PRS pickups

[Slartibartfarst42]

Well, it's late, I'm tired and I think I must have listened to most of the clips on this website but it has been a very illuminating experience. Of the three options I had it down to, the Rebel Yell was just too modern and aggressive. In its own right it's a great pickup but it's not for what I want in this guitar. If I was looking for a Rock/Metal pickup in a mahogany guitar I'd maybe choose it over the Nailbomb because it's not as hairy but like Phil, it's just not my thing.

The clips for both the VHII and Emerald were fantastic and in many ways it's a very hard choice as they're both so good. My choice is down to nothing other than my gut. Both were great but only the Emerald had that 'WOW!' factor when I listened to virtually every clip. Will it be too bright in a PRS? I certainly hope not. Unfortunately, all of the clips that specified the guitar used involved some sort of Les Paul so perhaps I'll be pioneering new ground by putting one into a PRS but it sounds so good that I think I need to at least give it a try. What really tipped me over the edge was the clips I put a link to and the one Phil posted a link for. Between those clips the Emerald seemed to cover Slash, Gary Moore and Santana and that's three of my favourite tones. I think I have the money saved for them now but I may need to wait until I'm paid. I'll check in the morning and order them asap.

Many thanks to everyone who has helped in this difficult choice. It is very much appreciated I assure you. Now let's see if I can get mine installed before Phil does his  :D

[itamar101]

Well, it's late, I'm tired and I think I must have listened to most of the clips on this website but it has been a very illuminating experience. Of the three options I had it down to, the Rebel Yell was just too modern and aggressive. In its own right it's a great pickup but it's not for what I want in this guitar. If I was looking for a Rock/Metal pickup in a mahogany guitar I'd maybe choose it over the Nailbomb because it's not as hairy but like Phil, it's just not my thing.

The clips for both the VHII and Emerald were fantastic and in many ways it's a very hard choice as they're both so good. My choice is down to nothing other than my gut. Both were great but only the Emerald had that 'WOW!' factor when I listened to virtually every clip. Will it be too bright in a PRS? I certainly hope not. Unfortunately, all of the clips that specified the guitar used involved some sort of Les Paul so perhaps I'll be pioneering new ground by putting one into a PRS but it sounds so good that I think I need to at least give it a try. What really tipped me over the edge was the clips I put a link to and the one Phil posted a link for. Between those clips the Emerald seemed to cover Slash, Gary Moore and Santana and that's three of my favourite tones. I think I have the money saved for them now but I may need to wait until I'm paid. I'll check in the morning and order them asap.

Many thanks to everyone who has helped in this difficult choice. It is very much appreciated I assure you. Now let's see if I can get mine installed before Phil does his  :D

Good luck! It definately seems like a good choice. I love my neck Emerald and I'm sure the bridge is just as good!

[Philly Q]

Many thanks to everyone who has helped in this difficult choice. It is very much appreciated I assure you. Now let's see if I can get mine installed before Phil does his  :D

I don't think there's any doubt you'll beat me to it!  :lol:

Mine will be going in a PRS too, I'll be very interested to hear what you think.

[ericsabbath]

From what I've read it would seem that that the Rebel Yell was a variation of the original Holy Diver, not the Nailbomb. So if you like the HD..............

well, as far as I remember, the original holy diver was an underwound ceramic nailbomb
and it was renamed... taddaaaaa... COLD SWEAT... which has the same specs as the rebel yell, except for the magnet
the new 16k alnico holy diver is a whole different pickup (different wire type and gauge, magnet size, dc reading), but it was also one of the rebel yell prototypes and candidate to be the steve stevens signature pickup... the "alnico cold sweat" won, so it became the rebel yell and the loser became the new spec holy diver
now take a deep breath and read this again slowly...  :lol:

[Slartibartfarst42]

I don't think there's any doubt you'll beat me to it!  :lol:

Mine will be going in a PRS too, I'll be very interested to hear what you think.

Well, the order is in for a calibrated set of zebra Emeralds and I'll get them installed asap so if you're going to beat me, you'd better get moving  :D Once I've had a chance to play around with them for a while I'll write a detailed review as usual, you can be sure of that.

[Miracle Man]

Once I've had a chance to play around with them for a while I'll write a detailed review as usual, you can be sure of that.

Can't wait!  :D I've been thinking about ordering a calibrated set for my Standard 24 (all mahogany). I guess I'll wait for the review before I place the order  :drink:

[Slartibartfarst42]

It would be my pleasure to help  :D If they work in mine I'm sure they'll work even better in yours as my guitar is probably a bit brighter so yours will be closer to the Les Paul they're aimed at.

[Philly Q]

I don't think there's any doubt you'll beat me to it!  :lol:

Mine will be going in a PRS too, I'll be very interested to hear what you think.

Well, the order is in for a calibrated set of zebra Emeralds and I'll get them installed asap so if you're going to beat me, you'd better get moving  :D Once I've had a chance to play around with them for a while I'll write a detailed review as usual, you can be sure of that.

I'll leave you to it, I'm not the competitive type. 

[Slartibartfarst42]

That, I can believe!  :D

[Slartibartfarst42]

Arrived this morning and looking good. They seem a bit overwound as the neck is 10k and the bridge is 13.7k but I assume that's because I told them they were going in a PRS SE which is rather brighter than a Les Paul so perhaps they adjusted the wind to compensate. Unfortunately I don't really get the technical side of it so I'm not sure. Anyway, I'll have to see when I can get them fitted  :D

[Philly Q]

I'm off to fit mine now!






(Not really)

[itamar101]

Arrived this morning and looking good. They seem a bit overwound as the neck is 10k and the bridge is 13.7k but I assume that's because I told them they were going in a PRS SE which is rather brighter than a Les Paul so perhaps they adjusted the wind to compensate. Unfortunately I don't really get the technical side of it so I'm not sure. Anyway, I'll have to see when I can get them fitted  :D

My neck pickup was also wound at 10k. It's really not much of a difference I'd assume. I've never tried the bridge emerald but is trust BKP :)

[Slartibartfarst42]

Well, they're in but I've not had much time to play with them so far so no detailed review yet. My initial impression is that I like the neck better than the bridge but both are good. The neck is very round and creamy but with loads of articulation; far more than the VB that was in there. Does a superb clean tone too that you can get to sound very like an acoustic. The bridge is certainly a bright pickup and again very clearly defined. I can see why it's used in 7 and 8 string guitars and I have no doubt it could do some lower tunings. At the moment there's so much treble in it that it's lacking a bit of body in the tone but it's too early to say if that means it has to go back. I'll mess around with the EQ settings tomorrow and see if that helps things along. I like the more vintage tone for sure so I just need to see if I can get a bit more thickness into it. I hope so because I love the core tone and if not, I guess it will have to be changed for the Holydiver.

[Telerocker]

With new pickups you often have to adjust ampsettings. I would fidlle with the height too to find the sweet spot. I spend quite some time to get my Crawler in this sweet zone.

[Philly Q]

Arrived this morning and looking good. They seem a bit overwound as the neck is 10k and the bridge is 13.7k but I assume that's because I told them they were going in a PRS SE which is rather brighter than a Les Paul so perhaps they adjusted the wind to compensate. Unfortunately I don't really get the technical side of it so I'm not sure. Anyway, I'll have to see when I can get them fitted  :D

My neck pickup was also wound at 10k. It's really not much of a difference I'd assume. I've never tried the bridge emerald but is trust BKP :)

Mine are 12.7k and 9.6k (according to the warranty card).

Interesting to read your initial comments about the pickups.  It sounds like there's a good contrast between neck and bridge, which I like; but if the bridge is too bright I may try it in my McCarty Korina, which has a slightly softer, sweeter acoustic tone due to the lack of a maple top.