SE 24 30th Anniversary PUPs

Yeah, those are real good stock pickups. Put some raw nickel/silver covers on them and see what you think. You can brush the covers with a scotch brite pad if you like the looks of the ones on some of those top of the line PRS USA guitars. It's easy to do and the covers are about five dollars each from Philadelphia Luthier tools - they have a website. I have bought over five sets and still have two sets to put on.

My next set are going on my SE Santana, Santana Yellow - an awesome guitar. I can't stand the look of zebra pickups and find them very out of place looking and unsightly. Solid cream pickups or solid black I like. The Dimarzio "SuperDistortions" come stock in solid cream humbuckers and look good on most guitars. I saw a video of Greg Allman playing a black strat with a pair of cream humbuckers on it with his new band on YouTube the other day. The guitar looked old so I suppose they were "SuperDistortions", the first aftermarket humbuckers and they still sound really great today. Try one some day if you get a chance, they are inexpensive, about sixty dollars a piece, compared to around a hundred each for the really good Gibson's and Seymour Duncans. Plus the sound is remarkable with strong upper mids and restrained highs with zero ice pickiness and a full bass tone. They make many a guitar sound great.
 
The 30th Anniversary SE series Custom 24 comes with HFS treble and Vintage bass pickups. Unless I am mistaken, these pickups are different than normal SE series pickups. As a matter of fact, I believe that the HFS treble and Vintage bass pickups were originally installed on the core line of guitars back in the day. These days the core line pickups have (in my estimation) improved a great deal and so I think its kinda neat that they are using the previous generation of core pickups in the new 30th Anniversary SE series guitars. I don't think these pickups are anything to scoff at. Try them and see how you like them.
 
The SE245 pickups (aptly named...SE245) are also used in the SE Santana, ZM, and several other models. The SE HFS/VB set are the harder rock answer and many people love them. I have USA HFS/VBs in my Cu24 and it's been a love/hate relationship since 2001. But like I said previously, just try the stock setup. PRS spent oodles of $$ in R&D developing the right combination and I trust their ear.
 
The stock pickups in my SEs are perfectly good for the likes of me (beginner guitarist), but every time I place one of my other, better guitars (Core Mira, Core Stella, etc.) in the hands of my real guitarist friend, I can hear the difference. My next SE 24/7, I'm getting some DiMarzios put in (the Air Norton 7 and the Tone Zone 7, going after that Parker/electroacousticish/jazzish sound).

I like DiMarzios, they seem to have every flavour imaginable.
 
Very interesting read. I amngetting the 30th SE C24 in the mail this week and Im so exited to hear its sounds. I however also dislike the zebra look so i am going to take the advice of @duffy and put some nickel covers on. I read that you should solder these on, but Ill consider that after trying ot out. I think the 30th SE's will retain their value in the years to come, but they'll have to remain stock for that to happen. Bragpic of the actual guitar im expecting below, couldn't help myself.
 
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