Pickups were backwards in my PRS!!

Mike M.

New member
About a month ago I bought a PRS SE Soapbar II. This is my first experience with a P90 equipt guitar. While the guitar is a dream to play the pickups threw me for a loop. When I first tried it out I thought the bridge pickup was too trebely and thin and that the neck pickup was too muddy. Overly so in both cases. Oh well, nothing that a bit of adjusting won't take care of, right? Wrong! I tried everything with the pickup's height's as well as the pole pieces to remedy the situation but nothing helped. The contrast between the bridge and neck pup's was too drastic and the output of the neck pickup was greater than the bridge pickup. I thought man, something's wrong here. So I decided to follow a hunch. I unsoldered the pickups and switched them so the bridge pickup is now in the neck and the neck is now in the bridge. Turns out I was right! Someone goofed big time when they installed the pickups!! Now the balance is correct as it should be and it turns out to be a pretty good sounding guitar! My purpose in writing this was just to inform any of you who might be interested in buying one of these guitars. The guitar plays great, stays in tune great but really give a good listen to those pickups before buying.
 
Re: Pickups were backwards in my PRS!!

I've wondered about those guitars. I heard they sound great, does anyone know where the pickups are made. Do they go through QC at the PRS factory like the American made models.
 
Re: Pickups were backwards in my PRS!!

Someone else here had a minor wiring/pickup problem with one of those also.
 
Re: Pickups were backwards in my PRS!!

I tried one a while back, and the store owner told the exact same thing. He had recieved two guitars with the pickups mounted wrong.
 
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Re: Pickups were backwards in my PRS!!

isn't a PRS running through several QualityControls? Isn't there even someone playing and adjusting the completely assembled instrument before they're shipped out? I thought I read that somewhere... that's odd...
 
Re: Pickups were backwards in my PRS!!

I work with a guy that ordered a from the PRS custom shop. I think he request a 5 way switch and one of the pots to be push pull... they sent it with standard wiring. Needless to say he was pissed. They offered to fix it but theres a round switch where a slot swtich should be. The face of the guitar would be ruined.
 
Re: Pickups were backwards in my PRS!!

h8red442 said:
I work with a guy that ordered a from the PRS custom shop. I think he request a 5 way switch and one of the pots to be push pull... they sent it with standard wiring. Needless to say he was pissed. They offered to fix it but theres a round switch where a slot swtich should be. The face of the guitar would be ruined.

wow. did he still have to pay full price? PRS shud build him a new one.
 
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Re: Pickups were backwards in my PRS!!

I have one of the single cuts and couldnt be happier with it! For a non-U.S. made guitar, it is SWEET!
 
Re: Pickups were backwards in my PRS!!

Stringmachine said:
I triead on a while back, and the store owner told the exact same thing. He had recieved two guitars with the pickups mounted wrong.

Apparentley PRS is aware of the problem. I sent an e-mail telling them about this and it was my impression from reading in between the lines that they know of this. The only thing they said back to me was ..."did you by chance check the reading of the pickups with a meter?" (Huh??) I wonder how long this went on for before being detected? I was actually rather relieved after I changed the pickups because I thought I was going to have to start looking for replacements.
 
Re: Pickups were backwards in my PRS!!

One of the P90 models by design had an odd combination of pups. A vintage bridge model in the neck slot and a Custom p90 in the bridge or something like that. Even with that setup the bridge pup was hotter though.

I wonder if the question about the pup readings was driving at determining if the pups were in the wrong place or they were wired to the switch backwards.
 
Re: Pickups were backwards in my PRS!!

That's kinda bad QC...

I work with a guy that ordered a from the PRS custom shop. I think he request a 5 way switch and one of the pots to be push pull... they sent it with standard wiring. Needless to say he was pissed. They offered to fix it but theres a round switch where a slot swtich should be. The face of the guitar would be ruined.

If that's true I'd send it back and not give them my custom again. It might be a little detail, but it's the little details that you pay for if you're going to some hugely expensive custom shop..
 
Re: Pickups were backwards in my PRS!!

If Gibson had done this, 200 people would have already replied to this thread talking about what a crappy company they are.
 
Re: Pickups were backwards in my PRS!!

JOLLY said:
If Gibson had done this, 200 people would have already replied to this thread talking about what a crappy company they are.

:laugh2: :laugh2: :laugh2: :laugh2:
 
Re: Pickups were backwards in my PRS!!

He kept it. He would die for that guitar. I believe he got a decent discount, enough for him to keep it anyway. Given it took i think 12-18 months at the time for him to get it there was no way he was going to part with it or wait for another.
 
Re: Pickups were backwards in my PRS!!

JOLLY said:
If Gibson had done this, 200 people would have already replied to this thread talking about what a crappy company they are.

No need to state the incredibly obvious though Jolly........As Hagar once said, that which is understood need not be discussed. :laugh2: :laugh2: :laugh2: :laugh2: :laugh2:

Just messin' with ya.
 
Re: Pickups were backwards in my PRS!!

h8red442 said:
He kept it. He would die for that guitar. I believe he got a decent discount, enough for him to keep it anyway. Given it took i think 12-18 months at the time for him to get it there was no way he was going to part with it or wait for another.

I guess.. but that's also a hell of a long time to wait for something that isn't what you ordered
 
Re: Pickups were backwards in my PRS!!

very nearly bought one (and still might at some point)

crazy though... I guess they're just a bit inconsistent with those models. I've played a few that played great, a few that were... meh. The pickups on a few of them I tried were incredibly noisy... noisier than most p90s. Though I guess that's what happens when a guitar sits in GC long enough.

slade
 
Re: Pickups were backwards in my PRS!!

Maybe their made in the same factory as the wolfgangs were?
Everyone could be used to having pup selectors around the wrong way, maybe they put the pups around wrong, because they thought that the pup placement should be determined by the switch position, not actually that the pups needed to be in certain spots?
 
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