I think PRS has done a pretty good job matching up their pickups to the guitar over the years (except for the HFS/Vintage bass in the early 90's) so we are not stuck in the past. The dig on PRS is that they don't sound nor have the 'vibe' of vintage Gibson or a Fender (all true) but they are missing the entire point. The PRS has made it a point to side step all of this to bring it's own voice to the table with an emphasis on clarity, articulate definition, and punch while delivering those in-between positions very nicely. In my mind (and some money spent on this subject) there is no question PRS is making their best sounding and playing instruments right now. Golden age!
I didn't really hear much (if any, considering you can't just loop a playing sample like you can with amp comparisons) difference between the two. I definitely hear the darkness in your TM neck pickup, but I didn't feel like the TCI was much different. Very ho-hum kind of sounds from both. Incidentally, my CE24 Semi-hollow (which has some form of 85/15 USA pickup) is my least-played guitar, and like you said, something about the neck pickup is not right. I've got an S2 Standard 22 upgraded with 58/15 LT pickups that I absolutely adore, and I play it much more than the CE. Those pickups are even darker, if anything, but I guess the lower output is what draws me to them. Maybe I should upgrade my CE, too. :D
I think it depends on what you have. I just bought a set of 58/15 LT for my 96’ CE24 that came stock with a set of the old HFS/VB pickups and it was night and day… it totally worth the change !!!
I'm no guitar tech, but I know I have heard recently that a new TCI guitar not only has the TCI pups but also a different wiring schematic with the toggles. There are more leads coming out of the TCI pups. I think you not getting the full effect of the new tech by doing a straight swap. If I'm dead wrong, okay but that is what I recall. The main point was to isolate the single coil option and get true Fender tones. I think they nailed it, but you need a new TCI guitar or a lot of craftmanship and knowledge to do the swap the way it is designed.
I don't hear enough difference to ascribe it to the "TCI" process/version/whatever. I think you'd be just as likely to hear that much variance by installing ANOTHER set of 85/15 TMs. That said, I prefered the stock pickups. Less harsh.
Hello. Great and helpful video. Thank you. I have great respect for PRS. They make great products. At the same time, innovations are constantly introduced. And that sets them apart from many other guitar makers. I watched your video with sound through regular speakers. Then he brought the sound to the Boss Katana guitar amplifier. TCI pickups sound really a little more collected, balanced. At the same time, the high frequencies are warmer, and the low ones are not as deaf as on the usual 85/15. I have a PRS guitar, a 35th Anniversary SE Custom 24. Perhaps TCI pickups came to life from this series. I like their sound. The guitar is great for a variety of musical styles. But if I had a guitar with old-style 58/15 pickups, I wouldn't waste time and money replacing them. Perhaps the difference in sound will provide new opportunities when recording in the studio. But this is already a matter for connoisseurs with absolute pitch and taste. As for the price of PRS pickups. I have another guitar from this company. PRS SE Zach Myers Blue. This is Singlecut-Semi-Hollow-Design with PRS 245 "S" pickups and 24.5 scale. Great tool. Very light, comfortable and sounds great. She has bad pegs. I replaced them. And pickups, in my opinion, do not fully give out the sound that this guitar is capable of. And in this case, I'm thinking about whether to spend another 500 - 600 $. Whether it will be 58/15, 85/15 from PRS or the popular Seymour Duncan SH-JB Hot Rodded Humbucker Tonabnehmer has also not decided yet. Maybe it's better to buy a new guitar in the right configuration. Good luck. ✌
Didn't notice much difference, if anything the TM's seemed like they had more high end. FWIW, when doing comparisons, it's best to turn off any effects other than distortion. For clean, better to have zero effects.
The 85/15 TCI came stock in my CE24 semi hollow. I felt like they were to high output. I dropped cremas in it and never looked back. I might give them a shot again but I love the way it sounds with cremas.
I have the same guitar and honestly don’t care for the stock 85/15s. High output and the neck pickup is dark and muddy. Have tried to change heights but still not happy.
I have a PRS CE 24 from 2018 but I think the 85/15 I have in my axe are amazing and you can jazz up the sounds with all types of pedals. So, my point is a bit moot. The 85/15s that I have are fantastic. I have a strat that I put Texas Specials in and it is fantastic, but your thought on moving to the TCI is not really interesting. Yes, I get you want viewers, but don't knock the PRS TMs and I know you were not so don't go woke on me please. Good video.
A decent question would be... are they better than the two OG's of after market pickups? i.e. Duncans or Dimarzios? The PRS pickups are significantly more expensive? If you compared them to the 3x flag ship sets from each brand are you getting something next level? I reckon Dimarzio pickups, the bassier ones with a 1meg volume pot would have a lot of similarities to the modern PRS pickups. But as pickups what crowd are they most suited for? The Fender nerd who couldn't commit to PRS because they weren't bright enough? The Les Paul Nerd and hearing more detail in everything? Are these guitars more suited to live and recording session guitarists? Do these pickups give genre advantages like country? Do they have the same mid range and body for heavier gain sounds? Perhaps that brightness makes them more Neo-Classical sounding?
I think this video shows that the TCI version may be slightly different but wonder if pickup height could be the reason or if any 2 sets may have subtle differences
But there are different TCI pickups, my TCI S pickups are warm and sound amazing. Same with my TCI 58/15s. 85/15s probably what you are referring to are better for gain tones imo.
Maybe the RU-vid compression comes a bit into play, but the difference was subtle enough such that someone could have convinced me this was a demo for using the ’Presence’ setting on Helix dirt pedals. That said, I have 59/09’s, and they imo have more top end clarity- particularly in the neck.
It could be that. On my end, listening to the raw audio through monitors, the TCI neck pickup sounds very different, and subsequently the middle position sounds a lot different, too. In the past when I’ve dialed things in with this guitar, if I get the neck where I like it, the bridge sounds bright and shrill. Or if I get the bridge where I like it, the neck is muddy. With the TCI set everything is much better balanced. But it’s important to keep in mind that these things can come off very subtle. I spend all day every day trying to hear the differences between sources when building patches, setting up amps, etc.
Love the video. I just lifted the pickups up out of my 2021 PRS CE 24 to see what they had. They're 85/15 TCI's!! They were not specified as being TCI's on the PRS website. That being said, I feel like I could improve these a bit with the right pickup height. Would you mind replying with what pickup heights you are using?
Thanks! I set the pickup height at 4/64” (from the slug to the string while pressing down on the last fret). I tend to set them all at that height (neck and bridge, treble and bass strings) and then make slight adjustments based on preference and output level from there. If they’re too low, things will sound a bit dull and lifeless.
@@wttone Dude! Thanks so much for the reply! I am going to adjust that right now. I would agree that mine were prob too low and just lacked that spark that I was looking for.
What height did you set them at? problem is different pups can sound better at different heights so the height for the TM may not be the best sound for another set. I have a TCI set of 58/15 LT on a S2 594 thinline. They sound great but I've had better guitars (now sold ;( ).
I set up the guitar exactly the same for each set. My go-to for most guitars is the pickup height at 4/64” in both positions. That seems to work best for both the 85/15 sets.
You also gotta take into account PRS is constantly altering the actual specs of the PU's also. I have an original set of 57/08's that came in a 2009 guitar, not even what they now sell as a 57/08.
The bridge and position 2 sounded WAY better with the TCI pickups while in every other one I found the TCI's to be a bit too ice pick-y almost like a strat. I'd imagine it's down to personal taste though. Even when distortion was added I just found they added too much top end for me. Again, personal taste and I'm glad so many people like them but I feel like I'd have to go in to the my EQ to tamp down just a hair on those frequencies. (Granted I'm listening on studio monitors that are probably louder than I would normally listen to a single guitar, in the mix it's probably great to have those higher freq)
I also listened on studio monitors and do agree with you. I also do tend to lean to the 'better have it and remove it than not have it at all'. My Adams in this room do tend to highlight the top end too which added to what I heard. I'm not a huge fan of the TM 85 in the neck. I *loved* the non TCI 58/15 in the neck in my McCarty, and the TCI 85/15 seems down that path - sharper attack, a little more bitey. I think I'll buy a pair and see for myself!
Probably would’ve been better if you ran a hand wired tube amp than all those effects and the pickup height has a lot to do with the tone also. That would have been a better comparison. When I set the pickup height on my guitars that’s what I do. It definitely tells you what your guitar sounds like. Good topic though.
I made sure pickup heights were set exactly the same for both sets. I find for these types of experiments, axe FX (or other modeling units) are far more consistent, unless you can do all the playing samples in the same setting. Otherwise mic position, or even things like temperature in the room can cause tube amps to sound slightly different.
Interesting. You’ll never play the same with each set of pickups, is of course the problem … I see what you mean about the TM .. seem a bit dull. But then, the TCIs seem a bit harsh to me. So, “neither”, I guess, for me. Maybe they sound good through a dual rec/high gain amp, or whatever - seems to be metal/‘prog’ players who really gravitate towards PRS guitars … with the notable, old exception of Santana … but maybe there are others I’m not aware of … ? I know Mayer jumped ship (which no doubt included a handsome pay-day) and PRS made as much of a Strat copy as they could for him, but imho his tone suffered a bit for it. Most of the crowd have probably never heard anything but digital modelers these days, anyway, though - so he can use what he wants in the studio, then buy lots of watches with his PRS deal, I guess … 🤷🏻♂️
I’m curious where you set the height on your 85/15’s? I can’t seem to find the sweet spot on my CE24 semi hollow. They run pretty hot and seem to clip most of your patches n my Helix floor.
TCI set wins fairly convincingly to my ear…especially in the middle and neck position. I really dig the 85/15 set in my Custom 24 at the moment, but there’s always room for improvement and that’s what I love about PRS. With Paul he’s always improving, so unlike other manufacturers where I look for their older stuff, it seems to be the newer the better with my PRS gear. What’s another $500 when it comes to a $4k guitar anyway, right?! 😂
Thanks for doing this comparison b.c I didn't even know there were 2 different sets of 85/15. I was thinking getting a new CE 24 to be cost effective since it comes with a pair of 85/15, but maybe they are not TCI?
Do you have exact information on how to do the wiring for the new TCI? After watching your video, I bought the 85/15 TCI set and I can't find exact information on how to install them, since they have new color codes (I'm only sure that the orange wire is ground). Any information will be great!
There's a subtle difference but one isn't better or worse than the other. If you had kept it blind, I don't know that I would have been able to tell the difference.
Prs should bring back the standard treble and bass pickups. All these experiments they do has no kinda of sense imo, i bought a 1993 custom 24 and i had to chose between the 35th anniversary, i sold the 1993 and bought a 1986 custom 24. I'm Much happier with the tone and sound of the standard pickups and the craftmanship on the 80's prs are way better to Play.
The back of the pickup would say 'TCI' if you've got one of those. The 'S' pickups are the ones made overseas used on the SE models, but they're voiced to sound like the US made pickups. I believe the US made pickups they used prior to TCI were labeled 'TM'
To the ear there is no difference… the difference would have been in your ability to split them but you haven’t got switch built in.. Analysing the wave forms of these… very negligent differences also… Seems a total waste to me
TCI sounds worse than 85/15, these hi ends are broking my ears, i cant imagine a sound engineer saying "We need these hi ends here to crash the sound".
TCI is a marketing strategy. Golf clubs use a similar strategy. Create a new “scientific” acronym to give the illusion that this product is better than the previous version. However, the truth is there is no difference. It just costs more. 😊
