alex1fly
Well-known member
Picked up this set as part of my "back to basics" 2020-2021 guitar reset. The set is in a PRS SE Custom, 500k vol/tone, coil split, 3-way switch.
Jazz - both woody and bright. Not too much high end. Really nice sound. Fat like PAFs I've played, fatter than the 85/15 it replaced but with the same clarity and cut that the 85/15 had in spades. Great 80s high gain lead sound, great cleans. Makes my SE Custom sound a lot more like my SG, whereas the 85/15s had it sounding more like a Fender, if only slightly. Wound strings are warm and woody, unwound strings are bright and spanky. Coil split is pretty good, not quite as spanky as the 85/15 was split but then the 85/15 was designed specifically for a spanky single coil split sound. Coil split sounds very acoustic. I kind of wish for more high end, but turning up the amp treble means that the JB is much too bright when switching between the two.
JB - interesting to give this pickup a proper go after reading opinions on it for years and years. It sounds absolutely amazing, but seems to work differently than what I'm used to (not a bad thing). Cleans are balanced, punchy, round, dynamic, almost "3D" in a way many other pickups are not, a bit compressed but less compressed than the Jazz. Would make a great 1 pickup guitar - can do funk rhythms, cowboy strums, jazz comping, and sounds naturally polished and familiar enough that it could do pop easily. The high end is a little baffling - sometimes it's warm, sometimes it's way too bright, and it seems to change with my playing style in a way that's different than the PAFs I'm more familiar with. Still getting my head wrapped around that one. High gain leads are iconic, sustain is incredible, it works really well here. Takes FX like a champ. High gain chugging riffage isn't the best, but this particular guitar has never excelled at high gain chuggage... it just doesn't seem built for it. So the chuggage is very clear but doesn't really chunk like I want. Again, survey says that's this guitar's MO and has been through 3 different pickups. Tuned 'er down to Drop C, no flabby low end, sounded great.
As a set - I can see how this set would be great in a live situation where you're playing different styles, adapting to dynamics, finding your place in the mix. The two pickups complement each other well, serving different purposes. In contrast to PAF set where mainly the sound changes, this set changes functions with the different positions but both can do good cleans, good dirt, good leads, etc. Really wish this guitar had vol/vol/tone/tone or at least separate volumes, but that's a much bigger project.
Future - may try some magnet swaps to nudge them closer together in tonality, like a ceramic in the jazz or something treble-reducing in the JB. Hex heads would be fun to try too, I've enjoyed those in other pickups. Might make an effort to get more chunk out of this guitar with a Distortion or Black Winter or something similar, but that might be fighting the guitar's inherent strengths. Anyways, hope this is helpful for somebody someday. It's an iconic set and I'm enjoying it.
Jazz - both woody and bright. Not too much high end. Really nice sound. Fat like PAFs I've played, fatter than the 85/15 it replaced but with the same clarity and cut that the 85/15 had in spades. Great 80s high gain lead sound, great cleans. Makes my SE Custom sound a lot more like my SG, whereas the 85/15s had it sounding more like a Fender, if only slightly. Wound strings are warm and woody, unwound strings are bright and spanky. Coil split is pretty good, not quite as spanky as the 85/15 was split but then the 85/15 was designed specifically for a spanky single coil split sound. Coil split sounds very acoustic. I kind of wish for more high end, but turning up the amp treble means that the JB is much too bright when switching between the two.
JB - interesting to give this pickup a proper go after reading opinions on it for years and years. It sounds absolutely amazing, but seems to work differently than what I'm used to (not a bad thing). Cleans are balanced, punchy, round, dynamic, almost "3D" in a way many other pickups are not, a bit compressed but less compressed than the Jazz. Would make a great 1 pickup guitar - can do funk rhythms, cowboy strums, jazz comping, and sounds naturally polished and familiar enough that it could do pop easily. The high end is a little baffling - sometimes it's warm, sometimes it's way too bright, and it seems to change with my playing style in a way that's different than the PAFs I'm more familiar with. Still getting my head wrapped around that one. High gain leads are iconic, sustain is incredible, it works really well here. Takes FX like a champ. High gain chugging riffage isn't the best, but this particular guitar has never excelled at high gain chuggage... it just doesn't seem built for it. So the chuggage is very clear but doesn't really chunk like I want. Again, survey says that's this guitar's MO and has been through 3 different pickups. Tuned 'er down to Drop C, no flabby low end, sounded great.
As a set - I can see how this set would be great in a live situation where you're playing different styles, adapting to dynamics, finding your place in the mix. The two pickups complement each other well, serving different purposes. In contrast to PAF set where mainly the sound changes, this set changes functions with the different positions but both can do good cleans, good dirt, good leads, etc. Really wish this guitar had vol/vol/tone/tone or at least separate volumes, but that's a much bigger project.
Future - may try some magnet swaps to nudge them closer together in tonality, like a ceramic in the jazz or something treble-reducing in the JB. Hex heads would be fun to try too, I've enjoyed those in other pickups. Might make an effort to get more chunk out of this guitar with a Distortion or Black Winter or something similar, but that might be fighting the guitar's inherent strengths. Anyways, hope this is helpful for somebody someday. It's an iconic set and I'm enjoying it.
. I think also if you play without a pick, the Jazz would work well.
