Is it worth upgrading a PRS SE Soapbar?

Rocker · February 2014

I have a nice PRS SE Soapbar. Nice as in it plays in tune, stays in tune and feels fine to play. Well playing (it) acoustically it does. The problem is that the soapbars sound spiky and shrill when plugged in. I solve this problem by rolling the tone way down which kinda kills the sound to a large extent. My opinions of the supplied P90s are close to being unprintable.

My question is - it is worth upgrading the pickups or is the default P90 sound spiky and shrill? If it is worth the effort, what P90s would you suggest?

Thanks.

JookyChap · February 2014

I had the PRS One and put a Mojo P90 in (or maybe a Bare Knuckle - one or the other - @Stonevibe has it now and probably remembers better than me) and it was a definite improvement, but tbh I quite liked the original PRS one too, it was just the replacement sounded a lot clearer and yet fatter.

grungebob · February 2014

Cant speak for the soapbar but 2 weeks back i got a new SE custom 24, in that time ive installed a new nut,new pickups and new tone/volume pot. Plays realy great and sounds the business now,well worth it in my opinion cant put it down

Adam_MD · February 2014

Keep the original pickup and if you decide it's not for you then you can put it back to stock before selling it on. In terms of replacement pickups I'd either contact Ash, Mojo or look for a second hand set of seymour Duncan's. I had some duncan p90s in a Les Paul a few years ago and they were great, also if you get a set second hand you won't lose anything selling them on either.

I would also change the pots etc while you're at it.

Rocker · February 2014

Thanks guys. Changing the pots is something that would not have occurred to me. Any suggestions on what ones to get?

DrBob · February 2014

JookyChap said:

I had the PRS One and put a Mojo P90 in (or maybe a Bare Knuckle - one or the other - @Stonevibe has it now and probably remembers better than me) and it was a definite improvement, but tbh I quite liked the original PRS one too, it was just the replacement sounded a lot clearer and yet fatter.

It was the Mojo that you put in that after you took it off of my hands. I did sell you the BKP90 that I had separately but it was a Dogear rather than a Soapbar. It then went into the late,lamented Burny but lives on in the JXG.

Man that P90 has done some miles !

JookyChap · February 2014

@Drbob - ah, that's right...

Good call on the pots too @Adam_MD - I prefer CTS pots, but some people swear by Alphas. Just good ones helps though. One thing to watch, iirc, is that the One needed the holes reaming slightly to fit full size pots in as it came with mini ones. A Switchcraft switch and jack socket are always worth doing too. Don't change the tone, but will give miles of trouble free motoring...

impmann · February 2014

I had a single cut that had been stripped and oil finished, it had also been fitted with Bare Knuckle P90s. Both were big upgrades, IMHO - I sold it foolishly (someone on the old MR forum had it) and later bought a another unmodded one. It wasn't a patch on the natural finish one.

57Deluxe · February 2014

I too own a PRS SEII Soapbar and although you find many users saying they have upgraded their P90s for more 'powerful' versions (Lollars being a fave brand), I have to warn of one thing:

P90s are a single coil winding and are always a bright, sharp attacking nature. The beautiful articulation that you get with the stock P90s on the SE and that you can get at nearly any volume on the amp is their strength. Turning up the Vol on the guitar does induce significant OD in your amp and you get some right filth - but not Les Paul HBucker-Balls filth. As such it can feel that your filth is not as in your face as from an LP HB equipped guitar...

Yes you do have to adjust the tone and vol for best effect - but the tapers are vast and smoothly sequential on the PRS and gives masses of options tonally.

I find my SE Soapbar to be one of the most alluring guitars I have and it gets many a raised eyebrow when I plug it in...

http://i232.photobucket.com/albums/ee301/snotmale/Things that make you go Ding/SEllcustom.jpg

Dave_Mc · February 2014

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.

impmann · February 2014

I didn't upgrade the P90s in my SE (singlecut) to get more power - I did so to get a better tone (closer to an old 50s P90)... I also found that the PRS I had was fitted with a treble bleed cap, which I hated when you turned the volume down - a quick snip and it was improved (in my opinion) 1000 fold. :-) And yes, a P90 should have an edge but they should be fat as hell...Exhibit A:

RocknRollDave · February 2014

I can't comment on P90's (as I have never owned any!) but I DO own a PRS SE that I changed the pickups on, and I can vouch for the fact that the SE's make great platforms for upgrading.
The stock pickups in mine (S/S/H) were overly shrill and bright. I originally put a Bulldog single coil in the neck, which transformed the guitar (in the neck position only, of course!) immensely, made it instantly sound like a guitar from much further up the food chain. Then I decided I wanted a 2 x HB configuration, and again the guitar took to it brilliantly, unlocking a whole load of tone that wasn't there with the stock p/ups.

So, others can advise re P90's and what to expect, but certainly an SE is "worth" upgrading the pickups on, in terms of the basic building blocks of the guitar itself.

maw4neu · February 2014

I had a Fender Black Dove Telecaster with P90's . . . The pickups on that thing were just superb. God knows why ??? but I ended up trading it ??? For the life of me I have no idea why I traded it but I have always regretted it. In fairness though I was going through a Gibson SG crisis at the time :-)

Jez6345789 · February 2014

Certainly worth upgrading an se My personal recommendation for p90 has to be Fralins. They just seem more detailed and tighten everything up in a good way. I would also say there are a few stacked humbucking p90's around that would give you a bit less bite and a more rounded tone.

ICBM · February 2014

Seymour Duncan 'Hot' P90s also have a much less bright tone as well as being louder than standard ones - too much so for people who like traditional P90s usually.

PRS uses these in the US models with P90s - unlike the humbucker models they don't make their own for some reason.

ThePrettyDamned · February 2014

The pots in PRS SE guitars are actually good quality items, certainly better than most import guitars.

To improve tone, I'd look at pickups primarily. Plenty of great options on the market, and as usual, Oil City, Mojo and Bulldog are going to be my main recommendations.

I should put something in my sig... "Every post comes with a recommendation for these guys:..."

AuldReekie · February 2014

Agree with ICBM. Have a McCarty Soapbar Standard with SD pick ups and it sounds fantastic and lots of character. Also have an SE One and found the stock pick up OK but replaced it with a TV Jones T90, a sort of cross between a filtertron and aP90, being P90 sized. Again fantastic pick up, more twang than a regular P90 and sounds great as well, certainly think based on my exp. of upgrading SE One, well worth changing p/ups on SE Soapbar. Just checkout which recommendation here suits what you are looking for

Dave_Mc · February 2014

ICBM said:

Seymour Duncan 'Hot' P90s also have a much less bright tone as well as being louder than standard ones - too much so for people who like traditional P90s usually.

I haven't tried those ones but I know the sp-90-1s (the vintage output alnico ones) are pretty low output and pretty bright (at least unless there was something wrong with the ones I tried

)). I haven't looked too hard but ideally I'd want something that's sort of midway between the ones I currently have and those ones- fat but with an edge, as impmann said. Mine have very little edge but the low output ones (based on the Duncan I mentioned) have too much

)

grungebob · February 2014

Odd because the bridge unit in my old SE One had a huge snarling beast of a pickup i loved it clean and dirt,very well balanced pickup i thought

impmann · February 2014

Like I keep saying... there is no wrong or right for what works for you. :-)

And perhaps the pickup supplier changed at some point...or the spec.

usedtobe · February 2014

People perceive things differently, too...

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Is it worth upgrading a PRS SE Soapbar?

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