[Rabelais]

All these pickups are available in F-spaced format at a local shop nearby. I want to replace the stock pups in a PRS SE Singlecut, and I was wondering what are the main tonal differences between these models.

The stock bridge pup is a little bit thin, and the stock neck pup lacks definition. I just would like a fuller/fatter bridge humbucker and a very clean neck HB with less bass and mids. Output is not necesarrily and issue (I get dirt from my pedals).

Same question for neck pups (Air Classic Neck, Blues Bucker, Air Norton,  Humbucker From Hell, PAF Joe, PAF Pro).

Thank you.

[Mew]

Tone Zone and Dual Sound - high output monsters.
Norton - nicest of this 3. Good cleans and good overdrive. It's cross between high output pickups and HOT PAFs.
36th - classic honky hot PAF.

Necks.
Air Classic - classic PAF with scooped mids.
PAF Pro - versatile tiny bit more modern sound. Good all around pickup. Amazing for everything.
Air Norton - pretty much like PAF Pro, just on opposite sound side. PAF Pro is pretty bright. Air Norton is mud bomb.
PAF Joe - Cross between Joe Satriani and Gibson 50s pickups.
BluesBucker - should be humcanceling P90 in humbucker format design.
Humbucker From Hell - Mistery to me. Never heard one.

Btw.
Sry, cause of my lack of english. I describe pickup sound in very simple terms.

[Mew]

Depends on what you play.
If you like high gain mudfest metal - Tone Zone od Dual.
If you like Slash and AC DC - 36th.
If you would love to be versatile, and do tiny bit of everything - Norton.

Neck is same thing.
Air Norton - Warm shred sound.
Air Classic / Bluesbucker - vintage bright sound.
PAF Pro - bright tiny bit modern sound.
PAF Joe - cross between PAF Pro and Air Classic I guess.

Very different pickups.

And since you said you have PRS Single Cut.

I would eliminate right now - Air Norton and Tone Zone .... Complete mudfest on mahogany.

[Rabelais]

Tone Zone and Dual Sound - high output monsters.
Norton - nicest of this 3. Good cleans and good overdrive. It's cross between high output pickups and HOT PAFs.
36th - classic honky hot PAF.

Necks.
Air Classic - classic PAF with scooped mids.
PAF Pro - versatile tiny bit more modern sound. Good all around pickup. Amazing for everything.
Air Norton - pretty much like PAF Pro, just on opposite sound side. PAF Pro is pretty bright. Air Norton is mud bomb.
PAF Joe - Cross between Joe Satriani and Gibson 50s pickups.
BluesBucker - should be humcanceling P90 in humbucker format design.
Humbucker From Hell - Mistery to me. Never heard one.

Btw.
Sry, cause of my lack of english. I describe pickup sound in very simple terms.

Thanks Mew. I'm torn between the Norton and the PAF 36 ann. Bridge.  I don''t think I would like a distortion monster in the bridge. And your English is very good!.

[Rabelais]

Depends on what you play.
If you like high gain mudfest metal - Tone Zone od Dual.
If you like Slash and AC DC - 36th.
If you would love to be versatile, and do tiny bit of everything - Norton.

Neck is same thing.
Air Norton - Warm shred sound.
Air Classic / Bluesbucker - vintage bright sound.
PAF Pro - bright tiny bit modern sound.
PAF Joe - cross between PAF Pro and Air Classic I guess.

Very different pickups.

And since you said you have PRS Single Cut.

I would eliminate right now - Air Norton and Tone Zone .... Complete mudfest on mahogany.

I suppose I will put either a HB from Hell or a Blues Bucker in the neck.

[Mew]

Yeah, but when people describe pickups in like advanced terms like: " tighter bottom end  " or something like that. I get lost. I'm bad at describing guitar sounds , so I use like .... the most simplest terms ever like: modern or vintage, warm or bright. xD This " tighter bottom end " and terms like that are too advanced for me.

And if you decided for one of this 2. Put 36th.

Both are good. But if I had Bluesbucker on neck, I would go with 36th on bridge.

Norton is more modern sounding, and higher output. But still versatile.
36th is more vintage , but can sound good on distortion. Also versatile.

Both are good.

Luckily. Both don't care about woods and pots.
Norton sounds good on mahogany and alder.
36th same. Sounds good in every wood, with any pots. xD

Both are super amazing pickups. You can't go wrong with this 2.

And maybe this would help you.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0KUcrO2ipbA

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-_nK5tSK0o4

Btw.

I tiny bit looked at yours posts to try to find other gear like amp.

U are still on Marshall DSL 1?

[Rabelais]

Yeah, but when people describe pickups in like advanced terms like: " tighter bottom end  " or something like that. I get lost. I'm bad at describing guitar sounds , so I use like .... the most simplest terms ever like: modern or vintage, warm or bright. xD This " tighter bottom end " and terms like that are too advanced for me.

And if you decided for one of this 2. Put 36th.

Both are good. But if I had Bluesbucker on neck, I would go with 36th on bridge.

Norton is more modern sounding, and higher output. But still versatile.
36th is more vintage , but can sound good on distortion. Also versatile.

Both are good.

Luckily. Both don't care about woods and pots.
Norton sounds good on mahogany and alder.
36th same. Sounds good in every wood, with any pots. xD

Both are super amazing pickups. You can't go wrong with this 2.

And maybe this would help you.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0KUcrO2ipbA

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-_nK5tSK0o4

Btw.

I tiny bit looked at yours posts to try to find other gear like amp.

U are still on Marshall DSL 1?

Thanks again. It´s a very close call, but those PAF style pups sound so sweet!. I think I´ll get them, for both positions. With today´s hi gain amps and pedals, you really don´t need hi output pickups. The guys in Judas Priest and Saxon recorded some legendary metal tones using stock Gibson PAF-type pickups.

No, I don´t own a Marshall DSL1. I actually never bought one, but I tested it at a guitar shop and it´s a very very nice amp.

I own a small Laney 5 watt, 6V6/12AX7 combo, and, with the PRS stock pups, it starts to break up with the volume at 3 or louder. That´s probbly why the PAF 36 anniv. pickups might be more convenient: they might be useful to get a little bit more clean headroom.

[Mew]

I'm gonna guess it's not high gain Laney.
There is no need for anything hotter then Satriani / Andy Timmons on amp like that.

And if you have like Lionheart 5. PAF would be cool for that amp.
I love that amp. Cool toy.
Lionheart would be in my top 5 amps of all time.
I love that amp.

And 36th should be okey for it. If you have amp like that, there is no need for Tone Zone and this high output monsters. XD

PS.

And yeah, just wait someone with more experience to confirm this.
I'm pretty new at kinda, recommending pickups stuff. I don't want someone to spend money on something and later be dissappointed. So for everything, I kinda ask someone to confirm it.
But if you ask me, based on neck pickup needs, I would go with 36th in pair.
And based on amp, there is just no need for high gain.
But I think 36th is the darkest PAF of DiMarzio, so there is no need to get any other.

[Rabelais]

I'm gonna guess it's not high gain Laney.
There is no need for anything hotter then Satriani / Andy Timmons on amp like that.

And if you have like Lionheart 5. PAF would be cool for that amp.
I love that amp. Cool toy.
Lionheart would be in my top 5 amps of all time.
I love that amp.

And 36th should be okey for it. If you have amp like that, there is no need for Tone Zone and this high output monsters. XD

PS.

And yeah, just wait someone with more experience to confirm this.
I'm pretty new at kinda, recommending pickups stuff. I don't want someone to spend money on something and later be dissappointed. So for everything, I kinda ask someone to confirm it.
But if you ask me, based on neck pickup needs, I would go with 36th in pair.
And based on amp, there is just no need for high gain.
But I think 36th is the darkest PAF of DiMarzio, so there is no need to get any other.

It´s not a Laney Lionheart, but a Cub 8. Very simple amp. Supposedly it´s Laney´s take on the Fender Champ. It has two inputs (Hi and Lo), and just two knobs: volume and tone. If you want drive, crank the volume knob or push it with an OD pedal; if you want cleanish sounds, roll back the volume knob in the guitar or amp.

It´s good to hear that the 36th is darker, since the amp has am 8" speaker, and it is very bright.

[Mew]

If you ask me, it's darker then Air Classic and PAF Master. XD

It's darkest of the 3.

[Rabelais]

If you ask me, it's darker then Air Classic and PAF Master. XD

It's darkest of the 3.

Good to konw!. Thanks.

[Kurt R Kish]

A little late to this post- but the Norton is my favorite bridge pickup (it does virtually everything well) and the Bluesbucker is probably my favorite neck bucker- the low notes are nut muddy at all, while the high notes have a nice middy bite to them.
I can care less if it sounds like a P90 or not (which it's supposed to emulate).