Is there a way to verify that pickups.....

Jamie R

New Member
Joined
Oct 18, 2017
Messages
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are actually what the stickers say they are? I got a used stripped SC58 that has 57/08's in it (or so the sticker says), and I'm unimpressed with the tone. When I took them out of the guitar to check the stickers, the pickup cover was coming off on one side of the bridge pickup, and both looked as though they had been re-soldered. I realize it's not uncommon to remove pickup covers to alter the sound. And it's possible this is what had happened, and they tried to reinstall them before they sold it. I've never had a set of 57/08's. I've heard so many great things about them, and was prepared to be amazed. I've tweaked them little by little over the past few weeks and they sound better than when I got it. I'm just not blown away like I expected. Is there a serial number somewhere? If this has been addressed somewhere else before, I apologize. And, could you point me in that direction?

Thanks in advance,
Jamie
 
By the time the Stripped 58s were out, the stock pickups should have had "57/08 TM" engraved on the covers. If they don't, those are probably not the original covers.
 
Not definitive, but you can compare the DC impedance with what they are supposed to be.
 
These covers look like brushed aluminum with nothing etched on them. Does have PRS on the baseplate. 3903-NC-20DB on the 57/08 TM BASS pickup. 3902-NC-20DB on the 57/08 TM TREBLE pickup. White stickers. All my other original pickups had black w/gold stickers. But those were early 2000's. I'll try to check impedance later today. Thanks for the replies so far.
 
Sounds about right by the description. I've read that there was some variation in the early ones, so maybe you just got a set that doesn't suit you.
 
Sounds about right by the description. I've read that there was some variation in the early ones, so maybe you just got a set that doesn't suit you.

IIRC though, the Stripped 58s came out in 2012 so they'd been doing 57/08 pickups for about 4 years. 57/08s were becoming the standard pickup rather than being unobtanium like they were at first. The original pickups in that guitar probably weren't early ones unless they were using up old stuff.
 
These covers look like brushed aluminum with nothing etched on them. Does have PRS on the baseplate. 3903-NC-20DB on the 57/08 TM BASS pickup. 3902-NC-20DB on the 57/08 TM TREBLE pickup. White stickers. All my other original pickups had black w/gold stickers. But those were early 2000's. I'll try to check impedance later today. Thanks for the replies so far.

For comparison, I do have an Experience 2012 limited pickup that would have been built close to the same time as yours. The reason it's not in a guitar is that the cover wasn't securely soldered on and it squeals like crazy. There's a gap in the solder and the cover just isn't attached on one side. The dealer I bought the guitar from got the pickup replaced. But maybe somebody on the pickup line had a bad day (week?) that year. That pickup has two stickers on the bottom: a ROHS sticker and a white sticker saying "EXP 2012 TREBLE ASM-3661".
 
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