# I know nothing about pickups and my PRS stock aint cutting it



## steviejr92 (Oct 13, 2022)

So this is going to be one huge open ended question. Right now i have a stock PRS custom 22 semi hollow. I think the build quality is fantastic but the pickups kinda....well suck. The bridge is not too bad i suppose to me it sounds better when the coils are split (_is that my strat talking in the case?_) but the neck is horrendous i stay away from it at all costs. My dilemma is i dont know a thing about pickups. So i figured this forum would be a great place to start and ask which pickups should i go with and why?


Maybe i should give a little more info on what im looking for:
Clear and clean (pretty vague huh, well the stock ones arent...)
When pushed with a bunch of distortion theyre not gonna sound like s&^* (all muddy and barely audible, especially neck pickups!)
Something not too expensive im trying to spend 100-150 max! ( this may be harder to do as i looked at quick glance at the market and theyre all like 200 bucks or more)


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## SillyOctpuss (Oct 13, 2022)

I don't wanna be that guy but have you played with your pickup heights yet? Is that an S2 custom 22?  Also what age is it? I'm trying to work out which pickups are in it now.


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## steviejr92 (Oct 13, 2022)

SillyOctpuss said:


> I don't wanna be that guy but have you played with your pickup heights yet? Is that an S2 custom 22?  Also what age is it? I'm trying to work out which pickups are in it now.


I haven't messed with the height of the pickups at all. I just got it like 4 - 5 months ago so im guessing the newer model?


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## BuddytheReow (Oct 13, 2022)

Seymour Duncan's website has a questionnaire to help you select what kind of pickups may work for you. Of course they're going to sell you only their pickups, but still.









						Seymour Duncan Guitar Pickup Finder
					






					www.seymourduncan.com


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## steviejr92 (Oct 13, 2022)

BuddytheReow said:


> Seymour Duncan's website has a questionnaire to help you select what kind of pickups may work for you. Of course they're going to sell you only their pickups, but still.


I was literally looking at the seymour duncans Pearly gates for $238 for the set before shipping. But sheesh 240 Ive been spending so much but it is on my list though....


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## BuddytheReow (Oct 13, 2022)

steviejr92 said:


> I was literally looking at the seymour duncans Pearly gates for $238 for the set before shipping. But sheesh 240 Ive been spending so much but it is on my list though....


Try the used market, such as ebay or Reverb


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## steviejr92 (Oct 13, 2022)

BuddytheReow said:


> Try the used market, such as ebay or Reverb


Never bought used pickups or pickups at all for that matter    Anything specific i should look out for when purchasing used pickups?


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## Harry Klippton (Oct 13, 2022)

steviejr92 said:


> Never bought used pickups or pickups at all for that matter    Anything specific i should look out for when purchasing used pickups?


Just that they have enough wire left to hook them up. And if not, you can just add some since you know how to solder... Assuming you know how to solder 😂


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## SillyOctpuss (Oct 13, 2022)

steviejr92 said:


> I haven't messed with the height of the pickups at all. I just got it like 4 - 5 months ago so im guessing the newer model?



First off before you spend $200 on new pickups have a go at the pickup heights to make sure they're definitely not for you.  PRS stock pickups are a lot better these days IMO.  Can you hold down the strings at the 22nd fret and measure from the top of the pole piece to the bottom of the string? If we know where you're starting off we can see what kind of adjustment you might need.  

You'd need to measure the high and low e strings please.


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## steviejr92 (Oct 13, 2022)

Harry Klippton said:


> Just that they have enough wire left to hook them up. And if not, you can just add some since you know how to solder... Assuming you know how to solder 😂


Well shit...


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## steviejr92 (Oct 13, 2022)

SillyOctpuss said:


> First off before you spend $200 on new pickups have a go at the pickup heights to make sure they're definitely not for you.  PRS stock pickups are a lot better these days IMO.  Can you hold down the strings at the 22nd fret and measure from the top of the pole piece to the bottom of the string? If we know where you're starting off we can see what kind of adjustment you might need.
> 
> You'd need to measure the high and low e strings please.


Gimme sec to get back to you!


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## iamjackslackof (Oct 13, 2022)

I second the notion of messing with the pickup height. And tweak the pole piece height if they are adjustable. I bought some very expensive PAF replicas, and still needed to mess with both to get the neck to sound its best in my guitar.


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## steviejr92 (Oct 13, 2022)

Neck:
Low E string : .3mm
2nd pole: .3mm
High E string : .2mm
2nd pole: .2mm
Bridge:
Low E string : .2mm
2nd pole: .3mm
High E string : .2mm
2nd pole: .3mm

All done as i held down the 22nd fret
From pole to string


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## SillyOctpuss (Oct 13, 2022)

They're actually set in a great place to start from.  I'd get your bridge pickup to where you like it best and forget the neck for now. 

If you move both sides of the bridge up by about half a turn and see if you prefer it to we're it's set now.  Once you get close to the sweet spot you'd be amazed how much difference a quarter turn of the screw can make.  Keep going up until it starts to sound unpleasant then back it off a bit.  If you keep count of how many turns you make it's dead easy to go back to where you started. 

Once the bridge is set to where like it best then balance the neck against it.  I usually set both humbuckers using a ruler to about 1.6mm and then finetune/balance by ear.


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## steviejr92 (Oct 13, 2022)

SillyOctpuss said:


> They're actually set in a great place to start from.  I'd get your bridge pickup to where you like it best and forget the neck for now.
> 
> If you move both sides of the bridge up by about half a turn and see if you prefer it to we're it's set now.  Once you get close to the sweet spot you'd be amazed how much difference a quarter turn of the screw can make.  Keep going up until it starts to sound unpleasant then back it off a bit.  If you keep count of how many turns you make it's dead easy to go back to where you started.
> 
> Once the bridge is set to where like it best then balance the neck against it.  I usually set both humbuckers using a ruler to about 1.6mm and then finetune/balance by ear.


Taking this advice right now going to start messing with quarter turns on each side and see where that gets me!


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## SillyOctpuss (Oct 13, 2022)

steviejr92 said:


> Taking this advice right now going to start messing with quarter turns on each side and see where that gets me!



Good luck sir


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## steviejr92 (Oct 13, 2022)

SillyOctpuss said:


> Good luck sir


immediately can hear a difference! So i think i went high by one quarter turn on each side and it sounds just a little hotter and i like it going to be messing with this a little more! Also too my neck pickup poles have a little corrosion on them how the hell did that happen?


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## Dirty_Boogie (Oct 13, 2022)

Pickup height - absolutely!  Lots of great info online.  

BTW, I shelled out $$ to replace the stock pickups on a PRS Custom 22, with Seymour Duncans. After a month of playing those, I decided I'd give the stock pickups another chance (like you, I hadn't tweaked them at all).  Once I did that, I couldn't believe how great they sounded.

And while we love everything guitar-related here, maybe this is a question to post on the "Tech Questions" section of the Official PRS Forum - https://forums.prsguitars.com/forums/ptc-prs-tech-center.65/


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## steviejr92 (Oct 13, 2022)

Dirty_Boogie said:


> Pickup height - absolutely!  Lots of great info online.
> 
> BTW, I shelled out $$ to replace the stock pickups on a PRS Custom 22, with Seymour Duncans. After a month of playing those, I decided I'd give the stock pickups another chance (like you, I hadn't tweaked them at all).  Once I did that, I couldn't believe how great they sounded.
> 
> And while we love everything guitar-related here, maybe this is a question to post on the "Tech Questions" section of the Official PRS Forum - https://forums.prsguitars.com/forums/ptc-prs-tech-center.65/


Thanks dude I didn’t realize how much of a difference pickup height makes!


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## Dirty_Boogie (Oct 13, 2022)

steviejr92 said:


> immediately can hear a difference! So i think i went high by one quarter turn on each side and it sounds just a little hotter and i like it going to be messing with this a little more! Also too my neck pickup poles have a little corrosion on them how the hell did that happen?


That looks like an older Custom 22 (by looking at the pups, the knobs, and the switch tip.)  Not unusual to have some corrosion on pickup slugs over time - they contain iron, after all. Especially if you live in a humid area, or have higher acidity sweat.


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## SillyOctpuss (Oct 13, 2022)

steviejr92 said:


> Also too my neck pickup poles have a little corrosion on them how the hell did that happen?



Probably from sweat when you've been rocking out.


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## steviejr92 (Oct 13, 2022)

Dirty_Boogie said:


> That looks like an older Custom 22 (by looking at the pups, the knobs, and the switch tip.)  Not unusual to have some corrosion on pickup slugs over time - they contain iron, after all. Especially if you live in a humid area, or have higher acidity sweat.


im in florida high humidity!


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## steviejr92 (Oct 13, 2022)

SillyOctpuss said:


> Probably from sweat when you've been rocking out.


It doesnt get steamy when _you _make love to the guitar?


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## steviejr92 (Oct 13, 2022)

Current progress: Im at 1 full turn and im loving it so far again this is only the bridge!


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## SillyOctpuss (Oct 13, 2022)

steviejr92 said:


> It doesnt get steamy when _you _make love to the guitar?


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## SillyOctpuss (Oct 13, 2022)

steviejr92 said:


> Current progress: Im at 1 full turn and im loving it so far again this is only the bridge!



I keep going until it sounds bad and then back it off a bit.  I take quite a while adjusting mine in different scenarios to get the best balance. E G. Home vs at volume, clean vs dirty etc


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## steviejr92 (Oct 13, 2022)

So far im at 1.5 turns on each side its getting better and better!


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## steviejr92 (Oct 13, 2022)

So 2.5 turns is where i like it now going to be adjusting the neck.


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## steviejr92 (Oct 13, 2022)

Ok im convinced this is a brand new guitar just did about 2 turns on the neck and already the output sounds just a tad cleaner. Crazy what a difference this makes.


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## SillyOctpuss (Oct 13, 2022)

steviejr92 said:


> Ok im convinced this is a brand new guitar just did about 2 turns on the neck and already the output sounds just a tad cleaner. Crazy what a difference this makes.



Once you have them set, live with them for a bit and adjust over the next few days/week and let us know how you get on.  Some people like to adjust the pole pieces but I've never seen much of a ROI from the time I've spent on that.  YMMV


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## steviejr92 (Oct 13, 2022)

SillyOctpuss said:


> Once you have them set, live with them for a bit and adjust over the next few days/week and let us know how you get on.  Some people like to adjust the pole pieces but I've never seen much of a ROI from the time I've spent on that.  YMMV


This is great I'm definitely not done messing with the height but where its at now just sounds real good!


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## BuddytheReow (Oct 13, 2022)

I think you just saved some money to buy more PPCB boards


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## steviejr92 (Oct 13, 2022)

BuddytheReow said:


> I think you just saved some money to buy more PPCB boards


Lmao im guilty of buying the headphone amp yesterday


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## steviejr92 (Oct 13, 2022)

I think ive got this dialed in where i want it! So i did 2 full turns on the neck on either side and 2.5 turns on either side for the bridge. Im happy with this and like @BuddytheReow said i think i just saved some money. Nonetheless going to be testing out these setting with pedals and such in time.


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## SillyOctpuss (Oct 13, 2022)

BuddytheReow said:


> I think you just saved some money to buy more PPCB boards


Lols or love, Lols or love.  

@Robert we really need a love/Lols reaction please.  I spend way too much time agonising of which to choose.


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## Deperduci (Oct 13, 2022)

sometimes it is just adjustments.. nice as SD's and EMG's are... factory stuff from Fender and Rickenbacker are lower costs!


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## steviejr92 (Oct 13, 2022)

So actually just took the bridge down half a turn it gave it back a little more spank and really didnt lose out put at all i think NOW this is where i like it lol


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## MichaelW (Oct 14, 2022)

Me personally, I don't care for the pickups in the Customs. If that's a recent one, then they are the regular wind 85/15's. If it's an older one it might be some version of the Dragon pickups. I vote you go and buy a set of Wolftone Dr. Vintage and re-wire it with 50's wiring, then do a full pictorial of the upgrade with sound clips and post it back here. Oh, AND go buy some more PCB's......but.....that's just the opinion of a gear slut......


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## steviejr92 (Oct 14, 2022)

MichaelW said:


> Me personally, I don't care for the pickups in the Customs. If that's a recent one, then they are the regular wind 85/15's. If it's an older one it might be some version of the Dragon pickups. I vote you go and buy a set of Wolftone Dr. Vintage and re-wire it with 50's wiring, then do a full pictorial of the upgrade with sound clips and post it back here. Oh, AND go buy some more PCB's......but.....that's just the opinion of a gear slut......


I’m going to take a look at those pickups and do some research! Thanks for the suggestion!


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## Alan W (Oct 14, 2022)

I had an old Custom 24 (bought in 94?) and thought they were the worst pickups I’ve played. Loved the wide fat neck, eventually got tired of the weight and (Dare I say it?, the aesthetics…) and sold it for a good profit, with the original pups reinstalled.

it’s funny, because it seems like I’m always lowering pickups from how they get shipped, but yes, height makes a huge difference. You can also play with keeping the pickup body low and raising the screws, which can have less magnetic damping effect on sustain.


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## steviejr92 (Oct 14, 2022)

Thats good to know. I'm going to be messing with the pickups in the next few weeks might give this a try just to see if that might be the way to go!


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## SillyOctpuss (Oct 14, 2022)

Alan W said:


> I had an old Custom 24 (bought in 94?) and thought they were the worst pickups I’ve played. Loved the wide fat neck, eventually got tired of the weight and (Dare I say it?, the aesthetics…) and sold it for a good profit, with the original pups reinstalled.



There's a huge difference between the old HFS or Treble and Bass sets like you'd have had in your custom 24 and the modern prs pickups though.  



Alan W said:


> it’s funny, because it seems like I’m always lowering pickups from how they get shipped, but yes, height makes a huge difference. You can also play with keeping the pickup body low and raising the screws, which can have less magnetic damping effect on sustain.



I usually find I want to lower single coils from stock factory settings but PAF style humbucker usually need raised up a bit from stock in my experience.


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## Alan W (Oct 14, 2022)

SillyOctpuss said:


> There's a huge difference between the old HFS or Treble and Bass sets like you'd have had in your custom 24 and the modern prs pickups though.
> 
> 
> 
> I usually find I want to lower single coils from stock factory settings but PAF style humbucker usually need raised up a bit from stock in my experience.


Given that at this point I only have one HB guitar, an Eastman with just a neck pup that I wanted more mellow sounding, (so I lowered it too), I will concede that you are undoubtably right. 

Yeah, they were the old PUs, it was a “just pre factory” guitar, and I loved everything about it except those pups—just dead sounding to me. I don’t remember what I replaced them with. With the proceeds from the sale, I got a Collings 290, which to me was about 10x the guitar….


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## SillyOctpuss (Oct 14, 2022)

Alan W said:


> got a Collings 290, which to me was about 10x the guitar….



There's not much that a collings 290 isn't 10x better than.  I'd love one but the way collings prices have gone I'll need to drool from afar.

Actually if I was buying a collings it'd be an I35


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## Alan W (Oct 14, 2022)

SillyOctpuss said:


> Actually if I was buying a collings it'd be an I35


About the only guitar I’m really wanting now is an Eastside LC, or the CityLimits. I just have to get my head around the $$.


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## MichaelW (Oct 15, 2022)

Alan W said:


> About the only guitar I’m really wanting now is an Eastside LC, or the CityLimits. I just have to get my head around the $$.


Buy it, play it, don't look back. That's the only way to justify the price of a Collings heh. 
(Once you play a Collings you "get" why they can charge what they do


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## HamishR (Oct 15, 2022)

And if you think height adjustments make a huge difference on PAF style HBs try adjusting Filter'trons. Incredibly sensitive to adjustment.

I would suggest that you only need to adjust the individual polepiece screws if one string sounds louder than another. That's why they are adjustable.  Sometimes the plain G string is louder magnetically than the wound D, for example, so you can raise the D pole a little to compensate. Then you probably want to raise the A a little too. A little goes a long way. If you can't hear a difference then leave 'em alone. Most HBs sound best with the body of the pickup close to the strings.

Fender single coil style pickups are a little different from HBs, because the magnet is the polepiece. If you raise Fender pickups too close to the string - especially the bass strings - you can get Fenderitis, a sort of wobbly weird sounding string from the magnet in the pickup pulling on the string as it vibrates. So most guys have the bass end of Strat and Tele pickups a fair further from the strings than you would have with a HB pickup.


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## steviejr92 (Oct 15, 2022)

HamishR said:


> Most HBs sound best with the body of the pickup close to the strings.


Absolutely agree I mean mine is a semi hollow but the closer the poles were to the strings it just opened up. Honestly a completely different guitar in my opinion.


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## paniagua (Oct 15, 2022)

steviejr92 said:


> Ok im convinced this is a brand new guitar just did about 2 turns on the neck and already the output sounds just a tad cleaner. Crazy what a difference this makes.


I know PRS 85/15 pickups don't get a lot of hype, but tweaking height adjustment made an appreciable difference with my SE Custom 22 semi-hollow as well. I play mostly clean with the neck pickup and it will sound muddy if the pickup height is not set "correctly".


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## steviejr92 (Oct 15, 2022)

paniagua said:


> I know PRS 85/15 pickups don't get a lot of hype, but tweaking height adjustment made an appreciable difference with my SE Custom 22 semi-hollow as well. I play mostly clean with the neck pickup and it will sound muddy if the pickup height is not set "correctly".


Dude what a difference like i said im convinced this is a new guitar. Right now i have them set pretty close to the strings. I need to play with it more and continue fine tuning it to get it perfect. I know it'll get there.


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## paniagua (Oct 15, 2022)

I didn't notice quite the dramatic effect with my solid body SE Standard 24. With the more resonant semi-hollow, definitely, especially on the neck pickup. Yes, quite the difference.


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