SinSir
Mad Scientist
- Joined
- Sep 7, 2020
- Messages
- 4,560
Kinda long story.. fell free to skip it all and just look at the pics, but know I love this guitar and it's already influenced my playing style. Winner!
I've been wanting a Santana for a long while. It's a guitar that's been a bit difficult for me to find the right one at the right price. Thank you covid. There's been a couple that I thought for sure were going to happen that didn't for various reasons. Then there's been others I really wanted but were cost prohibitive.
Enter the KL33. It seemed perfect for me. I'm a huge fan of korina. It always seems to just work. Earlier in the year I found the one I really wanted, but unfortunately those cards didn't play out due to another issue. Then a handful of months back I thought another was going to be mine, but it sold while I was debating because it wasn't as clean as the one I missed out on earlier in the year.
Then what do you know the one I wanted earlier in the year came back up for sale, but this time it was in my region instead of halfway across the country. A few conversations and a small road trip later THE KL33 was mine! First thing you'll notice is the pickups aren't stock. In full disclosure I had a set in mind for it when I was shopping for a KL33 if the Mira pickups didn't work.
When I got home I almost immediately decided the Mira bridge pickup wasn't for me. I gave it a shot, adjusted the heck out of it, and ran it through countless profiles, but I couldn't bond. Don't get me wrong I liked it and does sound good, but I didn't love it. It seemed to take more dialing in than what I wanted to mess with on a regular basis for a humbucker guitar. I have since found since the initial swap that this guitar is extremely clear and in my head I had more of a LP sound going on.
I was a fan of the Mira neck pickup and after pairing it with various bridge pickups it took quite a bit of convincing for me to pull. It really did blend nice with all of them including the stock Mira bridge. Both Mira pickups really excelled with dirt. Though, I'm one of those guys that judges on clean sound. I play cleanish and use my guitar knobs a lot.
I'm happy I took the long way around but in the end I decided to put the Wolfetone set I had originally planned on using. A Dr Vintage in the neck and Marshallhead in the bridge. Best decision I could have done for this guitar. They sound amazingly clear, articulate, and are extremely touch responsive (the guitar is by nature). Without turning a dial or stomping a pedal they can go from beautiful to raunchy if set to mild gain. If you haven't given Wolfe a shot I highly recommend his pickups and service. Great guy. He also has short leg pickups available that he says work better in some of the shallow PRS cavities
The guitar is dead mint. A true case queen. Being only about 100 made the previous owner bought it as an investment and apparently so did the owner before him. This guitars life has changed and will definitely be a player from now on. Thanks for reading and enjoy!
I've been wanting a Santana for a long while. It's a guitar that's been a bit difficult for me to find the right one at the right price. Thank you covid. There's been a couple that I thought for sure were going to happen that didn't for various reasons. Then there's been others I really wanted but were cost prohibitive.
Enter the KL33. It seemed perfect for me. I'm a huge fan of korina. It always seems to just work. Earlier in the year I found the one I really wanted, but unfortunately those cards didn't play out due to another issue. Then a handful of months back I thought another was going to be mine, but it sold while I was debating because it wasn't as clean as the one I missed out on earlier in the year.
Then what do you know the one I wanted earlier in the year came back up for sale, but this time it was in my region instead of halfway across the country. A few conversations and a small road trip later THE KL33 was mine! First thing you'll notice is the pickups aren't stock. In full disclosure I had a set in mind for it when I was shopping for a KL33 if the Mira pickups didn't work.
When I got home I almost immediately decided the Mira bridge pickup wasn't for me. I gave it a shot, adjusted the heck out of it, and ran it through countless profiles, but I couldn't bond. Don't get me wrong I liked it and does sound good, but I didn't love it. It seemed to take more dialing in than what I wanted to mess with on a regular basis for a humbucker guitar. I have since found since the initial swap that this guitar is extremely clear and in my head I had more of a LP sound going on.
I was a fan of the Mira neck pickup and after pairing it with various bridge pickups it took quite a bit of convincing for me to pull. It really did blend nice with all of them including the stock Mira bridge. Both Mira pickups really excelled with dirt. Though, I'm one of those guys that judges on clean sound. I play cleanish and use my guitar knobs a lot.
I'm happy I took the long way around but in the end I decided to put the Wolfetone set I had originally planned on using. A Dr Vintage in the neck and Marshallhead in the bridge. Best decision I could have done for this guitar. They sound amazingly clear, articulate, and are extremely touch responsive (the guitar is by nature). Without turning a dial or stomping a pedal they can go from beautiful to raunchy if set to mild gain. If you haven't given Wolfe a shot I highly recommend his pickups and service. Great guy. He also has short leg pickups available that he says work better in some of the shallow PRS cavities
The guitar is dead mint. A true case queen. Being only about 100 made the previous owner bought it as an investment and apparently so did the owner before him. This guitars life has changed and will definitely be a player from now on. Thanks for reading and enjoy!
