Pickups for PRS SE Billy Martin?

[juka]

Hi everybody,

I want to change PUs on my new guitar (PRS SE Billy Martin: Lightweight mahogany body; glued in mahogany neck shaped like a baseball bat).

After reading through this excellent forum, it all boiled down to the old and much discussed question: Distortion or JB?

How do they compare to each other, especially regarding the ease of getting pinch harmonics and basswise, in the context of the above mentioned guitar?

On the one hand, most of my (80's) guitar heroes seem to have played JBs, but in completely different guitars (mostly FR equipped Superstrats). On the other hand, I like the sound of the "Super ceramic" 500T in my Gibson Explorer, which some of the members of this forum say comes close to a DD.

 

[juka]

Re: Pickups for PRS SE Billy Martin?

Nobody?
Please share your experience with me.

 

[Xeromus]

Re: Pickups for PRS SE Billy Martin?

Get the most non-emo pickup you can find.. lol

In a mahogany guitar I love the JB and the Duncan Distortion tends to sound a little thin and shrill in a mahogany guitar. They are my two favorites, but in different guitars.

I'd say the JB

 

[Johnny Q]

Re: Pickups for PRS SE Billy Martin?

Nobody?
Please share your experience with me.

I dont have the same guitar as you, but I do have a PRS custom 22 w/ Mahogony body/Maple Cap. I recently swapped out the stock Dragon II's for a JB Bridge and a Jazz Neck. The JB, although it has a reputation for being overly bright, sounds warm in this guitar, with just the right amount of bite and crunch, but requires radically different EQ settings on my amp to sound sparkly enough!!. I like it, better than the Drag II's, BUT - but a lot of what I was hearing before that I didnt like, and blaming that on the Drag II's is actually the sound of the guitar, which is warm and dark. So if I had to do it all over again, I would probably go with a ceramic, something tighter and with a "sharper" high end, like the Custom or the DD. If you play mainly through the high gain amps like the Dual Rec, 5150, XXX etc - go for a ceramic p'up imho. My PRS with the JB is decidedly more Marshall freindly than it is Dual Rec freindly.

JQ

 

[juka]

Re: Pickups for PRS SE Billy Martin?

Get the most non-emo pickup you can find.. lol

When I bought this guitar, I didn't even know who this Billy Martin guy was.
(I even had to look up the meaning of "emo" in wikipedia, before I understood your joke. :smack: ) Now that I know, I simply don't care.

When I buy gear, I do so because I like it (and because it suits my needs) and not because some other guy is playing it too or even has put his name on it. (No offence meant.)

So back to the pickup decission: It's 1:1.

More comments please.

 

[TattooedCarrot]

Re: Pickups for PRS SE Billy Martin?

I love the P85 I put in my PRS SE II Soapbar, same guitar but routed for P90's. So a regular 85 would work. I prefer Duncans, but I have to say the 85 in the bridge just smokes. I'm not as happy with the EMG neck though, but the 85 is a great bridge pickup.

 

[juka]

Re: Pickups for PRS SE Billy Martin?

Your guitar looks gorgeous. It even tops your avatar. :32:

Maybe a P60(A) in the neck position would suit your needs better.

I have played EMGs for over ten years on a whole bunch of different guitars and now I would like to try something different, preferably Duncans.