Pickup help and questions

[NatureBoy]

Hi all,
I just finally bought my first PRS. A 1996 Custom 24.
I have always been a strat guy and wanted a humbucker setup and have always wanted a PRS core level guitar but couldn’t really afford it until now. Now I know it’s an older model but the quality is apparent. It’s easily the best quality guitar I’ve ever played. I feel a little uneducated about the PRS pickups though and Just wanted some insight.

Here are my questions:
- which pickups were originally put into the Custom 24’s of this era?
- what are the differences that you find in the different PRS pickups? (ie. 85/15, 58/15, TCI, etc).
- would it be worth upgrading to a different ones if I decide to? So far I like these but need to keep playing them.

Just looking for some advice, and enjoying owning what had always been a bucket list guitar.

Thanks in advance!

 

[Alnus Rubra]

Congratulations and welcome. We’d all love to see some photos of your new gutter when you can share them.

 

[Tim S]

Congrats and welcome to the club!

If you’re happy with the sound you’re getting, why be concerned about other pickups? If you’re not happy with the sound, what’s off? I’m sure you can get plenty of helpful suggestions here.

 

[Bowtiefanatc]

Based on the year, if originally, it’s likely vintage bass and HFS combo. I personally wasn’t a fan of those and upgraded mine multiple times.

what kind of sound do you want out of that guitar? Vintage? Modern? High Gain? Rock/Blues?

That will help guide you on your quest.

 

[Aahzz]

Yup, should be HFS/VB. I've personally been happy with that combo in the past, so if they work for you there's no need to upgrade. I'm also quite fond of the 85/15, 59/09, 57/08, and 58/15 .

 

[bodia]

Congrats on your first!

 

[NatureBoy]

Thanks everyone,
Just a little more info...
I’m mostly a rock/blues player, and I’ve been happy with them so far but I also haven’t been able to really run it through my 2x12 tube amp yet. Just my little fender mustang. I have 6yr old twins and my practice time tends to be late night.

Basically I just wanted to know what else is out there and what opinions people have of the different PRS pickups. I’m loving the playability of this guitar though.

I have been lurking through a lot of the threads on here as well. It’s a wealth of knowledge, which is awesome!

 

[Rider1260]

If you have a VB/HFS combo with a rotary it is a killer combo !!!!! great splits , nice fat neck pickup tone and really powerful bridge pickup LOVED the tone on mine , the thin neck not so much.

 

[Black Plaid]

I'm partial to the 57/08, open and bright, but if you want a bit more push and smolder than that, the 59/09 is the way to go.

 

[TheDoktor]

Thanks everyone,
Just a little more info...
I’m mostly a rock/blues player, and I’ve been happy with them so far but I also haven’t been able to really run it through my 2x12 tube amp yet. Just my little fender mustang. I have 6yr old twins and my practice time tends to be late night.

Basically I just wanted to know what else is out there and what opinions people have of the different PRS pickups. I’m loving the playability of this guitar though.

I have been lurking through a lot of the threads on here as well. It’s a wealth of knowledge, which is awesome!

I've only played the "S" (import) versions so far, as I haven't acquired a Core model... yet... but I'm a week into playing the 58/15 "S" and for I'm absolutely loving them. Like the core version they've got a very PAF feel, warm and rich. Plus the coil split is absolutely amazing- it's a great "fat strat" type tone. I think they'd be amazing in a blues-rock context.

From what I've seen and heard the core version has more high end sparkle and complexity. You can get an idea of the difference in this video from Know Your Gear where the Core and S2 versions of the McCarty 594 are compared.

One thing to keep in mind here though is PRS doesn't sell any of its newer pickups direct, only older models, so if you were interested you would have to scour the used market (Reverb, Ebay, etc.)

Hope that helps and hope you're enjoying the new guitar!

 

[dogrocketp]

If you have a VB/HFS combo with a rotary it is a killer combo !!!!! great splits , nice fat neck pickup tone and really powerful bridge pickup LOVED the tone on mine , the thin neck not so much.

What rider said. If you like the single coil sounds of the 5 way, don’t change a thing! Remember, change and better are not always the same.

 

[vchizzle]

Sounds like you’re happy with the guitar, I’d probably not mess with it either. See what you think when playing thru your tube amp.

The more you read, the more doubt you’ll probably get in your head because everyone has different tastes. Just because the general consensus leans one way, it really doesn’t mean sh!t.

I walked into a guitar shop(a couple different ones actually) looking for Divided by 13 amps. Was looking for an FTR37 for its big bold clean tones. I took in my main guitar at that time which was a McCarty standard with an HFS and a Duncan jazz neck - not the latest and greatest boutique offerings. I’m not a guitar store player that draws a crowd with a bunch of razzle dazzle playing. I had multiple people in both shops walking up checking out what I was playing through, asking what pickups were in the guitar. Most people looked shocked and said, “really!?!”

So sometimes things just sound good even if not the popular new thing. All that said, I have 57/08’s in the guitar now.