PRS CU22 drop B pickup suggestion

[karolkozak]

hey guys

I've just picked up a new guitar - a 2003 artist CU22 to use in our band. We're playing some songs in drop B and I have it properly set up to accommodate for such low tuning.

https://78.media.tumblr.com/43d157516b09fe3af27bf3326f472cb7/tumblr_p6taglJrs91xpp5i1o1_1280.png

One thing that I am not a fan of is how the dragon II in the bridge position now sounds like. It was really ok in standard tunning but right now - It's rather fuzzy/mushy and not really clear this deep down low.
I've also tried messing with the pickup height without much of any success. It's funny cause the neck pickup is really doing well even this low .

Have any of you had better results going this low perhaps with a different pickup? (HFS?)

I am not really a fan of super high output pickups in the first place and prefer something that's rather big/open/growly sounding while still having string definition. I rather prefer the amp to do the heavy lifting when it comes to distortion/gain levels as long as the pickup is responsive, isn't mushy or super shrill and works ok in that application.

 

[gush]

I normally don't like the HFS pickup, I find it harsh BUT I think it's a great pickup for lower tunings. I love 5909s but they don't have enough output in lower tunings.

I think your choices are HFS or M pickup.

M pickups are some of the most balanced pickups I've ever used and you will never describe them as muddy.

 

[gush]

Nice guitar.

 

[garrettb]

My experience is with 7-string, but I didn't like the SE HFS.

I now have the Pegasus and Sentient set from Seymour Duncan. Pegasus is a great bridge pickup. Just enough push and growl in the midrange, but clear. Very versatile pickup. I stay in drop A on my 7 and It does everything from djent to country (when split). It was popular as a 7-string design first, so they make a 6-string version now.

 

[karolkozak]

thanks guys!
I do have the new SE SVN, too btw. that ones has the 85/15 pickups and having set the pickup properly, it does play rather fine!

With the HFS i only know that one from our 2nd guitarist's axe. He's running an SE 6 string with floyd rose one of those amethysts anniversary models and that one in drop B slays. I'll probably give the HFS a try. I can imagine in standard 6 or 7 string tuning it may be rather sharp cause even in that SE it worked in a way that standard tunings sounded thin also probably due to that floyd rose system, he was about to sell it and then we tried it in low tuning and it was almost jaw dropping despite being a cheaper but still rather well made guitar.

 

[garrettb]

You may also consider the Tremonti Treble. Mark tunes down a lot. It should get along well with the Dragon II and I don't think it's as harsh in the midrange as the HFS.

 

[Drew]

Forget PRS pickups for drop B. You need a ceramic Dimarzio or Bare Knuckle specifically designed for big down tuning.

 

[karolkozak]

I see what you mean. have any of you had luck with any ducan pickups tuning this low and going full mahogany? I am looking also at Sh5-custom or the Custom 5 (i think sh14).

In the past what sometimes happened was that I'd choose a pickup to go this low and despite it being tight it also had a fair amount of bass and it made the sound almost tube-y and pushing tons of subbass/flub while still being unpleasant and raspyat the same time, it's hard to explain. One of those was an alnico bkp warpig that thing felt 'quick' cause of the compression but pushed so much bottom end i ended up dialing my amp with bass/resonance and such to 0

 

[DISTORT6]

One of my Singlecuts is tuned to B-Standard. The stock #7's work great with this tuning.

 

[Ovibos]

Duncan Omega

 

[touron]

nice flame!!

 

[Kyloc Armis]

Donation D-Sonic all the way. It was literally made for down tuning. However, if you don't want that high of an output, I vote the Duncan Custom Custom. It' medium output but boy is it open and has balls.

 

[Kyloc Armis]

Last post was supposed to say "Dimarzio D-Sonic"......stupid auto correct

 

[vchizzle]

I see what you mean. have any of you had luck with any ducan pickups tuning this low and going full mahogany? I am looking also at Sh5-custom or the Custom 5 (i think sh14).

In the past what sometimes happened was that I'd choose a pickup to go this low and despite it being tight it also had a fair amount of bass and it made the sound almost tube-y and pushing tons of subbass/flub while still being unpleasant and raspyat the same time, it's hard to explain. One of those was an alnico bkp warpig that thing felt 'quick' cause of the compression but pushed so much bottom end i ended up dialing my amp with bass/resonance and such to 0

HFS and custom 5 both work well in drop C and B. I'd say the custom 5 is slightly clearer with the alnico magnet vs. the ceramic of the HFS. The \m/ treble pickup is awesome. It sounds big and thick, but clear with great string to string clarity without sounding harsh. Best part is how well it responds to picking and volume knob dynamics. FWIW, Clint Lowery from Sevendust uses a Duncan Custom Custom in his PRS. I believe that pickup has a little less bottom end and an alnico 2 mag. They tune to B on a lot of stuff. That might be a good pickup to consider in letting the amp take care bottom end. Haven't tried one myself though.

 

[JJJ]

Lace humbuckers

Pick your flavour.

I know I keep recommending these but they really are great for low tunings. I don't use a set in a PRS (yet) but in an LP a set of hemis handle D standard right down to drop A.

They are clear like active pickups but need no batteries.

 

[Deleted member 21959]

I personally use a Bare Knuckle Painkiller for a similar setup. I gravitate around drop C/drop B, and I don't consider it as a super hot and super high output sounding pickup. On a side note, the accompanying neck pickup within that set is one of my favorites, too. There is a spike in the mids/upper mids, probably even more so than the HFS, but it cleans up a bit better and I find that the low end isn't as dense or muddy so it really does shine in lower tunings.

Here's a quick sample where I did use the Painkiller set, fwiw: https://open.spotify.com/track/1fUTZXZu7ozz0VkqrwA00p

 

[Bowtiefanatc]

Another vote for BareKnuckles

 

[karolkozak]

hey guys I swapped the D2 to HFS and in drop B it slays! One thing i forgot to do which is a bummer is to reverse the magnet, so all my other positions sound like ass.
Do you know if i swap the magnet whether I also have to reverse the wires? say black and white and interchange those or is a mere magnet swap enough?

the HFS i bought most likely came from a regular 3 way blade switching guitar instead of a 5way rotary

 

[gush]

Swap magnet and you are good.

It blows me away how pickups change their behavior as tunings change.

That is a beautiful guitar.

 

[gush]

There was a thread on here a long while ago and somebody said hold the pickups face to face to see if they pull together or push apart to determine mag position.

I hope that person speaks up again.