PRS SE Kingfisher Bass: an honest review (and mods) of a dishonest bass
I’m a big fan of PRS guitars, and when I caught the bass bug it was an easy decision to get a PRS SE bass sight unseen, without having ever played (or even held) a bass. There’s a lot to like about this bass, but wow: the pickups are a straight up deception.
0:00 Intro: deciding to get my first bass!
2:28 The PRS SE Kestrel and Kingfisher basses.
5:08 Bringing home the Kingfisher
5:55 The Kingfisher “humbucker” pickups are single coil pickups with a dummy coil.
11:40 Modifying the Kingfisher to get good sound.
14:02 @prsguitars you broke my heart. My deep disappointment with PRS for the deceptive characterisation of these pickups as humbuckers.
Links:
– PRS SE Basses https://prsguitars.com/products/se_bass
– Nordstrand Soapbar pickups that can be used to replace the Kingfisher pickups. I got the Big Split 4. If you want a dual coil humbucker you can get the dual coil 4. In any case, the proper pickup size for replacement is EMG 35, with 19mm string spacing. https://nordstrandaudio.com/collections/4-string-soapbar-bass-pickups.
– The replacement pickups I used were these, with the EMG 35 casing https://nordstrandaudio.com/products/big-split-4
– The thread where I first learned about the issue https://www.talkbass.com/threads/has-gretsch-been-lying-to-us-for-over-a-decade.1557548/. Thanks @LowEndLobster !
Also thanks to @prsguitars for *usually* making great instruments. Please stop telling people the pickups on the Kingfisher bass are humbuckers.
#PRS #Kingfisher #Bass #honest #review #mods #dishonest #bass
Originally posted by UC5s6Wv6Qzk6UYrp-p2awOrw at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J63iq2TMq9U
I had these same pickups in another bass (not prs) awhile back. They were weak as you describe but they did cancel hum as described. What i found though was the reason they were weak is that the coils are wired in PARALLEL. I rewired the coils in series and WOW, major punch.
You really should have researched before hand. PRS is not a reputable bass maker. They just have a few models that probably are mostly sold to guitar players. It's like buying a Honda for off-roading because they make great sedans.
A MIM P or J bass would have been a much better first bass for a similar amount of money. And a better introduction on what bass is about (certainly not about pickup output levels).
Who cares if a pickup has low output? Just increase the gain of your preamp. It's an electric instrument, it is designed to be amplified.
And the irony is that you replaced the pickups by another set of similar pickups single coil style pickups that are not humbuckers.
I think Paul is very passionate about his products and would not deceive the customer. I dismiss your comments because You said it….you are not a bass player and don’t recall ever picking up a bass. I like the way these factory pickups sound. The reviews from other bass players and the praise they give for this “entry” level guitar and compared to some other basses that are more on the high end, these pickups have punch. They are hum canceling but the construction of the pickups are not the same as a lot of other humbucker types especially talking bass. The ear hears differently for each person. Look at the other comments about the pickups they would use or the guitar type. I disagree many times in my head when someone chooses a certain color, look or “pickups”….I don’t agree with. My case with you is you have no experience with the bass guitar or worse yet, not trying many others to make a qualified/experienced call.
I have one. The pickups suck
You should have gotten a Cort A series … hehehe …
Technically, it is still a humbucker (if the dummy coil does cancel hum) but one without a wide aperture for the pickup. ????
But seriously, the bass has its own signature sound. A phat tone with some warmth to it. It’s different but very workable.
Well, some people like the sound of say a Gibson EB bass.
I’ll buy it if you still have it
I get being angry that you bought something blind with no knowledge and getting disappointed in your choice but people really need to look inward more when they complain about disappointment. I was not expecting anything and picked up one of these used and was stunned that there was a bad review out there that convinced the idiot who sold this to me to sell lol.
He was Also a new bass player so he knew nothing and trusted this review and I saved $800 Canadian dollars off buying new. It’s a passive bass, it’s going to have lower output. This is so easily solved by tweaking your amp settings or adding a pedal which almost every modern musician is fully capable of doing. For any beginner bassist out there who might do something stupid after buying one of these and watching this video please don’t listen to a review and use your ears and brain. Turn your amp up. Add some gain. Change the eq. Most bassists complain about output level drops when going from active to passive basses for different sounds. Now you can change basses and not have to worry about output drops but still get an aggressive tone. Pickups are just guitar microphones and people overthink this stuff a lot. Most people consider low output pickups the crème de la crème for tone because they can be shaped the easiest.
Your disapointment is a nice surprise for me and sparkled my interest in trying out this bass. I prefer single coils and in my case, single coil+dummy coil sounds very interesting to me. I do find it misleading from their part. But the moral of the story, instruments bought sight unseen is always a huge gamble.
I AM a bass player. And I just got this bass as a present. For the money, it is an exceptional bass. I saw this video and having now played it for a few months have come back to this video to call out this dishonest review. First of all there are several "humbucker" designs/wiring's and this one is one of them. Just because it is not the one you were thinking of doesn't make it dishonest. He even says, "not a full humbucker" but a humbucker all the same. Not only do these pickups sound great (when you have the right settings for a passive bass). All passive basses are "weak" compared to an active bass simply because you need to have a pre-amp on a Passive bass to have an Oranges to oranges comparison. Kudos to PRS for the engineering that gives this good an instrument at that price point.
Thanks for sharing your review and mods. I installed the Nordstrand pickups and they really sound great. Question:The Prs pots are very limited as they only seem effective when dimed out. Did you have to do any mods to install the aftermarket pots and what brand did you purchase? Thanks again for sharing.
Let me get this straight.
You aren't a bass player. You've never played a bass before. You have nothing with which to compare this bass. You thought the pickup were "weak" so you dismantled the bass to determine there are one set of pole pieces but 2 coils and replaced the pickups with something you thought would be "better." Right?
Did you make before and after recordings to show the improvement in output? Is output the determining factor in a good bass tone?
Watching the PRS Kingfisher PRS demo, the bass sounded great. Your tone with the upgraded pickups is not.
Are you sure you 'improved' the sound? I don't think so.
I'm a bass player that has recently started playing more guitar. I've fixed one. I've built one (parts caster). I've learned to do basic fret work. I've also learned I can't make a decent guitar tone to save my life.
I think you mirror that last sentence. You have no idea how make a tone, attempted to reverse engineer a bass and 'improve' it with absolutely no knowledge on the subject. You also accuse PRS of being "dishonest." Are they being dishonest by added a dummy coil to create a humbucker instead of ( by Fender's method) combining two pickups to create the humbucking?
No.
I wish you luck on your bass journey.
I look forward to hearing bass tones you record.
The guy doesn't play bass guitar he's revieing seriously oh please come on
This bass was my introduction to PRS.
My conclusion: in the future, it might not be wise to purchase entry level equipment from PRS.
Nordstrand Big Splits are awesome. Good choice!
How silly to put dummy coils on this bass… how much money did they save by doing this? You probably would have gotten a better bass with a Harley Benton.
Thank You for the video and all the links. greatly appreciated..
So what you’re really getting for a couple hundred dollars more is a maple veneer and a nice paint job ????????????. I would love to have a Kestrel because it’s still a neck-thru bass with Hipshot hardware for a very affordable price. I just don’t like that it’s only available in sunburst.
I just demoed this bass today alongside their Kestrel bass. I noticed that the output of the Kestrel was better than the Kingfisher. I was a little bummed because I really like the look of the Kingfisher a lot better than than the Kestrel. I appreciate your explanation because now I know I’m not crazy.
Can you send me a link to the new pickups that you replaced it with? Thanks.
The Grainger basses are extremely expensive. So a great company like PRS can't hit a price point in between that makes them money and produces a good product? I own a lot of Ibanez basses because of their age and sometimes the price. I watched this video to educate myself about PRS basses and I got some very important information. Thanks!
I would do all of these mods, but I'm not paying retail for a "project" bass.
That is absolute FRAUD! Thanks for your honesty! Aly Express from China is the real deal believe it or not. I have some in a 6 string bass. But PRS pushing this product is BS. Not buying.
I tried this bass,KILLER neck through,plays like butter,string through,quality bridge rings for days,Swamp Ash bright tone, great price but the pick ups are made in Indonesia,they belong on a Squier!