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Author Topic: Pickups for PRS  (Read 6528 times)

Fio

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Pickups for PRS
« on: July 06, 2009, 09:03:31 PM »
I'm looking for the right pickups to replace the ones currently in my PRS Custom 22. The bridge pickup is just ok and the neck is really only good for playing clean. The amp I'm playing through is a Bogner Ecstasy. What I'm looking for is a lot of clarity and definition. I play clean just as much as I play with overdrive and versatility is a big plus. Currently I'm thinking either Miracle Man or Nailbomb. Any suggestions?
« Last Edit: July 06, 2009, 09:57:01 PM by Fio »

Will

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Re: Pickups for PRS
« Reply #1 on: July 06, 2009, 09:17:14 PM »
Definately not Miracle man for versatility and clean playing.

What kind of tone are you after?

Twinfan

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Re: Pickups for PRS
« Reply #2 on: July 06, 2009, 09:27:31 PM »
I've got Holy Divers in a McCarty Rosewood - very versatile, surprisingly, and can do anything from clean to hard rock/classic metal......

Fio

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Re: Pickups for PRS
« Reply #3 on: July 06, 2009, 09:56:20 PM »
Looks like Miracle Man is out if it's not too versatile. Sounds I'm going for are a jazzy type clean that is good with chords and an overdriven/distorted tone that can handle modern metal along the lines of Opeth's Ghost Reveries and Isis' Wavering Radiant. Also would like to be able to cover some more vintage tones too if possible. Thanks for the replies guys.

Twinfan

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Re: Pickups for PRS
« Reply #4 on: July 06, 2009, 10:22:57 PM »
Having listened to Opeth for the first time on YouTube, I'm sticking to my Holy Diver suggestion.....

MDV

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Re: Pickups for PRS
« Reply #5 on: July 06, 2009, 10:23:56 PM »
You should be fine with nailbombs.

MDV

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Re: Pickups for PRS
« Reply #6 on: July 06, 2009, 10:24:58 PM »
Having listened to Opeth for the first time on YouTube, I'm sticking to my Holy Diver suggestion.....

*Jaw falls to lap*

My oh my what different musical worlds we live in!

Twinfan

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Re: Pickups for PRS
« Reply #7 on: July 06, 2009, 10:29:28 PM »
For what it's worth, I thought they were cr@p  :lol:

I like bands who have SINGERS.....

MDV

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Re: Pickups for PRS
« Reply #8 on: July 06, 2009, 10:34:35 PM »
For what it's worth, I thought they were cr@p  :lol:

I like bands who have SINGERS.....

:lol:

Oh, poor metal noob.

Listen to more. You will find that akerfeldt is a fantastic singer.

Philly Q

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Re: Pickups for PRS
« Reply #9 on: July 06, 2009, 10:59:05 PM »
For what it's worth, I thought they were cr@p  :lol:

I like bands who have SINGERS.....

:lol:

Oh, poor metal noob.

Listen to more. You will find that akerfeldt is a fantastic singer.

This is getting way off topic, but I have to agree.  Opeth are excellent, Mikael Åkerfeldt is a very, very talented chap.  And there's lots of proper singing on the albums. 

Give 'em another chance, Dave!  :)



Oh, and just to say something relevant... Cold Sweats, maybe?  They certainly have clarity and definition, lovely versatile neck pickup.  The bridge pickup may be a little "cold" depending on the type of clean tones you're after.
« Last Edit: July 06, 2009, 11:05:08 PM by Philly Q »
BKPs I've Got:  RR, BKP-91, ITs, VHII, CS set, Emeralds
BKPs I Had:  RY+Abraxas, Crawlers, BD+SM

badgermark

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Re: Pickups for PRS
« Reply #10 on: July 06, 2009, 11:05:56 PM »
Bare in mind that HUGE Isis sound is mostly from a neck humbucker (one of the guitarist uses a tele custom with the neck humbucker), so you would be looking for something open and clear in the neck, so not to turn to mush with distortion. I second the Holydiver suggestion. My favorite humbucker so far.
Mississippi Queens, Holydiver.

MDV

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Re: Pickups for PRS
« Reply #11 on: July 06, 2009, 11:23:58 PM »
Cold sweats are a good suggestion if the guitar is very thick acoustically. You'll get panopticon isis out of them easier.

I was thinking that isis wasnt neck pickup for the heavy rhythms, but I thought I'd better check -
I was wrong

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cmi8oOK0NKk&feature=fvst

HairyChris

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Re: Pickups for PRS
« Reply #12 on: July 07, 2009, 12:24:12 AM »
Well Tim recommended CS set as a replacement for the HFS/VB of my CuRo24. Plenty of clarity & definition, but the PRS 24s always had a more modern feel then the 22s. The only Cu22 I owned had PRS RPs in it and it sounded monstrous (in a very good way). I'm not sure what the BKP equivalent of the RP is....
A-Pig 7s, Miracle Man & Mule, Cold Sweats... Expensive kit and no talent posse.

Fio

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Re: Pickups for PRS
« Reply #13 on: July 07, 2009, 01:47:49 AM »
Oh, and just to say something relevant... Cold Sweats, maybe?  They certainly have clarity and definition, lovely versatile neck pickup.  The bridge pickup may be a little "cold" depending on the type of clean tones you're after.

I generally don't use the bridge for clean tones. I like the smoother sound of the neck when playing clean. The Cold Sweat may be colder than some of the other BKs, but it's still hotter than the Dragon II I have now (rated at 12k).

Bare in mind that HUGE Isis sound is mostly from a neck humbucker (one of the guitarist uses a tele custom with the neck humbucker), so you would be looking for something open and clear in the neck, so not to turn to mush with distortion. I second the Holydiver suggestion. My favorite humbucker so far.

Actually the past two times I've seen them (June 12, 2009 and April 27, 2008) they haven't used teles. They seemed to have switched to a smaller maker that makes guitars with aluminum necks and have reflective bodies. I can't seem to remember the name however...

Anyways Cold Sweats are definitely an option now along with Holy Divers and Nailbombs. I'm leaning towards the Cold Sweats as I generally like to play with lower gain anyways (I usually set the gain knob on my Ecstasy to around 10 or 11 o'clock on the low gain structure). Thanks for all the replies guys; this is a really helpful forum. More suggestions are certainly welcome!

BTW Twinfan: if you aren't a fan of the growled vocals in Opeth I highly recommend checking out their album Damnation. 100% clean vocals and some awesome 70's inspired prog-rock.  :headphones5:

sebby123

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Re: Pickups for PRS
« Reply #14 on: July 07, 2009, 02:55:22 AM »
Cold sweat's the way to go!