Egnater Renegade with PRS - Pickup Help?

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dieselmx

dieselmx

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Hey guys .. I may be on the wrong board, but didnt really get answers on the pickup boards i was looking.

I have an egnater Renegade that sounds fantasitc with a PRS Tremonti SE (599 model).

I am looking to upgrade the stock PRS Designed pickups in the guitar and seeing that there are so many choices for pickups, PRS, Gibson, Ducnan, WB, Fralins, Etc.

Ill be honest I like the sound of the PRS I want something better. I narrowed it down to gibons 57 classic pickups, PRS 7, Mccartys or Dimarzio 36th Anniversary.

Anyone know what pickups will be the best compliment for this guitar an amp? I play mostly clean u2 delayed type stuff, ambient big but do kick in overdirve to huge tones (not heavy).

Any help would be appreciated, seeing if maybe someone in this board can help out. Ugh my head hurts from looking at all the different pickups.
 
I will ask the unaskable: If it sounds fantastic as is, why are you doing this? I have found tinkering with guitars in this manner to be a mixed bag at times. Sounds like it doesn't make sense if it already sounds fantastic.

I'll shut up now... for a while.

:confused: :rock:
 
dieselmx":p90yor8f said:
Hey guys .. I may be on the wrong board, but didnt really get answers on the pickup boards i was looking.

I have an egnater Renegade that sounds fantasitc with a PRS Tremonti SE (599 model).

I am looking to upgrade the stock PRS Designed pickups in the guitar and seeing that there are so many choices for pickups, PRS, Gibson, Ducnan, WB, Fralins, Etc.

Ill be honest I like the sound of the PRS I want something better. I narrowed it down to gibons 57 classic pickups, PRS 7, Mccartys or Dimarzio 36th Anniversary.

Anyone know what pickups will be the best compliment for this guitar an amp? I play mostly clean u2 delayed type stuff, ambient big but do kick in overdirve to huge tones (not heavy).

Any help would be appreciated, seeing if maybe someone in this board can help out. Ugh my head hurts from looking at all the different pickups.
Click to expand...

Are those pickups in your Tremonti made by the B&G pickup company out of S Korea?
If so, those are already fantastic sounding pickups and you will be hard pressed to find something that sounds better without spending big bucks from a boutique builder.
I have spent the last year building an HH partscaster, spending hours and days swapping all makes and models of pickups.
I settled on a Gibson Burstbucker lead pro in the neck and a B&G pickup out of an SE in the bridge.
It's a little to high on the treble output, but rolled back on the pot it absolutely kicks ass for 70's 80's rock tone. Both high and low gain.
And my Rebel 30 loves it.... ;)
 
Im not sure how would i find this out? do i have to take the pickups out to look?

They are the stock pickups in this guitar - Exact model straight from the store with no tweaking ..

front.jpg

Body Wood Mahogany with Binding
Number of Frets: 22
Scale Length: 25"
Neck Wood : Mahogany
Fretboard Wood: Rosewood
Neck Shape: Wide Fat
Inlays: Dots
Bridge: PRS Designed Stoptail
Tuners: PRS Designed Tuners
Hardware Type: Nickel
Treble Pickup: PRS Designed Treble Humbucker
Bass Pickup: PRS Designed Bass Humbucker
Pickup Switching Volume and Tone Control For Each Pickup and 3-Way Toggle Pickup Selector On Upper Bout
 
If you're looking to do U2 tones with humbuckers, you might want to install a series/parallel switch. Running in parallel mode will cut the output a bit resulting in a clearer/brighter tone for cleaner sounding parts. Also a coil tap switch might be useful so you can run the humbucker as a single coil...

No need to spend big bucks on a boutique pickup. Duncan and Dimarzio make great pickups that will probably run you only 70 bucks or so a piece. pretty reasonably IMO.
 
the problem i am faced with is i would hate to swap the stock pickups out and have it not sound as good as it did with the prs pickups. Anyone know much about the PRS Deisnged compared to duncan or dimarzio's? Dimarzios seem a lot cheaper than others.
 
So what is it about your PRS pickps you don't like? It seems like your afraid to swap because they won't sound as good...So if they sound good, why are you looking to change?

With pickups, sometimes the only way to find out is experiment. Look at the tone and output specs on each manufacturers websites to narrow the choices to what your looking for. Lots of times they have clips to hear what the different ones sounds like...
 
Yeah that's where I'm stuck. I like the sound but i know they are only stock pickups on a 500 dollar guitar so they cant be that good right? The way I look at it is if i can get the pickups installed that come stock on the high end guitar, it will enhance the sound and make it better and closer to a higher end guitar. Am I wrong I'm my thinking?

I know there's a lot that goes into the sound other than pickups .. but that's got to be a big part of it. Its werid cause i had duncans in my schecter and this prs is cheaper but sounds better, so i dont really want to go with duncans again, Maybe stick with PRS pickups but just higher quality ones.

I got it narrowed to the actual PRS Tremonti's, PRS Mccasrtys, Gibson 57s or Dimarzio DP103 and DP223.

Should I not even mess with the stock pickups are they wired for that guitar so it sounds better?

Im just not knowledgeable on the pickup sounds and what to look for, thats my problem.
 
hisclimb":1jxs99kv said:
With pickups, sometimes the only way to find out is experiment. Look at the tone and output specs on each manufacturers websites to narrow the choices to what your looking for. Lots of times they have clips to hear what the different ones sounds like...
Click to expand...

Exactly...

You sound like you just want to experiment on different sounds.
So get some new pickups and a soldering iron and start swapping.
Thats the only way you will find what your looking for.
 
dieselmx":2euveu2h said:
I know there's a lot that goes into the sound other than pickups .. but that's got to be a big part of it. Its werid cause i had duncans in my schecter and this prs is cheaper but sounds better, so i don't really want to go with duncans again, Maybe stick with PRS pickups but just higher quality ones.
.
Click to expand...

There's definitely a lot more to the sound than just pickups. Otherwise people wouldn't be buying Anderson's, Suhr's, Gibson's, Fender's or the real PRS's...Personally, I buy all the parts separately and put em together with the parts I want to get the sound and feel I'm looking for.

As far as Duncan's with the Schecter, you can't write off all Duncan's based on one pickup. Each pickup can sound quite different. Or the Schecter could just be a guitar that doesn't give you the sound you're looking for.

I used to own a PRS custom 10 top. Incredible playing guitar but I hated the PRS pickups that came with it. To me, a $2500 guitar should sound much better than it did, but to each his own...

OTOH, you don't have to stick with only one brand. I have a Dimarzio humbucker in my bridge position and two Duncan single coils in the mid and neck positions.

Not sure about Duncan, but Dimarzio has a trial period guarantee where if you don't like the sound, you can trade it for a different Dimarzio within 30 days...hard to beat that.

Gook Luck!
 
Ramblin - you try the Gibson 57s compared to the PRS Designed? or you think the PRS 7's or Mccartys are better?
 
ericsabbath":lnruju8m said:
bare knuckle riff raff or the mule
Click to expand...

Whats their thing? Tone, clarity, sensitivity? It definitely aint price....
I see alot of folks using BN's but I've never had a chance to try anything from their line up.
Same with Lollars......
 
I am just guessing, but based on your op and responses.....you are digging the sound of your PRS for higher gain sounds in Ch2 with your dual humbucker guitar, but aren't as pleased with your clean tones when switching to Ch1.

I have never played any dual humbucker guitar (regardless of price)that can nicely capture U2 (Edge) type clean tones unless it had a switch to split the humbuckers to make them behave and sound more like single coil pickups. Even then, I feel a strat style single coil pickup guitar is more likely capable of copping the clean tone of the Edge......even a cheap Mexican strat.

Here is what I would suggest before doing pickup surgery on your guitar. Go to your local GC and grab a cheap single coil Fender strat or even an HSS Fender strat (humbucker in bridge position only)......play the guitar through the Renegade in the store trying all pickup selection settings and see how you like it. If you like what you hear.....try playing a higher end American Fender Strat Deluxe with SSS or HSS pickups.

Personally, I wouldn't opt to coil tap a PRS SE guitar or put single coil pickups in it, but I do feel that a single coil strat sound is what you are searching for with your PRS.

BTW....it costs nothing to do what I am recommending, and I feel it would be a worthwhile experiment to you prior to changing pickups or altering your current guitar in any way.

Best of luck!

I have migrated to
 
I still don't get why you are doing this if you think it sounds great as is, but a suggestion:

If you are going to monkey around with this, DON'T DO ANYTHING THAT YOU CAN'T UNDO. Try to avoid drilling, re-wiring, etc... At least until you are certain.

:rock:
 
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