pickup suggestions for PRS McCarthy 594 singlecut

[beaubrummels]

Re: pickup suggestions for PRS McCarthy 594 singlecut

From Duncan...

Jazz bridge
S-Deco bridge
Pearly Gates bridge
Bonnamassa bridge
Skinnerburst bridge

I can’t speak to PRS pickups, though.

[Mincer]

Re: pickup suggestions for PRS McCarthy 594 singlecut

That’s a steal, I’ve seen sets going for $800.

The only way to get them is buy a $3500 guitar.

They sound like they were made to work in a $3500 guitar not just take up space. Paul has a very well trained ear and it’s just gotten better with time. Things like which tuners sound better and the tci process are all part of the current line for the 594. The tci process is a secret at the moment but ensure’s that each guitar being put together has the right components in the right spec to sound the way it should. None of the 1 out of 10 has some mojo, they all sound good.

I would put the 58/15 LT’s ahead of almost anything else on the market, if you haven’t tried a set your missing out.

Thanks, I honestly didn't know about these. PRS is about 50/50 with pickups to me. But the ones I liked, I really liked. I still don't own a PRS, and don't think I can swing a 594.

[eclecticsynergy]

Re: pickup suggestions for PRS McCarthy 594 singlecut

All of the PRS "**/**" series pickups are wound using wire from one special vintage extruder at Bridgeport Wire.
PRS obtained exclusive rights to all the wire made by this machine, and tests each new spool individually.
Based on the test results, they use the spool for certain pickups, either the 57/08, 59/09, 53/10, 58/15, etc.

Not sure if this has anything to do with the TCI thing, probably not.

The story is that PRS was trying to trace a source for the wire in a few exceptional original PAFs and learned it came from Bridgeport.
Supposedly the old extruder was found gathering dust, unused for decades. It turned out to have something special about it.

I don't know if there's really unicorn-mojo magic in the wire, but these pickups have a certain 3-D quality I haven't found in anything else.

[allstarrme]

Re: pickup suggestions for PRS McCarthy 594 singlecut

PRS ran out the wire they were using for the 53/10’s so you can’t even get them anymore, unless you asked for one of a few sets left over for a $10k + private stock. Maybe there’s a Nos guitar at a store some where. They ran out in 2012 though so good luck finding one. I’ve heard they are very low output and really sweet sounding.

The pickups are really good, and since the silver sky/Paul’s guitar started using the tci they are much more consistent sounding across the builds, regardless of variables in pickups, pot tolerances and even split sounds. Of course before tci started most of them sounded great.

I know a couple people who think that the early 90’s PRS were the best, but they get better a little every year. Paul isn’t happy to just pump out the same garbage, he’s constantly tweaking the finish, the hardware, the tuners, the pickups and even the scale length. The 20’s being their 35th year are gonna be really special.

[eclecticsynergy]

Re: pickup suggestions for PRS McCarthy 594 singlecut

PRS made some great humbuckers in the late 80s & very early 90s, before they switched to the HFS/VB combo.
My favorite modern sounding humbuckers are the ones in my very first PRS; in '87 that guitar really rocked my world.
Those old ones actually have a pretty radical & unusual design - a secret in their slug coils helps them split supernaturally well.
A few years ago I replaced the Dragon Ones in my '95 with a 1985 Reissue set, to have that sound without putting my old favorite at risk.

But he does continue to advance. I've heard good things about the 58/15s and I sure do love the 59/09s.
But it's the 57/08s that are among my very favorite vintage type humbuckers.
They're just amazing, with beautiful tone & touch and that hard-to-describe but highly addictive 3-D effect.

[beaubrummels]

pickup suggestions for PRS McCarthy 594 singlecut

I hope this isn’t too far off-topic, but there’s a lot of great PRS pickup info here and I just want to follow up here rather than make guys repost all the great info above.

What is the difference between the 58/15 LT and the 58/15 S ?

What are the #6 and #10 sets? Are those just slang for something, or are they another set entirely?

Any comparisons to Duncan’s? (Not expecting direct 1:1 replacement info; more just trying to understand what PRS sound like referenced from something I know already)

This thread could almost be a sticky, kind of like Acemans “what PAF” thread.

[VHTJay]

Re: pickup suggestions for PRS McCarthy 594 singlecut

Agreed, some of the older PRS pickups like the Dragon 1's and old T&B's are killer. However, when I got in to PRS in the late 90's/early 00's, Dragon 2's and HFS's dominated.....and I really did not care for either. So, in went some Duncan's and that served me well for many years. Fast forward to 2008 and the start of the 5x/xx series: I remember the first time I tried a 57/08 guitar.....blown away. The touch responsiveness, clarity, evenness across all strings, dynamics and that 3-D effect as described. Nothing like them. I have a set of original 58/15's in a 2015 McCarty and they darn near as good, albeit a bit different. I have played and owned numerous pickups from the Duncan custom shop and BareKnuckles and have not played any that respond in a PRS like the 5x model pickups do. They really are some of the best pickups out there right now, hands down. They are so good, I am slowly (slowly because unfortunately, they are so dang expensive) re-outfitting my old PRS's with the new 5x series.

[VHTJay]

Re: pickup suggestions for PRS McCarthy 594 singlecut

I hope this isn’t too far off-topic, but there’s a lot of great PRS pickup info here and I just want to follow up here rather than make guys repost all the great info above.

What is the difference between the 58/08 LT and the 58/08 S ?

What are the #6 and #10 sets? Are those just slang for something, or are they another set entirely?

Any comparisons to Duncan’s? (Not expecting direct 1:1 replacement info; more just trying to understand what PRS sound like referenced from something I know already)

This thread could almost be a sticky, kind of like Acemans “what PAF” thread.

The 58/15 LT is simply a 58/15 with lower winds; Paul liked the way it responded in his vintage guitars, like the McCarty 594.

The #6's and #10's are older pickups. The #6's, to my ears, kinda reminded me of a Dragon 2. I never dug them....alot of folks didn't. The #7's in the OG singlecuts are good pickups though; kind of a hot PAF high 8k wind. Similar in ways to a Pearly Gates to my ears. The #8, #9 and #10's were all prototype style pickups that were normally only available on Private Stock guitars, although some did get out in the wild.

[allstarrme]

Re: pickup suggestions for PRS McCarthy 594 singlecut

What is the difference between the 58/15 LT and the 58/15 S ?

PRS has made a hard to follow naming system that has lots of numbers and suffixes. The 58/15 TM are trademarked pickups with resistance similar to the 85/15 but a much more vintage tone. The 58/15 LT are the low turn, lower output versions that have superseded the TM. The MT are the multi-tap versions used in both the 58/15 and 85/15. They have a tap that steals some winds off the inactive coil when split, so the volume drop is minimal.

The S suffix denotes that they are made overseas at a lower price point, much like the Duncan designed line. Many claim they can’t hear a difference or much of one between the US made and foreign made. Some claim the US made pickups are much more clear sounding than the S versions. I don’t know that to be the case as I haven’t tried them.

I don’t know anything about the old # pickups really and haven’t tried anything before the dragon 1&2’s or the hfs/Vb sets.

[dr.barlo]

Re: pickup suggestions for PRS McCarthy 594 singlecut

I own a 04 McCarty. It is a great guitar, light, ergonomic, and sounds great. The finish is a bit too glossy poly and hence sticky. I wish it were nitro. I dunno about its pickups, but I am so happy to have gotten rid of them. It now has a tb brobucker in the bridge and a pgn in the neck. I could have be happier with those pickups.

B