pickup suggestions

dkilpatrick

Makes guitar faces
Joined
Oct 11, 2015
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1,150
Location
Boston MA
I want to swap out the pickups in my S2 single cut semi-hollow. I find the stock #7's a bit too dark.
I'd like to keep the vintage vibe, and they need to be 4 conductor for the coil split.
Looking closely at Lollar Imperials, but open to suggestions.

What non-stock pickups are you using in your single cuts and semi hollow's ?
 
String change from all nickel to nickel plated steel made all the difference for me. Give it a shot if you've not already.

The 7's in my S2 Standard 22 are fairly bright, I think it has a lot to do with the guitar itself.
 
I felt the same about the #7 pups. A set of Suhr Thornbuckers did the trick for me. I do like Lollars, but I think Suhr got it right with A4 in the bridge and A5 in the neck. Great price, too.

If you do go Lollar, my favorite combo is low wind neck and regular wind bridge.
 
I've also got an S2 singlecut semi-hollow, and just swapped the stock pickups for a set of Bareknuckle Abraxas. BK puts them in the Vintage Hot category. I was originally thinking a set of Mules, but I've read that they don't split well due to their low output.

The Abraxas have a slight mid-boost, which you may not like if you're concerned about dark tone. I've used them on clean to metal levels of gain, and rarely have any feedback issues on the higher gain. Even then the feedback is musical. The split tones are usable too.

Sometimes a pickup height adjustment can help though, have you tried that on the stock pups?
 
A pickup change isn't a bad time to think about pot upgrades too. I replaced the volume pots on my S2 with the core volume pots (think they're PRS part ACC-4111, cost me around $20 for a pair).

I did it mostly for feel, the tone knobs on my S2 are the low resistance type, where they spin easily with one finger, but the volume knobs took a lot more effort to turn. My OCD didn't like the mis-match lol. The ACC-4111 volume pots turn similar to the S2 tone knobs with very little effort.

The other incentive is the ACC-4111 pots should, on paper at least, be more durable and hopefully remain scratch free sounding since they are a "better" part.

One potential negative is the center of the core pot shaft is gold colored, which you can see through the lampshade knobs. So my volume knobs have a gold center, while the tone knobs do not. This doesn't personally bug me, as there is already some mixed hardware going on with the brass stoptail studs and the gold headstock signature.
 
I've also got an S2 singlecut semi-hollow, and just swapped the stock pickups for a set of Bareknuckle Abraxas. BK puts them in the Vintage Hot category. I was originally thinking a set of Mules, but I've read that they don't split well due to their low output.

The Abraxas have a slight mid-boost, which you may not like if you're concerned about dark tone. I've used them on clean to metal levels of gain, and rarely have any feedback issues on the higher gain. Even then the feedback is musical. The split tones are usable too.

Sometimes a pickup height adjustment can help though, have you tried that on the stock pups?

No, pickup height is still to factory spec

I felt the same about the #7 pups. A set of Suhr Thornbuckers did the trick for me. I do like Lollars, but I think Suhr got it right with A4 in the bridge and A5 in the neck. Great price, too.

If you do go Lollar, my favorite combo is low wind neck and regular wind bridge.

I'll definitely give those a look
 
Definitely try adjusting the heights of both the pickups and the pole pieces. You might find a happy place.

The S2 guits do not have the treble bleed, and if they did, taking it out would go the opposite way and make the pickups even darker when you roll back the volume. Treble bleed circuits do nothing when the volume is on 10, however.

How about your amp settings? With the #7s in my S2 Singlecut Standard, I had to change my EQ quite a bit from my other guitars. I don't like having to do that and I couldn't get parity with my other guitars by tweaking height and pole pieces. Thornbuckers to the rescue. I also changed to PRS volume pots (with the stock 180pf treble bleeds) and the guitar became my #1.
 
Duncan 59/Custom Hybrid bridge with a Jazz neck would be my suggestion. No need to spend big bucks on Lollars.
 
Duncan 59/Custom Hybrid bridge with a Jazz neck would be my suggestion. No need to spend big bucks on Lollars.
Hmmmm. I have a set of pearly gates in my Gibby, I LOVE the way it sounds, just not the way it feels.
That's one of the reasons I switched to PRS.
 
I also have an S2 singlecut semi hollow and put in a set of Lindy Fralin Unbuckers with nickel covers. They split excellent and you get excellent classic rock and a really good split/single sound without the volume drop. Sanded down the neck with #500 grit sandpaper for a satin finish and I couldn't be happier!
 
Thanks for all the suggestions. I am putting this project on hold for now to fund something else.
More info soon ;)
 
Hello all, new here and to the PRS family (finally, after 30 years). Any thoughts on a Duncan JB and Jazz in a Custom 24? I'm picking mine up on Saturday but it has Zebra pickups, and I want the classic black look. I have a black JB and Jazz in an old guitar and wondered whether it would be an appropriate swap.
 
I second the Thornbucker recommendation.

I know the OP is putting the project on hold. But since the thread got bumped back into action...

I have the same S2 Singlecut Semi Hollow. With the stock #7 pickups, I had always felt like my tone knob was rolled back. I'd go to turn it up only to find it was already maxed.

I bought a Thornbucker set after discussing them with Garrett in a similar thread. They've slept in a drawer for months but I finally got them in.

The difference is night and day. The Thornbuckers aren't loud/hot but they don't need to be. They're so clear. What I love is they sound good both clean and dirty better than any other pickups I own. The bridge position doesn't have that nasty honk when played clean. Yet it drives my dirty sounds perfectly.

I plan to make a video demonstrating the Thornbuckers vs the stock #7s. I already recorded the "before" #7 clips. But it'll be a few weeks before I can record the "after" Thornbucker clips. I'll post a link on here when I get it done.
 
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