"Objective" PUP Ranking...

[rugerpc]

... as opposed to subjective muck raking.

I'm seeking to categorize PRS's CURRENT pup offerings along some more-or-less objective lines. Let's stick with current pups for now...

To start, I'd like to look at a few key properties: articulation; overall loudness; treble strength; midrange strength,; bass strength; and ranked from "bluesy" to "metally".

Edit: If it helps, think of how the various pups would sound in an unassuming maple over mahogany body guitar with a mahogany neck, RW board, stoptail bridge and standard McCarty electronics - arguably a vanilla PRS guitar and well-suited as a neutral platform for comparisons.

Let's not make this difficult project harder than it is already going to be.

From what I can tell, the current offerings are listed below. If there is a currently offered pup not listed, let me know. If you have a suggestion for a parameter to be ranked, I'll entertain those suggestions too.

In no particular order:
305 Singlecoil
PRS Singlecoil (same as 305?)
513
408 Treble
408 Bass
Narrow 408 Treble
Narrow 408 Bass
HFS Treble
Vintage Bass
57/08 Treble (covered)
57/08 Treble (uncovered)
57/08 Bass (covered)
57/08 Bass (uncovered)
57/08 Narrowfield
59/09 Treble
59/09 Bass
53/10 Treble
53/10 Bass
Starla Treble
Starla Bass
Mira Treble
Mira Bass
Archtop Treble
Archtop Bass
Brent Mason 408 Treble
Brent Mason 408 Bass
DGT Treble
DGT Bass
Tremonti Treble
Tremonti Bass
Santana Treble
Santana Bass
RP Treble
RP Bass
\m/ Treble
\m/ Bass

What I want to create is a chart for each parameter, for instance listing the pups from the most articulate to the least(or most muddy). I expect Chris (CRGTR) would have some insight here since he compared many of these pups side to side.

So, how would you rank these pups? Most articluate? Least? The degrees in between? Loudest? Bluesiest? I want to rank each property individually since they are not necessarily dependent upon one another.

As we go, I'll build a spreadsheet and post and update it here in the OP. This will take time and I need your help, but when we are done, it will be a valuable resource.

 

[rugerpc]

We might start by dividing them up into the positions where they are normally used:

Treble:
305 Singlecoil
PRS Singlecoil (same as 305?)
513
408 Treble
Narrow 408 Treble
HFS Treble
57/08 Treble (covered)
57/08 Treble (uncovered)
57/08 Narrowfield
59/09 Treble
53/10 Treble
Starla Treble
Mira Treble
Archtop Treble
Brent Mason 408 Treble
DGT Treble
Tremonti Treble
Santana Treble
RP Treble
\m/ Treble


Bass:
305 Singlecoil
PRS Singlecoil (same as 305?)
513
408 Bass
Narrow 408 Bass
Vintage Bass
57/08 Bass (covered)
57/08 Bass (uncovered)
57/08 Narrowfield
59/09 Bass
53/10 Bass
Starla Bass
Mira Bass
Archtop Bass
Brent Mason 408 Bass
DGT Treble
DGT Bass
Tremonti Bass
Santana Bass
RP Bass
\m/ Bass

 

[ElrytNamrogo]

I've always been curious if the middle 513 pickup is the same as the single-coils in a 305...

 

[John Beef]

Not to poo poo on the thread, but the same pickup can sound drastically different in different guitars.

Also the same model pickup in the same model of guitar can sound very different. I had an 08 Mira. The stock neck pickup gave me a muddy, nondistinct and almost unusable tone, no matter how I adjusted it, and I replaced it with something brighter - and after a while sold the guitar. Maybe 2 years later, I bought an 07 Mira and the stock pickup is brighter, throaty, clear, and the strings are well defined, and otherwise just about as perfect a neck pickup as I would ever want.

It makes ranking pickups that much more difficult because the answer always is, "it depends".

 

[rugerpc]

Not to poo poo on the thread, but the same pickup can sound drastically different in different guitars.

Also the same model pickup in the same model of guitar can sound very different. I had an 08 Mira. The stock neck pickup gave me a muddy, nondistinct and almost unusable tone, no matter how I adjusted it, and I replaced it with something brighter - and after a while sold the guitar. Maybe 2 years later, I bought an 07 Mira and the stock pickup is brighter, throaty, clear, and the strings are well defined, and otherwise just about as perfect a neck pickup as I would ever want.

It makes ranking pickups that much more difficult because the answer always is, "it depends".

Understood and agreed, John. The model and the quality and type and thickness of the woods and finish (the platform) make a difference from guitar to guitar. The pups themselves will have variability. I even get it that the vast majority of the models PRS offers come stock with 57/08s, yet can sound wildly different.

But there are intrinsic differences in pups and that is what I'm after. \m/ pups are hotter than Archtops - that is probably going to be true no matter what model or wood is used. We can make generalities and lists based on each pup's basic character.

If it helps, think of how the various pups would sound in an unassuming maple over mahogany body guitar with a mahogany neck, RW board, stoptail bridge and standard McCarty electronics - arguably a vanilla PRS guitar and well-suited as a neutral platform for comparisons.

Let's not make this difficult project harder than it is already going to be.

 

[blaren]

IDK but....almost THIRTY FIVE different pickups? Really? Necessary? then there are the piezos and SE pups and bass pups and (sure, like the SEs not made by them but) P90s, EMGs
No WONDER!

 

[rugerpc]

IDK but....almost THIRTY FIVE different pickups? Really? Necessary? then there are the piezos and SE pups and bass pups and (sure, like the SEs not made by them but) P90s, EMGs
No WONDER!

Exactly why I want us to make the rankings. It's all very subjective, but I do think we might a general consensus on the basic qualities of each pup as compared with the other offerings... It's a challenge, I know. But think of it as a community project with a good payoff - some charts we can go to when we are looking to tweak our tones. Wouldn't it be useful to know which way to move if you are looking to change your tone in a particular direction? Or where you should start for a custom build??

 

[rugerpc]

Bump.

OK, let's start as simply as possible. Try ranking the pups from mildest to hottest. You don't have to do the whole list, if people would just say 'I think this one is hotter than that one,' I could compile the responses into a larger list in post 2.

 

[RedGuitars]

There used to be a spreadsheet online that contained the output levels of all or most of the PRS pickups - is that still around anywhere?

 

[vchizzle]

Here's the chart.

 

[Dancing Frog]

I've always been curious if the middle 513 pickup is the same as the single-coils in a 305...

No. The single coils in the 513 are not the same as the 305's. Production 305's pups are differently voiced.
They are similar in appearance only.

 

[Bill Downing]

The PRS online store shows the \m/ pups at Treble DC Res: 15.7k & Bass DC Res: 8.5k.

 

[geese_com]

Does anyone have info on the Al Di Meola pickups? I have a PRS pickup with a "Dimeola Treble" sticker on it, but I can't find any info on it. The website says the the Prisms have 57/08's so I would have expected a 57/08 sticker.

 

[Tree]

wow..250t and tremonti are the same dc resistance..anybody compare the two tones ?..are they the same ?

 

[John Beef]

They probably are the same, aside from the wiring options. Another example of PRS doing this would be SC245 pickups and Mira pickups - same wire, magnets, and DC resistance, but Mira pickups have a wire for coil splitting the 245s don't have, and the 245s have a cover.

 

[Danerada]

IDK but....almost THIRTY FIVE different pickups? Really? Necessary? then there are the piezos and SE pups and bass pups and (sure, like the SEs not made by them but) P90s, EMGs
No WONDER!

Blaren's shortest post ever...LOL

Oh and I don't have anything to contribute, other than I LOVE the archtop pups........but I am enjoying the thread.