PRS 58/15LT pickups and Splawns didn't mix.... at first.

War_in_D

Well-known member
I recently picked up a PRS McCarty 594 with the stock 58/15LT pickups in it. Everyone raves about these pickups, especially about the "vintage" tone they have.. yada, yada, yada. Played the PRS through my little 1x12 tube practice amp and it sounded really chunky, with great sustain. Granted, the practice amp is a Peavey Ultra 112, which I believe has the "active" EQ like the Utra Plus head. Settings on this amp rarely change from one guitar to another, just pretty much plug and play. I say this about the EQ section because it plays a role in what's to follow.

First thing I did, was run the PRS through the Kemper. Sounded great! But, the Kemper isn't a "real" amp, so I started running the 594 though the tube rigs with the 4x12 cabs (22w QR, 100w QR and the Nitro) and to say I was dissapointed would be an understatement. Lower regrister chords sounded OK, but anything within the higher range like single note stuff and especially chords or voicings with the open B/E strings just sounded wrong. It was ice picky and had this weird, almost dissonant tone to them. Sounded a lot like an out of phase kinda thing going on. This happened through all three amps, so I figured it had to be the guitar. I thought maybe something weird happened to the tuning, so I checked that, all good. Did the intonation suddenly get out of whack? Checked that, all good. So, I started turning down the treble. More and more.. and more. Then I remembered a thread that @311splawndude had posted about running Splawns with the treble on zero. So, I zeroed out both the treble and presence and there it was! That sound I had been looking for! Did a little tweeking with the presence, but the treble stayed on zero and there was that throaty almost cocked wah like tone that hear in my head that makes me smile. I was a bit rushed, so I didn't get to try any of the other guitars yet with this "treble on zero" thing, but I'm going to try to get around to it maybe this afternoon.

Oh, and BTW... I'm really digging the newer UK production 25w Greenbacks with the Splawns now. Sound very similar to the 1975-76 Blackbacks I have, but just a hair more clarity and bite to them.
 
what year is your Splawn? I have a new one and the Treble/presence to zero thingy doesn't work with mine
it does just what you'd think turning them both to zero would do. mine a 50 full time B+> maybe there is a difference in the circuit?
 
what year is your Splawn? I have a new one and the Treble/presence to zero thingy doesn't work with mine
it does just what you'd think turning them both to zero would do. mine a 50 full time B+> maybe there is a difference in the circuit?

The QR 100w is 2020, the QR 22w is 2021 and I think the Nitro is around 2014 but I'd have to check the serial number on that one. All are fully loaded. Both QR's are running with the mid/old switch in the up position. 100W is running on B+, the 22w doesn't have the B+ option but may be running B+ form the factory like the 50 watters. The Nitro is running old switch up, mid switch down and no B+.
 
Oh, and I was going to add that I finally got around to running some of my other guitars through it with the treble set on zero, and it sounded even better with some higher output pickups. Those 58/15LT (fixed the 85/15 in the title of the thread, it was a typo) sound decent with the zero treble, but after trying some of my other guitars that have a Dimarzio Super 3, Duncan JB and one with a Tone Zone in it, I'd take those higher output pickups all day long.
 
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That trick seems to work on some years and not on others. My 05 PM just reacts like a normal treble knob but by 10 QR does the thing, I run treble on zero on that amp. I'm surprised it still works on the newer ones but I haven't played any of them
 
That trick seems to work on some years and not on others. My 05 PM just reacts like a normal treble knob but by 10 QR does the thing, I run treble on zero on that amp. I'm surprised it still works on the newer ones but I haven't played any of them
Might possibly be a circuit thing too, because I have both the QR's on the "old" setting. I guess I could flip it over to "new" and see what happens. I'm not sure what eras of QR the new/old switch is based off of.
 
Might possibly be a circuit thing too, because I have both the QR's on the "old" setting. I guess I could flip it over to "new" and see what happens. I'm not sure what eras of QR the new/old switch is based off of.
Yeah, I'd be interested to hear if it reacts the same way on the old switch. I don't know when or if the newer stopped reacting that way but I would say he started somewhere around '08 or '09 when he went through some minor circuit changes, probably around the time he added a 4th preamp tube, but that's just speculation.
 
Yeah, I'd be interested to hear if it reacts the same way on the old switch. I don't know when or if the newer stopped reacting that way but I would say he started somewhere around '08 or '09 when he went through some minor circuit changes, probably around the time he added a 4th preamp tube, but that's just speculation.

Played one guitar through the 22w QR today and flipped it to "new" with the treble on zero. Yeah, not the same result at all. If anything, it sounded a lot harsher to my ear. Pretty much the exact opposite if what I expected TBH.
 
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