So, let’s say I wanted to turn a McCarty into a progressive metal machine..

[Eddie kim]

How about the sd alpha/omega pickups?

 

[DK1984]

google Merlin pickups , it's a polish company...fantastic pickups and very reasonable pricing. Translate the page to english and contact the owner. I bought the PAF set and it's fantastic...saved me $400 vs other guys

 

[Gandalf the Charcoal Grey]

I have a 594 thus can say that the 58/15 LT aren’t designed for your needs. I’ve never tried replacing pups on 594 but did to my MEQ with different pups.

All videos below show how my MEQ sounds with those pups:

1. With PRS \m/ treble and Dragon II neck, through a Mark V amp.

2. With Bare Knuckle Aftermath set through the same amp. This BKP set is still on this guitar nowadays.

3. BKP Aftermath in clean setting through a Yamaha THR amp. These BKP aren’t only good at distortion, but also sweet enough in clean for my needs.

Your miles may vary. But I’m really impressed with BKP and will surely explore more of their pups.

sounds fantastic, heavy but totally CLEAR, cutting sound. thats what I go for. im an old metalhead still playing hardcore and I love a sound thats nice to the ears even as it crushes. the picking articulation being heard while still having plenty of chug is always the goal which is why Ive made PRS guitars and amps work for hardcore. Im an aging nerd playing PRS for hardcore lol. Ill get looks from kids when shows come back but ill sound damn good

 

[Summer]

On my 594 I did a swap on my bridge pickup. I left the LT in the neck and put a 58/15 in the bridge to give it a little extra kick. Two LT's were just not right for my style and the change made the guitar come alive for me. Sounds awesome. Not a drastic change but just enough. Great guitar.

 

[NorthernNick]

I had the alpha and omega set in a cu22 artist pack.
Sounded fantastic in drop C with 10-52‘S.

Sold it as it wasn’t getting much play time- neck was WF and I couldn’t gel with it.

I’d love another in similar spec with WT neck..the pickups and playability was fantastic.

 

[Serious Poo]

Very surprised noone has recommended an adjustable bridge. I've found them really useful when using thicker strings and detuning, all of my detuned guitars have them. IMHO, the stock bridge starts getting wonky when you get into thicker strings (>55 gauge). Also, you may want to pay attention to your intonation as you play normally, sometimes when I'm tuning I fret notes differently than when I'm playing more aggressively. Chords can sound pretty crappy when your intonation is off.

 

[vchizzle]

You’re going to want a longer scale guitar for drop-C. Even heavy strings on the 25” McCarty will get be tough to play without fretting out of tune (due to low tension). I’d route a dragon 1 or \m/ into a 305 or just buy a Mushok Baritone.

Nah, I’ve been in drop C on my many of my 25” scale PRS for the last 17 years. Always switch to adjustable stoptail though. 11,14,18,36,52,60 if you want really solid tension. I set my action to PRS spec, Maybe a hair more relief in the neck. No doubt longer scale would be better if one doesn’t want super thick strings. It’s certainly workable though. Just gotta mess around and see what the person likes. The only problem it brings is guitars with normal strings always sound less beefy. That and I have to order custom string gauges in bulk. There are sets out there these days that would work well enough for most people. When the Clint Lowery sig came out it was either drop C or B? I think it had a 12-54 set with 25.5” scale. What’s the Holcomb- 25.5”?

 

[ViperDoc]

Blue pill: Seymour Duncan Nazgul/Sentient

Red pill: BKP Juggernaut, Aftermath or Nailbomb