PU's for PRS

[3'scompany]

I was wondering what PU's to put in my guitars. I've recently been on an annoying, and now rather expensive, quest for my perfect tone. I have a Custom 22, a McCarty standard (all mahogany, no maple top) and a Singlecut. I put an EMG 81 in the bridge and a 85 in the neck of my singlecut, aswell as my custom 22. They sounded better than the stock pup's but I want something more organic and with more character. I play heavier music (hardcore, metal, punk-metal) i.e. atreyu, thrice, and strung out; so I want something with balls. I put a JB and a Jazz in my McCarty, however, I'm having problems with the low E string cutting through the mix. It seems to get lost. Not near the clarity of the rest of the strings. I don't know if this is due to my drop C tuning or not, but maybe some EQ work will cure it. I was thinking maybe the JB would be a good choice for my singlecut and maybe a SH-5 custom for my cu22 to give it more beef. Not sure really. Any suggestions to my pickup quandry would be helpful. By the way, I play stereo through Mesa Triple rec and Marshall JCM 2000 half stacks with a sonic maximizer, no other effects besides that.... if that helps with the suggestions.

[Kac]

Re: PU's for PRS

I'm not sure about the difference in cutting through with the custom and the JB, both great pick-ups, maybe try adjusting pole peices...
I have experience with the Duncan Invader in low tunings and it works WONDERFULLY, I would suggest reading up on that pick-up a little bit.
Good Luck on your search for the awesome tone.
Rock On

[vinterland]

Re: PU's for PRS

It was really hard to get good low E definition on my PRS, I've tweaked the heck out of it. I have the custom in mine and it sounds great on all strings but the E... which sounds ok. I'm going to put my extra JB in it soon just to see if the highmid boost of the JB clear it up anymore.

[rspst14]

Re: PU's for PRS

I think a Distortion in the bridge might be a good choice. I would stay away from the Invader, I personally think it's a bit too dark for dropped tunings.

Ryan

[3'scompany]

Re: PU's for PRS

I've been kinda straying away from the distortion. It almost seems like too much. My amps have more than enough distortion and I'm looking for a good tone and characteristics more than just distortion. But maybe I'm just not giving the DD its due credit.

[kaknight]

Re: PU's for PRS

I had a cu22 with a C5 in it, and it had way more than enough bass in the bottom end. sounded great!

[papersoul]

Re: PU's for PRS

I would say C-5 or BBQ. What gauge strings are you playing? I have a McCarty totally stock and think it kicks just fine and I play heay rock and metal and no major issue with the McCarty. I also use SOS 11-52 gauge strings. I would only want a touch more bite from the Mccartys but the amp helps with that end of it!

[Robert S.]

Re: PU's for PRS

The Custom sounds very simular to the HFS and I found the C-5 sounds a bit more open with a better defined bottom end in PRS guitars.

The best metal/hard rock/overall ballsy tone I have gotten out of PRS guitars is the Dime/59n combo. I've installed a few of those in PRS guitars and they sounded wicked through my Triaxis/2:90 rack.

[Jag513]

Re: PU's for PRS

Definitely don't go with the Invader. It's dark, muddy, and pointless with drop tunings. If you're going Drop C the Invader'll be nothing but mud. If you want clarity, a Distortion or Full Shred would be good. And if the amp's distortion you have is enough, the Full Shred is great. It'll retain clarity under anything.

[3'scompany]

Re: PU's for PRS

I'm currently using D'addario XL 11-46 strings. Would using a heavier low E string help define and tighten it up? I like my action pretty low. With a 52 for the E do you have to raise it significantly? And does the custom 5 have a pretty decent output. I don't want to have to eq my amp every time i switch from my single cut with emg's to one with a custom 5.

[Gearjoneser]

Re: PU's for PRS

Go with a C-5/59. The C-5 has tight powerful bass, and the mids and highs are well balanced and articulate, even under extreme gain. The C-5 also has a better clean voice than most other high output Duncans. The 59N always sounds good and stays full sounding, even when split. Since PRS has an opposite wind direction/polarity than Duncan, you've got to use two Duncans. If you mix PRS and Duncan, the middle position will be a thin honk. I have zebra C-5/59 in my teal black McCarty, along with the Tonepros adjustable bridge, and it's possibly my best sounding guitar for heavy tones.

[Gearjoneser]

Re: PU's for PRS

Also, another PRS player here, J DeGrassi, swears by the C-5/59, then experimented with some others like the JB, and came straight back to the C-5/59.

[Robert S.]

Re: PU's for PRS

You can mix SD pickups with PRS pickups. For a SD in the bridge position you use the SD white as hot and the SD red as ground. You also have to flip the magnet.

I had the C-5/59n in my CU 24 for quite awhile it it was very nice in that guitar. The Dime/59n combo is seriously killer sounding in PRS guitars, especially drop tuned.

[JB_From_Hell]

Re: PU's for PRS

Definitely don't go with the Invader. It's dark, muddy, and pointless with drop tunings. If you're going Drop C the Invader'll be nothing but mud. If you want clarity, a Distortion or Full Shred would be good. And if the amp's distortion you have is enough, the Full Shred is great. It'll retain clarity under anything.

I've used the Invader all the way down to G#. Perhaps its the Floyd Rose bridges that keep it articulate.

[clint_41]

Re: PU's for PRS

another option to consider is the DiMarzio Drop Sonic. i know, i know... its a DiMarzio. but its made for playing in dropped tunings. ive never played this pup tho, so i dont know how good it actually is, but you might wana check it out.