Thinking of upgrading pickups

[maestromatt]

I've been toying with this for a while and figured it would be a good idea to consent the forums..

I would like to upgrade the pickups in my SE Singlecut to some of the higher end PRS pickups such as a 59/09 or maybe just the standards, but I'm not sure which to get out of all the pickups available. Also, I'm looking for a pickup that sounds good tapped/split as well for singlecoil tones

What pickups do you recommend? Or do you think I'm just making a bad choice with my money?

Thanks

 

[HANGAR18]

I thought about buying a used SE model and then installing some top of the line PRS pickups into it, but then I realized that the pickups would cost as much as the guitar and that realization did cause me some pause. But if you are confident that the results will make you happy, then go for it.

 

[Danerada]

If you can get some PRS #7 pickups you will be very pleased and they cost less than the 5x/xx pups. I am also a big fan of Starla pickups. I don't know if #7's can be tapped though.

 

[Agileguy]

I have Duncans in all 3 of my PRSi and they sound fantastic. IIRC they're a good bit cheapr than PRS pickups. I havr a 59/Custom Hybrid bridge and a Whole Lotta Humbucker neck in my CE24 and it sounds excellent both full amd split.

 

[gball]

I seriously doubt you would be disappointed. The SE's are fantastic, top quality guitars, and upgrades only help to bring out the best in them. I installed a Tremonti bridge and Vintage Bass neck in my SE-245 and they made a huge difference (especially the Tremonti). The rest of the electronics are of high enough quality that they don't need to be replaced unless you want to add coil tapping to a guitar that doesn't have it.

 

[Sneeks]

I plan on installing Seymour Duncan Slash pickups to my SE Fredrik Akesson guitar within the next month. I may upgrade all electrics and the nut at the same time.

I don't see any issue with upgrading a SE guitar, from what I've seen they are very well built and a pickup upgrade can only make the guitar even better.

 

[maestromatt]

Okay so thanks to everyone that's replied so far. Just another thing I realized may be a factor is that I'm worried about what pickups with fit into the SE mountings..anyone know anything about that? thanks

 

[John Beef]

Okay so thanks to everyone that's replied so far. Just another thing I realized may be a factor is that I'm worried about what pickups with fit into the SE mountings..anyone know anything about that? thanks

I have put WAY too many pickups in various SEs. The only one that didn't fit was an Anderson H2+, and that's because it required a thicker screw size, so I had to enlarge the mounting ring's holes for the height adjustment screws ever so slightly. The ring still functions 100% with the smaller screws too.

That said, I go out of my way to avoid buying any pickups with the longest legs, such as Gibson pickups. There is no reason for a pickup to have legs that long, and it means the routing has to be really deep.

 

[andy474x]

I plan on installing Seymour Duncan Slash pickups to my SE Fredrik Akesson guitar within the next month. I may upgrade all electrics and the nut at the same time.

I don't see any issue with upgrading a SE guitar, from what I've seen they are very well built and a pickup upgrade can only make the guitar even better.

I upgraded the pickups in my Akesson, and the results were fantastic.