And Sometimes, What You Have Is Just Right!

[László]

I sold my Special Semi Hollow on Friday. Great guitar, of course, just not my 'voice', something I realized after playing it for months and simply wasn't hearing what I love in the lower mids with PRS' solid body guitars. Wasn't my thing.

Which is fine, I did well on the project I bought it for in 2021.

Today I played my CU24 30th Anniversary PS and was in heaven with all my amps. My love for the ones I have rotates among them.

I was looking at other guitars to replace the Special, and thought, "Why?" I'm sure I'll find out why at some point! Hahaha!

 

[docmoore]

There is an inflection point ... which morphs with our emotions and energy.

I think that most of us tend to suffer an acoustic fatigue ... where the sound we loved
is so familiar we want to seek a new new thing. Occasionally it is worth stepping back,
whether you play a different instrument or just time yourself out.

I imagine that it is not so much the guitar but rather everything else in the signal path
that determines our satisfaction with the tone and dynamics. But all of the above is contingent
upon having an instrument that is faithful to the dynamics, tone and harmonics that make
our sense of music and space real.

Once you find that combination ... run with it.

 

[László]

I imagine that it is not so much the guitar but rather everything else in the signal path

I agree with everything you said, but want to comment on that one sentence. Yes, that can definitely be the case. However, my signal path has been consistent since 2018.

Sometimes it really is the guitar.

 

[docmoore]

Really not directed at you ... there seems to be a significant number here who expect
to solve all of their wants need and desires with a Private Stock ...

When you have defined your path and it works ... much easier to define the changes in
the rest of the chain.

 

[dmatthews]

I sold my Special Semi Hollow on Friday. Great guitar, of course, just not my 'voice', something I realized after playing it for months and simply wasn't hearing what I love in the lower mids with PRS' solid body guitars. Wasn't my thing.

Which is fine, I did well on the project I bought it for in 2021.

Today I played my CU24 30th Anniversary PS and was in heaven with all my amps. My love for the ones I have rotates among them.

I was looking at other guitars to replace the Special, and thought, "Why?" I'm sure I'll find out why at some point! Hahaha!

Had to give you the heart/eyes emoji. Not because you moved an awesome axe, but because you are homing in on the killer.

 

[JasonE]

I find that I like the solid body guitars and the hollowbody guitars and am not as much in love with the semi-hollow for some reason.

 

[László]

I find that I like the solid body guitars and the hollowbody guitars and am not as much in love with the semi-hollow for some reason.

Very possibly for me, too; the hollowbody models have a different resonance than the semi hollow models.

For now, I seem to be good, but I don't rule out anything!

 

[László]

I resurrected this thread. I made a couple more changes as I guessed I would.

I moved my beautiful 594 Soapbar; the reason for that is that there must be a ton of RFI and/or EMI in my studio due to the location of the circuit breaker and the wiring (just a guess). The guitar was quiet everywhere I played it EXCEPT my studio!! I could only use it with both pickups on, (the middle switch position).

Honestly, that's a shame, because it's an amazing sounding guitar. But it was under-utilized.

Bought myself a DGT to replace the Special. It was a good move. It's probably the 'most me' PRS model I've played. I'm surprised by that!

No regrets have I about buying that one. I don't have anything else currently on the guitar radar. But you just never know.

 

[dmatthews]

I resurrected this thread. I made a couple more changes as I guessed I would.

I moved my beautiful 594 Soapbar; the reason for that is that there must be a ton of RFI and/or EMI in my studio due to the location of the circuit breaker and the wiring (just a guess). The guitar was quiet everywhere I played it EXCEPT my studio!! I could only use it with both pickups on, (the middle switch position).

Honestly, that's a shame, because it's an amazing sounding guitar. But it was under-utilized.

Bought myself a DGT to replace the Special. It was a good move. It's probably the 'most me' PRS model I've played. I'm surprised by that!

No regrets have I about buying that one. I don't have anything else currently on the guitar radar. But you just never know.

Bummer about the soapy. Is a noise gate a no go?

 

[László]

Bummer about the soapy. Is a noise gate a no go?

We're talking enough noise that it interfered with tuning the guitar, let alone playing it. The tuner literally couldn't tell the noise from the signal, and I had to tune it in the middle position, as well as play it there. That was fine, but I did get frustrated.

It's OK, I used the guitar on a couple of national ad projects, and it paid for itself many times over. I didn't take too big a loss when I sold it, either.

I've promised myself that if I can solve the noise issue, I'll order myself a PS version.

 

[dmatthews]

We're talking enough noise that it interfered with tuning the guitar, let alone playing it. The tuner literally couldn't tell the noise from the signal, and I had to tune it in the middle position, as well as play it there. That was fine, but I did get frustrated.

It's OK, I used the guitar on a couple of national ad projects, and it paid for itself many times over. I didn't take too big a loss when I sold it, either.

I've promised myself that if I can solve the noise issue, I'll order myself a PS version.

Interesting. Mine is happy everywhere, and is most often in bridge pup. That said, I hope you can get around it. Everyone needs a soapy!

 

[László]

Interesting. Mine is happy everywhere, and is most often in bridge pup. That said, I hope you can get around it. Everyone needs a soapy!

Yes, there's something really weird in the room. I really need to track it down.

 

[Rod/]

We're talking enough noise that it interfered with tuning the guitar, let alone playing it. The tuner literally couldn't tell the noise from the signal, and I had to tune it in the middle position, as well as play it there. That was fine, but I did get frustrated.

It's OK, I used the guitar on a couple of national ad projects, and it paid for itself many times over. I didn't take too big a loss when I sold it, either.

I've promised myself that if I can solve the noise issue, I'll order myself a PS version.

Les, there’s supposed to be some great noiseless versions of P-90’s these days. Kinman and Fralin come to mind

 

[Prina]

Since hum cancelling works so well when both pickups are RW/RP with respect to each other, why not just take a triple soapy guitar and remove the magnets from the middle pickup. That would eliminate the hum but not add any significant signal from the strings.

If the neck & bridge pickups were already RW to each other that would complicate the RW issue with the middle pup but that could be solved with, at worst, a mini-toggle to set its winding direction. The wiring wouldn't be trivial but having true P-90 tone with no hum would be nice.

Assuming that something in that arrangement doesn't degrade the tone of course.

 

[Tedder]

Yes, there's something really weird in the room. I really need to track it down.

My first thought was to suggest that you build a faraday cage, but you probably need wifi down there. lol

 

[László]

Les, there’s supposed to be some great noiseless versions of P-90’s these days. Kinman and Fralin come to mind

I've heard that - but I said the heck with it and got the DGT. Turned out to be my current jam!

 

[László]

My first thought was to suggest that you build a faraday cage, but you probably need wifi down there. lol

Yup. A few years back the water department came in and put in an electronic gizmo that allows them to check the water use without having to get out of their cars to read the meter. It was required that they install it, I had no choice.

And it's pretty close to the electrical box with the access doors to the water main right in the middle of my studio. For all I know, that could be the problem - I didn't have my Soapy when they installed it.

 

[Tedder]

Yup. A few years back the water department came in and put in an electronic gizmo that allows them to check the water use without having to get out of their cars to read the meter. It was required that they install it, I had no choice.

And it's pretty close to the electrical box with the access doors to the water main right in the middle of my studio. For all I know, that could be the problem - I didn't have my Soapy when they installed it.

Maybe someone should build a faraday cage around the electronic gizmo. Just saying...

 

[Tedder]

I've heard that - but I said the heck with it and got the DGT. Turned out to be my current jam!

I really need to get out to Wildwood Guitars and play some cores with the pattern neck. I love the pattern thin on my 24-08, and not having been able to put my hands on a pattern neck keeps me from wanting to branch out. Well, that and money.

 

[bodia]

Yup. A few years back the water department came in and put in an electronic gizmo that allows them to check the water use without having to get out of their cars to read the meter. It was required that they install it, I had no choice.

And it's pretty close to the electrical box with the access doors to the water main right in the middle of my studio. For all I know, that could be the problem - I didn't have my Soapy when they installed it.

Likely, it is. I was a Pete’s place a few years ago, when he was on his single coil kick. Bad hum in one room. He told me about hiring an electrician and spending a day trying to track down the problem. It turned out to be that little box the water company added.