NGD W/L Custom 24 - My First PRS!!!

[traceo]

Thank you guys! The knowledge and hospitality on this forum is amazing.

I’ve continued my research today and here’s where I’m at.

I watched a ton of demos with the 59/09s and they get closer to what I’m looking for, but there’s still a bit of clarity loss at high gain. Checked out the \m/ pickups and they have the clarity but are a little too fizzy for my tastes. I did also check out some demos of the HFS bridge pickup and found that to be closer than the \m/ to what I’m looking for (I’m a huge Porcupine Tree and Opeth fan and I believe a lot of their early stuff was recorded with an HFS bridge). Definitely going uncovered and might keep the covered neck which has always been a look I dug ever since seeing Adam Jones from Tool rock it on his Silverburst.

Still like the Holy Diver from Bare Knuckle but the pull of the squabbins (square bobbins) might be too great.

I’ll keep you guys updated. Might have a modified Monday pretty soon with this bad boy as I’m planning on swapping the pickup rings for black, the strap buttons for Schaller strap locks, adding a push pull to get the neck single coil by itself, adding a custom truss rod cover, as well as the pickup change (I'm on staycation next week so I'll have time to mess around).

She’s incredible as is, but I can’t help striving for perfection!

Fantastic guitar!

Yes, the covers make the pickups a bit less hot. Then again, they are very toneful that way. If you need hotter, you might try a boost pedal.

I tried my TS9 and it didn't really make much difference in clarity. Not a true boost, but it does push the amp harder.

Very similar to mine (even the case, though I don't have the floral picturing on the case):
57/08 are by far my preference. Then 85/15.
57/08 are lower output and I prefer that big-time (these are in my orange one).
I'm not keen on covered pups.

What are squabbins?

VERY nice GASsing.

Thanks guitarman001! I watched your videos and they were very helpful. Keep up the good work!

 

[guitarman001]

Hmm, I'm sorry but can somebody post pics of these square bobbins and alternatives as I don't quite know the difference...


Cheers, traceo! Glad somebody found them helpful
Will be interested to hear how yours sounds with other pups compared to what's in them now.
If not too much trouble, could you do a quick clean & crunch recording with the pups right now, so if you swap them... we can have an A vs B comparison?

 

[traceo]

Hmm, I'm sorry but can somebody post pics of these square bobbins and alternatives as I don't quite know the difference...


Cheers, traceo! Glad somebody found them helpful
Will be interested to hear how yours sounds with other pups compared to what's in them now.
If not too much trouble, could you do a quick clean & crunch recording with the pups right now, so if you swap them... we can have an A vs B comparison?

I'll definitely do some recordings before any swaps. I'll share them if they're not too awful hahaha.

As for the bobbins, this is an example of the standard style:

Vs PRS squabbins:

Purely cosmetic. The squabbins just fill the pickup ring completely without any gaps.

 

[guitarman001]

Thank you, finally I understand!!

 

[Diverdan]

Oooohhh, that's tasty! HNGD!

 

[justmund]

Killer combo (amp, guitar and case)!

Congrats

 

[dogrocketp]

Beautiful guitar! Before you pull the pickup, try raising the pole pieces, and possibly lowering the pickup slightly. This should give you more clarity. I find PRS pickups to be more tunable than any others I`ve ever had. By raising or lowering, and adjusting the pole pieces, they can be made to sound completely differently.

 

[traceo]

Beautiful guitar! Before you pull the pickup, try raising the pole pieces, and possibly lowering the pickup slightly. This should give you more clarity. I find PRS pickups to be more tunable than any others I`ve ever had. By raising or lowering, and adjusting the pole pieces, they can be made to sound completely differently.

I started messing with pickup height last night and you're right, it makes a huge difference. Even more than I would expect. I didn't have time to dial it in exactly, but I think I'm on the right track. Back at it after work tonight. Thank you!

 

[shinksma]

Nice axe! I love the color and really tight flame!

And I think you are on the right track with the pups. Do let us know how it turns out!

 

[guitarman001]

Do other manufacturers do square squabbins (is that the word?)

How do you raise the pole piece height?

God I'm learning so much here!

 

[Dusty Chalk]

Do other manufacturers do square squabbins (is that the word?)

Squabbins == square bobbins, so "square squabbins" is redundant.

 

[jcha008]

Man, that one is quite impressive. Violet is such a nice finish!