Help! PRS Cu24: 59n sounds great but C5b doesnt

Benster®

Benster®

New member
Hi guys..

I have a 59n and C5b in my '88 PRS Custom 24 (which was missing its original pups when i bought it).

the unplugged tone of this guitar is bright and very lively.

i absolutely freaking ADORE the 59n in this guitar. It's just the right amount of fatness and punch for a neck pup, and best of all, i love the BITE when i dig in with a pick, using a TS808-style overdrive, tone control on guitar wide open. It brings out the inherent liveliness of the guitar's unplugged sound.

However, i do not like the sound of the C5 in the bridge of this guitar. The bass is plentiful and punchy, but the trebles are simply too 'sweet' and round sounding, and the scooped mids make it hard for me to cut through the band when i play solos, even with a boosted lead tone. It gets lost in the mix.
And i can't seem to get harmonics easily as well.

It just doesn't have that 'bite' that i love about the 59n. when i play the 59n and switch to the C5, the tone seems to have lost almost all its bite.
I've tried adjusting the polepieces, raising the pup height but it still sounds more or less the same.

i've read a lot about the C5, and have never heard about it being too sweet or round sounding. People talk about the extended highs but im not hearing any. I guess in this case it's the guitar, not the pickup.

Please recommend me a pickup that could work better in this guitar. A better match for the 59n, with the same BITE (most important), but more output and cuts tru a band well.

Right now i'm thinking Screaming Demon, JB, Custom? I am using 500k pots.


I will be taking this C5 out of my Custom 24 and giving it a shot in my rosewood neck McCarty. hope it works better there.

Thanks guys!
 
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Re: Help! PRS Cu24: 59n sounds great but C5b doesnt

hmmm ... another 59 in the bridge? ... also a custom custom would certainly put out alot of mids if that's what you are after ...

is it too late to use the 21 day return policy?

let us know how the C5 works out in the mccarty

cheers
t4d
 
Re: Help! PRS Cu24: 59n sounds great but C5b doesnt

tone4days said:
hmmm ... another 59 in the bridge? ...
Click to expand...

T4D beat me to it. :)

59/C5 was my first set of Duncans. I replaced the C5 with another 59. Love it.
 
Re: Help! PRS Cu24: 59n sounds great but C5b doesnt

tone4days said:
hmmm ... another 59 in the bridge? ... also a custom custom would certainly put out alot of mids if that's what you are after ...

is it too late to use the 21 day return policy?

let us know how the C5 works out in the mccarty

cheers
t4d
Click to expand...

I had a Pearly Gates in the bridge of this guitar before the C5, and it didn't give the bite i wanted too. It was mellower sounding and had even less punch than the C5, and i'm afraid of trying another Alnico 2 magnet pup in there again, so probably not the CC. I'm also not looking for a LOT of mids, just enough to cut tru a band well and retain the high end bite.

As for using a 59b, i'd be afraid that it won't be high output enough for me, or not aggressive enough. I basically want the bite of the 59 in the neck , but more aggressive, cuts through a band, punches well (bass response) and has good harmonics.

It's too late to use the 21 day policy, but it doesn't matter as i'm in Singapore anyway and it'd take too long to ship + the shipping would pay for half a new pup. :P
 
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Re: Help! PRS Cu24: 59n sounds great but C5b doesnt

As for using a 59b, i'd be afraid that it won't be high output enough for me, or not aggressive enough. I basically want the bite of the 59 in the neck , but more aggressive, cuts through a band, punches well (bass response) and has good harmonics.
Click to expand...
You may want to check out the Custom (SH-5). It's punchier, more aggressive, and has more mids than the C5 and generally cuts through better in a mix.
 
Re: Help! PRS Cu24: 59n sounds great but C5b doesnt

hmmm ... maybe a JB then ... or a duncan distortion ...

good luck
 
Re: Help! PRS Cu24: 59n sounds great but C5b doesnt

My only Duncan pickup is a Custom so I'd say that. Also because all you'll need to do is stick in a ceramin magnet in your C5.
 
Re: Help! PRS Cu24: 59n sounds great but C5b doesnt

Hmm is there any way i can just purchase a ceramic magnet from Duncan?
 
Re: Help! PRS Cu24: 59n sounds great but C5b doesnt

Cool! Thanks for the link. So the magnets that this place sells will work with Duncan pups?
 
Re: Help! PRS Cu24: 59n sounds great but C5b doesnt

I haven't tried them personally, but I know other people on the forum have bought magnets from there and installed them without any problems.
 
Re: Help! PRS Cu24: 59n sounds great but C5b doesnt

The ceramic magnet will give you a bit more grind and punch. You might notic a bit less bass though.

Also a JB might be a good option, it has that high mids spike going on.

Luke
 
Re: Help! PRS Cu24: 59n sounds great but C5b doesnt

It seems strange to me that in your bright guitar the C5 does bite and sound mellow .
Are you sure that this p-u run through a 500k pot ?
One thing that works is to put a row of allen screws in place of the slotted screws , it brings more harmonics , agression and make the bass tighter .
 
Re: Help! PRS Cu24: 59n sounds great but C5b doesnt

The Custom is very simular to the HFS, so if you like the sound of a stock PRS you'll like the Custom. I found the Custom to be a little clearer in the mids and a tough more agressive on top than the HFS in my Cu24.
 
Re: Help! PRS Cu24: 59n sounds great but C5b doesnt

I would say the 59 but, I think the custom sounds like what you may be after. It sounds like a 59 on roids.
 
Re: Help! PRS Cu24: 59n sounds great but C5b doesnt

fab.regnaut said:
It seems strange to me that in your bright guitar the C5 does bite and sound mellow .
Are you sure that this p-u run through a 500k pot ?
One thing that works is to put a row of allen screws in place of the slotted screws , it brings more harmonics , agression and make the bass tighter .
Click to expand...

Yes i am running both the 59n and C5b through 500k master volume and tone pots with the stock cap value. The 59n bites like crazy and the C5 doesn't.

Can someone show me the link that explains how to change magnets in a Duncan humbucker? I think i will get a Ceramic magnet along with A3 and A2 to play around with. Thanks :)

Also, would a Screaming Demon suit what i need?
 
Re: Help! PRS Cu24: 59n sounds great but C5b doesnt

If you want to trade the A5 for a ceramic, I have an extra ceramic I could trade with you.
 
Re: Help! PRS Cu24: 59n sounds great but C5b doesnt

n00b said:
If you want to trade the A5 for a ceramic, I have an extra ceramic I could trade with you.
Click to expand...

i'd still like to have the A5 for comparison. Would you just sell it to me? :)
 
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