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Post by Deleted on Sept 17, 2018 14:31:48 GMT -6
OK... I was looking at putting in some 4 wire pickups in my PRS guitar. I thought, it would be nice to put in a set of PRS pickups. Boy did I ever get sticker shock!
So here is my question... What makes them so expensive? Is it just because they are PRS stamped on them! What make them so unique? The ones in my PRS sound OK, but they are nothing to write home about.
So can someone please enplane...
EB
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Post by antares on Sept 17, 2018 16:30:09 GMT -6
It's mostly down to the PRS logo. At least that's my opinion. It preserves an air of exclusivity?
Sticker shock? when I was still working, I was aware of the ludicrous spare parts pricing structure. It partially kept the company afloat but it was little more than blackmail because the spares had a legal requirement for an air worthiness certificate / "Form 1". Once C.A.A. approvals had been obtained, the ability to print those was a licence to print money.
One that sticks in the mind was an order for 10 spare spinning rings numerical type cabinet locks. They were commercial items perhaps running to around 10 bucks each, but our Commercial team sold them for around 8,000 dollars each. 10 of them. They were only spares to hold in thr customer's stores as well, not even A.O.G. (Aircraft On Ground).
When you see these bargain bucket airplane fares it makes me wonder about their servicing regimes...
Perhaps PRS shore up their business model with expensive spares too, they would be far from alone in committing that misdemeanour.
e&oe...
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Post by GuitarAttack Forum on Sept 18, 2018 10:03:44 GMT -6
I believe the pickups on the SE guitars are made by Artec in Korea. This the same factory that makes the GuitarFetish pickups.
The genuine PRS pickups tend to be very consistent and sound good in their guitars. Its always hard to tell if they are really that good or if they are just part of a good system in the guitar. Taken by themselves, most pickups sound good. However, when compared to others in similar guitars head-to-head, the differences will appear.
I make recordings (both dry and effected) of guitars before and after pickup changes to keep a record of differences in sound.
John
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Post by Deleted on Sept 18, 2018 10:26:20 GMT -6
I believe the pickups on the SE guitars are made by Artec in Korea. This the same factory that makes the GuitarFetish pickups. The genuine PRS pickups tend to be very consistent and sound good in their guitars. Its always hard to tell if they are really that good or if they are just part of a good system in the guitar. Taken by themselves, most pickups sound good. However, when compared to others in similar guitars head-to-head, the differences will appear. I make recordings (both dry and effected) of guitars before and after pickup changes to keep a record of differences in sound. John Yes I learned the Artec make pickups for GFS a long while back. This is when I started to look at the specks on pickups and found a company that sold the exact same pick up as GFS (without GFS name on it) for a lot less money. Oh and with free shipping. The PRS I just got, sounds OK to me. I was just wanting to put 4 wire pickups in so I could split them. I have gotten so into the splitting the pickups. It's gard now for mr to play anything that I CAN'T do that with. Saying that, I didn't what to put just any pickup in the PRS. But the $250 to $300 price for (used) pickups seems a little out there. Like I said the ones that are in it are OK, and really to me the guitar dosn't sound any better then any of my other humbucker guitars. Just don't know why PRS are so pricey. But then again I don't know what makes some pickups worth a $1,000.00 or more. And that is a new price not vintage or old 1957 pickups. EB |
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Post by GuitarAttack Forum on Sept 18, 2018 12:49:09 GMT -6
Just don't know why PRS are so pricey. But then again I don't know what makes some pickups worth a $1,000.00 or more. And that is a new price not vintage or old 1957 pickups. EB That is the perennial question, and it follows along with statements I've heard like, "Why does Keith Urban drive a McClaren when he can go point A to point B in a Prius", or "Why are '59 Les Paul Standards in the $250k range and a new Les Paul Studio can be had for $799, and they sound and play just as good." These are tough statements to refute objectively, but they point out some of the challenges we face from potential customers when building and repairing guitars, particularly when we have to have the "you get what you pay for" discussion with a tire-kicking customer who wants a custom guitar for a Squier Strat price. It's all about wants and needs I guess, but I can say that most of the pickups I use sound better in my guitars than the Artecs, and my perception is what is most important in this case because they are MY guitars. Since there is no way to objectively measure a pickup for great tone, it always comes down to the eye, and ear, of the beholder. I've found the most expensive pickups out there suffer from supply and demand problems; that is, lots of people want them (for whatever reason(s)) and they are hard to come by. I've seen sets of some of the newer pickups, like Tom Holmes Custom humbuckers, sell for $1,000 per set used. Also, hot pickups sometimes tend to be the flavor of the day, and come next year they might just be dumped on Reverb and eBay. Case in point -- I had a friend who recently bought a set of really expensive custom humbuckers for his Gibson R9. He installed them and hated them. He said they were "ice-picky" and sounded awful. I told him that was the roll of the dice...I think they are on Reverb now...but it is his call as to whether they sound good. In the final analysis I believe that the price you pay for the pickup not only reflects the quality of the pickup, the consistency of the builder, the reputation of the builder, and, ultimately the sound of the pickup, among other things known only to the buyer. These may include self-esteem, confidence in playing, etc. I also prefer to buy from a small, domestic producer, if possible. However, I did play an original 1959 Gibson ES-335 installed with original double-white PAF pickups a couple of weeks ago. Yes, it was fantastically expensive, but it did sound incredible. It really did. Maybe we do get what we pay for! This is just my opinion, John |
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Post by Deleted on Sept 19, 2018 11:53:23 GMT -6
Just don't know why PRS are so pricey. But then again I don't know what makes some pickups worth a $1,000.00 or more. And that is a new price not vintage or old 1957 pickups. EB That is the perennial question, and it follows along with statements I've heard like, "Why does Keith Urban drive a McClaren when he can go point A to point B in a Prius", or "Why are '59 Les Paul Standards in the $250k range and a new Les Paul Studio can be had for $799, and they sound and play just as good." These are tough statements to refute objectively, but they point out some of the challenges we face from potential customers when building and repairing guitars, particularly when we have to have the "you get what you pay for" discussion with a tire-kicking customer who wants a custom guitar for a Squier Strat price. It's all about wants and needs I guess, but I can say that most of the pickups I use sound better in my guitars than the Artecs, and my perception is what is most important in this case because they are MY guitars. Since there is no way to objectively measure a pickup for great tone, it always comes down to the eye, and ear, of the beholder. I've found the most expensive pickups out there suffer from supply and demand problems; that is, lots of people want them (for whatever reason(s)) and they are hard to come by. I've seen sets of some of the newer pickups, like Tom Holmes Custom humbuckers, sell for $1,000 per set used. Also, hot pickups sometimes tend to be the flavor of the day, and come next year they might just be dumped on Reverb and eBay. Case in point -- I had a friend who recently bought a set of really expensive custom humbuckers for his Gibson R9. He installed them and hated them. He said they were "ice-picky" and sounded awful. I told him that was the roll of the dice...I think they are on Reverb now...but it is his call as to whether they sound good. In the final analysis I believe that the price you pay for the pickup not only reflects the quality of the pickup, the consistency of the builder, the reputation of the builder, and, ultimately the sound of the pickup, among other things known only to the buyer. These may include self-esteem, confidence in playing, etc. I also prefer to buy from a small, domestic producer, if possible. However, I did play an original 1959 Gibson ES-335 installed with original double-white PAF pickups a couple of weeks ago. Yes, it was fantastically expensive, but it did sound incredible. It really did. Maybe we do get what we pay for! This is just my opinion, John Yes I just said that the other day "You get what you pay for" So here is the big "But" Does the high price equal good sound? Hum... Not always like you pointed out. I Have an expensive set of pickups that I got in a trade. So far I have installed them in two guitars, and pulled them. I just don't like the sound of them. So I'm thinking of selling them, but I may try them out one more time in another guitar. I know this guy who thinks the more something cost the better it is. But he will pay a higher price for guitars, lets say, and does not really care, if it's Gibson, EPI, Fender or Squire. He once bought the Squire that he paid a lot for, and he swore that it sounded better than the one I had that was the exact guitar, down to the color. I gave almost nothing for mine. He brought it over and I played both guitars. I heard no difference between the two guitars, But he says he did, and you guessed it was his sounded better to him.But I think it was because he gave so much for the guitar. Hum... For me I just have a hard time buying something like pickups, that cost more than the guitar that they are in.I see so many guitar for sale with "upgraded" pickups in them. Guitars that worth far less than the guitar itself. There is a guy in AZ that changes out the pickups on all the guitars he try's to sell to try and get more for the guitar, only to sell them at a loss. I do own a 1971 Gibson LP custom. I bought it new in 71. It's still all original. For me it is one of the best playing and sounding guitar I have ever owned. As you know I have owned a lot of guitars! So is it the pickups, that makes it sound so good? It could be. But then again I have owned it for so long maybe it's me that makes it sound so good. LOL! Now I have played a lot of high end guitars. Of all makes and models. Some do have a sound all to themselves and sound awesome! But not all do. I played a $10,000 guitar once (acoustic) I then played a EPI master built. I did this only because the sales person wanted me to. Once I did my friends,that were with me, and the salesman said they like the sound of the master built over the $10,000 one. Hum... I did too. So would one get what they paid for, by buying the $10,000 guitar? In my opinion on this kind of thing... I would have to say no. But this is one reason I tell people all the time, do not buy guitars off line... You need to hear and play the guitar, no mater what it cost. This may be what bugs me about pickups. You can't try them out to really see if they truly worth the big bucks. Once you install them and you don't like them, you are stuck reselling them. A lot of places won't refund money on them or ever trade them out, once you install them. I would hate to spend over a $1,000 for pickups only to find out I hated them. Not that I would ever spend that kind of money on pickups. Maybe if I was a working guitarist and my music went platinum! EB |
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Post by Deleted on Sept 27, 2018 9:43:38 GMT -6
Well, no longer worried about putting in new pickups in the PRS. I sold it the other day. The PRS and I just did like one another. LOL! So I sold it!
EB
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Post by GuitarAttack Forum on Sept 28, 2018 8:18:20 GMT -6
Well, no longer worried about putting in new pickups in the PRS. I sold it the other day. The PRS and I just did like one another. LOL! So I sold it! EB Good deal...that is always an option when you can't decide how to upgrade something! John |
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Post by Deleted on Sept 29, 2018 9:58:39 GMT -6
Well, no longer worried about putting in new pickups in the PRS. I sold it the other day. The PRS and I just did like one another. LOL! So I sold it! EB Good deal...that is always an option when you can't decide how to upgrade something! John Yep! It's kind of like when I use to build cars. I would get them clean them up, and if they didn't behave, I would send them on down the road! LOL! EB |
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