HELP! Need advice for PRS Cu24

[sdgiffin]

Hey guys,

I know there are a lot of knowledgable cats on this forum so I thought I'd bring my PRS woes here.

I have a PRS Custom 24 Artist series that is giving one bitch of a time in the bridge position in the mid to upper midrange. It's honky, nasally and sometime it rides on icepicky. Let me give you a background on my signal path...

I play old school hard rock with a modern twist and have an '81 JCM 800 2203 with a Vader 4x12 cabinet which has flat response Eminence speakers in it. I set the amp to a plexi-like crunch and use an Xotic BB Preamp to get more when I need it. A great example of my tone recorded can be heard in the song Drown the Sound in the audio player at our website... http://fmqmusic.com/ The rhythms were with my Les Paul and the solo was with the PRS w/ the stock pups.

Now, I have swapped out the stock Vintage Bass and HFS pups for a couple of Dimarzios. I put a 36th Anniversary in the neck (which actually sounds great and splits really well, I'm quite happy with it) and put an Andy Timmons AT-1 in the bridge. I went with the AT-1 because my initial problem with the HFS was how sterile and sharp it was with a pretty unmusical low end. It just became kind of farty. I went for a hot PAF style bridge pup because I like the tonal quality of the classic hum$%&#ers but want need a little more to drive the amp naturally. I chose the AT-1 because of its rolled of highs and pronounced low and (what I thought was) low mids. Although this is a better pickup than the HFS, I'm still not 100% happy. When I installed the Dimarzios, the 36th Ann. brought a smile to my face immediately while the AT-1 didn't initially but I thought I'd stick it out and try it in a couple of live scenarios. I'm just not jiving with it. I know that Custom 24s in particular are known as honky guitars as they are akin to SGs and have the thick maple top adding to the high end snap and that the guitar naturally has these frequencies, so I need to balance them out. The guitar rings out beautifully acoustically with a ton of clarity and a nice bottom, but nothing like my Les Paul.

So, I need some suggestions from people who have had experience with the downfalls of a honky PRS or that just generally know BKP pickups like the back of their hand like Twinfan & Nolly. The more info/help the better!

Things I'm looking for but am willing to overlook if it will help my situation...
- A hot vintage to slightly modern voicing
- I prefer the feel and response of Alnico magnets to Ceramic
- A fat but tight low end to counter the PRS' thin body and add to the lack of low bottom in the JCM800

Sorry for the novel! I appreciate everyone's time and input.

Thanks!

Scott

[darrenw5094]

I have the same guitar and same honky dislike. The last time i posted a thread on here for my CU24, everyone advised on the Cold Sweats. That honky midrange is a natural sound from the CU24. I also have a CU22, which is more balanced than the 24 fret model. When i plugged it into my Triaxis last, i set the Bass at 0, Mid at 0 and Treble at 5.5. That balanced the CU24 out, which is ridiculous when you think about it. Now i am thinking of selling it, as i have a 24 Ibanez and a PRS CU22 anyway.

Sorry, i can't give you much help, but understand your issue, the guys on this forum all suggested the Cold Sweats to cancel out the honky midrange that ruins the tone for me and you in the PRS CU24.

[sdgiffin]

I have the same guitar and same honky dislike. The last time i posted a thread on here for my CU24, everyone advised on the Cold Sweats. That honky midrange is a natural sound from the CU24. I also have a CU22, which is more balanced than the 24 fret model. When i plugged it into my Triaxis last, i set the Bass at 0, Mid at 0 and Treble at 5.5. That balanced the CU24 out, which is ridiculous when you think about it. Now i am thinking of selling it, as i have a 24 Ibanez and a PRS CU22 anyway.

Sorry, i can't give you much help, but understand your issue, the guys on this forum all suggested the Cold Sweats to cancel out the honky midrange that ruins the tone for me and you in the PRS CU24.

That was the pickup I was leaning towards but didn't want to mention in the original post. I wanted to see what others came up with. Although it is a ceramic magnet, I think to would probably be the best suited to counter the nasally honk of this guitar. In the last hour I just swapped the Timmons out for a Dimarzio 36th anniversary bridge and that's almost worse. It's almost single coil/P90-ish with a pronounced snap in the midrange. I do enjoy the clarity in the top end that was lost with the Timmons because of the rolled off highs. I think the Cold Sweat might be my answer or at least a step in the right direction.

Thanks for your input!

[Twinfan]

Hmm, a tricky one.  My favourite pickups that I've had in PRS guitars (although not Cu24s) have been Black Dogs and Holydivers.  The BD would be a closer balance to the DiMarzio, the HD would give more of a contrast.  Listening to the track you mention, I think a Cold Sweat will be a bit brighter and sharper than you'd like.  I think the HolyDiver would be a good choice.

One thing to note is that the BB Preamp is very mid-focussed and "honky". I think you'll find it's not helping with your tone issue...

[darrenw5094]

The HFS is ceramic, so the Cold Sweat would keep the hot output which i would prefer, but to nullify that mid range honk is the key. Although i haven't tried the Cold Sweat, that is the forum advice. I suppose, a mail to BKP would be the best thing to do. Just not sure if i want to pump £200 plus on a guitar that i am thinking about selling, but i would love to know if the CS is the answer.

[darrenw5094]

Hmm, a tricky one.  My favourite pickups that I've had in PRS guitars (although not Cu24s) have been Black Dogs and Holydivers.  The BD would be a closer balance to the DiMarzio, the HD would give more of a contrast.  Listening to the track you mention, I think a Cold Sweat will be a bit brighter and sharper than you'd like.  I think the HolyDiver would be a good choice.

One thing to note is that the BB Preamp is very mid-focussed and "honky". I think you'll find it's not helping with your tone issue...

The PRS CU24 is naturally honky in the mids, even when unplugged. It sounds completely different than the CU22, which is more balanced.

[Philly Q]

The really great thing about the Cold Sweat set, in my opinion, is the contrast between the neck and bridge models - makes them a good choice for 24 fret guitars (or SGs, where the pickups are close together)

But in this case you're not changing the neck pickup and I tend to agree with Twinfan, the CS bridge might be a bit brighter than you'd like.  That said, it is balanced in the mids which might help with the honkiness you've described!

[darrenw5094]

On my CU24, i would rather have a bit of brightness than that horrible honky tone.
What other scooped BKP would cancel the PRS honky mids a bit?

[itamar101]

On my CU24, i would rather have a bit of brightness than that horrible honky tone.
What other scooped BKP would cancel the PRS honky mids a bit?

Not much to be honest... In my opinion the cold sweat is a perfect match for a CU24.

[sdgiffin]

On my CU24, i would rather have a bit of brightness than that horrible honky tone.
What other scooped BKP would cancel the PRS honky mids a bit?

Hijacking my thread eh? haha

[darrenw5094]

On my CU24, i would rather have a bit of brightness than that horrible honky tone.
What other scooped BKP would cancel the PRS honky mids a bit?

Hijacking my thread eh? haha

Sorry dude......not hijacking, just joining forces. 8)

I had my own thread on this and CS was the answer from everyone. A scooped pickup seems the way to go.

[sdgiffin]

On my CU24, i would rather have a bit of brightness than that horrible honky tone.
What other scooped BKP would cancel the PRS honky mids a bit?

Hijacking my thread eh? haha

Sorry dude......not hijacking, just joining forces. 8)

I had my own thread on this and CS was the answer from everyone. A scooped pickup seems the way to go.

Ha! I was just messing around. Good to know that others are having the same problem and that I'm hopefully not dealing with a lemon.  If I was playing high gain death metal, it'd be a different story, but because the tones are more overdriven and organic, shite frequencies are extremely apparent.

[Twinfan]

One man's honky is another's mid-range punch.  I personally love the mids in a PRS guitar as it helps me really punch in a band context, and it gets an amp singing  8)

[darrenw5094]

One man's honky is another's mid-range punch.  I personally love the mids in a PRS guitar as it helps me really punch in a band context, and it gets an amp singing  8)

That honk is only in the CU24 model. The CU22 is nicely balanced compared to it. Punchy mids=honky mids, i am not sure about that. Punchy mids are the Black Dog to me.

But sdgiffin, you haven't got a lemon as i share your pain. Rolling the Bass and Mids of my amp to zero is the only useable tone i can get from my CU24. Pickups with a tighter bass than the HFS and slighly scooped seem to be the ticket. Not sure if i will pull the trigger on that kind of money for it though. :D

[darkbluemurder]

I agree that the HFS is a honky sounding pickup - at least it was in my PRS Custom. I have a Holydiver bridge and a Cold Sweat neck in it. While the HD bridge still resembles the original tone it took out enough of the nasalness to really get this guitar going again.

A good alternative would be the Abraxas bridge, even though I am not sure how that would compare to the DiMarzio AT-1 - never played one of those.

Cheers Stephan