52 Reissue PU Swap??

Just got a brand new 52 Reissue...absolutely beautiful classic guitar...lightweight (6.7lbs), nice wood grain in the body. Has anybody out there switched the PU's to SCN's? How would it affect the tone...would I lose some of the classic Tele sound??

I love the 52 reissue pickups...I would never change them....not for my needs.If you play blues and rock n roll especially where you need a raw,soulful tone then these pickups really deliver that.But in my mind,you also play a 52 reissue for that whole vibe.They are raw,primitive guitars in design and the pickups really enhance that vibe.I'm sure the SCNs perform better in certain musical applications where a more modern tone is required....lots of gain/effects.But for a pure,classic tone with authentic vibe,stick to the original pickups.

I love the 52 reissue pickups...I would never change them....not for my needs.If you play blues and rock n roll especially where you need a raw,soulful tone then these pickups really deliver that.But in my mind,you also play a 52 reissue for that whole vibe.They are raw,primitive guitars in design and the pickups really enhance that vibe.I'm sure the SCNs perform better in certain musical applications where a more modern tone is required....lots of gain/effects.But for a pure,classic tone with authentic vibe,stick to the original pickups.

Well said! I think you're right...I also have a V Neck Strat with SCN's and it seems a little flat in tone to my ear...

I love the 52 reissue pickups...I would never change them....not for my needs.If you play blues and rock n roll especially where you need a raw,soulful tone then these pickups really deliver that.But in my mind,you also play a 52 reissue for that whole vibe.They are raw,primitive guitars in design and the pickups really enhance that vibe.I'm sure the SCNs perform better in certain musical applications where a more modern tone is required....lots of gain/effects.But for a pure,classic tone with authentic vibe,stick to the original pickups.

+10 Well Stated !

I swapped out the original pickups for Bardens at first, then put 'em back in. They are really great sounding, and I love playing the '52RI. I had a set of SCN in my '06 for a while, and liked them a lot. But I have to say, if you got a '52 RI, a big part of the mojo is the pickups - I'd suggest hanging there with them for a while.

The newer AV52RI's must be different to the original RI's then, my '83 had the worst set of pickups ever !!, a wonderful sound for sure but prone to shriek, wail and scream all on their own in their microphonic glory.
Replaced them with SD's and never touched it since. :wink:

Vintage Noiseless with 500k pots. All the spank you'll need and IMHO a king of the hill neck pickup. The neck pickup just kills the OV set. The bridge is different than the OV, not better or worse, just different. Not as raunchy but very musical and can still twang especially with 500k pots.

Matt

The newer AV52RI's must be different to the original RI's then, my '83 had the worst set of pickups ever !!, a wonderful sound for sure but prone to shriek, wail and scream all on their own in their microphonic glory.
Replaced them with SD's and never touched it since. :wink:

They are completly different.

1982-97 they made them with A5 mags and different wire than the ones they made from 1998-present A3 mags.

If I'm putting a guitar together I may choose CS No-Casters over the Original Vintages.

But I cannot imagine removing a set from an AV52; I just don't see it.

I guess the thing about the Original Vintages is, they're not RWRP; the No-Casters are. So I can run a separate lead for the neck cover, then wire the guitar with a 4 way switch and have both series and parallel in phase sounds. And these sounds are noise canceling. This liberates me enough from the burdens of the single coil guitar more than enough to keep me happy.

There's magic in the single coils. That's what keeps so many of us paying attention. We like what we hear; all of it.

I took my OV's out and put in a set of Don Mare's pickups. No looking back. But I still have the OV's with the guitar

I took my OV's out and put in a set of Don Mare's pickups. No looking back. But I still have the OV's with the guitar

Which Mare model did you choose?