PRS Pro Pickups

[jpas1954]

I just got a PRS PRO SE and looking forward to bringing it to rehearsals. A guitar tech I trust tells me a lot of guys swap out the pickups. He likes Seymour Duncan. I'm a straight up blues-rock (Clapton, Leslie West, Johnny Winter, Trower, Page) guitarist. I'm in no hurry to drop any more dough so I'm wondering if you guys think there is that much difference. I am definitely not a gear guy, not even particularly interested in being one. Just enough knowledge to be dangerous.

 

[Black Plaid]

I'm curious about this PRS PRO SE, got any pictures?

The SE pickups are plenty nice, most people won't be able to tell the difference unless you are completely changing the style of pickup (low gain to high gain, humbucker to single).

My suggestion is to just play it as-is, and if you aren't getting the kinds of sounds you want to out of it, then maybe think about changing out some peice of gear, maybe not even the pickup.

 

[jpas1954]

I'm curious about this PRS PRO SE, got any pictures?

The SE pickups are plenty nice, most people won't be able to tell the difference unless you are completely changing the style of pickup (low gain to high gain, humbucker to single).

My suggestion is to just play it as-is, and if you aren't getting the kinds of sounds you want to out of it, then maybe think about changing out some peice of gear, maybe not even the pickup.

 

[jpas1954]

I'm curious about this PRS PRO SE, got any pictures?

The SE pickups are plenty nice, most people won't be able to tell the difference unless you are completely changing the style of pickup (low gain to high gain, humbucker to single).

My suggestion is to just play it as-is, and if you aren't getting the kinds of sounds you want to out of it, then maybe think about changing out some peice of gear, maybe not even the pickup.

My bad. The word 'Pro' got stuck in my head. It's a Custom.

 

[Slo-mo]

I have to agree with Black Plaid on this. The issue with swapping pickups because others do is that you don't really know what to swap to, until you play what you have for a bit. If it's a current SE Custom, then it should have the 85/15S pickups in it. They're pretty decent, with a slightly more modern profile. With amp/pedal dialed in they should cover what you're looking to play well. After playing for a few weeks/months you may decide you want something hotter or warmer or whatever your ears prefer. Once you know what direction you want to go, then advice on that direction can help. Otherwise, you may spend money and then decide you don't like what you swapped to, then spend more money trying something else, etc.

When I got my SE CE24 Satin, it had those same pickups. I played it as is for about 3 months until I decided hotter was what I wanted. So I swapped to PRS \m/ pickups. For me, they are perfect for what I was after.

I just swapped the PRS stock tremolo bridge for Mann Made from John Mann's Guitar Vault. The swap from steel block to brass improved sustain a good amount. For bluesy rock, I think that may be a better starting point for mods as notes can ring out longer for that emotional emphasis.

 

[László]

As my grandfather might have said, there are more pickup winders out there than Carter's got pills.

If the guitar is working for you, why change it at all? If it isn't, everyone who's into modding their guitars will have a load of free advice.

Trouble is, none of it will matter, because they're not you, with your unique ears, tastes in what works for you, hands or even amps and other gear.

I'd ignore the noise.

If you're super-interested in alternative pickups to what's in your guitar, there are plenty of videos and Soundcloud links on every pickup manufacturer's website, so have at it. Google ' guitar pickup manufacturers' and you'll get an eyeball full of names to research.

My guess is you wouldn't have bought the guitar if you didn't like how it sounds and plays.

 

[SinSir]

If you like em keep em. If you don't swap em. It's as simple as that. It's your guitar.

 

[Bogner]

Live With The Guitar A While And See If A Change Is Even Necessary. You May Find The Guitar Is Fine As Is For You Or Maybe A Small Pickup Height Adjustment Was All It Needed. Live with It And See How You Feel. There Is No Guarantee A Pickup Change Will Be Better. In Fact, It Could Be Worse And Not What You Want At All. Just Because A Pickup May Be "Better" It Still May Not Sound The Way You Want It To Sound.

Congrats On Your New Guitar!

 

[andy474x]

I’ve never felt that a mid priced set of pickups like Duncans or Dimarzios sounded any better than the stock pickups in an SE, this is where I’d have to be a snob and say you have to drop some coin to really get an improvement. For me that usually means Maryland made PRS pickups, although have liked the set of Bare Knuckles I’ve got a lot. But either are spendy.

 

[dogrocketp]

Which custom, 22 or 24, semi hollow or solid body, stoptail or trem, Korean or Indonesian? Live with it for 30 days. Remember change and better are not synonymous. Other people sometimes do dumb things. Please don’t be one of them. I have stock pickups in 3 of my SE’s. My ears tell me they sound good. Others have been changed.

 

[Fro]

In addition to the advice you’ve been given, my advice is to adjust your pickups height before changing them out. The tone you’re looking for may be in those pickups you have.

 

[jpas1954]

Live With The Guitar A While And See If A Change Is Even Necessary. You May Find The Guitar Is Fine As Is For You Or Maybe A Small Pickup Height Adjustment Was All It Needed. Live with It And See How You Feel. There Is No Guarantee A Pickup Change Will Be Better. In Fact, It Could Be Worse And Not What You Want At All. Just Because A Pickup May Be "Better" It Still May Not Sound The Way You Want It To Sound.

Congrats On Your New Guitar!

Thanks. Diggin' it.

 

[jpas1954]

In addition to the advice you’ve been given, my advice is to adjust your pickups height before changing them out. The tone you’re looking for may be in those pickups you have.

Interesting. Thanks

 

[jpas1954]

Which custom, 22 or 24, semi hollow or solid body, stoptail or trem, Korean or Indonesian? Live with it for 30 days. Remember change and better are not synonymous. Other people sometimes do dumb things. Please don’t be one of them. I have stock pickups in 3 of my SE’s. My ears tell me they sound good. Others have been changed.

Indonesian

 

[jpas1954]

Indonesian solid body

 

[jpas1954]

I just got a PRS PRO SE and looking forward to bringing it to rehearsals. A guitar tech I trust tells me a lot of guys swap out the pickups. He likes Seymour Duncan. I'm a straight up blues-rock (Clapton, Leslie West, Johnny Winter, Trower, Page) guitarist. I'm in no hurry to drop any more dough so I'm wondering if you guys think there is that much difference. I am definitely not a gear guy, not even particularly interested in being one. Just enough knowledge to be dangerous.

Not sure if everyone who commented will see this but thanks greatly for the advice. I'll play the thing, see what happens.

 

[Prina]

Lots of options prior to switching the pickups.
As others have said, play it first to see what you do & don't like about it.

Then, if necessary, adjust the pickups. Some of the best advice I've had for getting more bite out of a pickup is out of a pickup is raising the pole pieces a full turn and then raising the pickup so it's just under the strings when you palm mute. That worked wonders on the 57/08 bridge pickup in my Stripped '58. For more clarity try going lower.

If they're still not good, consider swapping the magnets. Looks like A5's are there currently, according to this post. For around $20 you can get three sets of magnets: A2 (warmest, traditional PAF sound), A4 (what's in the Wolfetone Marshallhead /Dr V set in my SE 245) & A6 (between an A5 and A8). Since 58/15S pickups aren't covered the magnets are easy to swap. Each of those sets would definitely change the character of the pickups. If I'd known the value of magnet swaps, I would've tried that prior to switching the pickups in my SE 245.

Finally there's the world of options with other pickups. But most of all enjoy the guitar. And post a picture for a NGD!