Neck Pick up for PRS Custom 24

J

JayD.

New member
Hi guys,

I'm having problems getting the right tone out of the neck position of my PRS Custom 24. I really like John Petrucci's smooth but very articulate neck pup tone. I don't have a liquifire but i had a old air norton sitting in my closet. I installed it in the Custom 24 and it gets too flubby on the lower strings. I have also tried normal and set up back wards like John did. I think the mahogany on the PRS must just darken it up to much compared to basswood. Prior the AN I had a jazz neck in there but while it is the closest thing to what i wanted it still doesn't have that warmth but still very articulate thing John seems to get. Any ideas?
 
Re: Neck Pick up for PRS Custom 24

JayD. said:
Hi guys,

I'm having problems getting the right tone out of the neck position of my PRS Custom 24. I really like John Petrucci's smooth but very articulate neck pup tone. I don't have a liquifire but i had a old air norton sitting in my closet. I installed it in the Custom 24 and it gets too flubby on the lower strings. I have also tried normal and set up back wards like John did. I think the mahogany on the PRS must just darken it up to much compared to basswood. Prior the AN I had a jazz neck in there but while it is the closest thing to what i wanted it still doesn't have that warmth but still very articulate thing John seems to get. Any ideas?
Click to expand...

I understand EXACTLY what you're saying. I've got a CU24 and I was striving for the same thing with. I've even had a Jazz, Alnico 2 Pro, 59, and Alnico 2 59 in the neck slot. The basswood is a LOT of what you're hearing. It's very low mid rich with a lot of high end detail but not as many high mids or true lows as mahogany (in my opinion). The other thing is you've got a thick piece of maple that's arched and JP doesn't have to deal with that either.

What I ended up doing is running a Pearly Gates BRIDGE in the neck slot. That gave me a beefier darker sound that was more aggressive than the other pickups provided. This is what Olin (Olinmusic) did in his 94 CU24 and Christian (the guy who invented fire) recommended me to do. That said I'm not trying to EXACTLY cop his tone. If you are, and are trying to stay in the SD stable, you might want to look at something like a Full Shred bridge in the neck slot, if it won't overpower your bridge pup. That was the other pickup I was considering.

Luke
 
Re: Neck Pick up for PRS Custom 24

Thanks a lot Luke. Sounds like you definitely have run into the same thing. I haven't tried all of those SD pups yet. I have messed with a few (Dimarzio, AN, PAF PRO, Breed) and a few Duncans (Jazz neck, Alnico Pro 2). While I have always tended towards Duncan (Jazz neck stayed in the longest of any pup) I don't have to stay with one or the other. My only issue with Dimarzio is that most of these pick ups seemed to really shine in the basswood/Ibanez things as we talked about before.

I started to look at the EQ of all the pups I've tried. It seems like the ones that have not worked have all had too many mids on the EQ chart. To my ear it seems to make the neck position sound too flubby. Don't know if anyone else has had that impression? I could definitley try the PG bridge or the FS bridge. Not entirely sure which one to go for? In terms of fully trying to copy JP's neck tone...... yeah I would be lying if I said I didn't want to totally steal that haha.

Here is another weird idea. What about a Custom V in the neck? I have a spare one laying around here......Anyone try that?
 
Re: Neck Pick up for PRS Custom 24

JayD. said:
Thanks a lot Luke. Sounds like you definitely have run into the same thing. I haven't tried all of those SD pups yet. I have messed with a few (Dimarzio, AN, PAF PRO, Breed) and a few Duncans (Jazz neck, Alnico Pro 2). While I have always tended towards Duncan (Jazz neck stayed in the longest of any pup) I don't have to stay with one or the other. My only issue with Dimarzio is that most of these pick ups seemed to really shine in the basswood/Ibanez things as we talked about before.
Click to expand...

Exactly. They are REALLY catering to bolt-on guitars with 25.5" scale lengths.

I started to look at the EQ of all the pups I've tried. It seems like the ones that have not worked have all had too many mids on the EQ chart. To my ear it seems to make the neck position sound too flubby. Don't know if anyone else has had that impression? I could definitley try the PG bridge or the FS bridge. Not entirely sure which one to go for? In terms of fully trying to copy JP's neck tone...... yeah I would be lying if I said I didn't want to totally steal that haha.
Click to expand...

Well, the A2P and Jazz have a VERY similar "bell like" high ends (which were over the top for me) with the A2P being a little more rounded with expanded, but looser, low end. That said, I believe you're letting your eyesdecieve your ears. mids like the jazz and A2P aren't going to make the flub, it's an over abundance of bass for that guitar, I've wrestled with that too! The snarliness of the PG somehow firmed mine up...don't know how. I think the low end flub is an innate CU24 sound. I also run the bass side of the pup low with the poll pieces up for the E and A strings for more definition.

Here is another weird idea. What about a Custom V in the neck? I have a spare one laying around here......Anyone try that?
Click to expand...

I'm guessing the bass would be ultra flubby and the top extra bright due to the expanded bass of the C5 and the extended treble. Remember that a C5 is a souped up 59. BUT if you have one lying around ANYTHING is worth a try to help you get closer to knowing EXACTLY what the problem is. I'm hoping the forum pickup ends up being a 24 fret friendly neck pup.

Luke
 
Re: Neck Pick up for PRS Custom 24

I'm kinda in the same boat. I just got a Mahogany bodied 24 fret Schecter, and the Jazz is *close* but still a little bassy. Some people have talked about wiring humbuckers in parallel. It brightens it up, but you lose a little bit of the volume/output.
 
Re: Neck Pick up for PRS Custom 24

Yeah the Jazz has def been the closest. I just am sort of at a loss. JP can get a great warm smooth tone out of his rig but not lose any pick attack. The attack is smooth yet defined without it seeming ice picky.
 
Re: Neck Pick up for PRS Custom 24

JayD. said:
Yeah the Jazz has def been the closest. I just am sort of at a loss. JP can get a great warm smooth tone out of his rig but not lose any pick attack. The attack is smooth yet defined without it seeming ice picky.
Click to expand...

It's also very important to know that JP is also using the bridge pup when he's playing on the lower strings
 
Re: Neck Pick up for PRS Custom 24

So I took a little field trip to Guitar Center this afternoon. They had JP's 2012 Musicman in stock. It is a Mahogany neck/Ebony board, basswood body maple top mahogany tone block. I played with it a bit. I tend to be brighter than my liking on Ebony boards. When playing this guitar I was bright but I did like the character of the Crunch Lab/Liquifire
Pups. Would like just a bit more warmth. I'm thinking these pups might be good in the PRS. Those pups with a little more warmth is really the type of tone I'm looking for. Last week I ordered a crunch lab so I'm gonna pop that in when it comes in. If that does what I think (hope) it will, I'll order a liquifire for the neck. Fingers
Crossed.
 
Re: Neck Pick up for PRS Custom 24

I had a reawakening to the wonder of the Distortion neck model in my PRS SE Custom 22. I realize that's several steps away from what you're talking about, but when you said articulate and mentioned not being too dark, I think you may be right on. I am amazed at the cleans I get out of it. It just pushes the preamp enough to get a touch of crystalline distortion, which doesn't even sound distorted. It just sounds full and rich.

That being said, I could never make that pickup work in my LP. I tried an assortment of magnets, and it just always had a problem. That's why I was so surprised when I stuck it in the PRS, but it's seriously a thing of beauty, especially holding up to high gain and keeping articulate pick attack.
 
Re: Neck Pick up for PRS Custom 24

Interesting...... Wonder how that would on the 24 fret model? Sometimes that little difference can mean a lot......
 
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