Most folks have preferences to what their ears like to hear, and anything outside of that may not be actually pleasing to them. Case in point, at several times in my life I, like many others, once owned a single-coil Strat-style guitar. My problem was that no matter how much I liked the esthetics, the feel, the vibe, the quiet single-coils, I just could never quite get used to the sound of single-coils. Did that cause me to mod my guitar? No. The guitar was sold as-is at a loss for something that was more pleasing to my ear.
Apparently, my personal preference is for warmer, fuller sounding humbucker pickups. And my most recent acquisition was a PRS S2 SC with #7 pickups.
The original owner said to give the #7 pickups a try, because they might not need replacing. Nevertheless, while researching other pickup upgrades, my thought was towards investing in pickups that would have more of a PAF style tone. The replacement pickups were ordered. When the guitar arrived, sure enough, the #7 pickups, with only a pickup height adjustment, were pleasing to my ear. The PAF pickups, that arrived a day before the guitar did, are no longer necessary.
My dilemma is that the replacement pickups were not special ordered and technically, were not what was requested from my order (different bobbin color), save for the same DC resistance values. My hope is that the pickup builder will allow return/refund of my order given the stipulations described from my previous words.
Now, the wait begins as the pickup builder himself returns from NAMM and will be on the job Tuesday. My hope is that he might be in a good mood so that it will be possible to ask him politely if he'll allow the return/refund of the replacement pickups. (In all honesty, it would be preferable for me to try this route instead of undercutting his business by selling the pickups online, which would also need to be sold at a loss instead of the full refund that might be possible).
Regards modifying stock guitars, my feeling is that if it ain't broke, don't fix it. If the condition, tone, sound, feel, and vibe of your existing guitar is pleasing to you, don't eff' with it. You'll be more content with what you have, than with what you think you want.
Too often, the advertisers of this world bombard you with things you think you might wish to have, but can't afford or don't need. Do you r-e-a-l-l-y need that new sports car with the fancy powered ashtrays?
Exactly. Lesson learned regards the replacement pickups.