Silver Sky SE MODS: Sure, why not?

Are the saddles and string spacing the same on the core brass saddles as the silver sky? I saw John mann’s and thought they had different spacing.
 
Broseph said:
Are the saddles and string spacing the same on the core brass saddles as the silver sky? I saw John mann’s and thought they had different spacing.
Click to expand...
I didn't reassemble this project, but i didn't hear my tech stating any issues with the spacing. The core saddles were drop and play on the SE. Spacing is the same to me.

These are the same saddles I put on my Core SS's with no issues. Seems interchangeable to me. I can't speak to John's saddles with certainty, but I would imagine that John's would be the same. Try giving him a call just to verify tho.
 
ELPANABANANA said:
I can see that. Their loss. Haha
Click to expand...
Their loss. Exactly.

I am surprised tho, by the number of complete sets of SE Silver Sky pickups and controls there are on Reverb for around $120. That’s a steal!

Anyone looking for pickups for a Strat would be hard pressed to find better pickups at any price, let alone for $120 including the pots and switch.
 
Lewguitar said:
Their loss. Exactly.

I am surprised tho, by the number of complete sets of SE Silver Sky pickups and controls there are on Reverb for around $120. That’s a steal!

Anyone looking for pickups for a Strat would be hard pressed to find better pickups at any price, let alone for $120 including the pots and switch.
Click to expand...
I'm sure there are SE owners out there that bought pickups to replace without having the SE in hand. I can see people not giving them a chance. Heck, I was in that group. I was just going to swap mine out with my Core pickups I had from my other projects until I played it. . . And realized the pickups are just fine. More than fine actually.

But $120 for a set of SE pickups and electronics is not a bad deal for strat users.
 
ELPANABANANA said:
I'm sure there are SE owners out there that bought pickups to replace without having the SE in hand. I can see people not giving them a chance. Heck, I was in that group. I was just going to swap mine out with my Core pickups I had from my other projects until I played it. . . And realized the pickups are just fine. More than fine actually.

But $120 for a set of SE pickups and electronics is not a bad deal for strat users.
Click to expand...
No, it's a great deal.

I put a set of Duncan Antiquitys in one of my SE SS guitars and left the other one stock so I could compare them.

I can't decide which I like more. Whichever one I'm playing I guess, because they both sound great.

But the Antiquitys are about $325 a set just for the pickups so $125 for a set of used SE SS pickups that includes the controls is an unbeatable deal.
 
Lewguitar said:
No, it's a great deal.

I put a set of Duncan Antiquitys in one of my SE SS guitars and left the other one stock so I could compare them.

I can't decide which I like more. Whichever one I'm playing I guess, because they both sound great.

But the Antiquitys are about $325 a set just for the pickups so $125 for a set of used SE SS pickups that includes the controls is an unbeatable deal.
Click to expand...

That's awesome!
 
ELPANABANANA said:
I got this 2022 Silver Sky SE back in May of 2022 as a gift. I considered buying one for some time prior to. I hesitated only because I had a few Core SS's already. My intention was always to modify the SE with these specific mods (similar to what I've done to my Core models), but only if I loved the SE once in hand. . I knew this was an incredible instrument as soon as I played it. It was good to go right out of the box! Just like the Core model. And so, the project was a go and it only took a few weeks to get it back from my tech. I've been loving this guitar since.

Here's what I'll say about modifying a SS SE- it isn't necessary. The SS SE out of the box is an incredible instrument. Such an incredible value for the price. However, if you're looking to hear the same pickup tones from the Core model out of the SE, you won't. That's not a bad thing either. The pickups on the SE sound great. But they are different from the Core model. There are pickups out there that will come close to sounding like the Core model, or better depending on your preference. Maybe the only mods I would see people wanting to make would be Pickups and Locking Tuners. You don't need to go crazy like me and do a complete overhaul. That's just my preference.

My final advice about modifying an SS SE, or any guitar really, make sure you love it first. Otherwise, you'll be spending a lot of money and time into something that you may not love even after the mods. In closing, I would absolutely recommend an SS SE to any beginner or pro-level player. I hope this was helpful to anyone looking to buy or modify an SE. And remember, it's just wood and metal. Don't be afraid to mess something up.

*Here's the price breakdown of this project in U.S dollars.

SE: $791
Parts: $706.87
Labor: $200 (wiring, routing, assembly)
Total: $1,697.87

Savings of $951.13 from buying a new Core model. You can certainly have bigger savings if you are capable of doing the work yourself and foregoing certain parts not needed based on your preference. Was it worth it? To me, yes. But for you, it may or may not be.

(COPY LINK FOR PICTURES:
https://imgur.com/a/xjfGWu3
)

• Custom Bone Nut
• Core SS Tuner Cap Screws (Forgot to install them at the time of these pictures)
• PRS Strap Buttons (Pre 2022 version)
• Mini toggle
• CORE Trem Claw n Screws
• Pearl White Backplate (Mojoaxe)
• HSS Pearl White Pickguard (Mojoaxe)
• CORE PRS Saddles
• Emerson 250k Prewired Kit
• Emerson 500K pot (For Humbucker)
• PRS Treble Pickup (PRS \M/ )
• PRS Vintage Locking Tuners
Click to expand...
I just bought a stone blue SS SE. Lover the tone and how it plays so I'm good with the pups/electronics for now. I'm just looking to make a few cosmetic changes. Thanks for the parts list, models, and brands; I can work with this!
 
I don't think the SE Silver Sky needs ANY upgrades. David Starr at Starrs Guitars set up my green one and it was perfect from day one. My white one I bought used and the previous owner didn't know how to set up a guitar so it took me a couple of hours to get it playing right.

I did replace the pickups in the green one. But only because I have two and I wanted to hear my favorite pickups in one.

I tried Antiquitys, but the polepiece stagger didn't quite match the 8 1/2 - 9" fingerboard radius.

So I put a set of Chumtone '61 pickups in it. Sounds great!

Not better than it did originally though. Just a little less bright and smoother.

I might change the plastic nut on both.

But it's not like they need it.

I'm just fussy. And curious about those brass infused graphite nuts PRS is using.
 
ELPANABANANA said:
I'm sure there are SE owners out there that bought pickups to replace without having the SE in hand. I can see people not giving them a chance. Heck, I was in that group. I was just going to swap mine out with my Core pickups I had from my other projects until I played it. . . And realized the pickups are just fine. More than fine actually.

But $120 for a set of SE pickups and electronics is not a bad deal for strat users.
Click to expand...
I love the sound of the guitar. Between the two local PRS dealers, I played three or four and all sounded great. It came down to whether I wanted to spend C$1150 on the SS SE or C$1930 on a Fender Am Performer. I decided to save the ~$900 (tax in), it was just that good.
 
Townie said:
I just bought a stone blue SS SE. Lover the tone and how it plays so I'm good with the pups/electronics for now. I'm just looking to make a few cosmetic changes. Thanks for the parts list, models, and brands; I can work with this!
Click to expand...
Congrats on your new SE! It's an incredible instrument. I'm glad my post is helpful. We would love to see what mods you end up doing. Good luck!
 
I just picked up a mint condition SE and was going to make it my backup guitar. Mine has a Tusq nut on it. The guitar plays and sounds really nice, but the sustain is lacking. If I could fix that one problem it would likely become my primary guitar, or at least share that spot. Has anyone replaced the saddles and found an increase is sustain? Which saddles did you use?
 
Tinwhistler said:
I just picked up a mint condition SE and was going to make it my backup guitar. Mine has a Tusq nut on it. The guitar plays and sounds really nice, but the sustain is lacking. If I could fix that one problem it would likely become my primary guitar, or at least share that spot. Has anyone replaced the saddles and found an increase is sustain? Which saddles did you use?
Click to expand...
Haven't needed to. Both of my SE Silver Skys sustain as well as any other strat type guitar I own.

Do you have a strat type guitar that sustains better than your SE?

Are you looking for heavy rock type sustain when you solo?
 
Louguitar said:
Haven't needed to. Both of my SE Silver Skys sustain as well as any other strat type guitar I own.

Do you have a strat type guitar that sustains better than your SE?

Are you looking for heavy rock type sustain when you solo?
Click to expand...
I have a Godin Session that sustains far longer, and my buddy's MIM Fender strat sustains longer. I don't play heavy rock, but I play some music where I intro the song with a sustained wash chord, and noticed I have to keep replaying the chord and fading in, as opposed to just one strum on other guitars. I prefer the sound I get from the SS, it just needs a bit more sustain. I thought I would try new saddles first.
 
Tinwhistler said:
I have a Godin Session that sustains far longer, and my buddy's MIM Fender strat sustains longer. I don't play heavy rock, but I play some music where I intro the song with a sustained wash chord, and noticed I have to keep replaying the chord and fading in, as opposed to just one strum on other guitars. I prefer the sound I get from the SS, it just needs a bit more sustain. I thought I would try new saddles first.
Click to expand...
I have a Wampler Ego compressor on my board that's always on whether I'm playing clean or with overdrive. I keep it set low but it's always on and it thickens the sound of single coils.

Is your tremolo floating? Decking it will improve sustain and give the guitar a more solid, deep tone.

My SE Silver Skys sustain about the same as any other good Strat.
 
Louguitar said:
I have a Wampler Ego compressor on my board that's always on whether I'm playing clean or with overdrive. I keep it set low but it's always on and it thickens the sound of single coils.

Is your tremolo floating? Decking it will improve sustain and give the guitar a more solid, deep tone.

My SE Silver Skys sustain about the same as any other good Strat.
Click to expand...
I also use a compressor, and the tremolo is decked. I checked that first. It has some sustain, it's not entirely dead. I just noticed it's less than what I'm used to. I've modded a lot of guitars, and thought this guitar is an opportunity to do the same.
 
Tinwhistler said:
I also use a compressor, and the tremolo is decked. I checked that first. It has some sustain, it's not entirely dead. I just noticed it's less than what I'm used to. I've modded a lot of guitars, and thought this guitar is an opportunity to do the same.
Click to expand...
One thing I did notice that helped fix the problem some is that the tremolo spring on the bass side wasn't fully seated into the block. I tapped it in and that helped noticeably. I still would like to change the saddles though. I've never been a fan of bent metal saddles, especially with the screws that protrude at the top.
 
Tinwhistler said:
One thing I did notice that helped fix the problem some is that the tremolo spring on the bass side wasn't fully seated into the block. I tapped it in and that helped noticeably. I still would like to change the saddles though. I've never been a fan of bent metal saddles, especially with the screws that protrude at the top.
Click to expand...
To me they're part of the sound I'm used to.

But brass saddles do thicken the tone a little.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

bpstrad
Silver Sky truss rod wrench
Replies
3
Views
206
show_a_little_faith
show_a_little_faith
MarcWink
USA Silver Sky v. SE Silver Sky
Replies
15
Views
677
DreamTheaterRules
DreamTheaterRules
Don
Silver Sky Help!
Replies
2
Views
305
Don
Don
shimmilou
  • Poll
Best SE ever?
2 3
Replies
44
Views
946
d^rren
d^rren
MarcWink
SE 594 Fretwork
Replies
12
Views
265
MarcWink
MarcWink
Back
Top