Neck Pickup adivce to pair with a SH-14 Cust'5?

[dahelunover]

Hey guys,

I wanted some advice on a neck pickup to pair with a SH-14 Custom 5 in the bridge.
I don't have a lot of choice in brands, only Seymour Duncans are available at my place, so anything from them will do.
My AMP: Laney GH50L
My Guitar: PRS SE Custom 22-mahogany body, maple top, rosewood fingerboard

The pickups in the SE Custom at the moment are the stock ones that it came with. I've had them for 3 yrs now so I'm looking into changing them. They are decent but I want more clarity,definition & less muddiness.

I play music styles from clean to hard-rock & sometimes/rarely metal. My amp is already bright sounding so I want to avoid bright sounding pickups on my guitar as well.
The store that stocks them won't exactly swap them one after another so as for me to try out and decide on a particular one. I checked out the sound samples here on the website, but still am little confused.
So any advice you guys could give me on tjis would be really helpful.

[cortmarshall]

Clarity definition and less muddiness in a mahogany body rosewood fretboard...would be a full shred neck if youre not looking for a PAF type.

[GuitarDoc]

Pearly Gates. Clean with body. Versatile.

[blueman335]

pearly gates. Clean with body. Versatile.

+1.

[dahelunover]

Thanks guys.
I'm stuck deciding between the SH-1 59' & SH-PG1. They both seem to be versatile. The SH-55 would have worked too but it can get muddy with high gain amps or so I've read about them.
I'll be either going with a SH-1 or SH-PG1 now.

[blueman335]

Thanks guys.
I'm stuck deciding between the SH-1 59' & SH-PG1. They both seem to be versatile. The SH-55 would have worked too but it can get muddy with high gain amps or so I've read about them.
I'll be either going with a SH-1 or SH-PG1 now.

'59N's have more treble, scooped mids, and can be boomy in the bass (especially in LP's). That's from the A5 magnet. PGN's are bright from the windings, and the warm A2 magnet softens the top, while it's mids make it sound bigger. Low end is a little looser. The general consensus is that A2's have more dynamics than A5's. I like both of them, and both are excellent versions of PAF's.

[Jeff_H]

Alnico II Pro(n). Not just for Slash tones. Great cleans, really nice and warm, but with clarity. Smoother than the PG(n). Should suit your needs perfectly.

[idsnowdog]

Full Shred neck. It's bright, tight and defined.

[MattPete]

+1.

-1
-1
-1

Years ago, the group talked me into getting a C5 with a PGn. Holy crap, if that wasn't mismatched. The C5 is hollow: thin, yet thumpy. The PGn is muffled yet shrill.

jazz neck or 59 neck should be paired with a C5.

[DrNewcenstein]

JB in the neck works great with all of the Customs in a mahogany body+neck.

[LtKojak]

If I was you, I'd get a '59n.

A JazzN would work well too.

The Full ShredN should be good too, but I haven't tried it personally. It looks different from the C5.

HTH,

[brunogio]

I may be trying this out with a Burstbucker 1 in the neck and Custom 5 in the bridge. Just don't know which guitar yet but most likely a mahogany body and neck.

I may also try out the BB with an A5 magnet and make the Custom 5 a Custom 8

[dahelunover]

'59N's have more treble, scooped mids, and can be boomy in the bass (especially in LP's). That's from the A5 magnet. PGN's are bright from the windings, and the warm A2 magnet softens the top, while it's mids make it sound bigger. Low end is a little looser. The general consensus is that A2's have more dynamics than A5's. I like both of them, and both are excellent versions of PAF's.

Thanks for a well detailed info about the magnets & stuff in those pickups. One question though, won't the SH-PG1 get muddy with a high gain amp? I'm just curious about it.

Alnico II Pro(n). Not just for Slash tones. Great cleans, really nice and warm, but with clarity. Smoother than the PG(n). Should suit your needs perfectly.

Thanks, these are also good ones.

JB in the neck works great with all of the Customs in a mahogany body+neck.

I'm not sure about other Customs, but the SH14 Custom 5 sounds a lot different from its cousins & I was kinda looking into having a more vintage sounding pup in the neck, but the JBs are good sounding too.

-1
-1
-1

Years ago, the group talked me into getting a C5 with a PGn. Holy crap, if that wasn't mismatched. The C5 is hollow: thin, yet thumpy. The PGn is muffled yet shrill.

jazz neck or 59 neck should be paired with a C5.

Hmmn, okay. I've been told before about using SH1-59N with the SH-14, especially considering my amp & guitar type. Could you tell me more about what gear you used when you tried that PG1 & C5 combination & it didn't work out?

Other than that, the guys that suggested the Full Shred p-up, I was thinking about going with in the bridge position as an alternative option to the SH-14 if things don't turn good with my current choice. I'd still rather want a PAF type p-up in the neck position though for playing anything related to rock & clean stuff, I just want it to sound clear, warm & rich when I switch to the neck position alone.

Thanks for your input so far guys. Still have plenty of time to decide on the neck p-up & large number of choices to decide from lol

[Gforce9]

There is an aspect of this you are not going to know for sure until you try it. I've had three different bridge pickups in my Studio Hamer (LP/PRS kinda guitar), the JB, a stock '59 then with an UOA5, and the Custom 5. Each one was different than I thought based on reviews and suggestions. I think this has to do with the uniqueness of the instrument and amp, as well as personal taste. There are some general principles that apply, but sometimes, you have to try it. In one LP type, the PG might be 'shrill', in another it's not. Some guys like 'shrill', some guys don't. Conversly, some guys like mud in the neck (a darker tone), some guys don't. This accounts for the diversity of opinion on the matter. With that said, I really like my Hamer with the Custom5/'59n combo; it is the best tone to date. In that guitar, it is what I like! I don't find it 'scooped' (Hamer seems to have a mid-range some other guitars don't have??).

[bagouser]

I use a Jazz with my Custom 5,
but the Full Shred neck and Pearly Gates neck both would be excellent choices, too.

I've had a Full shred neck for about 2 years now and it's just plain awesome in mahogany.

[MattPete]

Hmmn, okay. I've been told before about using SH1-59N with the SH-14, especially considering my amp & guitar type. Could you tell me more about what gear you used when you tried that PG1 & C5 combination & it didn't work out?

That was a mahogany LP-style guitar. Having said that, I put the PGn in the neck of an ash superstrat, and...after listening to both of those guitars, and plenty of guitars with A5 bridge pickups, I really think the C5 and PGn are a bad match.

One is a bright (and hollow) pickup in a bright (bridge) position. The other is a mellow (yet edgy) pickup in a mellow position (neck).

Usually I go for an A2 bridge and A5 neck, the exception being a2pro (or a2 Jazz) in the neck with a darker A5 (like a Brobucker).