Pickups : 50mm vs 53mm..Prs 52mm ?

[Tree]

..Hello..I was wondering how many of you did pickups from another co...50mm vs 53mm..from my understanding prs is 52mm..when ordering pickups for a " stoptail "prs ..50mm or 53mm ?..does I make a difference ?..how many of you do a 53mm w a stoptail..Thanks

 

[John Beef]

Here's what I know, and I could be wrong. SE bridge humbuckers are all 52mm. USA bridge humbuckers are all 49.2mm. SE neck humbuckers are all 50mm. USA neck humbuckers are all 49.2mm.

 

[JRod4928]

I never noticed this before - but a friend is ordering parts for his custom built guitar - and we were measuring the distance between high/low E poles and the high/low E strings. The poles and strings are off by about 3/32" at the bridge. I assumed they'd be directly under the strings, but not so. They're perfectly lined up at the neck. This is from the USA Tremonti Model, and the USA Custom 24 model. The high E/Low E string distance is about 2-1/8"

If my calculations are correct - the USA bridge/neck humbuckers are about 49.2mm, confirming what John Beef said.

 

[Tree]

yes..even my question is confusing..Im thinking how how can I even put this in a sentence and somebody will understand me lol..53mm is for a Floyd I do know

 

[Tree]

o----- so..53mm spacing would look something like this ?..strings closer to the outside of screws in a stoptail ?
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[Tree]

O--- and maybe this would represent 50mm ?..strings are more in the center overtop screws ?
O---
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O---

 

[Howlingmine]

I don't know if it helps, but I have a 2012 SE Custom 24 and the neck is a 49.2 and the bridge is a 52. I only know this because I can't stand the look of zebra pickups and wanted to install some brushed covers.

 

[Mikegarveyblues]

The slight difference in spacing spreads out across the length of the pup so as you go further out from the centre the strings tend to move more towards the edge of the pole piece as you look square on. Realistically, the difference between a 50mm or 53mm pup is barely noticeable when the original was 52mm. 53 will be that bit closer but you're hardly going to notice. With 50 or 53 pup spacing the strings will still go over the bridge pup pole pieces.

Here's a 52mm stock bridge...

This is a 50mm Mule Bridge pup...

Ever so lightly more towards the outer egdes of the pole piece.

 

[Tree]

Thanks Markgarveyblues..That is one sick se !

 

[maxtuna26]

Generally, you won't go wrong with the normal spacing in the neck and F-spacing in the bridge. However, it doesn't matter which spacing you go with, really. You can rock a normal spacing in the bridge and it wouldn't sound that much different at all. Physics say that your low/high E strings will lose definition if it's vibrating a tiny bit outside the screw pole distance or whatever that it. Music says that your tone comes from your fingers. So yeah, if you're worried (like me), just go with the F-spacing. If you think you can't hear the tiny differences, you can go with the normal spacing. :rock:

 

[guitarman001]

I might buy some pups for my Cu24.

Options are 53mm and 50mm - which do I go for and does it differ for neck / bridge?

 

[Dusty Chalk]

Here's what I know, and I could be wrong. SE bridge humbuckers are all 52mm. USA bridge humbuckers are all 49.2mm. SE neck humbuckers are all 50mm. USA neck humbuckers are all 49.2mm.

...the hell? Is this true? That would mean I'd want F-spaced bridge humbuckers for any of my SE guitars in which I'm replacing pickups, neh? I'm pulling out my calipers tonight...(I've been avoiding F-spaced humbuckers).

 

[guitarman001]

Missed that. USA are 49.2mm?
So what spacing are 57/08s etc?
I was looking at 50mm and 53mm pups........... would that be a disaster?

 

[ChrisCst22]

This conversation has come up a couple times in the past. My experience is that F-Spaced bridge pickups work best for PRSi. Others will disagree with me, even if I post pictures that show how much better aligned the strings are with F space.

Non F-spaced bridge pickups, to me, really were designed for a TOM bridge piece. Which has narrower string spacing.

 

[Dusty Chalk]

I've only measured a couple bridge pickups so far (an old core Mira and a SE Santana), but they've both been in the 50mm realm. I will measure all of them over the course of the weekend, I think, especially the ones I'm swapping.

 

[guitarman001]

I measured ~53mm between high and low strings on my PRS

 

[tonyvenn]

THANK YOU FOR THIS TOPIC!!!

I recently purchased a SE Semi Hollow Bigsby....and I discovered the spacing on the bridge pickup was 52mm.

I was really freaking out that I wouldn't be able to find a replacement.

That pickup of the Bernie REALLY helped....I can now SEE that the 50mm spacing isn't all that big of a deal after all....

THANK YOU!!!!

T.