proffett Posted March 14, 2010 Share Posted March 14, 2010 Hi all... just returned to the forum after a year or so. I left for a while after selling my Epi Nighthawk... just picked up a nice Alpine White Les Paul Custom and decided to drop back in to see what's new, and had a question or two to throw out there... I just got an offer to trade an amp I'm selling for a set of PRS McCarty pickups... and I'm seriously considering doing the trade and dropping them into my Custom... I was wondering if anyone here has had any experience with putting a set of McCarty's or similar pups in their Les Paul. I am curious as to how the heavier mahogany body will affect the tone and characteristics of the PRS's. My Epi doesn't sound too bad as it is, and Ive done a bit of tweaking as far as the height adjustment and pole pieces, and made some changes for the better, but there is always room for improvement, isn't there? The drawback is the PRS's are chrome... but I suppose I can just take off the covers, but how much of a change will that make to the tone? I was also considering replacing the gold with all black hardware so it might work out that way. Would it be possible to put the gold covers from the Epi pickups on the PRS's? I've heard that the pole spacing might be a bit different. I guess I won't know that until I try it. Any input is greatly appreciated... Cheers Dan Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StewartB Posted March 14, 2010 Share Posted March 14, 2010 Hi all... just returned to the forum after a year or so. I left for a while after selling my Epi Nighthawk... just picked up a nice Alpine White Les Paul Custom and decided to drop back in to see what's new' date=' and had a question or two to throw out there...I just got an offer to trade an amp I'm selling for a set of PRS McCarty pickups... and I'm seriously considering doing the trade and dropping them into my Custom... I was wondering if anyone here has had any experience with putting a set of McCarty's or similar pups in their Les Paul. I am curious as to how the heavier mahogany body will affect the tone and characteristics of the PRS's. My Epi doesn't sound [i']too[/i] bad as it is, and Ive done a bit of tweaking as far as the height adjustment and pole pieces, and made some changes for the better, but there is always room for improvement, isn't there? The drawback is the PRS's are chrome... but I suppose I can just take off the covers, but how much of a change will that make to the tone? I was also considering replacing the gold with all black hardware so it might work out that way. Would it be possible to put the gold covers from the Epi pickups on the PRS's? I've heard that the pole spacing might be a bit different. I guess I won't know that until I try it. Any input is greatly appreciated... Cheers Dan Hi Dan. I did put PRS Mccartys into an Epi Les Paul a couple of years back. I also owned a PRS McCarty as well. Short answer is that they are excellent pickups and should suit the mahogany/maple body of your Epi LP. How do they sound? Well they are very "PAF vintage" like and very clear. Excellent string definition so should sound good through higher gain levels if you are that sort of player. Decent crunch in the bridge pup and very smooth neck pup. Nice treble sparkle to them as well, but not shrill or "ice pick". Overall I'd rate them very highly. Of course, it all depends on what you expect your modded Epi to sound like. They are best for the blues and classic rock genre. Good "all rounders". I don't know about changing the covers. I can't recall what the pole spacings were. You should be able to measure that yourself. Good luck getting the solder off the seam between baseplate and cover! Stewart Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
peeper Posted March 15, 2010 Share Posted March 15, 2010 The covers are NOT interchangeable if I recall correctly. What is the amp you are trading these for? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
proffett Posted March 15, 2010 Author Share Posted March 15, 2010 Stewart- That's pretty much what I was hoping to hear, as far as the sound goes. I'm not overly unhappy with the stock pickups, especially after I tweaked them a it, but they're still not exactly what I'm looking for. From your description, the McCarty's should suit me well. Musikron- The amp is a Fender G-DEC 15W... it's a good little amp but I just never use it. It's worth around $150, which is what I've seen the McCarty's go for used, so it seems like a pretty decent trade. I actually play through a POD X3 Live/Power Amp rig these days because with it I can use the same rig for bass, electric and acoustic, as well as vocals (but only if I absolutely need to.) I play all 3 about the same amount so it makes sense to have one rig instead of 3. I usually play straight into the house and use the amp for monitoring only. I'm seriously considering a small tube amp to compliment the LP though. I have a friend with whom I play fairly regularly who just picked up a Fender Blues Jr. for his PRS singlecut, and it really sounded sweet this weekend. Cheers Dan Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.