taxi
New member
Just did my first magnet swap, many thanks to everyone here for the good info! Of course, despite my care I initially did the "Peter Green" and ended up with an upside-down magnet, but that was fun for awhile. It was a quick fix to flip it.
The guitar in question is a PRS SC250, kind of an odd guitar from the start. It's very bright and jangly, and very alive acoustically. The stock bridge PUP is a sledgehammer, 14.4k with an oversized ceramic magnent. Sounded really cool for some searing lead stuff, but it was just too much for me. I always hear a more vintage thing in my head (note: I like McCartys) so I wanted a little more sparkle. My guitar tech had a screamin' demon laying around, so he sold it to me cheap and we dropped it in. That pickup in this guitar was quite bright and very articulate, but too strident. I wanted more lows and low mids (especially since there's an A2P at the neck which has some bottom to it).
So... I did an A8 swap. I've never seen any magnet discussions regarding this pickup so I didn't know what to expect. The swap added gain and some mids, but to my ear more upper and "mid mids" than lower. The pickup definitely has just a touch of the half-cocked wah thing going on in high-gain mode, but it's subtle and it still has plenty of sparkle clean. It's still not quite right for this guitar to my ear, despite the subtle midrange hump there's still a thinness to it. But it's an interesting sound and I think it's better in this axe than the stock demon was so it's a step forward. I suspect this pickup with an A8 magnet in a different guitar would be a screamer, sort of a JB8 with a little less heat.
I'm gonna keep messing with this guitar for awhile. I'm thinking something A5 at the neck instead of the A2P, and something like the A2P or a little hotter at the bridge, something with that vintage chewy sound but with some bottom to it since the bridge position of this guitar is so spanky.
I hate to sell this axe because it's friggin' gorgeous (10-top double-stain black cherry). But some other guitars just seem to get there faster for me without as much work. Either way, it's been fun and educational!
The guitar in question is a PRS SC250, kind of an odd guitar from the start. It's very bright and jangly, and very alive acoustically. The stock bridge PUP is a sledgehammer, 14.4k with an oversized ceramic magnent. Sounded really cool for some searing lead stuff, but it was just too much for me. I always hear a more vintage thing in my head (note: I like McCartys) so I wanted a little more sparkle. My guitar tech had a screamin' demon laying around, so he sold it to me cheap and we dropped it in. That pickup in this guitar was quite bright and very articulate, but too strident. I wanted more lows and low mids (especially since there's an A2P at the neck which has some bottom to it).
So... I did an A8 swap. I've never seen any magnet discussions regarding this pickup so I didn't know what to expect. The swap added gain and some mids, but to my ear more upper and "mid mids" than lower. The pickup definitely has just a touch of the half-cocked wah thing going on in high-gain mode, but it's subtle and it still has plenty of sparkle clean. It's still not quite right for this guitar to my ear, despite the subtle midrange hump there's still a thinness to it. But it's an interesting sound and I think it's better in this axe than the stock demon was so it's a step forward. I suspect this pickup with an A8 magnet in a different guitar would be a screamer, sort of a JB8 with a little less heat.
I'm gonna keep messing with this guitar for awhile. I'm thinking something A5 at the neck instead of the A2P, and something like the A2P or a little hotter at the bridge, something with that vintage chewy sound but with some bottom to it since the bridge position of this guitar is so spanky.
I hate to sell this axe because it's friggin' gorgeous (10-top double-stain black cherry). But some other guitars just seem to get there faster for me without as much work. Either way, it's been fun and educational!
