Would you make this trade?

[dogrocketp]

It`s your money, but I`d adjust the pickups, and try pure nickel strings on the PG before trading it. I almost dumped my old Mira because I didn`t really like the pickups when I got it. I put nickel wrap 9s on it, backed ithe pickups away from the strings a little, and it`s been tremendous ever since. I liked the pickups so much, I got a set and put them in a Tremonti SE Custom. If you like the way the guitar sounds and feels when it`s NOT plugged into an amp, I`d work with it before selling it. Especially if you like the neck.

 

[László]

Totally agree Les, clear when you listen to various artists known to record with vintage '59 LPs or 60's 335's, they vary a lot. The PRS pickup that matches my own personal "PAF sound" in my head is the 58/15 LT from the 594...nails it for me.

Got one on order, so I'll soon find out!

 

[László]

Add to that, the name "PAF" is just dumb.
Yes, I know the origins.
I still think it should never have stuck.

YMMV

It is dumb, in a way, but then so is everything else about naming things. It all boils down to convention, and let's face it, it's easier to say "PAF" than "early Gibson humbucker pickup."

"Guitar" is a derivation of "Gittern" (Old English), which was a derivation of "Guitarra" (Spanish) which was a derivation of "Cittarone" (Italian), which was a derivation of "Kithara" (Greek), and/or "Sethern" (Persian) which was most likely a derivation of "Sitar" (Indian). So we've been screwing that up for centuries.

Soapbar pickups were named because they look like a bar of soap, but Gibson didn't call them that. Probably the same guy who discovered the acronym "PAF" named them that.

And "Dog-ear" soapbar pickups? Not exactly a name of great genius, right?

Heck, not many Stratocasters had anything to do with the Stratosphere, so I think Leo was just looking for a name that was whiz-bang "jet age."

So I'm cool with "PAF"; even though it's kinda dumb, it's good shorthand. Which is to say it isn't really shorthand, we just use that expression to mean it's a shortened word thing. Another dumb expression for ya, right?

Then there are the questions of "tremolo" versus "Vibrato tailpiece," and "fingerboard" versus "fretboard..."

You say tomato, I say tomahto...

 

[Spikedog007]

Have you considered selling the PG outright? You would probably get a lot more for it than what a store will offer on trade in.

To add to the discussion about your guitar's looks and tone... I love the quilted, chevron, blue fade on it, much more than the McCarty's BCB flame. And Jay is right about older PG's top ratings, they came with Dirty Artist tops which I thought were supposed to be somewhere between a 10 top and an artist top so depending on the year of your PG it should have the nicer top between the two (of course that's all incredibly subjective). I also used to think that the PG HB and split tones were too close to tell a difference but the more I play it, the more I can hear it. And I love that I can split the bass pickup and run the neck in full HB mode. That's a tone not offered on the McCarty. Right now, IMHO, the PG is the best production guitar PRS makes but I really need to try a 594 to make sure of that.

But as everyone else has said, it's your guitar and your money so do what makes the most sense to you!

 

[elvis]

Does any aftermarket mfr make a pup that would fit? Or is this unique in the industry?

 

[Huggy Love]

Does any aftermarket mfr make a pup that would fit? Or is this unique in the industry?

On a quick search I found nada, what I did find is that we're not the only ones that feel this way. Instead of finding any aftermarket alternatives all I found were forums with threads saying the same thing as were are.

 

[Dusty Chalk]

Seymour Duncan offered to rewind my Parker pups to any spec I desired. I'm sure there are others that will do the same.

 

[beas]

I think it's a toss up....does that help?

 

[greiswig]

As I mentioned before, there are things you can do with the 408 and 408n pickups that are short of rewinds, but do make a difference. And that are reversible.

One thing I didn't mention in my earlier reply was that I found the 408s on my guitar to have a much narrower sweet spot for height adjustment than I am used to from a humbucker.

 

[elvis]

Seymour Duncan offered to rewind my Parker pups to any spec I desired. I'm sure there are others that will do the same.

You could probably get BKP or others of that ilk to do it as well. For sure it would be <<$1k.

 

[Brad737]

I'd recommend selling the PG, then buying the McCarty and an old CE.

I don't know, if it was an even trade, I'd hesitate, but if you're losing US$1K, I'd definitely decline that deal.