Nearest equivalent to PRS 57/08

[keen007]

Hi folks new to forums so bear with me. I have a PRS Custom 22. I have 59/09s in which are great but a little too hot for what I do. Managed to get a PRS 57/08 Neck in brushed Nickel then tried to order a bridge 57/08 to match. Found out to my astonishment that PRS will not allegedly sell 57/08s separately and that the only way to get one is by buying a new guitar??(I think they might if I agree to send the guitar to them for fitting... I am in the UK so just not practical)They are however distributing 59/09s. Strange..still I am sure they have their reasons but this leaves me incredibly disappointed as a customer but opens up a world of opportunities to companies like Bare Knuckle. I would add the guitar is great and like PRS apart from the anomaly that they will not sell the 57/08 separately. We are guitarists - we swap pickups because we chase our own concepts of tone and it is part of the fun of owning guitars. So moving on if they do not want my business which BK pickup would be the closest in characteristics on tone i.e.close to 57/08 type PAF as possible but bearing in mind that the PRS is a lighter body weight than a Gibson Les Paul so may need bolstering in lower mids. I would be grateful for any thoughts. Would there be issues with shape or depth of replacement fitting into a PRS? Thanks in advance. Playing classic rock, Maiden, Whitesnake, Lizzy, Foos, Cult that kinda stuff.

[darkbluemurder]

Getting the specs of the PRS 57/08 is quite difficult. The descriptions in various reviews infer they are "PAF-like". So my guess is a Mule bridge should be close.

Choose one with the short leg option, 4 conductor wire, and put a comment in the comments box that they go into a PRS with a 5-way rotary, and they should fit fine. As regards string spacing, best to measure beforehand but my guess is that a standard 50mm spacing would fit.

Cheers Stephan

[keen007]

Thanks Stephan much appreciated

[skeeter]

The only concrete info PRS has given is that the bridge is 7.91k and the neck is 7.78k  There doesn't seem to be info on the magnet - though they usually use AV's - but it is suspected the DGT neck is actually Alnico II.  Having owned a DGT myself it wouldn't surprise me, and given my experience with a couple sets of 57/08s I wouldn't be surprised if they were A II as well. 

Anyways, I'm no BKP expert (obviously more of a PRS fan boy).  But, The Mule does seem to be a popular choice amongst PRS players - one of the few PAF pickups that people actually compare favorably to the 57/08s. 

[darkbluemurder]

With 7.9k/7.8k and Alnico II the Stormy Mondays would be closer in specs.

Cheers Stephan

[Telerocker]

Mules are great 59 PAF-copies and do well in PRS's that are balanced (some PRS's have a natural bright voice and in that case I would recommend the Abraxas in the bridge). 

[PhilKing]

I replaced a set of 57/08's in my PRS ME II with VHII's.   I wasn't that keen on the 57/08's but it might be because of the PRS Tech Center changes that converted the ME to Signature switching.  Anyway with series/parallel on the VHII's, I really love the sound. 

[dvorak]

I get the impression that Stormy Monday is more like a 57/08.

[keen007]

Thanks to all for you contributions. Much appreciated.