SE line = Bad pickups

I have a '17 SE Santana. It's a wonderful guitar and far from harsh sounding.

But, the pickups are a little blah... I also love P-90's and went with my winder of choice, Zhangbucker, to order some humbucker sized P-90s to pop in. They haven't arrived yet or I'd give you a tone report. But, I've been super happy with the other pickups I've received from David before.
 
My new 2019 PRS SE Custom 24 came with 85/15 humbuckers. I’ve only had my new guitar for two days so I can’t provide the best response but so far I’m liking them, not bad at all but that could easily change. I do not think the PRS SE 85/15 pickups are on par with any of my Reverend guitars stock pickups. Reverend guitars which use Railhammers which are Reverend/Joe Naylor pickups and some of the best pickups - my opinion. But the PRS 85/15’s do sound better than most or some factory stock pickups - my opinion and personal experience. I have several Fenders and Reverends and they are my preferred guitars. The PRS SE 85/15 pickups are better than most Fender stock pickups - somewhat but time will tell. So far I’m happy but it’s still new.

Again only been two days but so far I’m very happy. But things such as pickups, tone, wood, strings and more are all subjective. Do what you do and as long as your happy that’s all that matters and as long as nobody’s getting hurt lol. Unless someone asks for my opinion on something then I usually don’t go online posting such stuff. That’s what reviews are for lol.

If I upgrade it’ll probably be Seymour Duncan JB or 59 and Seymour Duncan Jazz. So far I sometimes think the neck is a little to hot at times for clean which can cause slight muddy/dark. The bridge can be a little tinny at times. Splitting so far is ok. I think if your mostly always distorted this isn’t such a big deal but if you jump a lot between clean and drive than it might become apparent on the clean.
 
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Simply put, the SE pickups are "bad" for you - nothing else. When I bought my SE, I thought they were a bit hot/harsh. Replaced the 85/15S with SD Custom and Jazz - and yes, the guitar then sounded like most other classic rock guitars. Nice, but... And then I decided to reinstall the stock pups, tweak a little, and bingo, it hit me - these are great hard rock/metal pickups! They've been in the guitar for 2 years now, and are staying there. And when I want a more classic/vintage sound, I play my McCarty. :)
 
As Tim S suggested, get the neck profile you like, then just change the pickups. Consider Lindy Fralin’s P-92’s. They’ll be a drop in fit for any good luthier. And, as others have politely suggested, your title sucks and is offensive to many of us. There’s a lot of ground between I’m unhappy and everything sucks. Find it.
 
Don’t know if it would help but I got the 35th SE C24 December 23, and it took a minute to figure out how much more useful and necessary the tone knob is compared to LP. It’s more of a presence control than a treble cut. Keep experimenting with it, good luck!
 
I have a '17 SE Santana. It's a wonderful guitar and far from harsh sounding.

But, the pickups are a little blah... I also love P-90's and went with my winder of choice, Zhangbucker, to order some humbucker sized P-90s to pop in. They haven't arrived yet or I'd give you a tone report. But, I've been super happy with the other pickups I've received from David before.

Well, the pickups arrived a while ago, I installed them a few weeks ago. Was playing around the house and they sounded very good, more dynamic, more variety between pickup positions, more complex.... Then, got them to band practice last Saturday and was super, super happy with the new sound of my guitar! Much more me. Much more... everything. But, even though very affordable, they were still about half of what I paid for the guitar (used, for an excellent price! A steal, really). But, they';ve made the guitar much more useable for me!

Like I said, the stock pickups were okay. Really nothing wrong with them... But, the new pickups are just so much more right.
 
My SE Chris Robertson has pickups that I don't love - but it's a stylistic thing, I think. The bridge is a little overwound, and that's a design choice, which made clear to me that I prefer low-output pickups. The neck is my first P90 and I'm curious what a lower-output P90 would sound like, but I'm fine with it.

Doesn't make the bridge a bad pickup. It's clearly got the sound they were going for.
 
My new 2019 PRS SE Custom 24 came with 85/15 humbuckers. I’ve only had my new guitar for two days so I can’t provide the best response but so far I’m liking them, not bad at all but that could easily change. I do not think the PRS SE 85/15 pickups are on par with any of my Reverend guitars stock pickups. Reverend guitars which use Railhammers which are Reverend/Joe Naylor pickups and some of the best pickups - my opinion. But the PRS 85/15’s do sound better than most or some factory stock pickups - my opinion and personal experience. I have several Fenders and Reverends and they are my preferred guitars. The PRS SE 85/15 pickups are better than most Fender stock pickups - somewhat but time will tell. So far I’m happy but it’s still new.

Again only been two days but so far I’m very happy. But things such as pickups, tone, wood, strings and more are all subjective. Do what you do and as long as your happy that’s all that matters and as long as nobody’s getting hurt lol. Unless someone asks for my opinion on something then I usually don’t go online posting such stuff. That’s what reviews are for lol.

If I upgrade it’ll probably be Seymour Duncan JB or 59 and Seymour Duncan Jazz. So far I sometimes think the neck is a little to hot at times for clean which can cause slight muddy/dark. The bridge can be a little tinny at times. Splitting so far is ok. I think if your mostly always distorted this isn’t such a big deal but if you jump a lot between clean and drive than it might become apparent on the clean.

I had some really nice Reverends, but I’d take the clarity and snap of the 85/15s any day over the Revtrons I had in my Flatroc and Club King. They’re totally different types of pickups, I realize, but the 85/15s is one of my favorite pickups I’ve ever played, and I’ve played hundreds.
 
My old rule of thumb was to replace SE pickups soon as I could get something else. I'm fine with them for the most part, but they generally, at least to my ears, seem to lack some bite generally. Consider though I'm talking mainly about the older SE's that had G&B pups in them. The newer stuff I like, especially the TCI(s) pickups. Those I would buy by themselves if PRS offered them. Those are the best SE pickups I've ever heard.
 
My SE Chris Robertson has pickups that I don't love - but it's a stylistic thing, I think. The bridge is a little overwound, and that's a design choice, which made clear to me that I prefer low-output pickups. The neck is my first P90 and I'm curious what a lower-output P90 would sound like, but I'm fine with it.

Doesn't make the bridge a bad pickup. It's clearly got the sound they were going for.
Before you replace them, try dropping the pickups. I think you’ll be surprised.
 
I'm in the camp that generally the Korean PRS pups don't do it for me. They are ok pickups just not usually for me. Pickup swap isn't a big deal to me though. I do it all the time. The difference with an SE is I plan to swap them on purchase, and if I ever got an S2 that would be the case too. Hell I just ordered a set of pups for my US strat. I liked them when I bought it 10 years ago, they are an internet favorite, and this year I dislike them more than I like them. I tweaked then all over the place. Finally I said screw it and ordered a new set last night. Tone is subjective and what we like today and what we like or don't like may change tomorrow.
 
I like my SE pick ups, I just don't like the rest of the electronics. Simple fix, toss the pots keep the pick ups. I've only had one set that I really didn't care for and that was the HFS/VB's that came in my 30th Anniversary Custom 24. in hind site, that might be more due to poor workmanship on my part than defect in the pick ups. I still have them and my throw them in a project someday. I agree with everyone when they say you need to try it before you buy it. If you don't like it don't buy it. Move on to something else. SE's are fabulous guitars that exceed their price point in many ways. I really don't care that they are made in Korea, Indonesia or China. If they didn't meet my expectations and needs, I wouldn't own 5 of them.
 
I’m fine with my Paul Allender SE with stock EMG. They sound great with old VOX amp.
 
Ok, I’ll bite. :D

Depending on your end goal, the stock pups are great on SEs. Adjust your amp to match them and great results abound. Yes, I put $300 worth of pickups in my SE245, but not until after giving the stock pups a thorough chance...and they rock!

 
The SE P90's are a lot better than what you might think. I swapped one for a Lollar. Big price difference but not such a big improvement. :eek: And here are a couple of forum members who've had a similar experience :D
 
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