S2 Custom 24 - Neck and middle position sound almost the same

[PlectrumMX]

Hello everyone,

First post... I have an S2 Custom 24 and although I like the guitar, I am disappointed because at least in my case, the middle and neck pickup positions sound very similar. This happens both in humbucker and tapped modes. It almost seems as if the bridge pickup is barely contributing to the sound with the blade switch in the middle. However on their own, bridge and neck have very similar volumes. Both pickup heights are adjusted per PRS spec in the website.

Does that happen for anyone else? Or is there a potential problem with my pickups or wiring? It is frustrating that in my much cheaper LP, there is a clear grading from bright to warm as you go from bridge to middle to neck, while on this one it seems that I get 2 and a quarter sounds as opposed to three.

Thanks

 

[Mr_You]

My guess is you're experiencing the pickup distance difference with a 22 fret model having the neck pickup further up the body than a 24 fret model.

 

[DogPhishHead]

Try lowering the neck pickup, like a half turn and see if that brings in the sweet "middle" position. If not, give it quarter turn increments lower, it's dominance will subside.

 

[tuttle.ew]

^^^
I came to say exactly that. Lower the neck p/u or raise the bridge p/u.

 

[PlectrumMX]

I tried playing with the pickup heights once before. There was some minor improvement, but the neck pickup really overpowered in the middle position. Volume is similar between both on their own, so it is a bit puzzling. Unless the pickup height was was terribly set up, I can't understand such an unbalance in the middle position.

I'll give this one more go and share results.

 

[tuttle.ew]

FWIW, I don't go by manufacture set/recommended heights. We all have subjective ears and preferences (so I keep a screwdriver handy). I set the bridge with distortion to the tonal and dynamic response i want, then move to the adjusting the neck to fail in the middle position tones. Then I fine tune the neck by itself. Lastly, adjust the screw pole pieces for string-to-string balance.

My bridge pickup sounds louder and more aggressive than the neck, but the middle position is warm and defined. In a band setting I don't really notice much volume drop at the neck but it seems huge playing at home.

 

[PlectrumMX]

I made some changes, moving the bridge pickup up and the neck down. By the time I got to some decent difference between neck and middle, the volume of the neck pickup what's significantly lower that the bridge. However, the middle position tone still leans heavily towards the neck, which doesn't make sense to me given the volume differences. It almost seems as if with both pickups engaged, something happens electrically that reduces the output of the bridge. I wonder I something is wrong with the wiring or the components.

Also, it seems like most of the difference in tone from neck to middle lies in the unwound strings, while the wound sound extremely similar.

Thanks for your responses. They are appreciated. Do any of you also have an S2 CU24? Do you experience anything like this?