S2 594 Pickups vs. 594 Pickups

bluesmantis

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Mar 10, 2020
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I have almost zero experience with PRS guitars other than the silver sky which is a completely different animal.

1. I'm highly considering the S2 594 because of the price range and the reviews I've read/ videos watched. But I'm worried that the pickups won't be good enough compared to the Core version pickups.

Will the S2 satisfy a professional musician and provide enough versatility?
I tend to prefer slightly more vintage sounding pickups.

2. I'm also curious about the Pattern Vintage Neck vs Pattern Regular. How would these necks compare to the thickness on the Silver Sky neck?

Thanks for your help!
 
I can't answer question 2. No experience with anything except pattern regular necks.

I can however offer an opinion regarding question 1 but it is only my opinion.
Keep in mind the fact that I know nothing and have at most 3 active brain cells.
Here it comes.

I sort of play guitar.
People give me money to play guitar.
This odd phenomenon has been going on since 1963.
Does that make me a "professional" guitarist?
Yes?
No?
Maybe?

anyway...

I own a bunch of very nice Gibson guitars but
over the last few years my main gigging guitars
have become the following:

S2 Mira
S2 Mira semi hollow
S2 Custom 22 semi hollow
S2 Custom 24 35th anniversary

They are all completely stock, no mods of any kind.
There is nothing wrong with any of their pickups.

PS: I play the entire job with the same guitar, no changing out.
I would have to say yes, the S2 guitars are versatile.
 
I can't answer question 2. No experience with anything except pattern regular necks.

I can however offer an opinion regarding question 1 but it is only my opinion.
Keep in mind the fact that I know nothing and have at most 3 active brain cells.
Here it comes.

I sort of play guitar.
People give me money to play guitar.
This odd phenomenon has been going on since 1963.
Does that make me a "professional" guitarist?
Yes?
No?
Maybe?

anyway...

I own a bunch of very nice Gibson guitars but
over the last few years my main gigging guitars
have become the following:

S2 Mira
S2 Mira semi hollow
S2 Custom 22 semi hollow
S2 Custom 24 35th anniversary

They are all completely stock, no mods of any kind.
There is nothing wrong with any of their pickups.

PS: I play the entire job with the same guitar, no changing out.
I would have to say yes, the S2 guitars are versatile.

Thank you sir! I can't tell you if your a pro or not lol, but this information is very helpful. thanks man
 
Disclaimer: I have only heard them, not played one. Still, from all the videos, I can distinctly tell that the core pickups have a little bit of extra high end (but well rounded and defined, not ice picky).

If you only hear the 58/15 S and you like that type of sound, you'll love them and won't miss anything. The split sounds are really usable and will cover a lot of ground. If you listen to them side by side with the core, you'll love the core even more. Do they sound $1500 better? Probably not.
 
I find the Pattern Vintage on the core 594s to be a bit chunkier than my Pattern Regulars. I didn't immediately vibe with it, which is why I bought a gently use S2 Singlecut instead of waiting for S2 594.
 
All the S2s are top notch gigging rigs. A lot of those comparisons are being made by YT reviewers that already own a core 594. Because of that bias it’s hard to tell if they’re praising the core pickups or knocking on the S2 pickups. When we got my friend an S2 Standard I was actually blown away by how good it sounded (and played) when we were going back and forth with my 594.

Honestly I wouldn’t worry about it if you’re into playing the kind of music the guitar was designed for. An S2 isn’t going to be as pretty or polished as a core, but they’re every bit as functional for half the cost :)
 
As far as the pattern vintage carve I like it and have average sized hands. If you’ve ever tried a Gibson medium C carve they’re very similar. It’s just enough extra chunk to fill my hand and reduce the cramping/fatigue I sometimes get from thinner necks :)
 
Disclaimer: I have only heard them, not played one. Still, from all the videos, I can distinctly tell that the core pickups have a little bit of extra high end (but well rounded and defined, not ice picky).

If you only hear the 58/15 S and you like that type of sound, you'll love them and won't miss anything. The split sounds are really usable and will cover a lot of ground. If you listen to them side by side with the core, you'll love the core even more. Do they sound $1500 better? Probably not.
Thanks. More like $2000 more from the prices I've seen on Sweetwater!
 
As far as the pattern vintage carve I like it and have average sized hands. If you’ve ever tried a Gibson medium C carve they’re very similar. It’s just enough extra chunk to fill my hand and reduce the cramping/fatigue I sometimes get from thinner necks :)
Thank you this is very helpful. I love Gibson necks!
 
Disclaimer: I have only heard them, not played one. Still, from all the videos, I can distinctly tell that the core pickups have a little bit of extra high end (but well rounded and defined, not ice picky).

If you only hear the 58/15 S and you like that type of sound, you'll love them and won't miss anything. The split sounds are really usable and will cover a lot of ground. If you listen to them side by side with the core, you'll love the core even more. Do they sound $1500 better? Probably not.
I’ve got both although the 58/15 S pickups are in a 594 thinline. Compared to the TCI 58/15s the S pickups are a little hotter, not quite a clear as the core pickups for sure. They still sound pretty good for stock pickups in a sub $2000 guitar, at least as good or better than your run of the mill Gibson, SD or Dimarzio pickup. They also split really well, some of that is the wiring but they still sound better than similar output pickups I’ve tried with the same type of resistors on the ground wires.
 
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