SD pickup equivalent of PRS 57/08 ?

[Texsunburst59]

I just did an amazing trade for a ‘94 PRS Goldtop Standard 24.

If it was stock, it would have had the VB/neck and HFS/bridge.

Luckily it came loaded with a set of PRS 57/08’s, and they sound AMAZING in this guitar.

I want to purchase another set of pickups that sound very close to these without having to shell out $500 for the PRS brand.

Does anyone have any experience with these PRS pickups , and can tell me what SD pickups are the equivalent?

Thanks in advance

[jeremy]

i think those are like 8.5k neck, 9.5k bridge and a2 from what ive seen, duncan doesnt really have anything like that in the normal line up. are they really $500 a set? if so, you could get duncan custom shop pups cheaper than that

[ehdwuld]

I googled them and the used ones were more than the new ones at $175 each

[Mincer]

Why are these so expensive? Is it just because they are PRS or is there something special about them?

[Texsunburst59]

Why are these so expensive? Is it just because they are PRS or is there something special about them?

I think cause they cater to doctors and lawyers ?

[jeremy]

yeah, i just assume its cause its prs. they do make good stuff and since sales of their pups arent their primary focus, they can charge what they want and dont worry about sales too much since the pups are primarily for putting in their guitars

[Rex_Rocker]

yeah, i just assume its cause its prs. they do make good stuff and since sales of their pups arent their primary focus, they can charge what they want and dont worry about sales too much since the pups are primarily for putting in their guitars

I think they charge so much because of 1. exclusivity, 2. their pickups do have some "custom" appointments like the square bobbins made exclusively for them, and 3. they more than likely don't make as many as Duncan or DiMarzio, so they get more expensive to produce.

Paul Reed Smith is definitely super picky about the materials and methods they use. The whole "plastic tuner tips make guitars sound better" thing is an example. Not saying that's a bad thing. I mean, if you pay the amount of money they want for one of their instrument, you kinda expect them not to leave any stones unturned.

But objectively speaking, I highly doubt they sound *better* than comparable DiMarzios or Duncans.

I'm going to say the Duncan '78 or the DiMarzio Fortitude would maybe kinda sorta be in the ballpark?