Pickups for PRS SE Custom 22

[Giag]

Hi, first of all I'm Italian and my English is not very good, so I'm probably about to write something wrong or stupid, I apologize in advance.
Anyway I am the owner of a PRS SE Custom 22, mahogany body, mahogany neck and rosewood fretboard. The problem is that the neck pickup is too dark and muddy, it loses a lot of definition and clarity with gain and with crunch sound too. I'm looking for a much brighter pickup that stays clear even under tons of gain but without loosing the classic vintage humbucker sound. For the bridge position I'm also looking for clarity and definition, expecially in palm muting context, but at the same time I want a fat sound that never becomes too piercing or harsh.
I was thinking of buying a Seymour Duncan Distortion (SH-6b) for the bridge position and a Seymour Duncan Jazz (Sh-2n) for the neck, but I'm not sure that's the right choice. I'm especially worried that the neck pickup isn't clear enough to balance the darkness of my guitar or lacks in the mid range frenquencies. Some advice? I was also thinking about the Black Winter and the Full Shred, but I'm afraid of losing the classic vintage humbucker sound.

Sorry for my english, and thanks in advance for your replies

 

[weepingminotaur]

Re: Pickups for PRS SE Custom 22

Welcome to the forum! First, your post is perfectly clear to me -- nothing "wrong" with your English at all.

I'll let wiser and more experienced heads than mine chime in on the bridge pickup issue, but for the neck, I would recommend the SD Sentient. Vintage output, highly articulate even under tons of gain, not shrill, can keep up with the hottest of bridge pickups, splits really well.

 

[blueman335]

Re: Pickups for PRS SE Custom 22

Jazz is good for the neck, bright, clear, and articulate. Check out the '59/Custom hybrid for the bridge slot.

 

[DavidRavenMoon]

Re: Pickups for PRS SE Custom 22

PRS pickups are muddy sounding. I replaced them in an SE for a customer with Alnico II Pros. They sounded great.

Another customer uses JB/Jazz combination. That’s also good.

Basically any other pickup than the stock pickups will transform that guitar!


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[BluesIsBlood12]

Re: Pickups for PRS SE Custom 22

I recently put a set of Seth Lovers in an early 2000s model SE Singlecut with great results. It's not exactly the same as a CU22, but it's pretty close. It's really good for low-mid gain stuff, and it does fine with Guns N Roses type gain, though it's not my first choice there. If you're going heavier than that the the above mentioned 59/Custom hybrid is probably a good option for the bridge, and there are a number of neck pickups that will be just fine. Probably stay away from the 59 neck unless you plan to swap the magnet, as the stock will probably have too much bass.

Be sure to come back and tell us what you did and how it worked out.

Side note, I'm casually shopping for an SE or S2 CU22 myself, with the plan to put in a set of Whole Lotta Humbuckers that I have sitting around.

Oh, and your English is just fine. It's better than a lot of native speakers that I see on the internet.

 

[Hank-]

Re: Pickups for PRS SE Custom 22

Jazz is good for the neck, bright, clear, and articulate. Check out the '59/Custom hybrid for the bridge slot.

This combo will work.

The Black Winter bridge would work for the bridge. The SH6 might get too bright in there but it does give you definition. I would take the Black Winter bridge over it. Theres the PATB series too to check out.

 

[Xeromus]

Re: Pickups for PRS SE Custom 22

I put an A2P neck and Custom Custom in the bridge of my SE and I really like it.

 

[Hank-]

Re: Pickups for PRS SE Custom 22

Side note, I'm casually shopping for an SE or S2 CU22 myself, with the plan to put in a set of Whole Lotta Humbuckers that I have sitting around.

Do it. The 59n wasnt overly bassy in the neck of my korean prs cu22, just scooped sounding & bland, the WLH set is a much better improvement over the 59 set in that guitar.

 

[EmiAba]

Re: Pickups for PRS SE Custom 22

I'd go with an A5 based humbucker (Jazz or Sentient, it's up to you) for the neck and a custom for the bridge. if the guitar is really that dark I'd avoid a neck pickup with an A2 magnet. The custom custom is my to go pickup for strat, but if you want a tigh low end, I think it's better to put in the regular custom. Anyway if you choice a Jazz/custom combo with a bunch of magnets you will refine the tone of your guitar following your personal tastes. with a couple of A2 magnet you will have a A2P/custom custom combo, with an A5 in the bridge you will have a Jazz/custom5 combo and with an A8 you will have a Jazz/C8 combo

 

[jeremy]

Re: Pickups for PRS SE Custom 22

i think the jazz neck is a great choice. when people say the sh6b is bright, compared to what? way thicker and darker than any paf type pup. i think the sh2n/sh6b combo is a great one for what you want

 

[64 Tele]

Re: Pickups for PRS SE Custom 22

I have an SE Custom 24 and a SE Custom 22 Semi Hollow that I put Seth Lover pickups in (both guitars).
HUGE improvement over stock.
I'd do it again in a heartbeat.

 

[chadd]

Re: Pickups for PRS SE Custom 22

Full Shred neck will stay articulate in just about any situation and pairs well with a Screamin Demon in the Bridge. They aren't high in output, but I can't think of a pair that will give you nearly as much clarity and definition. Worst case, a clean boost will make up for any missing output without losing the definition and articulation.

 

[JB_From_Hell]

Re: Pickups for PRS SE Custom 22

i think the jazz neck is a great choice. when people say the sh6b is bright, compared to what? way thicker and darker than any paf type pup. i think the sh2n/sh6b combo is a great one for what you want

The last two Distortions I've had were icepicks. One was in an Epiphone Les Paul, the other a mahogany/bolt on maple neck 7 string.

I'm a huge fan of the HFS/Vintage bass in both my PRS guitars. My S2 Standard 22 has real ones, and my SE CU24 has the stock SE version. Both are super versatile and do whatever I need.

 

[Hank-]

Re: Pickups for PRS SE Custom 22

I have no idea what the current prs se cu22 pups sound like, the ones that came in the 2006 models werent ceramic based & I'm using those in that prs. Tried the Custom series in there, sh14 was hopeless, Sh5 was icepick & lifeless, sh11 was awesome. The sh6 would be gainier than the sh5 i imagine & more or less the same icepick attack in this guitar. Mine however was a trem bridge model, cant imagine the stoptail bridge model being night & day different.

 

[Giag]

Re: Pickups for PRS SE Custom 22

Thanks guys for your replies, I really appreciated them all

Welcome to the forum! First, your post is perfectly clear to me -- nothing "wrong" with your English at all.

Oh, and your English is just fine. It's better than a lot of native speakers that I see on the internet.

Fiuuu! So I did well to trust Google Translate XD

I have no idea what the current prs se cu22 pups sound like, the ones that came in the 2006 models werent ceramic based & I'm using those in that prs. Tried the Custom series in there, sh14 was hopeless, Sh5 was icepick & lifeless, sh11 was awesome. The sh6 would be gainier than the sh5 i imagine & more or less the same icepick attack in this guitar. Mine however was a trem bridge model, cant imagine the stoptail bridge model being night & day different.

Oh right... I forgot to mention that my PRS SE is and older one. I bought it second hand a few years ago and it should be a 2010/11 model with trem bridge.

Same as this one:

 

[BluesIsBlood12]

Re: Pickups for PRS SE Custom 22

I have no idea what the current prs se cu22 pups sound like, the ones that came in the 2006 models werent ceramic based & I'm using those in that prs. Tried the Custom series in there, sh14 was hopeless, Sh5 was icepick & lifeless, sh11 was awesome. The sh6 would be gainier than the sh5 i imagine & more or less the same icepick attack in this guitar. Mine however was a trem bridge model, cant imagine the stoptail bridge model being night & day different.

The current ones are Asian copies of the 85/15, and the ones my lead guitarist has sound pretty good, really.

 

[Hank-]

Re: Pickups for PRS SE Custom 22

Thanks guys for your replies, I really appreciated them all



Fiuuu! So I did well to trust Google Translate XD


Oh right... I forgot to mention that my PRS SE is and older one. I bought it second hand a few years ago and it should be a 2010/11 model with trem bridge.

Same as this one:
View attachment 102020

Thats the one I have, although mine didnt have the plastic tip for the tremolo arm.

In my experiene it excels at clean, blues & rock. I find it to be its basic inherent quality. The stock pickups are quite good and I eventually didnt bother investing in new pickups for it since I got it second hand and basically use it for home practice. If I had to put something in it then I'd use the WLH set to maximize its natural potential.

Mine has lot of natural sustain, the key area that needs immediate improvement on it is the nut. The stock nut is cut for 9s set of string & binds when using 10s.

Pickups wise a black winter set could work too for modern tones.

 

[Mincer]

Re: Pickups for PRS SE Custom 22

The Jazz & Distortion seem like a solid choice, to me.

 

[Condemned soul]

Re: Pickups for PRS SE Custom 22

Good choice on the PRS SE. They are great guitars for the price and I'd rather have a nice SE than some other guitars.

Have a PRS SE Santana. Both the neck and bridge pickups sounded dull as compared with my other guitars - I use both Seymour Duncan and Dimarzio pickups.


Removed the OEM bridge pickup and replaced it with a 59 / Custom. This was an incredible improvement over the OEM bridge pickup. The 59/Custom is tight, and the high end is clear and bright as compared with the OEM pickup. The 59/Custom sounded dull in two mahogany guitars - a LPC and a SG and I still don't know why because other pickups sound excellent in these guitars. It is a completely different animal in the Santana which also is mahogany.

Next I'll replace the neck pickup which now sounds incredibly dull and muted as compared with the bridge. I have several spare pickups to try - and I have two candidates in mind. The 1st choice is a WLH neck for the neck spot. If the WLH doesn't work out, I'll try the highly recommended Jazz neck as my 2nd choice.

 

[Giag]

Re: Pickups for PRS SE Custom 22

Hi guys, I was still thinking about the mid range frequencies. Are you sure that the Jazz doesn't sound too scooped?
Could the Pearly Gates solve this problem and at the same time not sound too dark and muddy, althought it's an A2?