SE 24 30th Anniversary PUPs
- Thread starter vashondan
- Start date
IRG
New Member
I've had other PRS Se models is the past (older 24, Tremonti and a 245) and none of the stock pickups thrilled me, but not bad. Recently I bought a SE Clint Lowery, figuring I would replace the pickups quickly. But surprisingly I've really like them for the music I'm doing with this guitar, a little heavier stuff, and downtuned. I even like the neck in split pickup mode a lot. A lot cleaner, bell like tone that works good with a some added reverb and delay.
So I guess I would say, keep it stock for a while, play around with pickup height, etc. before you make any decisions.
I've liked my SE CL so much in fact, I'm selling my second Les Paul, and am ordering a S2 Standard 22 later today. Plan on keeping those pickups stock too. Or I will for while anyways.
So I guess I would say, keep it stock for a while, play around with pickup height, etc. before you make any decisions.
I've liked my SE CL so much in fact, I'm selling my second Les Paul, and am ordering a S2 Standard 22 later today. Plan on keeping those pickups stock too. Or I will for while anyways.
wardog
What the gravy and cheese!!!!
I have replaced my SE pickups on the two I have. I have tried Seymour Duncan to gibson pickups to replace. Nothing really felt good to me. I finally went with core PRS pickups and after some messing around, installed one's which sounds awesome to my ears. In my Zach Myers SE semi-hollow, I have a Mira in neck and in the bridge a tremonti. I used Prs tone pot setup to split them and they sound great together. in my SE SC I have dragon 2's. Again, it may take you some trial and error to find the sound you like based on your style of playing.
dogrocketp
I drank the PRS kool aid, and it was tasty!
It`s not really educated, it`s just taking the time to figure out what sounds you hear, or want to hear. When you do get the right sound, it`ll be worth the time and effort. i have several SE`s. A couple of them sounded fine with stock pickups. Personally, I usually put in the best available volume pot as my first electronic modification. Then live with that for a while. It can make the pickups sound totally different.
Brandon117
New Member
The Stock pickups were great to me. They saturate really nice. I did replace them recently with \m/ pickups just because I wanted more power lol. I guess it depends on what you're gonna use the guitar for. The stock pickups suit just about every type of music. Best stock pickups in any guitar I've had for sure.
vashondan
New Member
- Joined
- Jun 9, 2015
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Alright. Got my SE 24 today. Beautiful guitar and plays great. I'm going to love it. The one thing though is that the pups sound a little thin and the high strings are a little too bright for me. So, whats a guy to do. My go to guitar is a strat with Zexcoils in it which I love. A bit more ummmph and edge. I play mostly blues so.... Some pups have been mentioned but given my preferences any suggestions?
wardog
What the gravy and cheese!!!!
if you stick with Prs core pickups try to get your hands on 59/09 pair with a punch. Or go for a set of tremonti pickups. The hot bridge will work well for blues/rock.
wardog
What the gravy and cheese!!!!
yes!! the tremonti are also.
Duffy
New Member
If you don't like the bright thin sounds, you might want to try the classic Dimarzio SuperDistortions. The classic look is open cream colored humbuckers, but I ordered mine for a very few extra dollars, with a nickel cover. Some people use two of these. Others put it at the bridge and an Air Norton for the neck.
These SuperDistortions do not have ice pick highs like Seymour Duncan JB's can have, and they are EQ'd at the factory to be very powerful with strong mids and upper mids, with very tight but deep sounding bass. Great pickups. I suppose you would like them.
I also like Gibson '57 customs with the Plus bridge pickup. The '57 Custom pickup set has to be one of the nicest pickup sets ever made.
I have also read that the Custom Custom Seymour Duncan pickup goes well in SE's, along with the JB bridge pickup.
Personally, my next set of Seymour Duncan pickups will be either Antiquities, or other low output, old school, models like the Seth Lover. The Antiquities have aged looking nickel/silver covers similar to the raw nickel/silver pickup covers that I have installed on three of my SE's stock but unsightly zebra pickups with. You can brush these nickel/silver covers with a scotch brite pad to make them look, well . . . brushed. This is a very nice upgrade for like ten dollars total, if you like the stock pickups.
I dig the stock pickups in my SE Custom 24's and put the covers on them.
Don't be afraid to do a lot of adjusting to the guitar tone and volume controls to learn what the guitar already has in it for the tonal spectrum. You might be surprised.
What amp do you have by the way? Sometimes an amp upgrade will make your guitars really sound great. I bought a little Blackstar head, the HT5-RH, with reverb and it has the most beautiful almost three dimensional clean channel and an awesome drive channel - at very reasonable "stay at home player", cranked volumes with full tube saturation. It sounds just beautiful. There are a lot of great sounding amps that can add to you tonal options.
Good luck. I'd play the stock ones, maybe solder on some covers and mess around with the tone and volume knobs on your guitar and amp. The stock pickups are quite nice in my opinion - however, there are some really great pickups available, but it seems like you have to know what to order, unless you feel adventurous and want to just select ones that seem like they might be just right for you and try them.
I would advise to always "upgrade" your pickups, instead of downgrading them with some cheap imposters. I like to get premium pickups like Gibson, Seymour Duncan, Dimarzio, etc. Some other brands of course are also "known" to be super nice. I'd say though, that it is a good idea to do your research, like you are, and select some really nice upgrade pickups, if you find it necessary after playing around with these.
These SuperDistortions do not have ice pick highs like Seymour Duncan JB's can have, and they are EQ'd at the factory to be very powerful with strong mids and upper mids, with very tight but deep sounding bass. Great pickups. I suppose you would like them.
I also like Gibson '57 customs with the Plus bridge pickup. The '57 Custom pickup set has to be one of the nicest pickup sets ever made.
I have also read that the Custom Custom Seymour Duncan pickup goes well in SE's, along with the JB bridge pickup.
Personally, my next set of Seymour Duncan pickups will be either Antiquities, or other low output, old school, models like the Seth Lover. The Antiquities have aged looking nickel/silver covers similar to the raw nickel/silver pickup covers that I have installed on three of my SE's stock but unsightly zebra pickups with. You can brush these nickel/silver covers with a scotch brite pad to make them look, well . . . brushed. This is a very nice upgrade for like ten dollars total, if you like the stock pickups.
I dig the stock pickups in my SE Custom 24's and put the covers on them.
Don't be afraid to do a lot of adjusting to the guitar tone and volume controls to learn what the guitar already has in it for the tonal spectrum. You might be surprised.
What amp do you have by the way? Sometimes an amp upgrade will make your guitars really sound great. I bought a little Blackstar head, the HT5-RH, with reverb and it has the most beautiful almost three dimensional clean channel and an awesome drive channel - at very reasonable "stay at home player", cranked volumes with full tube saturation. It sounds just beautiful. There are a lot of great sounding amps that can add to you tonal options.
Good luck. I'd play the stock ones, maybe solder on some covers and mess around with the tone and volume knobs on your guitar and amp. The stock pickups are quite nice in my opinion - however, there are some really great pickups available, but it seems like you have to know what to order, unless you feel adventurous and want to just select ones that seem like they might be just right for you and try them.
I would advise to always "upgrade" your pickups, instead of downgrading them with some cheap imposters. I like to get premium pickups like Gibson, Seymour Duncan, Dimarzio, etc. Some other brands of course are also "known" to be super nice. I'd say though, that it is a good idea to do your research, like you are, and select some really nice upgrade pickups, if you find it necessary after playing around with these.
vashondan
New Member
- Joined
- Jun 9, 2015
- Messages
- 72
Duffy, thanks for your thoughtful response. A lot to think about. After 24 hrs I've grown to appreciate what the guitar brings to the party and have warmed to the sound a lot. I've done as you suggested and played with the knobs to help better understand the unique sound this guitar has. I have two amps, a Carvin Nomad and a Mustang III. I've played with the adjustments and presets and am getting some really nice sounds. I was so used to the way I used the amps and my pedals with the strats that I hadn't done much exploring and this has given me the opportunity. I can see now that the PRS and my MIA strat with the zexcoils in it are going to be vying for my attention on regular basis.
Duffy
New Member
It sounds great. I used to just turn my guitar volume and tone knobs all the way up and only adjust the amp a little. I never touched them.
The more I played guitar the more I started adjusting the tone knob and even the volume knob. When I watched some of my favorite guitar players on YouTube, etc., I noticed that they are constantly adjusting the tone and volume knobs - for instance Santana does this, plus Warren Haynes, Derek Trucks, etc. I guess it is the art of tone shaping to some extent.
On another point, with your strat with the zexcoils, does it have any way to turn down the tone when the pickup switch is on the "bridge only", all the way back, switch position? If it doesn't have any tone control there you can look it up on the internet and do the "bridge tone control mod". It takes about fifteen minutes, total, using a small soldering iron (pencil type) fifteen watt type one. After you do this you can put the guitar on just the bridge pickup of the strat, which is usually especially bright, and tone it down with the back tone knob. American Standard strats are set up this way. This is probably one of the simplest and most remarkable mods I have done to a strat. A tech would probably only charge you about ten dollars to do it for you, if he knows how to do it. It's very simple and the instructions on the web show you two very easy ways to do it. I like to use a small, one inch, jumper wire and solder it on.
My biggest problem with the SE line, are the 9's they're strung with; so changing string gage is always my first upgrade (to cobalt 11's)...I really wouldn't suggest a Tremonti for the bridge personally, if u play blues...great for rock and metal, and u can get a bluesy sound out of it with volume roll off...there should probably be something closer to your needs tho...the only PRS pups I've ever played and hated were the 53/10's I had in a P22....not my flavor at all, but I play rock and metal...as other posts have said, experiment and listen to many diff options...I personally love PRS pups...can't wait for my 30th anniversary to arrive Tuesday with the 85/15's <drool>
Another vote for "give the stock pickups a chance". Despite the improvement of USA PRS pickups make, the stock ones are really very good. Case in point (and remember, this is purely subjective): right after I bought my son's SE245, I ran it thru my old rig for a quick sound check, for the same reasons you raise. The conditions were horrid (gear was still in my dining room after returning from an outdoor gig) but the fact remains, to me, this guitar sounds really good, as is! Excuse the one handed stoogery needed to play and shoot video (wait for it...pictures appear after about 15 seconds) but it gets the point across. It made me a believer.
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