Are PRS Stock Pickups good enough?

[JulyBurnsOrange]

I have a custom 24 and its definately my favorite guitar. I have already upgraded the stock tuners to locking ones and the next thing i was considering doing was upgrading the pickups, but heres the thing, im not sure if its worth it.

I am personally satisfied with the stock pickups but i know a lot of people like to upgrade and stuff and I definately do want to get the best sound possible, I just dont want to install new pickups and then barely notice any change, because I feel as though the stock pickups are pretty good as is.

If any of you have changed the stock prs pickups to something better and noticed a big meaningful change please let me know! (and let me know the set you got as well!)
Thanks!

 

[jc986]

PRS pickups are great. IMO you shouldn't switch pickups just for the sake of switching. You should be able to identify what you are looking for in a pickup swap before swapping. If you can't identify some part of the existing tone you are not happy with then you would just be playing guesswork.

I have a 2001 PRS Singlecut and it came with PRS #7 pickups. I liked them a lot, but was looking for a more aggressive, modern tone from the bridge pickup. I ended up swapping the bridge pickup for a BKP Painkiller and have been very happy with it.

 

[Steinmetzify]

Agreed with the above.....I have an '01 McCarty and have never once thought about changing the pickups, they sound great split and do fantastic cleans, plus they can bring the heavy with high gain, no problem.

If you're happy with your tones then there's really no reason to change, and like said, if you can't identify one thing that you'd really like to hear that's lacking, it'd just be a bunch of guesswork.

 

[Jaxcharvel]

I have loved every PRS pup I've played with the exception of the Dragon II. Had a Custom 22 with those in it and always thought they were lackluster.

 

[Jaxcharvel]

Oh, and the 513 pickups. Do not like them. My other guitarist has a 513, and yes it's super versatile, but to me it's just a bunch of different flavors of ..... And unless i'm sorely mistaken, you can't swap those pickups because of the ridiculous size.

 

[oneblackened]

PRS pickups are fantastic for the most part. The 513 is annoying to say the least though.

 

[ras1988]

I feel that the HFS bridge is a total mess and the pickups that came stock on my satin Singlecut trem were not great but the 57/08s 59/09s are amazing pickups. I switched the HFS to a BKP Rebel Yell, and the pups in the Singlecut to BKP Blackdogs but I would have been okay with 57/08s in there.

 

[Grindspine]

The 59/09 set in my P24 is pretty damn good to my ears, which I find surprising since I tend to favor aggressive ceramic pickups over alnico V.

I really cannot hear any deficiency in any part of the spectrum with those pickups though. They're tight in the low end without being thin. They seem to have ample midrange. The highs are bright without being too ice pick like. The difference between neck & bridge is sufficient...

Overall, the 59/09 set would not be my favorite pickups, but they have no real weak points either.

 

[jarledge]

I like most PRS pickups, but i have a 305 that i just dont like the pickups in. The guitar is great otherwise, but If i keep it the pickups are getting swapped out for sure.

 

[Alex Kenivel]

Well there ya have it, if it ain't broke..