Stock pickups on Core guitars

On your core guitars do you currently have the original pickups in it, or have you "upgraded"?


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I bought my EG-3 with the stock Seymour Duncan pickups having already been replaced with Rio Grande Vintage Tallboys in the neck and middle and a Rio Grande Muy Grande in the bridge. The set have a definite '50s vibe but with a slightly darker color. Man, they sound nice IMHO.

I should have my SC 250 this weekend, with the stock 250 pups in. I will give those a go through my rig, but I'm looking for more of a '59 kind of vibe so I wouldn't be surprised if I end up swapping out at least the treble pup. Lots of interesting PRS-made options on Reverb at the moment. Wolfe McLeod's shop is like a half hour away from me, though, and he has a rewind it till you love it policy, so I might just end up ordering up some custom-wound Caretakers.
 
Thx for the reply - encouraging; update to follow in a few days!
OK - When I 1st played the 594, I thought that the pickups were a bit "hot" to my liking when using distortion on the bridge pick up , so I rolled back the volume knob to about 7-8 and "nirvana", a vintage LP sound!
 
I have to agree. I think the LT's will suit your musical tastes quite well.

Seems I may have gotten lucky all around. This guitar was so close to the Private Stock I almost broke the bank for. I broke my own rules. The pattern neck is a little uncomfortable for me (broke rule 1 - feel).

Knew nothing about the pups ( Broke rule 2 - tone)

I bought on looks (& materials) which usually only follows if I've satisfied rule 1& 2. Can't wait to see the wood library quilt top - the pictures were mesmerizing! Thanks for making me smile!
 
If you are in a rock / blues band, you will like these pick ups - IMHO. I got rid of an 1980 LP once I got my McCarty 594 - No regrets either. Pickups sound great any way you want to use them (clean, gain etc.). Very vintage sounding at least to my ears.


The better half would like to see me get rid of something. You gave me an idea. Maybe I'll unload the Epi Tuxedo... only kidding (it's my other coil splitter) good as any Gibson Les Paul. Thanks for the positive feedback.
 
My $500 folk art:

IMG_0452.jpg
 
Update for me. I put the 57/08's back in my hollowbody singlecut. The sheptone a were great but I think they need 50's writing to shine. I also had the Peter green mod so I am going to flip the magnet back. I didn't realize how much I like the standard middle position. I may have to modify my body to add a volume pot so I have a volume for each pickup. I will take pics for y'all if I do. I now just have a guitar for the sheptone a to go in. Bah.
 
Both. My CU24 AP still has the stock HFS/VB, the Santana II is stock with the wonderful Santana pickups, and my DGT Artist is stock. My CU22 AP has had many sets of pickups, but I am very happy now with an old set of A4 PRS Artist pickups. Perfection.
 
Both, but only changed to other PRS pickups on one...59/09 in my CU24. Oh, except the One, which has an old minihumbucker in it right now. What day is today? That pickup will probably change tomorrow. :D
 
I have a question I have a custom 24 2016 i just got used and the guy did not hav the ear tag in the case. So i pulled the pickup to check the modcat, and it says my guitar has 250 pickups in it.

That's a thing I guess?

Beautiful guitar though sounds and plays like a dream
 
I have a question I have a custom 24 2016 i just got used and the guy did not hav the ear tag in the case. So i pulled the pickup to check the modcat, and it says my guitar has 250 pickups in it.

That's a thing I guess?

Beautiful guitar though sounds and plays like a dream
All that matters is that you like it.

Welcome to the forum.
 
Just trying to get a general feel on how many of you have "upgraded" your pickups.

So, on your core guitars do you currently have the original pickups in it, or have you "upgraded"?

& I say it like that because I understand some folks may love the stock pickups where others see room for improvement. So swapping them to something else isn't necessarily an upgrade.
Stock 57/08s in my 2010 McCarty. I also have stock pickups in my two Fender Telecasters (American Professional and Mexican Player) and really have no desire to change any of them.
 
I didn't care for the HFS/VB in my guitar, I was playing mostly metal and hard rock. I put in an Alnico II Pro and JB. Tried a Tremonti Treble for a bit but went back to JB. The music I play these days is not quite as heavy, maybe the originals would work well for me again...
 
I didn't care for the HFS/VB in my guitar, I was playing mostly metal and hard rock. I put in an Alnico II Pro and JB. Tried a Tremonti Treble for a bit but went back to JB. The music I play these days is not quite as heavy, maybe the originals would work well for me again...
Hold on to the stock pickups anyway. Your taste will evolve and having that variety of options is fun. Plus, if you ever sell the guitar - heaven forbid - you want it to be bone stock.
 
All my guitars are stock and all have 'modern' PRS pick-ups and by modern, I mean all have the XX/15 pick-ups with the exception of the 509 which has '509' Pick-ups which I can only assume are 'new' as the guitar model hasn't been around a long time. I have 2 guitars with the 58/15 LT's (594 and HBii), 1 with the 85/15's (Cu24) and the latest guitar has added the 58/15 MT's and a Narrowfield too.

I have absolutely no intention to change any of my Pick-ups - Don't fix what isn't broken and I cannot fault any of the Pick-ups - they really do suit the instruments and played a big part into why I bought them in the first place.
 
4 out of my 5 PRSs use PRS pickups, though not necessarily the ones that came stock. I also have one with an aftermarket pickup.

IRW McCarty - stock McCarty pickups
P22 - McCarty pickups and wiring
Stripped 58 - stock neck pickup, Bareknuckle Rebel Yell in the bridge
Custom 24 and Standard 24 - Dragon I pickups in both.
 
Both. I do pickup changes on duplicate models as well. I have a Tremonti with Bareknuckle Mule and Riffraffs, and a 594 with Bareknuckle uncovered Mules. It the 594 with OEM 58/18LTs is my favorite. Those are sensational pickups.
 
I swapped my brand new Custom 22 to 57/08 pickups. I knew going into buying the guitar that the 85/15 pickups might not be quite to my taste which leans towards a more vintage sound. So it wasn't a surprise when I got it and loved everything about the guitar except for the pickups. Put in the 57/08s though and that totally did the trick for me, has that more vintage mid focussed sound I was looking for. Plus I like the look of the covered pickups better.

Stock is always nice, but it's not always possible to find exactly what you want in stock configs. Was happy I could find some PRS pickups that fit the bill though so I didn't have to go outside the brand to find the sound I was looking for.
 
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