Pickup recommendations- S2 Standard 22

krb813

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Mar 16, 2014
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I'm looking to change the pickups on my S2 Standard 22. Do any of you nice people have recommendations. I play Rush, classic rock, etc.

Thanks
 
Any equivalent pickups out there that are a little less expensive than the 57/08's?
 
Any equivalent pickups out there that are a little less expensive than the 57/08's?
Maybe Seymour Duncan Alnico II Pro? (I don't have experience myself, but they share the same magnet type). It's a set I would consider for my S2 Standard 24.
 
SD JB/Jazz set sound great, affordable, and its where'd I start for a solid choice less than PRS.

Added- A few of the Custom 24 SE's (same electronics as s2) I've owned that I didn't care for the 85/15s or HFS/VBs I put the JB/Jazz pups from my parts bin in and ended up loving the sound of the guitars. I'm hard pressed to think of a guitar I haven't liked those pups in. I mostly play classic rock, blues, and rock.

The 59 is a good neck pickup as well.
 
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What do you not like about the current pickups? What do you want to achieve by changing pickups?
 
What do you not like about the current pickups? What do you want to achieve by changing pickups?
Hello. It seems like they are muddy with a lack of definition. I prefer a more balanced sound. Clean tight lows with an airy top end that is not too hot or shrill.
 
One little suggestion if I may. Replace the pots with core pots at the same time.

Great suggestion! I didn't used to feel this way, but now I think this is as if not more important than swapping pups. If I like the general sound of pups in a guitar but its not quite there, I swap the the electronics first to get it where I want to be. The 85/15s are an experiment I'll do if I get another PRS with them. I'm a huge fan of the US 85/15 but the 85/15s not so much. My hypothesis is if I swap the electronics I'll like the 85/15s too.

Basically quality electronics can help ok pickups sound good, Quality pups can improve sound with ok electronics, and quality pups and electronics are the complete package.
 
I am loving the DiMarzio D-Activator X set on my Darth Paul S2 Standard 22. They are versatile as they can produce nice cleans, little crunch, as well as extreme dirt.

Mine is wired with tone circuit bypass and parallel switching. I'm not a fan of splits.

My demo:
 
Hello. It seems like they are muddy with a lack of definition. I prefer a more balanced sound. Clean tight lows with an airy top end that is not too hot or shrill.

Ok. Sounds like you might like a set of Seymour Duncan Saturday Night Specials. Other suggestions would be Bare Knuckle Pickups Blackdog or Abraxas. A Dimarzio Super Distortion (which actually isn’t that hot, it’s a very old design) might work in the bridge. Seymour Duncan Alnico II Pro is another great sounding set with airy top end. Fishman Fluence Classic are really great too if you wanna try active pickups, very clear sounding.
 
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