Pickups with Low End Punch

jacobmatthew

New Member
Joined
Aug 3, 2018
Messages
22
Currently looking to switch out pickups on my 2016 Custom 24 SE. I like the mellow smoother tone I get from them on the top end (I'm not a huge fan of bright chimney top end). But for the bottom end there are times when I'd like to have a little more pop/punch when doing single note funk lines (I've always liked my strat bottom end for that kind of thing). I know I can split the pickups for a strat like tone but for this guitar, splitting makes the guitar sound very thin. Are there PRS pickups that can still give me the mellow top end but tighter punchier bottom end?
 
The DGT has low end grunt when and where you want it. The McCarty can be there, too. But I’d raise the bass side of the pickup and lower the treble side of the pickup before swapping. There’s a lot of tone shaping available before making a drastic change.
 
That has been my experience with that 85/15s as well. The notes on the bottom strings just smear together, especially on the bass pickup. I find that the 85/15s cover a lot of sonic ground, but like the pickups after which they are modeled are more of a jack of all trades set of pickups than a holy grail set of pickups. On the other hand, 57/08s are holy grail pickups if you one gets a good set. I am not a huge bass humbucker fan. I prefer the spank of a true single coil. However, the 57/08 bass pickup is much nicer than the 85/15 bass pickup, split or in humbucker mode. The reality is that 85/15s are compromise pickups that sacrifice some tonal bliss for versatility. What they are attempting to do with a traditional PAF bobbin set is difficult.
 
Last edited:
That has been my experience with that 85/15s as well. The notes on the bottom strings just smear together, especially on the bass pickup. I find that the 85/15s cover a lot of sonic ground, but like the pickups after which they are modeled are more of a jack of all trades set of pickups than a holy grail set of pickups. On the other hand, 57/08s are holy grail pickups if you one gets a good set. I am not a huge bass humbucker fan. I prefer the spank of a true single coil. However, the 57/08 bass pickup is much nicer than the 85/15 bass pickup, split or in humbucker mode. The reality is that 85/15s are compromise pickups that sacrifice some tonal bliss for versatility. What they are attempting to do with a traditional PAF bobbin set is difficult.

Thanks I haven't had a PRS for long so this is definitely enlightening. I do love the versatility of the guitar/pickups, but I can see how there is a compromise there. I will add the 57/08's to my research list.
 
The DGT has low end grunt when and where you want it. The McCarty can be there, too. But I’d raise the bass side of the pickup and lower the treble side of the pickup before swapping. There’s a lot of tone shaping available before making a drastic change.

Thanks I will definitely try altering the pickup height to see if that addresses what I'm looking for.
 
I like PRS pickups, but my all-time favorite treble/bridge pickup is a DiMarzio Tone Zone. However, I rarely play with a clean tone on the bridge pickup. The Tone Zone is like everything is turned up to 11. It is bigger, fatter, and clearer than an HFS.
 
I have the Abraxas set in my Bernie. Great pickups. The neck is quite bright and clear and the bridge has plenty of guts.
 
Ok so after a lot of experimentation (adjusting pickup height wasn't quite doing it for me) and research I've come up with these pickups. There were lots of suggestions about the Abraxas pickups but after reaching out to Bare Knuckles they recommended going with the Rebel Yells. The other pickups came from sifting through other posts, YouTube comment sections, and again reaching out to the pickups makers themselves. To reiterate what I'm looking for,
  • Neck: super clean and snappy single notes on bottom end for funk/gospel
  • Bridge: clear and tight overdriven power chords that also work well for solos with lots of sustain
  • Bonus points for usable split coil sounds
And now the pickups...
  • DiMarzio (PAF 36th in neck And Norton in bridge)
  • Lollar Eldorado
  • Falin Pure Paf
  • Bare Knuckles Rebel Yell
  • PRS 57/08
 
I have Rebel Yells in a 2015 S2 Singlecut. Really great pickups. The neck on clean-ish settings gives a very fat strat type sound. The bridge has a lot of punch and the low end is really tight and clear, no mud. To me, the RY's are modern but can give a vintage vibe if required, the Abraxas are more vintage but with some extra oomph in the bridge.
 
Ok so after a lot of experimentation (adjusting pickup height wasn't quite doing it for me) and research I've come up with these pickups. There were lots of suggestions about the Abraxas pickups but after reaching out to Bare Knuckles they recommended going with the Rebel Yells. The other pickups came from sifting through other posts, YouTube comment sections, and again reaching out to the pickups makers themselves. To reiterate what I'm looking for,
  • Neck: super clean and snappy single notes on bottom end for funk/gospel
  • Bridge: clear and tight overdriven power chords that also work well for solos with lots of sustain
  • Bonus points for usable split coil sounds
And now the pickups...
  • DiMarzio (PAF 36th in neck And Norton in bridge)
  • Lollar Eldorado
  • Falin Pure Paf
  • Bare Knuckles Rebel Yell
  • PRS 57/08

I basically have this same list, with the JB/Jazz/59 instead of the dimarzios, and the 59/09's being a possibility. I was also told the same thing by Bare Knuckle.

Does anyone have any videos of the Rebels with s2's? I've looked at tons of forum posts online and they all sort of fizzle and die out without the original poster making a decision.
 
Last edited:
Back
Top