modifications?

[dogrocketp]

You mean you’ll actually vouch for me Eddie? Then I take back all the terrible things I said about you the last 40 years!

 

[jxe]

firstly you need to change out all the wood for south american wood.

 

[Em7]

My luthier, Phil Jacoby, believes that a properly installed nut can make or break a guitar more than most anything.

Phil is very good. He used to work at PRS and took over Orkie’s (John Ingram) side gig at Master Musicians before going out on his own.

 

[the_doc735]

tuners:
kluson KCDL-3
Gotoh SG381

 

[Eddie kim]

You mean you’ll actually vouch for me Eddie? Then I take back all the terrible things I said about you the last 40 years!

Every time!

 

[the_doc735]

I think I have a source for the nut and tuners here in the UK, but is there anywhere on earth to obtain the un-coated brass saddles and block for the bridge/trem? Cheers!

 

[Em7]

I think I have a source for the nut and tuners here in the UK, but is there anywhere on earth to obtain the un-coated brass saddles and block for the bridge/trem? Cheers!

You should just leave the bridge alone for now. PRS is installing the same bridge on S2s and CEs, which are made in Stevensville, not Asia. Can the bridge be improved? Yes, but is it worth spending that much on an SE? No! To many American guitarists, SEs are the guitar equivalent of Duncan Designed pickups. They get the job done and get guitarists to buy into the PRS brand. However, the real goal of these instruments is to eventually up-sell customers to Stevensville-manufactured guitars.

 

[the_doc735]

You should just leave the bridge alone for now. PRS is installing the same bridge on S2s and CEs, which are made in Stevensville, not Asia. Can the bridge be improved? Yes, but is it worth spending that much on an SE? No! To many American guitarists, SEs are the guitar equivalent of Duncan Designed pickups. They get the job done and get guitarists to buy into the PRS brand. However, the real goal of these instruments is to eventually up-sell customers to Stevensville-manufactured guitars.

thanks - wise words!

 

[the_doc735]

Please tell me that you have not fallen for the composition or manufacturer of a non-polarized cap affects tone myth. Capacitors are linear components. What "linear" means is that capacitors operate in straight lines according to the equation i = C * dV/dt, where i equals current, C equals capacitance in farads, dV equals the change in voltage, and dt equals the change in time. Any capacitor that does not behave in this manner is considered to be defective. The only way two different non-polarized capacitors with the same rated capacitance can result in a difference in tone is if the capacitors have different measured capacitance values. For example, polyester film Type 225P Orange Drop capacitors can have tolerances as high as 20%; therefore, two caps from the same manufacturer can have substantially different measured capacitance values. A lot of people purchase from Mouser. Mouser sells the 10% tolerance version of these caps, which means that a Type 225P 0.022uF cap from Mouser can measure as low as 0.0198uf and as high as 0.0242 and still considered to be in spec. That is a difference of 0.0044uF or 4.4nF, which is enough to affect the how the tone control responds when rolled all of the way down. Additionally, the tone cap in a guitar does not shunt or pass frequencies. What it does is combine with the distributed capacitance in the pickup coil(s) to lower the circuit's resonant frequency (see my "Delving into TCI" post for an explanation of how capacitance affects resonant frequency). The fact is that there two types of people who propagate capacitor myths; namely, those who aim to make a buck from higher-priced caps and those who have been taken advantage of by those who aim to make a buck from higher-priced caps. If two capacitors with the same rated value result in a difference in tone, then they needed to be measured with an LCR meter. I guarantee that they will have significantly different measured values.

I don't understand electronic 'tech. speak' ~ Sorry! I follow diagrams from Dimarzio etc. for upgrading wiring/pots/caps/switches etc. (more complex push/pull/ mini toggle setups); 'soldered' schemes.

 

[veinbuster]

I don't understand electronic 'tech. speak' ~ Sorry! I follow diagrams from Dimarzio etc. for upgrading wiring/pots/caps/switches etc. (more complex push/pull/ mini toggle setups); 'soldered' schemes.

Nothing in the diagrams is wrong.

The core point of the tech stuff is that capacitors are simple devices that work predictably and consistently. But...tolerances are much wider than in many things we use so you can get a very different result from two capacitors with the same nominal value.

For example: with a 20% tolerance a 100 units could be 80, or 120 in two random example. If these were highway speeds, one car would be going 50% faster than the other.

When I designed military equipment, I sometimes used very expensive capacitors just because my design needed a tighter tolerance. I felt it was safer than trusting line staff to discard out of range components.

 

[Em7]

I’m not aware of a Kluson model that fits an SE, and I prefer to use US made machined parts when available.

I do not believe that any of the PRS machine heads were/are made in the United States. The earliest "wing" machine heads were modified Schallers. I suspect that Schaller has manufactured every generation. Kluson makes good machine heads, none of which are manufactured in the United States to the best of my knowledge. From what I can ascertain, the Gen I and Gen II bridges were manufactured in the United States by Mil-Com (John Mann) and Excel Machine and Fabrication, respectively. What is weird is that I watched a video with Paul and John where Paul claimed that John made the earliest trems after hours in the old Westinghouse Oceanic Division machine shop. I used to walk through that machine shop on a regular basis when I was a young embedded systems engineer at Westinghouse Oceanic. That facility still exists today, but it is owned by Northrop Grumman. If one looks to the left while approaching the toll booths when driving on the westbound span of the Bay Bridge, one will see the building where the PRS trem was born on the western shore of the Chesapeake Bay.

 

[Alnus Rubra]

Gotoh make PRS’ tuners.

Don’t know if they make the new Vintage style ones on the 594 (“new Vintage” what a strange turn of phrase!).

 

[Em7]

Gotoh make PRS’ tuners.

They definitely make the SE and S2 machines heads. The earliest "wing" tuners had the Schaller "S" on the back.

 

[dogrocketp]

I do not believe that any of the PRS machine heads were/are made in the United States. The earliest "wing" machine heads were modified Schallers. I suspect that Schaller has manufactured every generation. Kluson makes good machine heads, none of which are manufactured in the United States to the best of my knowledge. From what I can ascertain, the Gen I and Gen II bridges were manufactured in the United States by Mil-Com (John Mann) and Excel Machine and Fabrication, respectively. What is weird is that I watched a video with Paul and John where Paul claimed that John made the earliest trems after hours in the old Westinghouse Oceanic Division machine shop. I used to walk through that machine shop on a regular basis when I was a young embedded systems engineer at Westinghouse Oceanic. That facility still exists today, but it is owned by Northrop Grumman. If one looks to the left while approaching the toll booths when driving on the westbound span of the Bay Bridge, one will see the building where the PRS trem was born on the western shore of the Chesapeake Bay.

Hipshot(according to a phone call made to the company years ago) are made in upstate New York. While I know PRS tuners are made elsewhere, I don’t change PRS parts unless there’s a reason. SE’s- heavily modified. USA PRS- minor cosmetic changes.

 

[the_doc735]

Hipshot(according to a phone call made to the company years ago) are made in upstate New York. While I know PRS tuners are made elsewhere, I don’t change PRS parts unless there’s a reason. SE’s- heavily modified. USA PRS- minor cosmetic changes.

What do you define as 'heavy modification'?

 

[]-[@n$0Ma☩!©]

First, welcome back. I always enjoy your posts and appreciate the rigor you put into your explanations. If you'll indulge me, I'd like to make an observation.

Please tell me that you have not fallen for the composition or manufacturer of a non-polarized cap affects tone myth.

It is fair to say that you're understanding of this subject is far beyond that of most guitar players. In fact, I don't know anyone who could verify the accuracy of the information you are providing besides the great engineering minds behind each major amplifier manufacturer. So, until you have a peer on these pages who can quality-check your posts, you are our single-point of success. With great power...

I find your closing comment to be most in tune with my way of thinking.

The moral of the story is that you should play and enjoy the guitar. If a pot wears out, replace it with another pot. The same thing can be said about the switch. However, replacing everything on an SE can rapidly raise the cost of the instrument to that of a nice used core Stevensville guitar.

I would only add this... if you knew the wide-open resistance of the pot that failed and you really want to ensure you get your tone back the way it was, try to find a matching linear or logarithmic taper pot.

Too many people assume, in err, that their SE is incapable of sounding great right out of the box (even with 'cheap' pots). Having spent my share of money learning this lesson the expensive way, I'd encourage anyone starting down this road to stop, identify what you don't like, research all possible courses of action, then change things one-at-a-time. If you find yourself saying you just want your guitar to be the best in can be without the ability to define what 'best' means, it might be a good idea to take a step back and reconsider what you're really after.

 

[the_doc735]

right, I will have to change the pots because they are wobbling all over the place (lose as hell) they are alpha. On the capacitor that is attached to the volume pot, it is a little ceramic thing stating "181", no pF, uF etc and no voltage! Does anyone know the values that I need to search for please?

 

[NBW]

right, I will have to change the pots because they are wobbling all over the place (lose as hell) they are alpha. On the capacitor that is attached to the volume pot, it is a little ceramic thing stating "181", no pF, uF etc and no voltage! Does anyone know the values that I need to search for please?

That should be 180pf according to these guys:

https://www.thegeekpub.com/calculators/capacitor-value-calculator-and-code-calculator/

I always have to look these things up. I have a whole pile (of likely crap) ceramic caps, for my (largely unsuccessful) pedal building. Of course the bags aren't labelled.

 

[the_doc735]

...and the other one is MF3333/ 400V on the tone! (It's yellow)
Does anyone know the two caps I need to get hold of please?

Socket seems OK, blade is a little 'scratchy' so might get a CRL as well.

Let's say, it is well 'played in'!

 

[NBW]

I replaced the push pull in my custom 24, why, mostly because I am hella bored. Those are non-standard cap values. The standard for 500K tone pots is .022uF, the standard for 250K tone pots is .047uF if I recall correctly but these seem to be .033uF, I just reused the stock one. There is no use in getting all bent about caps, they are capacitors they store charge, the particular technology (oil paper, polyester film,..) doesn't matter.

I am a physicist and I know screwing around with these components isn't going to do anything.