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I've been running through pickups, I don't REALLY know what I'm looking for, just sort of working my way through the SD lineup to see what I do and don't like and hoping I strike gold . I have 3 guitars equipped with humbuckers right now. My Custom 24 has Bareknuckle Nailbombs:
"The Nailbomb humbucker is the perfect synergy of old-school and modern rock tones"
My CE 24 has PRS 85/15's:
"Our 85/15 pickups bring vintage and modern pickup design together to deliver exceptional clarity and extended high and low end."
I think they are actually pretty similar, both a bit stronger in the mids, both a little lighter/tight in the bass, and both voiced vintage/modern. The nailbombs have considerably more output though. I'm a big fan of both so they are sticking.
The 3rd guitar is a McCarty 594. It came stock with the PRS 58/15 LT TCI; they were very generic sounding. Not a lot of character, too low output, they could really do anything alright, but didn't blow me away in any aspect.
So far from SD I've tried the APH-2s slash set; that was very good, I loved the edge of breakup tone from the neck, they seemed to have a pretty good eq balance, but were maybe a bit too compressed/nasal sounding for me...I'm not sure, something was just a little off. I may circle back to them. I think they had my favorite neck pickup so far.
Then tried the Pegasus/Sentient for something totally different. By comparison to everything else these are very modern sounding. Great cleans, really thick gain, split really well. I especially liked the Pegasus bridge, but the Sentient I found too warm and smooth. No matter how I adjusted it I just couldnt get on with its tone. It went from really clean to all out fuzzy gain in the blink of an eye...the middle ground between those spots is where I like the neck to live.
Now I have the Saturday Night Specials in it. Again, i really enjoy the bridge pickup. I think as long as its at least a bit hot and not shrill or ice picky, I can can get on with almost any bridge PU lol. This one is especially nice though. The neck again is where I have some issue...the description says it's not wooly...but that's the exact word I would use to describe it. It's a cool sound...very 70s, which is what it's supposed to emulate, just not sure it's what I want.
I'm actually thinking I'm gonna try the APH-2 neck with the Saturday Night Special bridge...that could be a cool combo. But im wondering, what else should I try? Would love some recommendations!
For the record, I do repair work and I recently became a SD dealer, so I get a good price on them. I install them to try out and then will sell them as used to my customers. I dont lose money in this process, and I am trying to gain more knowledge of the pickups so I can make better recommendations. Just kind of a fun thing for me to do for myself and my customers.
"The Nailbomb humbucker is the perfect synergy of old-school and modern rock tones"
My CE 24 has PRS 85/15's:
"Our 85/15 pickups bring vintage and modern pickup design together to deliver exceptional clarity and extended high and low end."
I think they are actually pretty similar, both a bit stronger in the mids, both a little lighter/tight in the bass, and both voiced vintage/modern. The nailbombs have considerably more output though. I'm a big fan of both so they are sticking.
The 3rd guitar is a McCarty 594. It came stock with the PRS 58/15 LT TCI; they were very generic sounding. Not a lot of character, too low output, they could really do anything alright, but didn't blow me away in any aspect.
So far from SD I've tried the APH-2s slash set; that was very good, I loved the edge of breakup tone from the neck, they seemed to have a pretty good eq balance, but were maybe a bit too compressed/nasal sounding for me...I'm not sure, something was just a little off. I may circle back to them. I think they had my favorite neck pickup so far.
Then tried the Pegasus/Sentient for something totally different. By comparison to everything else these are very modern sounding. Great cleans, really thick gain, split really well. I especially liked the Pegasus bridge, but the Sentient I found too warm and smooth. No matter how I adjusted it I just couldnt get on with its tone. It went from really clean to all out fuzzy gain in the blink of an eye...the middle ground between those spots is where I like the neck to live.
Now I have the Saturday Night Specials in it. Again, i really enjoy the bridge pickup. I think as long as its at least a bit hot and not shrill or ice picky, I can can get on with almost any bridge PU lol. This one is especially nice though. The neck again is where I have some issue...the description says it's not wooly...but that's the exact word I would use to describe it. It's a cool sound...very 70s, which is what it's supposed to emulate, just not sure it's what I want.
I'm actually thinking I'm gonna try the APH-2 neck with the Saturday Night Special bridge...that could be a cool combo. But im wondering, what else should I try? Would love some recommendations!
For the record, I do repair work and I recently became a SD dealer, so I get a good price on them. I install them to try out and then will sell them as used to my customers. I dont lose money in this process, and I am trying to gain more knowledge of the pickups so I can make better recommendations. Just kind of a fun thing for me to do for myself and my customers.
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