surprise when I dropped the stock se pickups in a LP with a RS guitarworks kit, they sounded great but not pleasant in the stock se. Go figure.

I now just replace it all, but have often wondered what the se would have sounded like with the stock pickups and core wiring? I'll never know as it now has a set of DW tomahawks that are never going anywhere.

With all the grief the 57/08's gave me getting them in phase, etc., in my Bernie Marsden, I decided to upgrade the pots since they'd been soldered and unsoldered too many times.

I tested my stash of CTS 500K pots and found a few that measured 525K.

Those are what I used to upgrade the pots in my Bernie.

And guess what? It sounds "better". Clearer. Stronger.

525K sounds "better" to me than the 500K or less that the original Alpha pots were.