Question about my new S2 Custom 22 (pickups)

[wayfaerer1]

Just bought my first PRS - an S2 Custom 22. First, this guitar looks and feels amazing. The clean sounds are crystal, but it's the high gain/distorted tones that I feel could be better.

It doesn't seem to handle the sort of metal chugging that I like to play now and then.

Would I benefit from getting different pickups to handle the metal/hard rock tone side of things?

Perhaps swapping out the bridge pickup only?

 

[sleary]

Have you tried equing your amp ? What amp are you using ?

 

[wayfaerer1]

My amp is a Carvin SX200.

Do you think it's more my amp and not the guitar?

Are the #7 pickups the issue?

 

[sleary]

I've heard good and bad about #7 pickups. Some guys swear they are hotter then the hfs set. From what I know of them , they are more of a vintage style pickup. I Try to Eq my amp before I do anything. Pickups are usually the last thing I touch . You could try throwing an overdrive pedal in to the mix to boost the gain on your amp. I did that this week with a tube screamer to get more heavy gain. Worked like a charm.

If you are wanting to go to a new pickup then 59/09, Tremonti or the new M pickups are really great pickups. After market would be for sure bare knuckle aftermath for those hard gain tones .

 

[wayfaerer1]

I have a TC Electronics "spark" pedal in the mail, but I'll probably need maybe more of a distortion/heavy overdrive pedal as well.

 

[sleary]

The to electronics spark might just do the trick. Remember though if you throw a distortion pedal on with gain, it could cause noise. I have a Hughes and kettner grand meister 36 and some think it has huge gain but to my ears, I just needed a tiny bit of a boost and the overdrive did the trick.

 

[andy474x]

What specifically are you not "getting" from the #7's? Not enough bite and high end? Not enough output?

I would say the S2 #7's are definitely not high output, and midrange focused with subdued highs. So if you like an aggressive, hot tone, they probably aren't what you're after.

 

[wayfaerer1]

What specifically are you not "getting" from the #7's? Not enough bite and high end? Not enough output?

I would say the S2 #7's are definitely not high output, and midrange focused with subdued highs. So if you like an aggressive, hot tone, they probably aren't what you're after.

This is what I've heard and now that I own a guitar with these pickups I can certainly hear it for myself.

It's the bite that I think I'm missing - just not crunchy enough.

I'm just trying to figure out if it's worth changing pickups or trying a booster pedal for when I need that extra bite?

It sounds incredible for cleans and slightly dirty tones - just that aggressive crunchiness that I feel is lacking when I crank the gain up to 10.

 

[dogrocketp]

Remember that for everything you gain, you also lose something. Go with the pedal first, you seem to like most of what the pickcup does.

 

[wayfaerer1]

Remember that for everything you gain, you also lose something. Go with the pedal first, you seem to like most of what the pickcup does.

This is very true.

 

[atreyu2112]

I've played my S2 Singlecut with the stock #7's through an EVH 5150iii 50w... plenty of balls & grit. Then again through a Carvin Vai Legacy 3 and not so much. So what you're playing through is a big part of it. Having said that, they are not nu-metal hi-gain type pickups. More a jack-of-all-trades IMO. They're definitely warm and a bit more vintage focused than the HFS in my S2 Custom 24. I really like them though.

*IF* you change them out, try the Tremonti P'ups... those SCREAM.

 

[John Fiaschetti]

I have a Singlecut, which has the same pups. I agree that looking at EQ is a good idea.

 

[wayfaerer1]

I've played my S2 Singlecut with the stock #7's through an EVH 5150iii 50w... plenty of balls & grit. Then again through a Carvin Vai Legacy 3 and not so much. So what you're playing through is a big part of it. Having said that, they are not nu-metal hi-gain type pickups. More a jack-of-all-trades IMO. They're definitely warm and a bit more vintage focused than the HFS in my S2 Custom 24. I really like them though.

*IF* you change them out, try the Tremonti P'ups... those SCREAM.

Yep - the more and more I read up on these pickups and this guitar, the more I think everyone is right - it's probably related to my amp.

I'm going to bring my S2 Custom 22 to my local Guitar Center this weekend and try it out on a Peavey 6505 Plus 60W 1x12 Combo and see if I dig the tone. Perhaps my amp is the real issue indeed.

Thanks guys. Very helpful.

 

[sleary]

Don't for get An archon 25

 

[jcha008]

It could be the amp, but a pickup swap is an easy fix. The right pickup for the guitar can make quite a difference IMO. There's plenty of great companies out there that should make a PUP to suit your needs.

I would look into Bare Knuckle pickups, Dimarzio (The Titan has been getting great reviews), Seymour Duncan (Nazgul, Sentient, and Black Winters) and Lundgren pickups for your type of music.