Best bridge pickup for Neal Schon tone in PRS SE

G

gibsonguitar1988

New member
Hey everyone.

I have a PRS SE Custom 22 mahogany with a maple cap with rosewood board. I'm looking for a closer sound than what I have which is Jazz + JB. I like the neck pickup fine but if you think there is a better choice for that spot, let me know. Keep in mind 90 percent of the time I'm on the bridge pickup. But having something not out of congress with the neck would be nice, even if it has to be changed too.

I know that Neal uses the Custom Custom in all of his PRS bridge position spots now and I have seem him recently and I dig his tone. So I guess I'm kinda going for both his classic tone and his current live tone. Very chunky yet clear. I know a lot of guys don't like his current tone but I love it. The difference is he is using semi-hollowbodies as opposed to a double cutaway solidbody.

So I was trying to decide - Custom, Custom 5, Custom Custom, '59/Custom Hybrid, etc etc. I have pretty much every Duncan pickup (except the Distortion which is too much for me) in each of my guitars so I know what those pickups sound like but not sure what is best in this guitar.

Any advice would be great! A great example is "Stone In Love". Those opening chords that hit you like a ton of bricks. Chunk, but clear.

Thanks!
 
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Re: Best bridge pickup for Neal Schon tone in PRS SE

My computer is slightly unable at the time to view youtube clips (short story but too long for this message).

When I hear chunk but clear I think of the 59/Custom - the one in my LP has so much lower mids I'm actually a soldering iron tip from taking it out and putting back in the pearly gates that I had in there. But the 59/Custom is one of the most articulate bridge pickups I've heard. With UOA5 (which is what mine has) the thing sounds very wide and vintage-y with a distinct low-mid push. I do like it a lot better in my Kramer however. So it really depends on the guitar.
 
Re: Best bridge pickup for Neal Schon tone in PRS SE

I love all of the Duncan pickups. I have the Custom Hybrid in my Tele Deluxe paired with a '59 neck pickup. I love it for riffy rock stuff. Not sure how one would sound in my SE. I have the PGs in my SG. Love them in there. Didn't dig them as much as the '59s in one of my LPs.
 
Re: Best bridge pickup for Neal Schon tone in PRS SE

I would travel light.

Neal has used Gibson '57 classics for a long time.

They sound like a$$ with the 300k pots Gibson factory installs, and should really open up with your PRS' via 500k.



Sounds like a '57 Classic to me.
 
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Re: Best bridge pickup for Neal Schon tone in PRS SE

It's not Classic 57's he uses but original PAF's.

Any PAF clone will get you his tone provided your rig is similar.
He uses low output pickups to help cut through the amount of gain he uses.
 
Re: Best bridge pickup for Neal Schon tone in PRS SE

I have both the 59/Custom hybrid in an LP and the Custom/Custom in a mahogany chambered strat. The 59/custom has an UOA5 in it and the CC has an A8.

Both are outstanding. Drive the amp input hard but have clarity and punch. I've played vintage style PAF's since the sixties but for the bridge PU I've gone to these two.

My dilemma now is I have a Zack Wilde PRS that I have to decide which of those PU's I'm going to go with.
 
Re: Best bridge pickup for Neal Schon tone in PRS SE

That's 10 yrs old mate.
Things have changed.

PRS keep trying to get him to use their pickups but he still prefers to record with real old PAF's.
 
Re: Best bridge pickup for Neal Schon tone in PRS SE

And Escape was released in 1981.

If buying "Real" "PAF" pickups help you compensate for not actually being Neal Schon, by all means, spend your salary on it.
 
Re: Best bridge pickup for Neal Schon tone in PRS SE

I'm not suggesting that.
I said any PAF clone.

He wanted to know what Neal uses but he can afford the real thing.
 
Re: Best bridge pickup for Neal Schon tone in PRS SE

Interesting that he chooses a middly pickup and then installs a mid cut !!
 
Re: Best bridge pickup for Neal Schon tone in PRS SE

He's been using the Custom Custom in his PRS Sig models lately. Fernandez Sustainer and Fast Track II in the neck.
 
Re: Best bridge pickup for Neal Schon tone in PRS SE

Thanks everyone.

I guess I should have stated what I don't like about the JB - I love the JB, just not for what I'm going for in this guitar. It's a bit too bright and twangy.
 
Re: Best bridge pickup for Neal Schon tone in PRS SE

I had a Custom Custom in the same guitar as the one with the JB.

I ended up dumping it because it didn't have that head turning quality with solos. It was also too flubby for rhythm.

One pickup you might want to consider is the EVH Wolfgang bridge. I actually thought it had both qualities of the JB and the Custom 2.
 
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Re: Best bridge pickup for Neal Schon tone in PRS SE

Don't think I've ever heard the JB referred to as twangy before. lol!

Have you done any other online research? Any interviews? Any rig rundowns? Have you looked at what Schon has used on any of his signature models (LP and PRS)? Is there a Schon fan board or a PRS message board?

It might help by starting with what can be confirmed as what Schon actually uses and then go from there. And don't forget to factor in the qualities of his own guitar (for the era of the tone you are looking for) and respective amps and effects.


Sent from my armored space station via iPad using Tapatalk
 
Re: Best bridge pickup for Neal Schon tone in PRS SE

Hey,

Neal is one of my favorites...I've always liked his raised on radio tone and that was a custom wound pickup for his Schon guitars. I've talked to guys at duncan about it and I've been suggested the Sh-5 Custom for that tone. Of course, that's his tone around the 80's. It would depend on which time frame you're wanting to emulate. From all the clips and research I've seen, he was using vintage Gibson gear a lot up until he started his Schon Guitars. I had to do a ton of research on his ROR tone and I finally managed to find a picture of one of the original sales promos on those and it said it was a custom wound humbucker...His tone changed a lot over the years that's for sure!
 
Re: Best bridge pickup for Neal Schon tone in PRS SE

darthphineas said:
Don't think I've ever heard the JB referred to as twangy before. lol!

Have you done any other online research? Any interviews? Any rig rundowns? Have you looked at what Schon has used on any of his signature models (LP and PRS)? Is there a Schon fan board or a PRS message board?

It might help by starting with what can be confirmed as what Schon actually uses and then go from there. And don't forget to factor in the qualities of his own guitar (for the era of the tone you are looking for) and respective amps and effects.


Sent from my armored space station via iPad using Tapatalk
Click to expand...

Schon right now is using Custom Customs.

For whatever reason I have a JB in a maple neck basswood body guitar that sounds warmer and chunkier than the JB does in the mahog PRS. It's a real head scratcher. It sounds like I've got a compressor pedal turned on all the time. Very thin, IMO. The Jazz sounds very similar but way less output. More like a Strat pickup or something.

Yes of course the amps and effects matter. FWIW I'm using old Blackface Fender Reverb amps (Super and Twin Reverb at the moment) with various distortion boxes. I like the versatility of that setup. I believe Schon's early stuff was all Marshall.
 
Re: Best bridge pickup for Neal Schon tone in PRS SE

Just for s#its and giggles, I tried to do his modern compressed Blackstar tone.

I'm using an Ibanez RG with EMG 60/81 set. 81 for the main chords and 60 for the chorus and solos.
On a Mesa Dual Rec setting with gating and overdrive.



*I also realized when I was doing this clip, I was getting pissed off how I kept sounding out of tune. Turns out the song is like...10% of a pitch higher than standard. A pitch shifter fixed this. Cheers.
 
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