Doing a first - Severly modding an S2 Standard 22...now with PIC!

[markd21]

Studio stuff...

As you might know, I do music for TV ads for a living. About ten years ago, I went “in the box,” sold 5 racks of outboard analog stuff, sold my 64 channel console, my patchbays, etc. (for pennies on the dollar, of course) and saved space, time, blah blah.

It’s one of my larger gear regrets. There was a vibe that’s now missing.

My analog stuff had a sound; it was a good sound, and more importantly, it was “my” sound. My music’s still my music, but since my gear stupidity sale, the audio is a bit generic, despite premium plugins, interface, etc., etc.

You might want to carefully consider whether to go ITB. Just sayin’.

Believe man, I am right there. I don't WANT it gone. If a lot of it stays, then cool - I'll not complain. It was getting to the point where, while I had integrated Protools into my studio quite some time back, most projects coming my way have been singer/song-writer, Americana, and duos for a while. The heavier bands stopped coming to me because we already had a few internationally known "metal" studios in the area. Ugh, I could keep going - it has been a rough couple years...

Trust me, man, I totally get it and am RIGHT there....

 

[Deleted member 5962]

Mark, I'm not a TV producer like your wife, but I'm sure she'd back me on this. If you really want people to watch your videos, you need to do what they do on TV. You need to invite Julie Bowen in to do them. Just script out everything you want to say, let her do at least half the talking, make sure she is always the one holding the guitar you're showing, make sure to zoom often, and I promise you your video viewership will grow exponentially. Heck, I'll watch each one multiple times, I promise!

 

[markd21]

@DreamTheaterRules - LOL....

Ahhh, that would be nice!!!

 

[Deleted member 5962]

@DreamTheaterRules - LOL....

Ahhh, that would be nice!!!

I don't want to scare you or anything but if you had her in your studio multiple times for video shoots, you would officially replace Les as my idol. Then again, if Les got Margot Robbie in, he'd be back in the running.

hmmm, this is the kind of competition one can really sink their teeth into! (no pun intended of course)

 

[markd21]

HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA

 

[mojo1fan]

I tried a Twangmaster (9200) in a Bernie Marsden. It was too bright and brittle. IMO the problem is the treble side of the pickup is by the bridge. I'd love to hear what a Twangmaster for a lefty guitar would sound like.

 

[darkbluemurder]

Digging out an old thread I know ...

Did you finish your project, and if so, how did you like it?

I put a set of Twangmasters in my 2000 Single Cut, which is a very warm sounding guitar with quite a bit low and low mid emphasis. Loved the neck pickup from the first note - super nice twang on the low strings and it took out all of the mud nicely. The bridge pickup took a bit to get used to as it is so clear - you can hear every note clearly, even in distorted chords. But now I would not want anything else in that guitar - on clean tones tone pot up, on driven tones tone pot down to taste.

Even though Fralin recommends 250k pots with them I stayed with the 500k pots. I added a 470k resistor in parallel to the bridge pickup for a total load of about 240k, which worked nicely on the bridge pickup. For the neck I prefer a load of 500k for a bit more twang - in the neck position I want all the twang I can get.

I also noticed that these pickups react quite differently to tone controls than usual humbuckers. I halved the values I was using before to achieve the desired effect.

So for the desired goal at the outset of your project I would say the Twangmasters deliver.

Cheers Stephan

 

[Sybo]

I decide to buy another S2 Standard 22 with a specific purpose in mind.....to MODIFY!!!!!! I (think) I have been pretty vocal about how awesome these guitars are BONE stock - and I LOVE them the way PRS ships 'em, but sometimes you just want something they don't make.

In this case, I want the feel, and killer-ness of the guitar, but I want something that will allow me access to "purer" tones. While my band is pretty active, I still do a large amount of session work for a handful of local singer-songwriters. Most of this music is more "roots" oriented, and while I CAN make it happen with my current arsenal of PRS (and single Gretsch) guitars, I often feel "less" inspired because I am not NAILING the tone I (or the songwriter) really wants.

Often, these sessions involve getting a twangy/jangly/smooth/naturally driven tone. While either the Gretsch (with Hi Sensitivity Filtertrons) or the Paul's Guitar (tapped/split) will get me close, both are just missing something that prevents the tone from being "perfect". With this said, I have come up with a plan that I think will create a guitar that will get me where I want to be - I am excited!!

So, to start, the platform is a recently acquired 2014 S2 Standard 22 in McCarty Tobacco Burst (color has to have the 'vibe' too!). I received it on Tuesday - got a good deal on a Reverb. I was a little annoyed when it arrived - it was a LOT more beat-up then described, but some SERIOUS elbow grease it is looking pretty sweet. It came with a TRASHED black pickguard - but I had ordered a Tortoise guard ahead of time knowing I'd be changing it. I am glad the guard that came with it was beat-up, because now I have one I can send as a template if needed.....

Today I am ordering the first set of pickups to try in there....Lindy Fralin Twangmasters. I am trying to get a nice, clear single coil tone that sits closer to a Fender vibe, but with more "oomph". I HATE P90s - so that was the hard part in my research, finding something that'll fit (without a custom guard - for now) that isn't derivative of a P90. From the little bit of stuff I could view on YT, it seems the Twangmasters will get me there. If not, I was also considering the Lollar Novel T - though it has a bit more "kick" than I was hoping for, even though I dig the Tele sound (it'd still be a VERY useful tone).

I am gonnna be looking at the physics of adding a second volume control. I find the two volumes on the Singlecuts to be almost ESSENTIAL to my playing these days. I am bouncing between a few ideas - drilling a new hole for another pot - but it is pretty full under the guard. Another idea is ditching the tone control. Live I don't really use them, but in the studio I do, so that option probably isn't ideal. The third is using a concentric pot. Not a huge fan of them on guitar, but both my Warwick basses have them (volume/blend) and I have gotten fairly use to manipulating that control on the fly.....

Anyway, kind of excited. In the meantime, it sits disassembled, awaiting the pickups. Pics will follow, as will a video review.

Thoughts/suggestions?

Your Studio looks sweet