New pickups in SE Hollowbody II?

[eliosvanpizza]

Hello-

Christmas is around the corner and people are asking me what I want, and I was thinking of asking for a group of people to pitch in for some new pickups for the SE Hollowbody II. I was looking at the Lollar Low Wind PAF's.

My question is, has anybody changed the pickups on their SE Hollowbody II? I think the stock ones are "low wind" and I'm not sure how different the sound will be if I change them. My guitar sounds pretty "boomy" and loud in the low range. The stock pickups are pretty sensitive to how hard I hit the strings witht he pick, and also other noises like if the string touches the pickup. I heard that PAF's don't have these noise issues.

What has your experience been with changing pickups on the SE Hollowbody II?

 

[Bowtiefanatc]

PAFs aren’t super “boomy” in nature (look at BKP Mules as an example). You’re going to get a little extra bass due to the HB.

I swapped the Archtop McCartys in my HB Spruce to 57/08 & 59/09 and it’s a fantastic combo.

 

[SinSir]

I've been toying with the idea myself before I even had the guitar. Took me a minute to dial in the stock pickups, but well worth it. They sound pretty darn good. While I was waiting on it to come in stock I picked up set of 5815LT. Those went to other guitars for the neck pickups. I have a set of H90 I'd love in a hollowbody, but the stock remain. I recently picked up a set of 5708, and the seHb2 once again is a contender. The stock pickups are still making a case to stay. Damn fighter of a guitar!

All that said. Lollar makes fantastic pickups. The stock seHb2 are low wind PAF. They now label them 5815LTS, but even my 5815S measure low like my core 5815LT. Someone on here was told that the seHb2 has always had low turn 5815S, but now they actually call them that.

 

[tdroid]

Have you tried playing with pickup height?

All that said. Lollar makes fantastic pickups. The stock seHb2 are low wind PAF. They now label them 5815LTS, but even my 5815S measure low like my core 5815LT. Someone on here was told that the seHb2 has always had low turn 5815S, but now they actually call them that.

That was me. It's what I was told via e-mail from PRS customer service.

 

[eliosvanpizza]

Have you tried playing with pickup height?



That was me. It's what I was told via e-mail from PRS customer service.

I have lowered my pickups a bit to try to reduce the bass, I can’t seem to get them the way I want them.

 

[show_a_little_faith]

I have lowered my pickups a bit to try to reduce the bass, I can’t seem to get them the way I want them.

I'd actually suggest raising them, rather than lowering if you're looking to reduce bass response. But a hollowbody is going to sound bass-ier by nature too, so keep that in mind

 

[SinSir]

Same thoughts here.. the hollowbody is going to be a lil more on the "bass" side in nature by construction.

 

[eliosvanpizza]

I'd actually suggest raising them, rather than lowering if you're looking to reduce bass response. But a hollowbody is going to sound bass-ier by nature too, so keep that in mind

I’ll try that! I figured the closer it is the louder and more pronounced the bass would be, but I guess it also makes sense that it would pickup more highs that way. I’m not really knowledgeable so I’ll just try it out and see how it works! Thanks!

 

[SinSir]

Also try adjusting pole pieces small turns at a time. Little adjustments go a long way.

 

[Alessandro]

I’ve got the 57/08s in my SE HBII piezo and it made a big difference for me. I wasn’t getting any sounds I enjoyed from the stock unfortunately. They definitely sounded muddy to me and in all my experience and research hollow bodies are actually typically on the bright side not the boomy bassy side. Case and point, with the 57/08s I have in it now my Hb is the brightest guitar I own by far. Semi-hollows like my ZM Se are typically a bit more bassy in my experience.

 

[tdroid]

I've also heard that changing pickups to non PRS (Seymour Duncan, for instance) get complicated, as PRS wires pickups differently than most. Someone correct me if I'm wrong, but I think non-PRS pickups have to be disassembled or installed upside, if they're going to work properly (and interact with the piezo, properly.)

 

[SinSir]

I've also heard that changing pickups to non PRS (Seymour Duncan, for instance) get complicated, as PRS wires pickups differently than most. Someone correct me if I'm wrong, but I think non-PRS pickups have to be disassembled or installed upside, if they're going to work properly (and interact with the piezo, properly.)

You can just switch which wires to solder where to reverse polarity. Easy. Yes, different pickup makers use different color codes. Easy enough to sort. Nothing complicated. Even S pickups use different wire codes to core and various years use differnt color codes.

 

[Nice F Holes]

I adjusted the poles on my original SE HB II pickups and was happy with the outcome.

 

[dogrocketp]

I left the stock in mine, did the same as you, and I’m also happy.