Wow. Very classy looking stood you have there.
Mine was my #1 and favorite gigger and my Swiss Army Knife for the stage.
I really do not want to PUT thoughts in your head...but....you may find, as a lot of us Studio owners do/did, that the 57/08 (not 57/09...there's a 59/09 but the Studios came with a 57/08 bucker) is a little anemic when switching between the mighty NF (I haven't tried the 408 pups but the NFs are my favorite pup EVER) and the bridge bucker 57/08.
I tried adjusting the pickup heights, lowering the NFs and raising the 57/08 (yes, the NFs are 57/08s too) to compensate for the mismatch but there was still too much difference volume-wise when switching between pups while gigging.
Don't get me wrong...the 57/08 is probably the best PAF inspired humbucker to hit this planet since 1962 (ymmv of course)...and there are a few people/members who kept their Studios...and some who even left the pickups stock, but many of us who had or kept the Studios have swapped-out the 57/08.
I personally like vintage voiced pups...but with some heat to them so I went with the inexpensive Duncan Custom Custom. It is currently my favorite bridge bucker ever. Now my Studio is balanced between pickups and even the bridge in split mode has power and keeps up to the NFs.
What neck carve does yours have? Mine is Pattern Thin. I'm a WT guy and don't prefer the old WF necks. I like em the way I like my women...cold and bitter...oh wait, that's how I like my coffee...I like my guitar necks to be slim/slender/thin...like my Women...but with some balls...like a Cambodian lady man lmao.
Well, my (blue) Studio was recently de-throned as my #1 gigger. I got a Tremonti SE Custom at the end of May. It received a new Duncan CC in the bridge and a 59/09 bass in the neck. It of course isn't as versatile as the Studio but it has a WT carve and I always wanted a Paul/SingleCutaway style guitar. It's trem bridge is floating so I leave it tuned standard (well a semi-tone down...we have no vocal range in my band) and I reach for the Studio for any alt tuned songs and for anytime I need a Strat or Tele or Fendery SC tone.
So yeah...the Studio is the most versatile guitar I've ever owned. Love it's voices, love it's control layout (even the blade switch) and the looks of the 3 pups.
It is a strange beast though. I thought it would be an huge hit with guitarists, especially those wanting a convincing Fender arsenal as well as a convincing Gibsonesque humbucker voice. The fact is though that it seems as if a LOT of Studio owners (well..there aren't a LOT of us but...) liked the Studio but LOVED other guitars. I think the majority who got rid of the Studio got the DGT.
Like I said, the Studio is onehelluva versatile guitar and it's quite sexy if you ask me so, I'm not sure WHY it didn't make a splash or even many waves, and I predict that PRS will soon and sadly discontinue it. People seem to prefer the 408 when it comes to versatility. I have never played a 408 but hear great things about it and it's pup configuration.
I'm LOVING the Tremonti SE Custom (man the new SEs are INCREDIBLE!!!) but if anything ever happens to it, the Studio will regain it's spot at the TOP of my guitar heap. I will never sell or get rid of my Studio.
If I could have only one electric guitar, it would be the Studio. Now, if they had WT necks...I don't think the Tremonti would currently be my #1. Maybe though because while the 57/08 NarrowFields are my favorite new-ish pup design, man the 59/09 in the neck of the Tremonti...WOW!! It's just like how I like my coffee. Warm, creamy and sweet!!!
I don't know how the 59/09 Treble sounds in a guitar's bridge slot. I know that when I was looking to swap-out the Studio's 57/08 bridge bucker I considered trying a 59/09 but there were none to be had at a bargain price so I went with the $50 CC. They have come down drastically in price since being released for sale to the General Public.
IF like many of us, you find that the 57/08 bridge bucker is a little weak/mismatched with the NFs and decide to install something with a little more "heat" and if you have the $$$...I'd look for a 59/09 first. If you're on a budget, you can find a Duncan Custom Custom all day for $50 used. It's a wicked platform. In the Custom Custom "configuration" it sports an AlNiCo2 magnet. If you swap the A2 mag for an A5 it becomes a Duncan Custom5. Throw a ceramic mag in it and it's a Custom. Etc.
Either way...and I'm sorry for planting the seeds of 57/08 inequality in your head. Fact remains...that is one SWEET looking Studio. Hopefully you'll enjoy and appreciate it as much as I did/do mine and you'll KEEP it.
PRS NF equipped guitars are falling from the catalog faster than leaves from a tree in October. I can see them vanishing from the catalog completely in a year or two. The Studios, once someone "famous" starts playing one or just when the general guitar playing public (many of whom have never tried a PRS at all) begins to realize the benefits of the Studio's configuration, I think it will become a very desirable guitar..and probably a very rare one. So..I recommend you do what I did...if you don't love the 57/08 in the bridge of your Studio and swap it...if you're in a position to, KEEP the 57/08 to include with the Studio should you ever decide to sell it.
The 57/08 is one of PRSh's faves and one that apparently will NEVER be released to the GP. Even the Gibson playing PRS haters love the 57/08...and they even ADMIT it lol.
OR..if you aren't kinda dumb like me...if you get guitars to keep and never even think about resale and resale value...well then if you don't like the 57/08...just sell it or trade it for something you might prefer.
In conclusion to this typically lengthy rant...again, I am not trying to convince you that the Stood needs it's 57/08 replaced. Many Studio owners leave it. I am mainly telling you all this so that, if you find the 57/08 to be a poor match for the NFs, you are NOT alone or losing your mind. You are not the only Studio owner who sat there with a Philips bit screwdriver after adjusting pup heights and a confused look on your face wondering...OK now HOW did these guitars make the production line with these pups???
Welcome to the PRS Studio owners' club. It is a VERY exclusive membership. Not sure exactly why...but if you ask ME, the Studio is the best guitar to come off the PRS USA line and the pickups it wears are the best pups PRS has EVER "designed" or built. Add bird inlays, a great trem, the phaseIII machines and Paul's signature on the headstock and..yeah...if you ask me, it is the prettiest and most versatile guitar ever built.
Again...YMMV.
Please don't forget to keep us posted on how you love it. I promise I wont reply with another rant of biblical proportions.
EDIT: I was just re-looking at your photos. Damn that beast is SEXXXY!! I forgot to tell you about the very FIRST mod mine needed out of the box. That Trussrodcover. I HATED that bright white Studio script. I immediately ordered a MOP ME one from the eBay guy in Canada but before ordering, I turned the stock Studio trc around so it was just black. Man, to me the original trc's kindergarten "Studio" word just made the whole guitar look...cheap and dumb and CHEAP.
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