Paul Reed Smith Explains PRS Pickup Design | PRS Guitars

In this video, Paul pulls back the curtain on PRS pickups and explains the thinking behind our proprietary designs. He dives into the uniqueness of single coils and humbuckers, describes our constant desire to innovate, and plays through our diverse pickup range which offers musicians a palette of musical tones.
00:00 - Introduction
01:21 - Understanding Frequency Response
02:44 - Pickup Parameters
04:45 - Check out our pickup tester guitar!
05:34 - 85/15 in the Bass Position
06:08 - 635JM in the Bass Position
06:53 - 58/15 LT in the Bass Position
07:39 - TCI Pickup in the Bass Position
08:12 - Narrowfield in the Bass Position
09:02 - PRS' Pickup Design Journey
09:40 - TCI Pickup in the Treble Position
10:40 - TCI Pickup in the Bass Position
10:58 - Wrap-up

[@danielwmwolf]

He is such a pickup artist.🏆🖖

[@mathiasjapri]

he want to prove tone wood is hoax.

[@vintagetubeamplifiers]

@@mathiasjapri Because it is!

[@hydorah]

@@mathiasjapri He's saying the opposite. He said the pickup is the microphone. Not the voice. Tonewood deniers say the pickup is the voice - and materials are irrelevant. He stops short of talking about tonewood as he knows this video is going on KZbin and would be lit up with rage if he said anything about it. He's a smart fellow

[@sgt.grinch3299]

Pick ups and speakers are the two components that have the most impact of your tone. If your speakers are junk you have no shot at good tone.

[@godbyone]

The wood gives the strings vibration s. So maybe it’s the the wood you are hearing. But the strings reacting to wood. The pick ups. Hear the reactions.

[@thedevilinthecircuit1414]

Paul is a total guitar nerd and he makes no secret about it. He is also one of the nicest guys you'll ever meet. He remembers names like nobody I've ever met before, and he personally signs birthday cards for every employee. PRS factory employee here.

[@thanhhuynh2044]

The other day (a clinic in NL) a woman asked why there were no prs tours, especially when they were in DC/usa in a few weeks. He answered it was not possible (due to covid restrictions), but he offered her to contact him for a meet up upon arrival. For a personal meet up and when possible a personal tour. She asked for her husband. How much must the dude adore her?!?!😊

[@trawl7880]

Nice, good stuff. you think i can put Pauls pickups in my 35th S2. My most favorite ever. they sound awesome. I think the 35th anniversary copied Paul's gtr switching for the toggles. Keep up the exceptional work.

[@paulcowart3174]

Yeah he is like the one man show too Gibson had a lot of moving parts Leo was kind of like Paul too but he didn't even play guitar Amazing like two sides of the same coin Very cool

[@harrisfrankou2368]

I'm in Australia...I'd work there. I'll get to the factory one day.

[@MainPrism]

Dream job..

[@ChapelCollins]

I want a video like this of Paul explaining every aspect of a guitar. This is fascinating, very enlightening stuff.

[@edcorneau7346]

He's a great salesman just due to him being still so passionate about his work!

[@BenMarvin]

I would love that for a video series. He's like that cool uncle that always has lots of knowledge, good story telling, and you can learn something.

[@voornaam3191]

Yeah, you start playing better gigs and they suddenly ask you to play in better bands, don't they? He just killed The Sultans of Dixy, huh?

[@williardbillmore5713]

I want to see a video where Paul corrects his bullshit and explains that electric guitar pickups ARE NOT MICROPHONES!

[@dankers12]

I love that explains this simply without talking down to us. What a class act.

[@anime5h_m1shr4]

As an engineer that plays guitar, I absolutely love the frequency response graph. Best way to explain the differences between pickups.

[@jpage5303]

same! i do R&D and I love the research approach to it.

[@williardbillmore5713]

If he had graphically illustrated their respective signal to noise ratios as well it would have given a much better picture of the sonic differences between HB and SC pickups. When the frequency response is weighted with a bunch of noise it can make single coil pickups a lot less desirable.

[@markkeneson6806]

As an engineer, do you ever wonder about the glacial progress of electric guitar design? For instance, we are still using 1/4 inch connectors that were designed in the late 19th century, and high impedance pickups with passive electronics. Of course, there are some guitars with active electronics, but they are far less common, and even they still use 1/4 inch connectors.

[@williardbillmore5713]

@@markkeneson6806 It is the nature of guitarists to want the exact same instruments that their heroes play and played. Whenever Gibson or Fender try to modernize or improve their instruments they are thanked with sales slumps and bad mouthing. For example; Gibson could fix their head-stock splitting problem tomorrow by changing the way the head-stock is made by making the head-stock separately with through grain and putting it on the neck with a scarf joint. If they did that Les Paul sales would stop completely.. "Jimmy Page never had a scarf joint on his LP how could I sound exactly like him on a LP with a scarf joint?" As long as "vintage tone " is considered sacred and the myth of "tone wood" prevails nothing on popular guitars will ever evolve.

[@markkeneson6806]

@williard billmore , thanks for the response, and I think you are right. It's unfortunate, but that's what the market demands. Look at bass guitarists, they have on-board active electronics and sometimes XLR connectors. I guess bass players are less obsessed with having the exact same instruments as their heroes.

[@sixslinger9951]

Paul is no joke. He really knows his stuff and the main reason why his company is one the biggest in the world now. I bought a new PRS Custom 24 back in 1992 and barely knew anything about the company. At that time, it was the most I ever paid for a guitar. 30 years later it is still one of the best guitars I've ever owned. The thing is magic thanks to Paul and his team.

[@0megalul309]

only took him 30 years to become a top 3 in USA, taking the fight to F and G who were around for more than twice as long.

[@MainPrism]

I completely agree!!! I bought my first PRS Custom 24 in 2021 not knowing much at all about the company. Best guitar I've ever owned hands down... So good in fact I bought 2 more PRS that same year. Getting ready to purchase another one in the next few months. Love me some PRS!!!

[@dancotterman1267]

You are lucky to have that much money to spend on guitars. Gibson won’t change anything and are way overpriced. Still decent investment though. I like PRS including their imports. For playing and investing. Not bad. Nice to have the original inventor and owner still alive and running the company.

[@soundpainter2590]

@@dancotterman1267 It's a (( Strat o Paul )) how can you or anyone not see it ??

[@paulcowart3174]

Hands on all the way Like Leo Geniuses

[@mauricerrr]

This man deserves a lot of praise. He is one of the few people in this industry that never stops innovating while staying true to the heritage of the electric guitar. That is just something very special. Proud to own one of his instruments!

[@Charismafire]

Paul is the Willy Wonka of the guitar industry. That man has ears like a German Shepherd. Incredibly nice first class guy as well.

[@jitsroller]

Willy Wonka you nailed it.

[@masteronone2079]

Sort of pointy and on top of his head? It doesn't show in the pictures.

[@masteronone2079]

Also this is a great primer on how pickups work. There are things that you know instinctively but this begins to put some intellectual meat on the bones. I still can't se those ears, dose he gel them down, maybe?

[@JTB--]

My CE 24 Semi-Hollow 2022 Whale Blue Burst with Satin Neck had a bottle of Fizzy Riffing Drinks in the gig bag

[@fender0942]

Yes!

[@michaelthomas9991]

Wonderful introduction to pickup design. Paul really should do them as a weekly series, including guitar body design. Great instructor!

[@yeserguitar]

This is a 13 minute masterclass! Paul explained and demonstrated so well. Pickups and positioning is not easy thing to understand/hear for me, but this demonstration showed day and night difference. Beautiful content and Paul gave 10, and to my ears he got 9.9 back :)

[@markitzero5934]

Paul is amazing, I love his passion. The way he retains so much excitement about his projects is a true inspiration. I think the wisest thing you can teach is that if you do something you love as a job it will never feel like work and he clearly loves what he does.

[@ScottMcdonaldMusic]

The university of Paul Reed Smith. Good stuff

[@vinny5004]

It would be awesome to have shown (or even release on the PRS website) the frequency response spectra for each pickup, so we can see quantitatively how they are voiced and compare output levels.

[@brennanpwoods]

This video is AWESOME! I have 4 PRS guitars and I feel validated watching Paul talk about his craft.

[@wulfrache]

It's a mountain of lies built on quicksand! There is no machine!

[@guitarmovies]

Please put Paul on camera more often. He’s such an amazing wealth of knowledge, and it’s so fun listening to him.

[@spacepodi]

I imagine Leo Fender had that same drive for perfection of tone and the science behind it. Really impressive.

[@Hickalum]

This would have been bread and butter to Leo Fender … He was first and foremost an electronics engineer. But he had an incredibly rare ability … he could listen to what people (musicians) wanted and turn it into reality.

[@chrisl7949]

If it wasn't for Leo, PRS probably wouldn't even exist

[@user-xu4rt4he4p]

85/15 are masterpiece, I bought my first PRS just because of their magical sound Now I’m totally a PRS fanboy Want more and more of your guitars and already ordered Horsemeat Keep going Paul! You and your team are genius wizards

[@davidbaines7330]

Easily the best sounding one in the neck position.

[@greham]

It's interesting because it's one of the most replaced and disregarded pickup from PRS. Tons of Custom 24 players purchasing replacement pickups. Main argument is always: sounds is very thin.

[@noworries12]

@@greham exactly... too trebly,soulless, 2-dimensional/no depth...a pair of DiMarzio Transitions solved the problem

[@beatlebarb64]

I'm not a musician but I love music. Paul is such a genius in so many fields and a great teacher too. Love watching his genius at work!!

[@soundpainter2590]

What are you Good at ?? What DO you know ? OK, then that's where & What you should comment at. Make sense ??

[@morelcompasstv]

The TCI (Paul’s Pickup) and Narrowfield sound amazing! Like it’s the best of everything

[@davegallagher7428]

That was so interesting. Please do more primers about anything you want to enlighten us on. I have a grasp about pick ups that I didn’t have before. Many thanks.

[@Chris.1812]

This is exactly the video I’d always wished they would make

[@claudevieaul1465]

This is so enlightening! Beautifully explained *and* played too - no frills pure sound comparing. Thanks so much for taking the time to do this, Paul! 🙏😎

[@billwittman0504]

Paul, your always a joy to watch and we learn so much!!

[@gregholmberg2]

Finally, a pickup manufacturer talking about the frequency response curve of pickups! That peak he points out is the natural resonant frequency of the pickup. It's determined by the inductance of the pickup, measured in Henries. I wish pickup manufacturers quoted the Henries of their pickups--it's much more useful than DC resistance. The builder can control both the frequency and the height of this peak. I think it's important to realize that in all pickups, the frequency of this peak is well beyond the fundamental frequencies of the notes on a guitar. The fundamentals run from 82 to about 1100 Hz. Pickup peaks start at around 2000 Hz and can go beyond human hearing, but typically no more than 8000 Hz. So the peak is emphasizing overtones, not fundamentals. After this point, response falls off to zero. You can easily measure the frequency response of pickups yourself. All you need is an audio interface, some free software (like Room EQ Wizard), and Ken Willmott's "Integrator" device ($135).

[@jonathankvex]

I'm using Ken WIllmott's Integrator to do just that - I'm building a database to collect these frequency response curves for every pickup.

[@qddk9545]

@@jonathankvex Is that public?

[@williamrobinson7435]

Most illuminating! Congratulations to PRS on all these superb instruments. 🌟🎶👍

[@angusorvid8840]

The pickups were one of the first thing I noticed about PRS when I first tried a Custom in '87. I then tried all the PRS at that shop in West L.A. and they ALL sounded great. Their pickups are perfectly matched to their instruments. Superb.

[@shanedaniels5191]

Fantastic video!!.. Love Paul's energy when he's describing things.. Not only can you hear,but you can see his passion for the craft.. 🙂✌️

[@jamesnelson1443]

Great video Paul!!!! Love how you keep us in the loop!

[@stevenkoppelkam643]

Fascinating, cant wait to truly see what Paul's been working on behind the scenes

[@davegillette2715]

The Tele style prs may break the internet 😂

[@OldeDog_NewTricks]

New to PRS, but I’m really loving what I see and hear so far. I personally don’t subscribe to, or understand the criticism regarding “mojo”. I think having a reliably consistent product is terrific. I don’t want to search through a bunch of the same model guitar looking for “the one”. I want to be able to look at a guitar that turns me on and know that visual aesthetic is the only difference between another guitar of the same model. That’s gold.

[@sedoyotec]

Hi, Paul! Thank you for putting your enthusiasm and hard work on each small detail of the guitar. So nice to see how shy at the end he became, like a geek kid, speaking on his beloved topic.

[@ScottDreyfus]

15 more years sounds like music to my ears. Keep us rocking Paul

[@gamjammallota78]

Simply superb. I'm sure glad that Paul has taken the realization of knowing he'd maybe never be a guitar God, to being the God of guitar tone. Just look at what his contributions were, are, and going to be. He's the Leo Fender and Les Paul of our time. BTW, my PRS/Doug Sewell HDRX-20 is heavenly. I am in the midst of upgrading my sweet PRS SE Custom 24 lefty with a custom adjustable nut as well as D'Addario Auto-trim locking tuning machines to make my guitar dream come true. PRS has helped make it all possible for me.

[@kroadster3249]

So clear so concise I enjoyed every minute of the video. Thank you Paul for sharing

[@joeabadier]

I look at a PRS as a G and an F- without their design mistakes. We are lucky that Paul is still here with us and is constantly looking at ways to make his guitars look, feel and sound better.

[@erickleefeld4883]

At 4:45, Paul takes out his test rig guitar: “So, what we have here is a guitar that we can stick pickups, slide them in and out…” - that’s the PRS guitar I want!

[@mikesiemek8630]

Best explanation ever! Thanks for sharing and taking the time to show how this process works!

[@jeffgerndt2813]

Thank you Paul for your tireless work on improving the guitar. Mine is on order.

[@Voronguitar]

A huuuuge thank you Paul to this video! Now I know why I love so much my 58/15LTs !!!! 😊 always good to see your explanation videos !!!!!

[@GOOSE-1334]

Probably the most informative video I have ever seem about pickups

[@trevpeeps307]

He is a mad scientist. They’re one of the few companies where I prefer their newer models to the vintage ones because they’re just better

[@0megalul309]

since prs keeps their quality, unlike other companies newer is better but i like the old ones too since its cool to see how paul evolved from the early days.

[@sixslinger9951]

My '92 custom begs to differ ;)

[@trevpeeps307]

@@sixslinger9951 I had a 91 custom and it was a great guitar. I wish I still had it. My 594 is pretty great too

[@benallmark9671]

@@sixslinger9951 you just keep telling yourself that if makes you feel better but you’re flat out wrong. Just a fact my friend.

[@awkipintee]

Very informative and I like the direction you’re going with that single coil tone, old and new. I played a PRS in a music store and the one thought that stayed with me was how very musical it sounded. Great video Paul. 👌

[@IraDuncan]

GREAT explanation on pickups, Paul. I'm lucky to have built one guitar in my lifetime, and it was somewhat inspired by you. I'm itching to do another now after a 20 year break. I consider myself lucky to have met you at Bob Willcutt's 50th anniversary weekend a few years ago and everyone who has said you are incredibly kind and wise is absolutely right. Thank you for inspiring people continually. Godspeed.

[@jerrygeist1677]

You know you're really something. I love the fact that you are always evolving. Always thinking always growing musically tone. Thanks for your commitment if just incredible what you done with your brand..

[@allen5638]

As a new player, and student of the guitar, it amazes and humbles me the science and passion that this into building these things that resonate across so many genres, cultures and yet inexplicably ties us together. Thank you for the effort and I like many others will one day will experience that for myself and those to whom I can play for and to.

[@andrewc9762]

This is great! More videos from Paul please!

[@IamMusicNerd]

I have to admit, I was skeptical whether all the PRS TCI claims was mostly marketing hype, and I wouldn’t be able to actually hear much of a difference. But I have been pleasantly surprised just how good some of them sound. Both the 58/15 LT in my core, and the MEV TCI pickups in the Modern Eagle V sound even better than my favorite Traditional Les Paul. They never get muddy no matter what pedal or amp I put them through. Very well done!

[@YMESYDT]

I love how much we're getting to know Paul

[@WiPri0371]

I just learned more in a single sitting than I have at any other time. Man, he is a really good teacher.

[@alasdairmunro1953]

Thank you for an illuminating video! Keep exploring.

[@clivematthews95]

This whole video is illuminating 💛

[@taborturtle]

I absolutely LOVE whiteboard Paul! I want you as my teacher in a class! I have so much to learn. I specifically watched this to learn about how you approach pickups, and I respect your opinion a whole lot! Thank you!

[@petercarparelli]

Paul is not only an artist, but he's a scientist and the marriage of those things has resulted in the music industry being given such an excited and passionate point of view on instruments. Paul's the man, would love to chat with him again someday!

[@okanakol4590]

I feel so lucky to watch this video. You rock Paul! I am happy to own one👍

[@ajaykumargoel9398]

Yes please, more from Professor Smith!

[@benmarshallproduction]

Really interesting and informative. Thanks Paul!

[@thebiggianthead8364]

Thank you for playing it with clean tones. Every idiot who thinks we can hear anything with distortion added needs to see this vid.

[@NJSmithMusic]

Love the narrowfield pickup. Reminds me of my favorite tele neck pickup tones

[@TheEmac70]

I thought that too!

[@glasseyes5844]

It's jawdropping just how single-coil like they sound. Amazing pick ups.

[@erichodnett4475]

Paul thank you and the whole crew for everything. I don’t know where I would be without guitar and especially PRS..

[@prsguitars]

Thanks for the love @erichodnett4475

[@magdowich]

keep pushing guitar innovation Paul 🙌

[@djwarren5081]

Learn something new every day watching PRS.

[@jukruhar94]

PRS should produce THAT same guitar as a finished product. It would be a chameleon of tone. Imagine ONE pickup (TCI in this case), swapable between trebble and bass position, 250k/500k switch, high pass filter.. what a great idea.

[@Furtheronmusic]

Brilliant and enlightening video thanks Paul

[@chaos4316]

Thanks for sharing. I’ve been working in the custom shop of a guitar co for about a year now building pickups. It’s cool to see it laid out so simply. (When it’s definitely not simple!)

[@user-nh4pb1mh9e]

I love my P.r.s. it only gets played for special occasions. It's 20 yrs old and pristine..I will never change the pickups.. I feel blessed that I own your product. Thank you so much for gifting us with your intelligence, and guitar innovation.

[@ElAvatarDelLuthier]

Great video! a real library of knowledge here.Thank you!

[@CosmicNed]

Really enjoyed this explanation of how PRS pickups are voiced. My personal favourite is the 57/08 for classic rock styles, but the 85/15 is the most versatile humbucker for any style in my humble opinion…

[@swangdb]

Thanks Pauls, loved the video!

[@Robertkelleymusic]

I have been so excited to see what PRS continues to develop with pickups ever since the Silver Sky. Those Single Coils are among the very best! And the first time I played a PRS semi hollow with 59/09, I was blown away!… Cannot wait until the day I can own a Special Semi-Hollow! Keep ‘em Comin’!

[@z4570]

Thanks, Paul. We can see that you "care" about your work as a guitar maker and the artist that you are. Thanks for such a great explanation.

[@pierre6940]

Bonjour Paul, i just bought a beautiful 2023 Blue PRS SE custom 24/08 with TCI S. Thanks a lot for your amazing work!!

[@isaacshepard7809]

That passion is what makes him Paul ❤️ your amazing my brother

[@BoneyBobsTreasure]

Thank you, hugely appreciated.

[@Roundbeadadvocate]

Paul loves to talk, but he also owns the only company that specifically routed out a guitar to test pickups and went to the trouble to show us exactly what is going on. Taking the time to make a video like this to explain this stuff to everybody really shows how cool he is.

[@carliniguitar]

Would love to see more of the graphs of frequencies. It is so cool how this stuff is able to be quantified and thus adjusted so precisely.

[@williardbillmore5713]

He calls it a black art. That doesn't sound very scientific to me.

[@meandmyunclesbrother409]

That test guitar! SO cool!

[@thedave2156]

Great video! Very informative. Thank you!

[@smlkgitaris]

Thanks for the knowledge... God bless you. You're so generous to share the knowledge

[@finnbloch]

Super explanation - I even think that I understand what it is about. Super video!

[@joekyleboston]

Dang, this is awesome! Thank you Paul.

[@dangarris5309]

Thank you so very much Paul

[@bernhardnizynski4403]

Great presentation!

[@donbutler8760]

I remember you sent me a whole box of PRS pickups around 1992. I couldn't find a neck pickup I liked for my PRS Artist..I thought that was so nice of you!

[@periloustemple8290]

Well done, sir - as usual!

[@bedirhanozturk612]

We want to more left handed models 🤘

[@roderickbalt8993]

Yes, I'm not gonna buy 'em but I wanna see em :)!

[@t3hgir]

and left hand pianos, saxophones too...

[@robvanscheijndel]

Great to see that his approach in developing pickups results in better products. He didn’t mention several other variables, such as the difference in output between humbuckers and single coils and the frequency response of our ears. In the end it is still our hearing and feeling experience that decides which pick-up suits the best. But with the systematically approach of designing pickups, he creates great sounding products for the most of us.

[@lenablack4264]

Please make this a series!!

[@simonkormendy849]

This was both an eye and ear opener for me.

[@HeathFoley]

For many years the Dragon and HFS pickups in my 94 Custom 22 were my fav, but now my new fav are the 85/15's. I just love those pickups, they can do everything!

[@thomashogan1985]

This is why PRS guitars are the best mass produced guitars in the world, his passion and knowledge are second to none for a company owner

[@erik2446]

Great idea for a video! Thanks!

[@sgt.grinch3299]

Thank you for the education Sir.

[@cre8alotdesign232]

AWESOME VIDEO, LOVED IT

[@makiiii7276]

wow man... i grew up not having a father on early age, getting paul explaining things like that is like a bed time story for me. and i did learn a lot. amazing!

[@prsguitars]

Papa Paul is here for you, @makiiii. Sleep well.

[@sheptoneguitarpickups]

Absolutely fantastic video. I've always dreamed to being able to sit down and create something just like this.

[@gregsLyrics]

Absolutely brilliant! I'm headed to the store to order my PRS custom.

[@Doug5524]

I love the explanation Paul gave I purchased a PRS standard in 2021 it is in antique white with 58/15 pickups this guitar has a great weight 6.6 pounds I find myself picking this guitar this guitar 99% of the time I have a Gibson standard, Fender Mexican, Fender Telecaster USA and I prefer the PRS on a daily basis great pickups thank you Paul and gang all the best from the Suffolk England.

[@allanjcarpenter]

Wow! No wonder I love 85/15s so much. Great tone.

[@richoz.]

Hi Paul. Thank you for making the affordable SE line. I recently bought an PRS SE Starla, and it's a real thrill to own and play such a great guitar, one you couldn't afford before. Also thank you for your inspirational and insightful statements in every video and interview, really enlightening.

[@homebrew1709]

I see Paul as a modern day Leo Fender: constantly innovating and never accepting yesterday’s technology as “good enough”. His passion and active involvement is what separates PRS from the “other two” big guitar brands who seem content to keep churning out instruments that have barely changed from 60+ years ago.

[@dancotterman1267]

Because he’s still alive and working. Leo’s time was well spent but he is sadly gone. Similar people except Leo didn’t play can you figure?