What pickup do I need?

[Alpuka]

Hey, so I just ordered a PRS S2 Standard 24 and since it's all mahogany, and it's said to have a very warm tone, and I'm not sure I'm a fan of that.
I have found a guy on Youtube with the perfect guitar sound for my needs, and this is where I need your knowledge of pickups, what pickups should I get if I want this sound? Do you have any recommendations? Anything is welcome

Link to the youtube guy:
https://youtu.be/Vsc8uGxTlFQ?t=3

 

[daenius]

Re: What pickup do I need?

and it's said to have a very warm tone

"Said" to have a very warm tone. While the mahogany does contribute to the tone, it doesn't impact your tone as much as your pickups or amp settings would. Also, while mahogany is generally regarded to have a warm tone, it's just a general ball park: every piece of mahogany will have a slightly different sound because it's wood. I own 6 guitars that are mahogany, and none of them sound the same acoustically or plugged in. 2 of those guitars are Les Pauls, and one of them, the R8, even acoustically, just sounds a bit snappier and brighter than people associate mahogany body wood with.

Point is that every guitar is unique, so you should really wait for the guitar to arrive first, and play with it, listen to how it sounds acoustically and plugged in before ordering any pickups. Spend at least a week or so just getting to know the guitar with your rig and play style, and really listen to how it sounds and what's working and what's not working for you.

This way it'll be MUCH easier for you to find a pickup that'll work for you. For example, "this guitar has a fizzy treble no matter how I play or set my amp", then easy, all you need to do is buy warmer sounding pickups. "This guitar is super muddy and honky and doesn't drive my amp hard enough", again, easy, time to buy brighter and higher output pickups. Heck, you might even play the guitar and go "you know what, I LOVE it the way it is!" Then you're happy because you just bought yourself the perfect guitar, and you saved yourself some money and time That might happen since it's a PRS S2, they're very good quality instruments.

 

[gregory]

Re: What pickup do I need?

The snappiness of a Les Paul is attributable to the maple cap.

 

[Silence Kid]

Re: What pickup do I need?

Seth Lovers are what come to mind, off the bat. No clue if that's "right" for the particular guitar. The guitar in the clip sounds fairy dark-ish/warm to me anyway.

 

[AlexR]

Re: What pickup do I need?

The snappiness of a Les Paul is attributable to the maple cap.

There are plenty of people who have had a variety of tones out of Les Pauls from dark to light, all with maple caps.
And those who have had bright all mahogany slab body Les Pauls but darker ones that have the cap.....

So the point remains, you have to try the guitar before you know what you have.

 

[GuitarDoc]

Re: What pickup do I need?

I agree with just about everything everyone has said about the wood and amp etc.

That guitar in the video has the upper midrange honkiness that you typically get with a JB in mahogany.

 

[daenius]

Re: What pickup do I need?

There are plenty of people who have had a variety of tones out of Les Pauls from dark to light, all with maple caps.
And those who have had bright all mahogany slab body Les Pauls but darker ones that have the cap.....

So the point remains, you have to try the guitar before you know what you have.

Yeah, both are Les Pauls with a maple cap. One is just a whole lot snappier. My point was just that while mahogany is generally pretty warm, it's hard to just put a blanket statement on it, because not every piece of mahogany has the same amount of warmth.

 

[VinceT]

Re: What pickup do I need?

+1 to playing the guitar for a while before making any decisions. PRS S2 range is neither cheap sounding, nor a "poor man's PRS" - and, in my experience, there is nothing that says plan to mod out of the box.


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[Mincer]

Re: What pickup do I need?

Yeah, I'd ply the guitar for a few weeks to see if it has any tonal 'problems' you want to fix. Sometimes the wood/construction on paper sound very different than it does in real life. Not saying you might not need pickups, but they may go in a different directions than you initially think.

 

[KNUCKLHEAD]

Re: What pickup do I need?

He says it's a PRS mahogany , if a comparison of Gibson is suggested in regards to mahogany ( in relation to the wood ) I would suggest 5 SGs to Him not Pauls because He said All mahogany + they dont weigh 25 lbs.

 

[Aceman]

Re: What pickup do I need?

Dear OP - I'm going to point out a couple of really unpleasant things here....And while they are obviously based on your post - it applies to many many people, unfortunately.


#1 You bought a guitar you have apparently never played. There are a lot of words I can use to describe that and none are very pleasant. If you are not willing to be completely dissatisfied, you should never ever do that. No matter what you read online, your opinion is the only one that will count.

#2 Based on what you have read - you have already decided that it isn't what you want/like. Again, any words I could use to describe that would likely offend you.

But let's just ask the question (and please do not answer it); Why did you buy a guitar you haven't played, but have read about and it isn't what you like.

Now - here is a really unpleasant tonal truth: Whatever a guitar DOES NOT HAVE sonically, can't really be added to it. Example: A guitar has really scooped mids because of wood/construction etc . We can pump up the mids in the amp, and get a Duncan Custom Custom. What you will end up with is very loud, but very crappy sounding bad mids. A pickup can't turn a 25" scale mahogany body, rosewood board into a 25 1/2" maple neck.

#3 Finally, as with so many...you don't even have this guitar in your hands yet, and you are already modding it. Again - there are words for this I won't use. Get the instrument, play it, adjust you amp and effects. More importantly - adjust your ears! I'd say 9 out of ten people don't like their "new thing" mostly because they have become accustomed to their old thing. It can take a while - as in weeks, not hours, to really determine what you like or don't like about that new sound.

So please really take the advice of the people here seriously who are suggesting get the guitar, plays it for a (long while) and decide for yourself. (<= and note that is not your strong suite!)

And IF you are not pleased with it - remember to come back with a clear definition of what you don't like. Too muddy, too sharp, too many kids, too few, more hot, less hot, etc...Which again, you can't know a thing about right now because you don't have the guitar. Again, there are bright/tight Les Paul, and muddy/loose Les PAuls - both made from Mahogany.


And yeah - this is a PRS not el cheapo version. My opinion - there is not a thing wrong with this that a turn of the screwdriver can't seek to perfection. So if you don't like it, we are stuck back at why did you get it? (Don't answer that)

 

[Silence Kid]

Re: What pickup do I need?

#1 You bought a guitar you have apparently never played. There are a lot of words I can use to describe that and none are very pleasant. If you are not willing to be completely dissatisfied, you should never ever do that. No matter what you read online, your opinion is the only one that will count.

No shame, none at all, in buying something you haven't played. I've bought guitars I've never played because I never played them, where I wouldn't have known what they were like otherwise and I could sell them off later. Maybe he got a deal to make it worth it either way.

I agree it's early to think about mods, and if he bought it TO get a specific sound without playing it, that was not wise.

 

[Aceman]

Re: What pickup do I need?

I get that - you buy it because you don't have it. But right out of the gate we are caught up in "I don't think I like Mahogany / the pickups". vs "I want this sound"

Honestly - that YouTube vid is so stupid over-produced / effected I could get that sound with a Daisy Rock.

 

[Silence Kid]

Re: What pickup do I need?

I get that - you buy it because you don't have it. But right out of the gate we are caught up in "I don't think I like Mahogany / the pickups". vs "I want this sound"

Honestly - that YouTube vid is so stupid over-produced / effected I could get that sound with a Daisy Rock.

...LOL. A Daisy Rock Heartbreaker Artist (meaning full rather than short scale) being one of many guitars I bought without playing, for pure novelty. I agree, it had a fake Duncan Designed JB (HB-102) and could probably get that sound one way or another (but was somewhat microphonic and squeal-prone.) Felt a bit like a toy though, and was a terrible amount of uncomfortable. I sold it off in about a week for about twice what I paid for it.

 

[beaubrummels]

Re: What pickup do I need?

I'm starting to think "What pickup should I get?" should be it's own stickied sub-forum and that way it would be so much easier to ignore.

 

[Aceman]

Re: What pickup do I need?

Nothing to ignore. Guy is coming at it from 42 different wrong directions IMO.

We gots to educate and inform!!!!!!

 

[gregory]

Re: What pickup do I need?

I keep coming back to read this thread because I posted in it, forgetting what it was about and then wishing I hadn't posted once I've been reminded; not that I regret pointing out that a LP has a maple cap, even if it doesn't guarantee that one will sound bright.

 

[daenius]

Re: What pickup do I need?

Guys I think we're scaring the poor OP lol. The guy is probably new to this whole thing and just wants some advice on how to get a sound. We don't need to go to town on him about why he bought the guitar. Maybe he just loves the way it looks, and that's a valid reason to buy a guitar too.

And hey, even the mighty MJ herself said in one of the Duncan Custom Shop videos, "feel free to start with how you want it to look, we can always do something about the tone", then she proceeded to tell her story about making a tele bridge sized version of the Pearly Gates for Billy Gibbons and how he was thoroughly impressed by it.

 

[metalchurch79]

Re: What pickup do I need?

Indeed, there are a lot of regulars who ask and post some stuff that makes me wonder sometimes too....

 

[eclecticsynergy]

Re: What pickup do I need?

I'll echo the very good advice to live with the guitar for a few weeks and get used to its sound & feel through your own equipment. Then you'll know whether you're happy with it as is, or what direction you want to take it in. Until you've played it- your way- for long enough to know it as an individual, any decision you make stands a very small chance of being the best one. Besides, the stock pickups could be perfect. No sense in jumping down the rabbit hole before ever playing the instrument.

Browsing the web it's easy to get sucked into the GASpects of guitar modding- there are hundreds of choices and one can read up on all of them. It can be tempting to feel like you could make reasonable decisions in advance, based on what you want. But generalizations about design & wood aren't enough. Every guitar's a dynamic system; small factors add up and they can have a major effect on the nature of an instrument. That's why each one is so different. Much of an axe's character & tone comes from subtle variations in the pieces of lumber, the ways they interact with each other, with the hardware & pickups, and of course how it all responds to a particular player's touch. And his amps. And the style of music.

IMO the only way to really know a guitar well is to play it. Through a familiar amp. At length. And at volume. After that you stand to make better choices.