PRS pickups in a strat?

Tavernor

Hi all, quick question regarding a potential upgrade to a cheap strat copy. 

I played guitar badly as a teenager, basic chords, rhythms, scales etc but stopped about 10/11 years ago. I've recently decided to pick it up again and learn properly, that's the plan anyway.

I used to play a PRS Tremonti SE but alas through a drunken fall I managed to break it at the base of the neck which I presume wouldn't be repairable (?). Seeing as I'm essentially a beginner again I went for a cheap strat copy with three single coil pickups. I play through a valvestate half stack and it sounds alright to my untrained ears but I'm not naive enough to expect it to stack up against more expensive gear.

Question is, is it possible to/worth swapping the PRS pickups into the strat copy? I'll show my lack of knowledge here by saying that I think the PRS has humbuckers, but they look like two pairs of single coils. Really don't know much so apologies if it's a daft question; obviously the PRS cost more so I presume it's pickups would be superior?

Also, and sorry this is in the wrong section of the forum, would the Marshall benefit from a service (believe it has a tube in the pre-amp)? If it's plugged in and turned on but I'm not playing I get a very occasional pop/crackle.

I'm a fan of John Frusciante so trying to learn some of the more interesting RHCP tunes to train my fingers up; I know he mainly plays a Stratocaster but if the PRS can mate with the strat copy and make it a better sounding guitar all around then that's all good, I'm only learning RHCP to get my coordination back.

Any advice is very much appreciated!

Dave.

Whitecat

The PRS would have a couple humbuckers, yes. You can transplant them, maybe. You will need a new pickguard, obviously, but the more important issue is that it depends how the body is routed underneath. If it's got a "swimming pool" route - IE, almost all the wood is gone, it will work. But the body could be routed for just the three single coils, in which case you can't fit the humbuckers without doing some woodwork. Depends how much effort you want to put in.

Are the pickups superior? That's subjective - they are very different - but if you wanna experiment and have fun with it you can.

You could also do a partial transplant, if the route works - HSS - with a humbucker in the bridge position, and two singles in middle and neck, is very common.

octatonic

Yes you can- you can even transplant a trem onto one too:

Tavernor

Whitecat said:

The PRS would have a couple humbuckers, yes. You can transplant them, maybe. You will need a new pickguard, obviously, but the more important issue is that it depends how the body is routed underneath. If it's got a "swimming pool" route - IE, almost all the wood is gone, it will work. But the body could be routed for just the three single coils, in which case you can't fit the humbuckers without doing some woodwork. Depends how much effort you want to put in.

Are the pickups superior? That's subjective - they are very different - but if you wanna experiment and have fun with it you can.

You could also do a partial transplant, if the route works - HSS - with a humbucker in the bridge position, and two singles in middle and neck, is very common.

It's a Johnny Brook (cheap I know) copy. Any ideas whether this would be compatable? Also, would most guitar shops do the legwork and if so and what sort of price bracket would I be looking at? I know different places would charge different amounts so I'm only after a vague estimation. I'm blissfully ignorant about all this, in your honest opinion is it something which would improve the guitar? Cheers for the advice so far

ICBM

Tavernor said:

I used to play a PRS Tremonti SE but alas through a drunken fall I managed to break it at the base of the neck which I presume wouldn't be repairable (?).

Might be worth a professional opinion on that just to be sure - or if you can post a pic here, one of us may be able to say. Sometimes things that looks quite serious are actually fairly repairable, especially if you don't mind whether the repair is visible.

Tavernor said:

I play through a valvestate half stack and it sounds alright to my untrained ears but I'm not naive enough to expect it to stack up against more expensive gear.

Also, and sorry this is in the wrong section of the forum, would the Marshall benefit from a service (believe it has a tube in the pre-amp)? If it's plugged in and turned on but I'm not playing I get a very occasional pop/crackle.

Which model of Valvestate? I assume if it's a half-stack it will be a 8100, VS100R, or AVT50, 100 or 150. Some of these are more problem-prone than others…

Tavernor

ICBM said: po

Tavernor said:

I used to play a PRS Tremonti SE but alas through a drunken fall I managed to break it at the base of the neck which I presume wouldn't be repairable (?).

Might be worth a professional opinion on that just to be sure - or if you can post a pic here, one of us may be able to say. Sometimes things that looks quite serious are actually fairly repairable, especially if you don't mind whether the repair is visible.

Tavernor said:

I play through a valvestate half stack and it sounds alright to my untrained ears but I'm not naive enough to expect it to stack up against more expensive gear.

Also, and sorry this is in the wrong section of the forum, would the Marshall benefit from a service (believe it has a tube in the pre-amp)? If it's plugged in and turned on but I'm not playing I get a very occasional pop/crackle.

Which model of Valvestate? I assume if it's a half-stack it will be a 8100, VS100R, or AVT50, 100 or 150. Some of these are more problem-prone than others…

Tavernor

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v491/tav397/1490389188289-1437569441.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v491/tav397/IMG_20170324_204902_1.jpg

Sorry tried the [IMG] picture [/IMG] thing but it didn't work. Not sure why I ended up with a blank message above either! Technology, eh?

Tavernor

Not sure on the model but I don't think it's the 8100 after a Google image search. Probably the VS100R but the image search was inconclusive.

ICBM

Yes, it's a VS100R. Saw your other thread before I came back here .

I think the best that can be said for the guitar is that it's not likely to be economically repairable - when you said broken at the body I was hoping it might have come apart at the joint, but that just needs a new neck… almost certainly more than the guitar is worth unless someone wants to take it on as a project .

Tavernor

Suspected so, if I don't cannibalise it for the pickups then anyone is welcome to it for next to nothing.

Evilmags

I'd probably take one bicker amd stick it in the bridge. PRS buckets are powerful so I'd use the neck one for a better match. That is some neck break dude. Nasty.

Tavernor

Phoned around an found a guy who will swap a pickup in (I'll find a pickguard on eBay) and accept the broken PRS as payment. Result! Is taking the neck pickup out from the strat definitely the best way forwards? Cheers in advance for advice. D.

ICBM

Tavernor said:

Phoned around an found a guy who will swap a pickup in (I'll find a pickguard on eBay) and accept the broken PRS as payment. Result! Is taking the neck pickup out from the strat definitely the best way forwards? Cheers in advance for advice. D.

I would put the humbucker at the bridge in a Strat.

Tavernor

Sorry I mistyped that last post, the humbucker will be going into the bridge position on the strat. I meant to ask whether it should be the neck (as evilmags suggested) or bridge humbucker from the PRS which is swapped in? Also, while I'm here, do I want a 1 or 3 ply pickguard?  Hard to tell but think it's a 3 ply on at the moment. Any real difference? D.

ICBM

Tavernor said:

Sorry I mistyped that last post, the humbucker will be going into the bridge position on the strat. I meant to ask whether it should be the neck (as evilmags suggested) or bridge humbucker from the PRS which is swapped in? 

Bridge if possible. The neck pickup will work, but it will be less of a contrast to the Strat pickups and if you want to coil split it, the hotter pickup will work better.

Tavernor said:

Also, while I'm here, do I want a 1 or 3 ply pickguard?  Hard to tell but think it's a 3 ply on at the moment. Any real difference? D.

Thee-ply usually has eleven screws, single-ply usually has eight which makes it less rigid, as well as being a thinner guard. It comes down to cosmetics more than anything though - the traditional look is a single-ply guard with a maple fingerboard and a three-ply with a rosewood board, simply because those were the combinations Fender used in the 50s and 60s respectively.

Tavernor

Saw the guitar technician today and blown away by the value and service. I don't know if I should say what I was charged as he cut me a bit of a deal and it's at his discretion what to charge in the future. Got the PRS humbucker in and he supposed two fender single coils to replace the budget pickups already in there. Put loads of superior innards in free of charge, pots, new 5 way switch etc. Business name is monkeys guitar services if anyone in Norwich needs him. Also sorted my fretboard as well as measuring and adjusting things I didn't even know existed; it's a totally different and superior beast now. Can post picks later if anyone is interested.

Tavernor

Quick update if anyone's been interested or followed this. Tone control for the neck pickup wasn't working quite right so took it back to the guitar man who had it fixed in no time. Seeing as I felt he'd drastically under charged me yesterday I offered him a bit more money but he refused and on the way out decided to give me a small practice amp he didn't use as a gift! No idea how that works as a business plan but fantastic service from my point of view.


http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v491/tav397/received_10154334252851408.jpeg

Here's the guitar before, didn't take a good picture of it in its original state (it's cheap, why would I?) but did take this to show the shelf to someone. As a side note, I'm going to cut the shelf out with the shape of a strat behind it and I'm open to offers if anyone is interested. Can cut it out however is wished for as well as paint it in any colour. Currently has a plastic/rubber surface which the guitar sits on and has a sort of latice pattern. Looks smart and will look even smarter without the yellow board it's mounted on. Do guitar shaped shelves exist or did I invent them for my GCSE project? I should have got a higher grade if i did.


http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v491/tav397/IMAG0613.jpg

Here it is mid work, as you can see it fortunately already had space for either a bridge or neck humbucker. Maybe useful for anyone else with the same strat copy to know. Sorry for the weird colour, my phone does that sometimes.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v491/tav397/149082279260361794796.jpg

Here it is now, notable differences aside from the insides being the black Fender single coils, PRS humbucker and PRS dials. New switch has a black tip now too so need to Sharpie the end of the trem arm! Next thing I'm doing is getting rid of the headstock decal and sticking a new waterslide on. Any ideas apart from the usual Fender style 'Poser phonycaster', 'Faker boguscaster', 'Bespoke customcaster' etc? Even to my untrained ears the new pickups and the guitar set up properly makes it sound and feel worlds better.

Tavernor

I'm wondering off topic here and seemingly in a conversation with myself, but I am actually and genuinely curious to know if anyone's ever seen a guitar shelf in the above guise before? If not, any Dragons interested?  

grungebob

@octatonic loving the avatar picture by the way, very skywest and crooked

Tavernor

grungebob said:

@octatonic loving the avatar picture by the way, very skywest and crooked

Ha, thanks. It was taken by a kid who apprehended me at a skatepark wanting photos for some school or college project. Happy to help him out at the time. Just clicked on said avatar, what's the lol, wisdom and wow count all about?

octatonic

Do you mean Tavernor or me?