Is it worth upgrading a PRS SE Soapbar?

ChrisMusic · February 2014

Is it the single cut v1, or the double cut v2, and probably more importantly did you buy it new.

If it was s/h then it could have any pickups in it, unlikely but possible.

Your description sounds very much like Epi or cheap OEM P90s, I have some in an Epi Jnr that will definitely be replaced.

If you are on a tight budget, the Iron Gear pickups are very good, again I have them in a SE Soapbar.

I used to have, back in my previous life, a beautiful SG/LP Jnr and the P90 in that was one of the best pickups I have heard IMO. So I am biased.

P90s are a very ballsy single coil, with more life than HB, but definitely have their own voice.

See if you can check out a couple of good P90 guitars and then decide if they are for you, and take it from there.

Rocker · February 2014

Mine is a single cut, bought new several years ago.

dampoldman · February 2014

I also had the PRS SE Soapbar a few years ago...I've heard people saying P90s are good for sludgey Sabbathy tones...no, just no...

Shrill is a word I hadn't thought of but nails it.

Still a great guitar though, just not for what I wanted...

57Deluxe · February 2014

Dave_Mc said:

57Deluxe said:

I have to warn of one thing:

P90s are a single coil winding and are always a bright, sharp attacking nature.

Is that true? The p90s on my JJ are dark to a fault, I'd have said. Obviously personal preference plays a pretty big part here (my idea of dark may well be your idea of bright! ) ), but yeah. The p90 in my Fretking strat-alike isn't superbright either, I'd have said.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/P-90

see SOUNDS:

"Being a single-coil design, the tone of a P-90 is somewhat brighter and more transparent than a humbucker, though not quite as crisp and snappy as Fender's single-coil pickups. The tone therefore shares some of the single coil twang, but having large amounts of midrange and often described as brisk.^["

^{Most reviews of P90s on Ytube etc concur... My ears do too...}

57Deluxe · February 2014

also worth a watch...

OilCityPickups · February 2014

For the record: P90 are one of the most reactive pickup designs to 'over winding'. While a standard 'vintage output' P90 will have plenty of treble cutting power, as well as a girth that would have made the late John Holmes blush ... that all gets dark VERY quickly with piling on the turns. This is largely a function of the coil shape: it's narrowness means that outer turns are a long way from the 'hottest' part of the magnetic field. Also the bobbins are very full with a normal load of 42awg wire ... so most makers swap down a size in wire to cram on more. This completely alters the resonant peak and can make the pickup sound 'closed down' and compressed.
I certainly wouldn't want to fit 'Hotter' to an SE Soapbar ... more toneful perhaps ...

crunchman · February 2014

How does it sound unplugged? I had an SE Soapbar (the original singlecut version) that sounded really good, even with the stock pickups, but I've played other PRS with stock P90s that sound exactly like the OP said. My one sounded warm unplugged. It may be the guitar contributing.

I've seen it with other things as well. My old Les Paul was bright and cutting unplugged, and it was bright (to the point of being a bit harsh) plugged in. My current Les Paul is warmer unplugged and warmer plugged in.

ThePrettyDamned · February 2014

dampoldman said:

I also had the PRS SE Soapbar a few years ago...I've heard people saying P90s are good for sludgey Sabbathy tones...no, just no...

Shrill is a word I hadn't thought of but nails it.

Still a great guitar though, just not for what I wanted...

Even though the first Sabbath album was recorded with a P90 equipped guitar?

They do do that sound, I think his was massively overwound with a different wire gauge to give him a 17k resistance pickup. Okay, resistance tells you bugger all, but this info is being dredged from my brain after being read from a guitar magazine...

Dave_Mc · February 2014

57Deluxe said:

Dave_Mc said:

57Deluxe said:

I have to warn of one thing:

P90s are a single coil winding and are always a bright, sharp attacking nature.

Is that true? The p90s on my JJ are dark to a fault, I'd have said. Obviously personal preference plays a pretty big part here (my idea of dark may well be your idea of bright! ) ), but yeah. The p90 in my Fretking strat-alike isn't superbright either, I'd have said.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/P-90

see SOUNDS:

"Being a single-coil design, the tone of a P-90 is somewhat brighter and more transparent than a humbucker, though not quite as crisp and snappy as Fender's single-coil pickups. The tone therefore shares some of the single coil twang, but having large amounts of midrange and often described as brisk.^["
^{Most reviews of P90s on Ytube etc concur... My ears do too...}

Wikipedia says a lot of things. I agree with Ash- I haven't measured mine but I get the feeling the ones I have are on the hot side (I have several humbucker guitars with fairly hot pickups in them and my p90s don't seem to have much, if any, less grunt than them). Mine are definitely warmer/darker than (most of) my humbucker guitars.

Gassage · February 2014

+ 1 for Mojo P90's

Best I've ever heard, seriously.

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Is it worth upgrading a PRS SE Soapbar?

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