are the WCR\Rio Grande\Bare Knuckles that much better?

[bigangryguitar]

Just curious I have a PRS Singlecut Roswood trem and it has the stock PRS #6 pups in it. I LOVE the neck pickup and like the bridge but am wondering if something might be better. My question is are these pickups really better than the Seymour Duncan's and Dimarzio's or are you just paying for the handbuilt aspect? I asked this on birds and moons but as expected all said the PRS pups were the best but the 59/09's are $500 a set! Discuss

_Shane

 

[Steinmetzify]

Got a custom coming, and I went with a calibrated Holydiver set based on reviews from friends that have them. I got a smokin deal though, about $50 more than a set of EMGs. I loved the clips I heard of them and figured if I hated em, I could off em and put something else in later.

 

[fearhk213]

It really just boils down to matching the right pickup to the right guitar. Sometimes it may be a boutique offering and sometimes not.

 

[rupe]

It really just boils down to matching the right pickup to the right guitar. Sometimes it may be a boutique offering and sometimes not.

Well stated.

 

[bigangryguitar]

So the answer is probably not to it depends. I was looking at the suhr pups as well

 

[boost]

I had a set of GFS pickups in my tele and bought a set of Fralin's to replace them. The Fralin bridge pickup was far better than the GFS. The GFS neck pickup was far better than the Fralin. Big difference in price between these two. Go figure.

SD pickups are generally a bit more money than Dimarzio's. Do they sound better? I don't think so, they just sound different to me. Boutique pickups sound different to me than SD or Dimarzios too. Not better or worse, just different.

Like what was stated earlier, it all depends on the guitar. I had a Squire tele that no pickup from any manufacturer on earth could help.

 

[fuzzyguitars]

what sounds are you going for.

what style of music do you play

what do you feel are the shortcomings of the current pickups that you already have in there

what pickups do you have in your other guitars

how do you feel about those other pickups!

 

[fuzzyguitars]

what sounds are you going for.

what style of music do you play

what do you feel are the shortcomings of the current pickups that you already have in there

what pickups do you have in your other guitars

how do you feel about those other pickups!

 

[bigangryguitar]

what sounds are you going for.

what style of music do you play

what do you feel are the shortcomings of the current pickups that you already have in there

what pickups do you have in your other guitars

how do you feel about those other pickups!

all good questions, at this stage in my musical life i'm in a cover band and do everything from old country to Alice in Chains with some 80's metal and grunge thrown in. At home I do all that and still have fun playing Pantera\Metallica\Exodus style stuff. The stock neck pickup sounds fabulous for all clean and lead stuff I would just like a bit warmer, juicier sound out of the bridge. My other two guitars right now are a G & L Legacy that has a SD jb jr. in the bridge that sounds nice and a Taylor t5. I recently had a PRS custom 22 that had the dragon 1 in it and I loved that. I have tried the JB before (dug it with 250k volume pot) Dimarzio evolution (hated it), tone zone (better but not my fav) and the emg's. The Dragon 1 is my favorite but they are hard to find and don't come in the zebra and I want to keep my guitar looking like it does now.

 

[Lord Toneking]

Unfortunately its a trial and error type of thing. One pickup will sound great in one guitar and like crap in another. If you ask suggestions/opinions on pickups you'll get a million different suggestions/opinions.

I will say that Wade at MotorCity will sell you a pickup and tweak it until youre happy with it. Very cool dude and very reasonable pricing

 

[PosterBoy]

I emailed the guys at Bare Knuckle with the guitar I have (Burny RLG-90) and a couple youtube clips of bands (Rise Against and Story of the year), with a few other stipulations about playing clean etc, and ordered the set they suggested (Emeralds) and I couldn't be happier.

 

[jcj]

As others have stated, it's going to vary from guitar to guitar, but I threw a set of Godwoods in my PRS 245 and it made a big difference; it was absolutely worth it, in my case.

 

[bigangryguitar]

Unfortunately its a trial and error type of thing. One pickup will sound great in one guitar and like crap in another. If you ask suggestions/opinions on pickups you'll get a million different suggestions/opinions.

I will say that Wade at MotorCity will sell you a pickup and tweak it until youre happy with it. Very cool dude and very reasonable pricing

Thanks man! I was hoping not to have to go down that try everything rabbit hole but I might. As I said the bridge pup that is in there now sounds really good but I am just wondering if there is a better match.

 

[metalmaniac93]

Unfortunately its a trial and error type of thing. One pickup will sound great in one guitar and like crap in another. If you ask suggestions/opinions on pickups you'll get a million different suggestions/opinions.

I will say that Wade at MotorCity will sell you a pickup and tweak it until youre happy with it. Very cool dude and very reasonable pricing

Yes, I agree!!! Wade is awesome!!! I have a set of underwound Afwayus in my Carvin Alder Bolt+ and while they are great, they are a little too dark for me so I will be going with an Angel Dust/2nd Degree BB combo. Chated with Wade about my choices and set-up on the phone. Great guy to deal with!!!

 

[mniel8195]

well i just purchased an aldrich for my charvel and have a rebel yell in my esp eclipse i will let you know what i think. the rebel is scatter wound and the aldrich is done by machine.

 

[chunktone]

Unfortunately its a trial and error type of thing. One pickup will sound great in one guitar and like crap in another. If you ask suggestions/opinions on pickups you'll get a million different suggestions/opinions.

I will say that Wade at MotorCity will sell you a pickup and tweak it until youre happy with it. Very cool dude and very reasonable pricing

Yes, I agree!!! Wade is awesome!!! I have a set of underwound Afwayus in my Carvin Alder Bolt+ and while they are great, they are a little too dark for me so I will be going with an Angel Dust/2nd Degree BB combo. Chated with Wade about my choices and set-up on the phone. Great guy to deal with!!!

I've been so happy with my Motor City pickups, that they are my go to pickup now for humbuckers. I have not tried their single-coils.

 

[VC4Ever]

I think it all depends on the combination of guitar and pickup. I have had the best results with WCR pickups and Gibson guitars. I have used Bareknuckle pickups and I can honestly say I don't like them. I have tried the Nailbomb, Holy Diver and Emerald and I can't get a good tone out of them. They are very sensitive to pickup height too. Not worth the money and way to hyped up. Again maybe they went in the wrong guitar, I don't know.

 

[jabps]

It really just boils down to matching the right pickup to the right guitar. Sometimes it may be a boutique offering and sometimes not.

I don't think people really understand how true this statement is. Well said.

To the OP though...that being said I'm not much of a fan of PRS bridge pups. My recomendation for a SC with a Trem...MCP Torques. Did wonders for mine. Not sure if Wade still makes them though or if he has an updated variation. I put one in mine and haven't been bothered by pup choices since. 2nd choice was a Wolftone Timbre Wolf...very nice pup that I've kept for future use. Another thing...the Tone Zone...gets a bad rap by some but I had one laying around, dropped it in the PRS...had it not been for the MCP or the Wolf, it would have stayed. Very close to what I was wanting to get out of the PRS...a viable alternative IMO.

 

[Drkorey]

Shane - Man, you should have pulled that Dragon I out of the 22 before you let it go. I know how sweet those are!!

 

[spirit7]

Depends on what you're after. In terms of clarity, as a general rule - yes, BKPs are superior.

-C