If you could custom order your SS, what would you ask for?

Jkater

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Sep 2, 2019
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I'd order mine with Frost without the metallic accent in the cutaway, an ebony fretboard, a nice birds eyes maple neck, a lightly colored mint green pickguard and nicer satin chrome metal tuner buttons.


Your turn! :)
 
I think I would start by reducing the scale length a bit - maybe just a quarter of an inch and go with a mahogany neck with a rosewood or ebony fretboard. Nice mother of pearl and/or abalone birds. Obviously I would keep the latest locking Tuners and 6 screw floating trem too. I would prefer to go for a H-S-H type set up but like the 408 and Paul's, mini toggles to split the humbuckers to be single coils but still keep the 5 way blade. I am not a fan of Pickguards so pick-ups mounted into the body would be preferable. A master Volume and Tone should suffice too. It would be nice to have a stunning flame maple top and a mahogany back to match the neck which would be nice to be set into the body as I don't need to take necks off. The other change that would be cool would be if PRS could use their own double cut body shape as its better looking...

I think that would do it for me......













That's why I bought a 509 ;):)
 
Three tone sunburst(Top and back), tortoiseshell pickguard, satin and flamed maple neck. I'm waiting for a SS with maple fretboard, but i think that for a "custom" i'd stay with rosewood or ebony. Other than that i will keep it simple and beautiful as it is.
 
I think I would start by reducing the scale length a bit - maybe just a quarter of an inch and go with a mahogany neck with a rosewood or ebony fretboard. Nice mother of pearl and/or abalone birds. Obviously I would keep the latest locking Tuners and 6 screw floating trem too. I would prefer to go for a H-S-H type set up but like the 408 and Paul's, mini toggles to split the humbuckers to be single coils but still keep the 5 way blade. I am not a fan of Pickguards so pick-ups mounted into the body would be preferable. A master Volume and Tone should suffice too. It would be nice to have a stunning flame maple top and a mahogany back to match the neck which would be nice to be set into the body as I don't need to take necks off. The other change that would be cool would be if PRS could use their own double cut body shape as its better looking...

I think that would do it for me......













That's why I bought a 509 ;):)


So you went from double S to double Z (as in Mozzii. :D )
 
server won't let edit my post… Sorry for misspelling your name Mozzi… unless you're from Hawaii, then it's ok. :D
 
server won't let edit my post… Sorry for misspelling your name Mozzi… unless you're from Hawaii, then it's ok. :D

No problem - I got the gist of the message and not offended by a spelling error or maybe that should be a typo as its quite easily done to double tap a letter on some sensitive keyboards and easier on a small touchscreen like a mobile for example. I completely understand that it happens so really no need to apologise at all.

I like to think that I went from SS to 509 which I consider to be my PRS 'super strat' as opposed to the Silver Sky being just a strat. I don't mean that to be a negative as we all know the SS is one of, if not the best Strat type guitars on the market and to get a 63/64 era strat to match it would set you back a LOT more than the SS, or even most Private stocks.

Anyone whoo knows me, knows that I won't own a Strat or Tele - regardless of who makes it. It has, at least traditional builds, a lot of aspects that I am really not that keen on and as I don't have to play these instruments as I am not chasing someone elses tone, I don't have to buy. If I want to use my Hollowbody with its dual humbuckers to play some Hendrix or Gilmore - some song that 'require' a Strat to sound 'right' to some people - I couldn't care less. Besides, its just me who hears it and as far as I am aware, single coil strats have the same 'notes', the same hand positions to play the song etc and because I am not trying to be Jimi or David, trying to nail their tone, I don't have to have the same gear.

Despite that, as I said my PRS 509 is my Super Strat and as my collection of double Humbucker guitars grew, I began to lose sight of its full capability. If I wanted a humbucker sound for example I have the vintage covered (594), the more modern (Cu24), the hollowbody (I don't need to say HBii here) and a full gamut of choice (PRS Special Semi Hollow) so my HSH 509 became more and more the SSS. The very fact that the 509 is designed with 5 Single coils that are arranged in the way they are, which of course makes perfect sense, stopped the guitar springing to mind or getting used when I wanted a double humbucker - which is my most favourite PU arrangement. A conversation here when someone was deliberating over the 509 and Special, wondering what model would be 'better' prompted me to remember what my 509 was, my 'Super Strat' that lets me run my guitar as SSS for the most Stratty/tele tones inc the middle SC (something the Special doesn't allow - although in this case, its a Narrowfield) but also as a HSH, maybe even a HSS or what about the SSH - have you ever seen a guitar that has a Humbucker neck but just a SC bridge (without coil splitting option).

Point is, I bought my 509 because it offered as much Single coil Stratty/tele sounds as I really want or need at this point in time. And over time and as I accumulated more guitars, its more Stratty/Tele tones became the reason to get it out (which in fairness wasn't often because I prefer HB's). Having rediscovered those HB's, they are more than adequate and they rock. I now see my 509 back where it should be - as a 'Superstrat' type guitar and not just the guitar I turn to if/when I feel like playing SC's.

Anyway, that's why I described the 509 as my custom SS LOL. I think if I had the chance to have my own custom built for me, it wouldn't be a strat even if I had no choice in body shape. If I had to have a bolt-on, that could be a deal breaker - I would counter that with a through neck and if neither of us back down, I would accept a set neck as that's meeting somewhere in the middle LOL. As you can probably tell by now, it really wouldn't be a 'Strat' at the end of it...
 
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All maple neck and fretboard.
Local US/Canadian body wood, alder/ash/pine/fir.
Standard 10in radius
Stainless steel frets
Hard tail

There are kids threatening to walk out of schools today in protest to save the environment.
Guitarists don't need exotic slow growing imported rain forest lumber to sound good.
Pro players certainly don't need exotic lumber to play on stage.

.
 
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