Newbie and pickup question

[Zakk]

Hi All, it's great to be here.
So, I've got a PRS SE Santana Abraxas and I'm wanting to change the pups.
I upgraded the wiring and pots which did make a little difference.
I had a set of SD '59 blues which I fitted but I'm not happy with them. Still thin sounding to me.
Any suggestions ?. I prefer to play blues, Santana and a little of everything else.

 

[McMahon67]

Hi All, it's great to be here.
So, I've got a PRS SE Santana Abraxas and I'm wanting to change the pups.
I upgraded the wiring and pots which did make a little difference.
I had a set of SD '59 blues which I fitted but I'm not happy with them. Still thin sounding to me.
Any suggestions ?. I prefer to play blues, Santana and a little of everything else.

Welcome to the madhouse!
I’m not qualified to answer your question… someone will be along shortly. I guarantee it.

 

[Amptech]

Well, if I may try to help, have you considered the PRS 57/08? They're a bit hotter than what you have, and I have them in a P22 and they are anything but thin. Another suggestion I can make from experience is Bare Knuckle pickups, you'd probably be looking at a True Grit pair, I think that would match what you're looking for..

 

[andy474x]

Well, if I may try to help, have you considered the PRS 57/08? They're a bit hotter than what you have, and I have them in a P22 and they are anything but thin. Another suggestion I can make from experience is Bare Knuckle pickups, you'd probably be looking at a True Grit pair, I think that would match what you're looking for..

+1, 57/08's are a perennial favorite here, and for good reason. Great sound, a little thicker in the low mids but with a nice silvery tone on top, too. I've tried Dimarzios and SD's, and doubt I'll go that way again.

I've never been totally satisfied with anything but PRS pickups in any of my PRS guitars. Although I haven't tried any of the Bare Knuckles, and have heard a lot of praise for them.

 

[dogrocketp]

57/08’s for the win!

 

[Zakk]

Thanks guys, I'll look for some 57/08's but in the UK they could be like hens teeth. Failing that I can easily buy BK True Grit ones.

 

[AP515]

I have a hard time calling SD 59's thin. Are you sure the connections are solid and the cap is right? If you updated the pots, are they 500's? Something seems off. My 59's are sledge hammers.

 

[Zakk]

Maybe thin is the wrong description, bland might be a better word. They sound generic, no character. The wiring is fine, CTS 500k brass feruled pots, 0.022uf orange drop cap.

 

[Zakk]

+1, 57/08's are a perennial favorite here, and for good reason. Great sound, a little thicker in the low mids but with a nice silvery tone on top, too. I've tried Dimarzios and SD's, and doubt I'll go that way again.

I've never been totally satisfied with anything but PRS pickups in any of my PRS guitars. Although I haven't tried any of the Bare Knuckles, and have heard a lot of praise for them.

I agree, I'm going off SD's fast.

 

[Zakk]

Thanks guys, I'll look for some 57/08's but in the UK they could be like hens teeth. Failing that I can easily buy BK True Grit ones.

I've found a pair of 57/08's in the UK but they are £398.

 

[ViperDoc]

57/08s are really nice and just hot enough. For a rounder, sweet PAF tone, I recommend BKP Mules or Riff Raffs.

 

[MarcWink]

The 57/08 gets many, many mentions around these parts, but if you are having trouble sourcing a set, I'd also highly recommend any number of options from Bare Knuckle. I have an Abraxas set in my S2 Custom 22 Semi-Hollow and they are amazing sounding pickups. Another option from BKP would be one of their humbucker sized P90's like the Mississippi Queen or the Nantucket. That would be something rather unique too.

 

[Zakk]

I have a hard time calling SD 59's thin. Are you sure the connections are solid and the cap is right? If you updated the pots, are they 500's? Something seems off. My 59's are sledge hammers.

Well thanks to AP515 I thought I would try something before splashing out on new pickups. I lowered the pups and surprise surprise, articulation. The pups were too close to the strings and the magnetic field was stopping the strings fully vibrating. Now they sound great. The neck pup was a little bright so I changed the tone cap from 0.022uf to 0.047uf, perfect. Now all is right with the world. Cheers for all of your help.

 

[AP515]

Well thanks to AP515 I thought I would try something before splashing out on new pickups. I lowered the pups and surprise surprise, articulation. The pups were too close to the strings and the magnetic field was stopping the strings fully vibrating. Now they sound great. The neck pup was a little bright so I changed the tone cap from 0.022uf to 0.047uf, perfect. Now all is right with the world. Cheers for all of your help.

Glad I could be of help. I should have thought of pick up height. Makes sense that it would be your problem. I like 59's. it's a workhorse pickup for thousands including me.

 

[Proteus]

I lowered the pups and surprise surprise, articulation.

And how far from the underside of the strings are they now, would you say? I'm spearminting with pickup heights on SEs and your data points might be helpful...

I liked the idea of the Abraxas model - the graphic is nicely done and reminds me of 10th grade when the album came out and had an immediate impact on me. It's also clearly appropriate to put the album art of a long-time endorser, so closely associated with the brand, on his sig model.

But I dunno. Mom wouldn't want me to go around with a nekkit girl on my guitar.
_____

Speaking of reminders of seismic impact on impressionable youth (as nobody but me was) ... I didn't know whether to applaud, laugh, or weep when I first saw the Schizoid Man model. A polite round of bemused applause for KC getting any commercial visibility outside the hermetic cohort of aging proggers who've paid Fripp-n-Co's mealticket all these years - but a snort of derision for KC doing product endorsements at all...and for it to be on a guitar totally unrelated to the band's history (but for Jakko's latter-day tenure). Then nothing but tears for the way Barry Godber's immortal self-portrait in terror was deployed, with SE hardware plopped obliviously down on top of it. It all seemed like the unKC-iest way to "honor" (or exploit) the band's legacy. Fripp must have chuckled.

I hope Godber's family got some revenue from it, anyway.
_____

Sorry. Back to pickups.

 

[Zakk]

And how far from the underside of the strings are they now, would you say? I'm spearminting with pickup heights on SEs and your data points might be helpful...

I liked the idea of the Abraxas model - the graphic is nicely done and reminds me of 10th grade when the album came out and had an immediate impact on me. It's also clearly appropriate to put the album art of a long-time endorser, so closely associated with the brand, on his sig model.

But I dunno. Mom wouldn't want me to go around with a nekkit girl on my guitar.
_____

Speaking of reminders of seismic impact on impressionable youth (as nobody but me was) ... I didn't know whether to applaud, laugh, or weep when I first saw the Schizoid Man model. A polite round of bemused applause for KC getting any commercial visibility outside the hermetic cohort of aging proggers who've paid Fripp-n-Co's mealticket all these years - but a snort of derision for KC doing product endorsements at all...and for it to be on a guitar totally unrelated to the band's history (but for Jakko's latter-day tenure). Then nothing but tears for the way Barry Godber's immortal self-portrait in terror was deployed, with SE hardware plopped obliviously down on top of it. It all seemed like the unKC-iest way to "honor" (or exploit) the band's legacy. Fripp must have chuckled.

I hope Godber's family got some revenue from it, anyway.
_____

Sorry. Back to pickups.

unfretted string to pickup. neck 6mm, bridge 4mm. Hope this helps.

 

[Barquentine]

I have the BKP Abraxas set in a Bernie and they are amazing. The neck and bridge match perfectly for me and they can do just about anything. BKP's have become very expensive though.

 

[Zakk]

They are expensive. I’m still considering a set though. BK will make me a set with 53mm spacing for the bridge and with brushed nickel covers.

 

[MarcWink]

But I dunno. Mom wouldn't want me to go around with a nekkit girl on my guitar.
_____



Sorry. Back to pickups.

I don't know, I have a nekkit girl on my Gibson Explorer...I mocked it up like the Jerry Cantrell Signature G&L.