S2 Singlecut satin bridge pick up change

[James P]

Hi, I’ve recently bought a S2 Singlecut Standard. The guitar itself is great, lovely to play. But I’m struggling a little to get a sound I like from the pickups, I’d like something a little more Les Paul-ish - it sounds darker to my ears.

I was wondering if anyone had changed the pups in their S2 Standard and what were the results?

Thanks

James

 

[pac90]

Bare Knuckle Emerald

 

[James P]

Bare Knuckle Emerald

Thanks - I’ll have a look!

 

[pac90]

I have never had a les paul myself, but sounds like you have a similar S2 to me, mine was overall darker than my other PRS so the same pickups that worked in others didn't sound as good in my SC.
I had already put a VHII in the neck and loved it, this was the response from Bareknuckles when I asked what would go well with the VHII.
I also changed the pots to CTS to be sure higher value to let the brightness through

"..The Rebel Yell would be a better solution or possibly even the slightly brighter Emerald. The RY has tight punchy tone with focused mid range and clear high end while the Emerald is tighter and more focused again...both produce a great classic rock/hard rock tone and will partner up with a VHII neck nicely..."

 

[littlebadboy]

I put in a DiMarzio D-Activator X set on my S2 Standard 22, and I love it! It is very versatile. It does great cleans as well as ight or extreme dirt. I opted for parallel switching over coil tap. It also has a tone bypass switching.

 

[Ovibos]

I think they’re just darker sounding guitars. I had the same experience with mine. Tried 59/09s in it, right now has Duncan Alpha/Omega.

 

[James P]

I think they’re just darker sounding guitars. I had the same experience with mine. Tried 59/09s in it, right now has Duncan Alpha/Omega.

Thanks for the replies, plenty to think about!

 

[AP515]

IMO it sounds darker to you because it's all mahogany. You don't have the highs from the maple top. The result is that ANYTHING you put in it will be darker than it would in a mixed wood (hog/maple) guitar. So pick a bright set of pups or find a maple topped guitar.