Prs custom 24 se pickup improvement

[EmiAba]

Hi, first post here after more than 3 months. The covid 19 lock down was hard to face. Hope you guys are all safe and healthy. I am here again because I would like to upgrade my prs custom 24 se with roasted maple neck. It comes with 85/15 S pickups. During the lock down I had plenty of time and I played it extensively. This guitar is amazing, its shape, the neck profile, the feeling of the roasted maple fretboard make it a great instrument. The pickups are good but after 3 months of playing I think they lack something I can not explain. They are like the Gibson pickups, they are good only for a limited time IMO. Now I have a 59 combo, a PGn, a APH-1, a custom custom and a bunch of magnet in a drawer. What would be your choice for that guitar? Take into account that the guitar is really bright

 

[Lewguitar]

Re: Prs custom 24 se pickup improvement

Here are my three SE Singlecuts.

I have sets of my three favorite Duncans in these three guitars.

One Sunburst has Seth Lovers with stock polished A2 magnets. I removed the covers and found a pair of double creams inside!

The other Sunburst has a set 59's. I replaced the polished A5's with roughcast A3 in the neck and roughcast A2 in the bridge.

The black SE has Antiquitys with their stock, MJ signed, roughcast A2 magnets back in again after trying A4's for a while. Sounds better with the original roughcast A2's.

You have a set of 59's and some magnets?

I'd go roughcast A3 neck and roughcast A2 bridge. I prefer roughcast.

Or try roughcast A2's in both 59's like my Antiquitys have.

You might like that best as it's the warmest of the three sets I use.

It's surprising how similar the 59's are to Antiquitys when you do a RCA2 magnet swap in the 59's.

I like RCA3 in the 59N humbucker for more breath and less mud.

That might not be an issue for you since your neck pickup is mounted about 1" closer to the bridge because of it being a 24 fret guitar.

So maybe try a pair of RCA2's first.

 

[Lewguitar]

Re: Prs custom 24 se pickup improvement

BTW, I have a friend who also purchased a PRS SE Singlecut.

He couldn't swing new pickups so I swapped out the magnets in the import pickups in his guitar.

Made a big improvement.

My Duncans DO sound better though.

 

[OsvyRock]

Re: Prs custom 24 se pickup improvement

Here are my three SE Singlecuts.

I have sets of my three favorite Duncans in these three guitars.

One Sunburst has Seth Lovers with stock polished A2 magnets. I removed the covers and found a pair of double creams inside!

The other Sunburst has a set 59's. I replaced the polished A5's with roughcast A3 in the neck and roughcast A2 in the bridge.

The black SE has Antiquitys with their stock, MJ signed, roughcast A2 magnets back in again after trying A4's for a while. Sounds better with the original roughcast A2's.

You have a set of 59's and some magnets?

I'd go roughcast A3 neck and roughcast A2 bridge. I prefer roughcast.

Or try roughcast A2's in both 59's like my Antiquitys have.

You might like that best as it's the warmest of the three sets I use.

It's surprising how similar the 59's are to Antiquitys when you do a RCA2 magnet swap in the 59's.

I like RCA3 in the 59N humbucker for more breath and less mud.

That might not be an issue for you since your neck pickup is mounted about 1" closer to the bridge because of it being a 24 fret guitar.

So maybe try a pair of RCA2's first.

BTW, I have a friend who also purchased a PRS SE Singlecut.

He couldn't swing new pickups so I swapped out the magnets in the import pickups in his guitar.

Made a big improvement.

My Duncans DO sound better though.

This is pretty nice! How do those sets balance? I'm thinking of replacing my PRS Starla SE Pickups, but not sure if I should pull the trigger or not. They sound good, but I always have them at MAX VOLUME/TONE. Would prefer even brighter ones but that balance with just one tone/one volume knob.

I have been thinking about the Pearly Gates set...

 

[Lewguitar]

Re: Prs custom 24 se pickup improvement

This is pretty nice! How do those sets balance? I'm thinking of replacing my PRS Starla SE Pickups, but not sure if I should pull the trigger or not. They sound good, but I always have them at MAX VOLUME/TONE. Would prefer even brighter ones but that balance with just one tone/one volume knob.

I have been thinking about the Pearly Gates set...

Thanks! By "balance" do you mean one pickup being louder than the other? Not a problem. Especially if you buy them as a set because the neck pickup is underwound a bit so it doesn't overpower the bridge pickup.

In the 50's and 60's Gibson didn't do that and both the neck and bridge pickup were more or less identical. That made the neck pickup too loud compared to the bridge pickup. You could adjust the neck pickup away from the strings to quiet it down but that would also compromise the tone, IMO.

I love Pearly Gates pickups and have had PG's and also Custom Shop PG's in these guitars before finally settling on what's in them now.

Personally, I like my magnet modified 59's better than the PG's, but if you've owned them and know you like them you couldn't go wrong with PG's...especially the Custom Shop version.

 

[OsvyRock]

Re: Prs custom 24 se pickup improvement

Thanks! By "balance" do you mean one pickup being louder than the other? Not a problem. Especially if you buy them as a set because the neck pickup is underwound a bit so it doesn't overpower the bridge pickup.

In the 50's and 60's Gibson didn't do that and both the neck and bridge pickup were more or less identical. That made the neck pickup too loud compared to the bridge pickup. You could adjust the neck pickup away from the strings to quiet it down but that would also compromise the tone, IMO.

I love Pearly Gates pickups and have had PG's and also Custom Shop PG's in these guitars before finally settling on what's in them now.

Personally, I like my magnet modified 59's better than the PG's, but if you've owned them and know you like them you couldn't go wrong with PG's...especially the Custom Shop version.

Just owned the neck version of the regular one. It was actually pretty nice. I had the Dimarzio Nickel PAF Master Set when I came to the US, but had to sell them during the COVID Lockdown. Didn't have a guitar at that time , now I do!
Not worried about the hotness factor, but the tone balance factor aka... Super Distortion & PAF Pro works as a set, the SH-5 & 59' the same. Custom & Pearly Gates neck = NO!!! Custom = too beefy, the PGn EQ doesn't match the Custom or Slash APH-2 situation = the neck is good rolled back, switch to the bridge pickup = MUDDY HELL until you raise the tone knob aka A 4 knob (2volume/2tone guitar is needed) to rightfully use the Slash set. That's the type of balance I'm referring to.

 

[chadd]

Re: Prs custom 24 se pickup improvement

Hi, first post here after more than 3 months. The covid 19 lock down was hard to face. Hope you guys are all safe and healthy. I am here again because I would like to upgrade my prs custom 24 se with roasted maple neck. It comes with 85/15 S pickups. During the lock down I had plenty of time and I played it extensively. This guitar is amazing, its shape, the neck profile, the feeling of the roasted maple fretboard make it a great instrument. The pickups are good but after 3 months of playing I think they lack something I can not explain. They are like the Gibson pickups, they are good only for a limited time IMO. Now I have a 59 combo, a PGn, a APH-1, a custom custom and a bunch of magnet in a drawer. What would be your choice for that guitar? Take into account that the guitar is really bright

Bright guitar and you have a CC and APH1 in the drawer? I'd give that a shot first

 

[Mincer]

Re: Prs custom 24 se pickup improvement

This all depends on what the perceived shortcomings are of the stock pickups. It gets harder if you are just looking for 'better'. The picture is easier if you are looking for something brighter, thicker, less compressed, etc.

 

[EmiAba]

Re: Prs custom 24 se pickup improvement

Bright guitar and you have a CC and APH1 in the drawer? I'd give that a shot first

It is reasonable to put them into the guitar. I am not particularly proficient with the soldering iron. I always need to ask to someone else to get the job done. It's hard for me to experiment. I can easily swap magnets to adjust the shades of the tone but I need the pickups installed. Having suggestions from you it gives me an idea and I trace to follow. Nothing can replace my ears and my taste but I can not install an replace if I don't like the result

 

[EmiAba]

Re: Prs custom 24 se pickup improvement

This all depends on what the perceived shortcomings are of the stock pickups. It gets harder if you are just looking for 'better'. The picture is easier if you are looking for something brighter, thicker, less compressed, etc.

It is hard to say what I dislike. Their are paf, the neck is around 7.5 dcr and the bridge is a bit hotter. For sure under high gain the neck is a bit muddy. A little more power from the bridge and a warmer sound will be a good starting point

 

[EmiAba]

Re: Prs custom 24 se pickup improvement

Here are my three SE Singlecuts.

I have sets of my three favorite Duncans in these three guitars.

One Sunburst has Seth Lovers with stock polished A2 magnets. I removed the covers and found a pair of double creams inside!

The other Sunburst has a set 59's. I replaced the polished A5's with roughcast A3 in the neck and roughcast A2 in the bridge.

The black SE has Antiquitys with their stock, MJ signed, roughcast A2 magnets back in again after trying A4's for a while. Sounds better with the original roughcast A2's.

You have a set of 59's and some magnets?

I'd go roughcast A3 neck and roughcast A2 bridge. I prefer roughcast.

Or try roughcast A2's in both 59's like my Antiquitys have.

You might like that best as it's the warmest of the three sets I use.

It's surprising how similar the 59's are to Antiquitys when you do a RCA2 magnet swap in the 59's.

I like RCA3 in the 59N humbucker for more breath and less mud.

That might not be an issue for you since your neck pickup is mounted about 1" closer to the bridge because of it being a 24 fret guitar.

So maybe try a pair of RCA2's first.

The 59 is the neck pick up I prefer the most. Did you try a uoa5 in them?

 

[Lewguitar]

Re: Prs custom 24 se pickup improvement

The 59 is the neck pick up I prefer the most. Did you try a uoa5 in them?

No. My 59's came new with a polished alnico 5 in each. I tried a roughcast alnico 5 in both and liked that better but for my tastes it still had more bass than I wanted and not enough mids.

I tried both with A4 and felt it sounded bland. Just not a sound that excited me.

When I tried roughcast alnico 3 in both I heard the neck pickup sound I was looking for. Breathy and clear, and not overpowering. But the bridge sounded too weak.

Then I put roughcast alnico 2 in the 59 bridge because I already knew I liked that because that was in my Antiquity set.

I stopped at that point because I had dialed the 59 set in for the sound I was looking for.

 

[chadd]

Re: Prs custom 24 se pickup improvement

It is reasonable to put them into the guitar. I am not particularly proficient with the soldering iron. I always need to ask to someone else to get the job done. It's hard for me to experiment. I can easily swap magnets to adjust the shades of the tone but I need the pickups installed. Having suggestions from you it gives me an idea and I trace to follow. Nothing can replace my ears and my taste but I can not install an replace if I don't like the result

Proficiency comes with experience, there's only one way to get that. I can only guess at how many thousands of dollars I've saved myself over the years, trying to tweak my guitars into sounding the way I want.

 

[BluesIsBlood12]

Re: Prs custom 24 se pickup improvement

Well it depends on what you want to get out of the guitar, but I'd vote try the 59s with some A2 or A4 magnets. I've got Seths in an old SE Singlecut, and it's a good all-around rock guitar. I can do some heavy drop D type stuff, but it wouldn't be my first choice.

 

[Lewguitar]

Re: Prs custom 24 se pickup improvement

Well it depends on what you want to get out of the guitar, but I'd vote try the 59s with some A2 or A4 magnets. I've got Seths in an old SE Singlecut, and it's a good all-around rock guitar. I can do some heavy drop D type stuff, but it wouldn't be my first choice.

"Heavy dropped D type stuff" is not my thing at all. Although I do occasionally tune to open D (DADF#AD). Or open G (DGDGBD) to play some Keith Richards licks.

My playing style is kind of a jazzy blues rock style. I like players like Jeff Beck, Eric Clapton, Mike Bloomfield, BB King, Albert King, Eric Johnson, Pat Metheny and Wes Montgomery.

I like players like EVH, Satriani and Vai but I'm not chasing those sounds and have always preferred 50's and 60's style guitar pickups rather than modern overwound heavy rock pickups.

I do enjoy playing with overdrive and getting a singing violin like tone from my bridge pickup but when I play chords I want them breathy and clear.

Just wanted to clarify that.

 

[Mincer]

Re: Prs custom 24 se pickup improvement

It is hard to say what I dislike. Their are paf, the neck is around 7.5 dcr and the bridge is a bit hotter. For sure under high gain the neck is a bit muddy. A little more power from the bridge and a warmer sound will be a good starting point

Descriptions like that (even putting what you think into words) is very helpful! Then at least we have a starting point. I'd say either a Jazz or Sentient in the neck, and either a Custom or for a more modern sound, Pegasus in the bridge are good places to start.

 

[BluesIsBlood12]

Re: Prs custom 24 se pickup improvement

Yeah, give the 59s a shot with the A2 magnets then. They'll probably do what you want.

 

[Lewguitar]

Re: Prs custom 24 se pickup improvement

Yeah, give the 59s a shot with the A2 magnets then. They'll probably do what you want.

That's what I'd do. Roughcast...not polished. They'll remind you of Antiquitys which, IMO, are the best humbuckers Duncan makes.

 

[EmiAba]

Re: Prs custom 24 se pickup improvement

So I am going to start with the 59s with A2/A3 (unfortunately all my spare magnets are polished), and if the results don't match my expectation I'll go with AP-1 and custom custom (or swapping the magnets Jazz/regular custom as suggested by Mincer). That's my plan. But, just curiosity, no one mentioned the PGn. Why do you think about it? Could its tonal features work in that guitar?

 

[EmiAba]

Re: Prs custom 24 se pickup improvement

I tried both with A4 and felt it sounded bland. Just not a sound that excited me.

Both my Les Paul have a 59A4 in the neck slot. I find it balanced not bland.