Zach Myers SE - Control cavity plates not recessed

[Riplead]

Ok, I really don't why they did this. I have one in Trampas Green and the plates are recessed. Nice and flush. I just ordered a blue one from Sweetwater, and the plates are not recessed. What the heck, I don't get it. Yeah you put veneer on the headstock which looks great, but you don't recess the covers? I would have thought these bodies were all CNC'd. What did someone delete the part that routes these out? I HATE plates sticking out the back of my guitars. On my tremolo guitars, I remove them. I see that some manufacturers even sell guitars with no tremolo back plates or screw holes. This may be minor to most but I'm not happy about it. Thoughts?

 

[gush]

Sell me the ZM........

 

[Rod/]

If it bothers you, take it off. Eric Johnson says they sound better that way

 

[Prs Mods too]

I agree Rip.

 

[Riplead]

This is the cover for the electronics, and then one for the switch. You really don't want to leave the shielded cover off the electronics. I just don't get why they would change that. Makes no sense whatsoever. I could see if there was not enough room, but it's like a 1/8" route, and they had it on the earlier models. I'm guessing some kind of cost-cutting measure. I send an email to PRS customer support just to see what they say. I'll report back when/if they get back to me.

 

[Riplead]

Sell me the ZM........

I didn't even take it out of the box yet. Man, Sweetwater packs guitars unbelievable. I'm sure it's double-boxed, and tons of packing, plus don't forget the candy they include. I'll check it out tomorrow and decide if I wanna keep it or not. Sorry, not selling...

 

[DogPhishHead]

This is the cover for the electronics, and then one for the switch. You really don't want to leave the shielded cover off the electronics. I just don't get why they would change that. Makes no sense whatsoever. I could see if there was not enough room, but it's like a 1/8" route, and they had it on the earlier models. I'm guessing some kind of cost-cutting measure. I send an email to PRS customer support just to see what they say. I'll report back when/if they get back to me.

You answered your own question…economics. My S2 594 has surface mounted rear plates, guess what….never bothers me. My former ZM had surface plates too. I’d rather the focus be on better materials than a silly “cosmetic” item. You know…rosewood vs kung pao ferro or some baked, stained maple fingerboard.

 

[Riplead]

I hear ya, and agree. Still, they added the veneer to the headstock, which probably added to the cost. I could see them cutting a corner to compensate for that, but I'm kinda surprised they would delete that small operation from the CNC program to route the recess. All that said, I just took it out of the carton now to check it out. It's funny, I have 12 other really nice guitars including a core Custom 22, but lately the ZM has been my fav. I usually prefer Wizard type necks too, but there's just something about the neck on the ZM my hands seem to like.

 

[sergiodeblanc]

I’m sure it was done to prevent burn-throughs while buffing and to streamline the assembly process.

But, I find it kinda cheesy.

I haven’t stripped the finish off a new (Cort) SE, so I wonder if there’s less than an 1/8” of poly on these? The WMI SE’s were all positively caked between base and top coat.

 

[Rod/]

I’m sure it was done to prevent burn-throughs while buffing and to streamline the assembly process.

But, I find it kinda cheesy.

I haven’t stripped the finish off a new (Cort) SE, so I wonder if there’s less than an 1/8” of poly on these? The WMI SE’s were all positively caked between base and top coat.

The finish on my ‘22 Santana SE is much much thinner than the older World Music SE’s I owned for a short time. That thick finish just kills tone…

 

[Riplead]

I just noticed they added binding to the neck and body on the newer blue one. My older green one has the natural wood binding and none on the neck.

 

[Birdsofprey]

Adding plastic for better tone, never understood that. Nice top btw. Oh and just curious, the Trampas Green is prob made in Korea, Blue made in Indonesia?

 

[Riplead]

Yeah, I didn't expect that. Thanks on the top, but the blue one is going back. I just played them both, and still prefer my old one.

 

[DogPhishHead]

Yeah, I didn't expect that. Thanks on the top, but the blue one is going back. I just played them both, and still prefer my old one.

I had both MIK and MII Myers. The pickups in the Korean one were much hotter. If I recall 8.5k on the neck, 10.5k at the bridge. The blue one had both in the lower 8k range.

 

[Riplead]

Adding plastic for better tone, never understood that. Nice top btw. Oh and just curious, the Trampas Green is prob made in Korea, Blue made in Indonesia?

Sorry I missed your question on where the blue one was made. Yes the blue one was made in Indonesia. And you're right, the green one was made in Korea. That's good to know on the pickups. I prefer hotter pickups, so that works out.

 

[Riplead]

PRS Customer Support replied:

Thank you for contacting PRS Guitars. We have partnered with a few different manufacturers since the introduction of the SE Zach Myers model, and I suspect this would be the difference from one manufacturer to the next.

If you can provide the serial numbers to the two Zach Myers guitars in question, I'd be happy to confirm this for you.

We would not be capable of routing out recessed backplate cavities on a guitar with surface mount backplates.

Let us know if you have any further questions.

 

[László]

Like you, OP, I share a preference for recessed backplates. On the other hand, lots of great $4000+ guitars from companies like Tom Anderson, Fender Custom Shop, Suhr, and others have surface-mounted backplates.

I'm not saying you should alter your preferences at all, of course! Stick to your guns!

All of my guitars are Core or PS, and all have recessed backplates. That's a nice thing, though I've owned some great Tom Andersons over the years that were probably worth hanging onto, and there are Suhr guitars I'd probably enjoy owning (not to worry PRS, I have what I need from you).

Just noting that certain things are issues for some players, and not for others, and that very fine guitars are made with surface mount backplates with no apologies. Then there are Les Pauls and even more expensive guitars with plastic binding.

I speak only for myself here. I'm not sure a surface-mounted backplate would be an issue for me now, since it wasn't in the past. However, my PRSes are pretty damn wonderful, and I don't even look at other guitars.

On the other hand, every player is entitled to like, or dislike, a given feature on a guitar.

 

[Riplead]

Like you, OP, I share a preference for recessed backplates. On the other hand, lots of great $4000+ guitars from companies like Tom Anderson, Fender Custom Shop, Suhr, and others have surface-mounted backplates.

I'm not saying you should alter your preferences at all, of course! Stick to your guns!

All of my guitars are Core or PS, and all have recessed backplates. That's a nice thing, though I've owned some great Tom Andersons over the years that were probably worth hanging onto, and there are Suhr guitars I'd probably enjoy owning (not to worry PRS, I have what I need from you).

Just noting that certain things are issues for some players, and not for others, and that very fine guitars are made with surface mount backplates with no apologies. Then there are Les Pauls and even more expensive guitars with plastic binding.

I speak only for myself here. I'm not sure a surface-mounted backplate would be an issue for me now, since it wasn't in the past. However, my PRSes are pretty damn wonderful, and I don't even look at other guitars.

On the other hand, every player is entitled to like, or dislike, a given feature on a guitar.

Yeah, this isn't really a big deal, but I didn't understand why my older one was recessed and the newer one isn't. I figured they all used the same CNC program for routing. But now they added binding, so that another route to consider. There must be some rationale, I was just curious. At least the plates are beveled on the newer ones.

 

[László]

Yeah, this isn't really a big deal, but I didn't understand why my older one was recessed and the newer one isn't. I figured they all used the same CNC program for routing. But now they added binding, so that another route to consider. There must be some rationale, I was just curious. At least the plates are beveled on the newer ones.

It's all personal preference. I certainly respect yours.

 

[Ovibos]

Yeah, this isn't really a big deal, but I didn't understand why my older one was recessed and the newer one isn't. I figured they all used the same CNC program for routing. But now they added binding, so that another route to consider. There must be some rationale, I was just curious. At least the plates are beveled on the newer ones.

CNC is one thing, but it really comes down to “time in hands.” If it’s not something where the part itself clearly costs more (like pots) then the reason is time. It’s probably faster to finish/sand/etc the back with non-recessed.

I like Phil McKnight’s take on it - they’re not cheap guitars, they’re ‘quick’ guitars.