PRS pickup identification

[Jhouse]

PRS 1985 pickups

Hi all,

I have a 1986 Standard 24 PRS, and would like to try to get it closer to it's original condition. (I've played it for many years, have changed pickups and wiring configuration etc).
I found what I thought to be a set of 1985 pickups on Reverb, but after calling the store, they are not sure what they've got. Can anyone identify these pickups?

Had a little trouble adding a photo, link to it is posted above, hope it works.

Thanks!

Jan House
Lebanon, Ohio

 

[Jhouse]

well maybe I can answer my own question, at least partially. I spoke with the store again, and the pickups came out of a McCarty, early 2 thousands I think. So they're not 1985 at all. Maybe a model number?

I did find, packed away in my house, what is probably the original neck pickup (marked "B"), and I have a Vintage Bass pickup as well.

If anyone has ideas on finding a treble pickup from around that era, or what else to try, I'd interested to hear them. I don't use much distortion these days, mostly clean with maybe a touch of overdrive and I like lows and mids vs a lot of "edge".

 

[eclecticsynergy]

That's the '1985' reissue set, which PRS offered for a couple of years in the early 2000s.
They have the same secret ingredient hiding in their slug coils as the originals did.

These sound quite good - bright & modern, with fast attack and superb splits, pretty much identical to the original 80s 'T&B' humbuckers.
Some years back I replaced my '96 CE's Dragon Ones with the 1985 set; now its character is very much like my beloved '87.

 

[Jhouse]

Thank you! That sounds pretty good, I'll consider them!

Edited to say, I went ahead and got them, great little store in Le Mesa CA (Moze guitars) were very pleasant to deal with. Hope that's ok to mention them, if not I'll edit that out.

It's pretty exciting to start getting this guitar closer to original -- I'm looking into a sweet switch and maybe back to the 5 way. A guitar tech urged me to rewire it using the sweet switch for double/single coil, and replacing the old 5 way with a toggle. I never did like it as well.

 

[gush]

That's the '1985' reissue set, which PRS offered for a couple of years in the early 2000s.
They have the same secret ingredient hiding in their slug coils as the originals did.

These sound quite good - bright & modern, with fast attack and superb splits, pretty much identical to the original 80s 'T&B' humbuckers.
Some years back I replaced my '96 CE's Dragon Ones with the 1985 set; now its character is very much like my beloved '87.

I have a set of 85 standard pickups and have considered putting them in my ce24

 

[eclecticsynergy]

1985s are a great match for an all-mahog Standard IMO.
But they are unusually chimey for humbuckers, partly thanks to their highly focused magnetic field I'm sure.
I'd even call them a bit glassy, a term I normally reserve for singlecoils.
Not a warm or smooth type personality IMO. They definitely cut - especially in a guitar without a tone knob.
(I love the way they interact with a sweet switch, though. It affects them a bit differently in each of the rotary positions.)

As a great example of something more mid-centric, last Spring I put a set of Bareknuckle Polymaths in my 20th Anni Custom 22.
Very happy with them. They're a bit hotter that the 1985s, but not so much that I need to redial my whole rig.

Rich in the mids, voicelike without being too nasal, and full without being too fat.
They also clean up beautifully with the guitar's volume knob, an area where many hotter hums fail.
In fact their clarity belies their output; I was stunned.
These pickups rock, and they love gain. But they aren't brute rockers at all; they're refined and very versatile
Sensitive & extremely responsive to nuances of style, and they have great string-to-string definition in chords.

BKP have a reputation in general for a certain clarity across the whole brand, and the Polymaths are no exception.
I have three sets of Bareknuckles in my fleet - Rebel Yell, Holy Diver, and Polymath.
The Polymaths are my favorite; they suit my tastes - and this particular PRS - just perfectly.