PRS SE Santana Pickups... Magnet Swap

[cholly]

First post here, long time player and tinkerer (30+ years).

Got a used SE Santana, extremely nice (especially for $400), impressed wih it overall. Pickups not too bad, but still lacking....

So I popped an unoriented rough ground A5 in the bridge, and an A4 in the neck (had them laying around).

Big change -- less noticeable on the neck, which sounds more vintage from the start, now less boomy and balanced, less mids; bigger change in the bridge, which was on the hotter compressed, nasally side. Opened it up, balanced it out, mellowed it out. They're staying in.

Just a tip for anyone out there curious if a magnet swap would do anything for a PRS pickup....

 

[CTN]

Re: PRS SE Santana Pickups... Magnet Swap

Welcome aboard fella!

mag swaps always do something, in any pickup...whether that something is a good thing or not is another question altogether though

 

[Mr. B]

Re: PRS SE Santana Pickups... Magnet Swap

Throw a set of Seth Lover or 59' pickups in that guitar and it will really shine.

 

[blueman335]

Re: PRS SE Santana Pickups... Magnet Swap

Welcome aboard!

You picked two very good mag swaps to do on your PU's. I use a lot of UOA5's in bridge PU's. A4's and A3's take the boomy low end off of some neck HB's. Well done.

Have a SE Santana myself, nice guitar.

 

[Frogman]

Re: PRS SE Santana Pickups... Magnet Swap

I Have a bridge hb from a PRS SE24

What mags come stock?

 

[papersoul]

Re: PRS SE Santana Pickups... Magnet Swap

Nice guitar. I picked one up used for $265 and am throwing in a 59/custom and jazz.

 

[Frogman]

Re: PRS SE Santana Pickups... Magnet Swap

I Have a bridge hb from a PRS SE24

What mags come stock?

Bump

 

[papersoul]

Re: PRS SE Santana Pickups... Magnet Swap

Just installed 500K CTS pots and Rio Grande pickups. Holy Hell, it sounds killer!

 

[cholly]

Re: PRS SE Santana Pickups... Magnet Swap

Forgot to say thanks to all in this forum who got me educated about magnet swaps.... thanks!

As for what magnets come stock -- I'm guessing A5, both bridge and neck magnets look identical, shiny bright metal, don't appear to be ceramic (but I'm no expert at eyeballing magnets).

 

[LtKojak]

Re: PRS SE Santana Pickups... Magnet Swap

don't appear to be ceramic (but I'm no expert at eyeballing magnets).

If you have a multimeter, check the magnet for continuity.

If you get continuity, it's alnico. No continuity, ceramic. Also, ceramic mags are significantly lighter in weight than alnico.

That's how I've discovered that the mags present in a Duncan Designed HB103 set were actually alnico rather than the spec'ed ceramic.

HTH,

 

[Frogman]

Re: PRS SE Santana Pickups... Magnet Swap

I just did some google searching, and as far as everything i read, all HFS and "HFS designed" pups have ceramic mags (bridge at least).