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Cousin Eddie's cousin
Don’t do it. Leads to addiction.
New guy and considering a PRS.
- Thread starter Mike J.
- Start date
Thank you folks for all of the good advice. I can tell you're all very passionate about these guitars. I have yet to go out and try some but I am planning on it in about a week or two. Been taking care of other things, like raking up leaves!
I know when I do try some PRS's out, I am going to be very, very nit-picky with the neck pickups. I watched the video with Joe Walsh talking about his signature McCarty model (what a character he is! Love him!) and I couldn't agree more with him when he said the neck pickups in new guitar have way too many low mids. That observation is spot on. I had to make drastic pickup height adjustments on my Epiphone SG in order to get the boom factor out of the neck pickup. To me, it makes the guitar sound very unbalanced.
I got the guitar in my lap right now and am going to take measurements to give you an idea of what I had to do. Using a pair of dial calipers, the top of the bridge pickup is .130 above the pickup surround, while the neck pickup is .050 below its pickup surround. And, I have the pole pieces on the neck pickup about .050 above the top of the pickup in an attempt to bring some clarity back into the equation. It's about as close as I can get to the way I like to hear it but obviously it's not ideal. Yeah, it took the boom away but the clarity is not there. At least not to where I want to hear it. I've been considering getting new pickups for this guitar but then I came across a video where you turn the neck pickups tone control into a bass cut instead of the standard treble cut. It's a cheap mod and it just might be the perfect fix for this guitar.
Of course, playability is the key factor. As mentioned, I'm 68 years old and I spent 30 years of my life in CNC machine shops. Lot's of rough and abusive hard work on my hands. My hands don't hurt but I can tell "things are changing a bit." If the neck doesn't work for me then why bother to go any further. But if the pickups don't balance out, if the neck pickup has that boom to the point of making the bridge pickup sound weak then the guitar goes back on the shelf.
But I am really looking forward to trying some PRS models out.
Edit/afterthought: Offhand, the one model I'm most eager to try is the 594 S2 Thinline due to it's shorter scale length. As far as playability, my Epiphone SG is very comfortable due to it's shorter scale length and it's also very comfortable sitting and standing. Some guitars don't "sit" very well. The position of the neck in relation to the body works very well for me compared to other guitars.
I know when I do try some PRS's out, I am going to be very, very nit-picky with the neck pickups. I watched the video with Joe Walsh talking about his signature McCarty model (what a character he is! Love him!) and I couldn't agree more with him when he said the neck pickups in new guitar have way too many low mids. That observation is spot on. I had to make drastic pickup height adjustments on my Epiphone SG in order to get the boom factor out of the neck pickup. To me, it makes the guitar sound very unbalanced.
I got the guitar in my lap right now and am going to take measurements to give you an idea of what I had to do. Using a pair of dial calipers, the top of the bridge pickup is .130 above the pickup surround, while the neck pickup is .050 below its pickup surround. And, I have the pole pieces on the neck pickup about .050 above the top of the pickup in an attempt to bring some clarity back into the equation. It's about as close as I can get to the way I like to hear it but obviously it's not ideal. Yeah, it took the boom away but the clarity is not there. At least not to where I want to hear it. I've been considering getting new pickups for this guitar but then I came across a video where you turn the neck pickups tone control into a bass cut instead of the standard treble cut. It's a cheap mod and it just might be the perfect fix for this guitar.
Of course, playability is the key factor. As mentioned, I'm 68 years old and I spent 30 years of my life in CNC machine shops. Lot's of rough and abusive hard work on my hands. My hands don't hurt but I can tell "things are changing a bit." If the neck doesn't work for me then why bother to go any further. But if the pickups don't balance out, if the neck pickup has that boom to the point of making the bridge pickup sound weak then the guitar goes back on the shelf.
But I am really looking forward to trying some PRS models out.
Edit/afterthought: Offhand, the one model I'm most eager to try is the 594 S2 Thinline due to it's shorter scale length. As far as playability, my Epiphone SG is very comfortable due to it's shorter scale length and it's also very comfortable sitting and standing. Some guitars don't "sit" very well. The position of the neck in relation to the body works very well for me compared to other guitars.
Last edited:
RickP
Established 1960, Still Not Dead
Oh yeah, and a great guy too. Been a fan of his since the 70s… the first Christian artist I could really connect with. Just a monster on guitar, and equally adept in acoustic music. A special musician.
bodia
Authorities said.....best leave it.....unsolved
The correct answer is always a Santana!
doublescale1
doublescale1
Preach it Les - This is the primary fact I like to use to disarm the "LP has more bass than a 594 or any PRS, so the Lp is better..." argument. Let the "big men" (bass and kick, even the keys in some instances) do their job, and don't worry about piling on the bass to create a mushy mix. Know your lane.
Moondog Wily
Howlin' At The Moon!
Wow, that is great info Rick! I thought I was an idiot (may still be for other reasons) when I could not figure out how turning down one volume knob made the guitar go silent!! I will have to try that technique and at least now, some sanity has been restored in my head for the 594 HBII I play so much!!!
CrimesAgainstMusic
New Member
- Joined
- Feb 18, 2021
- Messages
- 525
Dude, You just turned 68, and are planning to buy "your last guitar ?" Lets Hope Not ! 
I just turned 69, don't play half as much as you. Don't have the skills to play in public without getting stoned (no, not drugged, folks actually throwing rocks at me )
And I now have 2 more, possibly 3 guitars in my acquisition planning schedule !!!
THE GUITAR YOU LEFT OFF YOUR LIST : and probably the coolest is the SE Hollowbody II
It , like the S2 McCartys has the 58/15S pickups (in probably the best install for them)
It's neck carve, "Wide Fat", is not really either, but very comfortable for even a small hands dude like myself .
The S2 594 's are indeed beautiful, but have the chunkiest PRS neck carve, in that Pattern Vintage
The S2 594 Thinline , I have (as well as the HB2) and despite its "petite" size, is a winner from head to toe, and is a sweetie as well . There is something about the density of the guitar chassis (I'm a former car guy, so I think in automobile terms) where the less dense chassis (Thinline & Hollowbody) seem to be a better home for the 58/15S
A pickup winder guy said once in general, that lower output pickups , like Alnico 2 PAF types , sound better is less massive guitars . That in chunkier guitars, Like the LP and The 594 DC/SC, an Alnico 5 is a better match..Clearly just speculation here, as PRS don't say what the heck is in the pickup, but it would be interesting to know ...
It also might explain, why folks that buy the Hollowbody and the Thinline, seem to like the 58/15S pickup set, more so than folks that buy the 594 DC/SC chassis ...
With the stuff you are considering, you will not make a mistake. But you will have to return later, to cop the ones you did not cop on the first pass !
I just turned 69, don't play half as much as you. Don't have the skills to play in public without getting stoned (no, not drugged, folks actually throwing rocks at me )
And I now have 2 more, possibly 3 guitars in my acquisition planning schedule !!!
THE GUITAR YOU LEFT OFF YOUR LIST : and probably the coolest is the SE Hollowbody II
It , like the S2 McCartys has the 58/15S pickups (in probably the best install for them)
It's neck carve, "Wide Fat", is not really either, but very comfortable for even a small hands dude like myself .
The S2 594 's are indeed beautiful, but have the chunkiest PRS neck carve, in that Pattern Vintage
The S2 594 Thinline , I have (as well as the HB2) and despite its "petite" size, is a winner from head to toe, and is a sweetie as well . There is something about the density of the guitar chassis (I'm a former car guy, so I think in automobile terms) where the less dense chassis (Thinline & Hollowbody) seem to be a better home for the 58/15S
A pickup winder guy said once in general, that lower output pickups , like Alnico 2 PAF types , sound better is less massive guitars . That in chunkier guitars, Like the LP and The 594 DC/SC, an Alnico 5 is a better match..Clearly just speculation here, as PRS don't say what the heck is in the pickup, but it would be interesting to know ...
It also might explain, why folks that buy the Hollowbody and the Thinline, seem to like the 58/15S pickup set, more so than folks that buy the 594 DC/SC chassis ...
With the stuff you are considering, you will not make a mistake. But you will have to return later, to cop the ones you did not cop on the first pass !
Alnus Rubra
Loving nature’s wonders
Rod/
Vibrato & String Bender
Good advise
Well, after church today I went to my favorite local music store and tried out some PRS guitars for the first time. They only had 5 in stock but it was a start. By habit, I never plug guitars in when I try them for the first time. (Just my way of doing things).
1) Used Bernie Marsden.
2) Zach Meyers
3) SE Custom 24
4) S2 Starla w/bigsby
5) Starla X model.
I'll get to it real quick here. For playing comfort while sitting, for the neck placement in relation to my body and for what felt best with my fretting hand it was the Starla models. The Starla X model actually felt best but maybe it had a better setup. Not that the S2 Starla was shabby because it was quite comfortable. After I got home I checked PRS's site and found out the Starla has the Wide Fat neck shape which surprised me. I had heard of that shape but imagined it to be something quite different. Checked out some Starla video's on You Tube and offhand I really liked what I was hearing. Clear but yet it had some girth to the sound and of what I could tell the neck pickup didn't sound boomey/droney. (Gawd, I hate that boom!!). Anybody here own the S2 Starla and what are your impressions? I'm thinking about going back there tomorrow to put it to the test.
Last night I was checking out other PRS video's on You Tube and was very, very surprised and impressed with the sounds from the S2 Vela semi hollow body. Probably more so than any other PRS demo I've heard to far. I would really like to try one of these out. Asked the store owner if he knew when some may be arriving, he looked on the computer and said "don't hold your breath." Said PRS was back logged before covid hit and that they are really back logged now. He said I could order one for you but chances are it could take at least a year before you'd see one. Bummer.
1) Used Bernie Marsden.
2) Zach Meyers
3) SE Custom 24
4) S2 Starla w/bigsby
5) Starla X model.
I'll get to it real quick here. For playing comfort while sitting, for the neck placement in relation to my body and for what felt best with my fretting hand it was the Starla models. The Starla X model actually felt best but maybe it had a better setup. Not that the S2 Starla was shabby because it was quite comfortable. After I got home I checked PRS's site and found out the Starla has the Wide Fat neck shape which surprised me. I had heard of that shape but imagined it to be something quite different. Checked out some Starla video's on You Tube and offhand I really liked what I was hearing. Clear but yet it had some girth to the sound and of what I could tell the neck pickup didn't sound boomey/droney. (Gawd, I hate that boom!!). Anybody here own the S2 Starla and what are your impressions? I'm thinking about going back there tomorrow to put it to the test.
Last night I was checking out other PRS video's on You Tube and was very, very surprised and impressed with the sounds from the S2 Vela semi hollow body. Probably more so than any other PRS demo I've heard to far. I would really like to try one of these out. Asked the store owner if he knew when some may be arriving, he looked on the computer and said "don't hold your breath." Said PRS was back logged before covid hit and that they are really back logged now. He said I could order one for you but chances are it could take at least a year before you'd see one. Bummer.
I love the way the Vela Semi-Hollow sounds. It's seriously cool. I have a Special Semi-Hollow that's more like a Custom 22, and absolutely think it's wonderful, too.
PRS does a super-nice job with semi-hollow guitars in its line.
PRS does a super-nice job with semi-hollow guitars in its line.
andy474x
Knows the Drill
The Starla and D-Type single coil in the Vela are fantastic pickups. I have the same in my S2 Studio, and it's the only S2 guitar I've not changed anything on. The Starla pickups are bright and jangly, but not excessively so. In fact, I had a boomy neck pickup in my S2 Custom 22 Semi Hollow, changed it out for an S2 Starla pickup, and love it.
If memory serves, the S2 Starla has the pattern regular carve. The Starla X, my memory is fuzzy, but I had a Mira X for a while, and it was a 24.5" scale, wide/fat, nice and bright sounding, and probably the lightest solid body guitar I've ever played! I want to say the Starla X had the same spec neck, but not positive about that.
The Starla or Vela would be two more excellent choices. Bonus to the Vela, semi hollow guitars are really nice for P&W music. The semi hollow body has a more relaxed note attack, so you can lean into it more when playing and not get an abrasive or overly aggressive note attack in that more laid back mix. The 594 Thinline would probably be a good one for you, too, if you want a more traditional humbucker sound.
I saw him on the 30th anniversary tour for "The Master and The Musician," and it was probably the most incredible display of musicianship I've ever experienced. The tour came to my college, and to be honest I wasn't even familiar with the album, but I was absolutely blown away by the show. All I knew was he mostly played acoustic at that time, so to see him on electric again was something I shouldn't miss. And, man, am I glad I didn't miss it!
They do, and it's very telling to see how many models have a semi-hollow option now, compared to how rare they used to be. The word is out!
I thought we would be seeing S2 594 Semi Hollows by now - I still think they're coming, my guess is delayed by COVID.
SinSir
Mad Scientist
- Joined
- Sep 7, 2020
- Messages
- 4,513
You're memory serves you right on the Starla neck. the S2 had the familiar S2 25 pattern regular and the X has the 24.5 wide fat. I'll admit I haven't played the X, but I was having a conversation about one the other day and the neck profile came up.
andy474x
Knows the Drill
I was pretty floored when I stumbled upon one used and it had the W/F neck with a 24.5" scale and beefy frets. Ended up selling it just based on how bright it sounded and was a little bit out of the ballpark from my other PRS guitars, which was dumb. It had a wonderful, beefy Tele with humbuckers thing going on.
Unfortunately, I think the wood they used on the necks on these was maybe a little too soft - the truss rod on mine pushed right through into the neck pickup cavity after a while. Minor adjustments here and there trying to keep the action right, nothing crazy. PTC was gracious enough to repair it for me.
AZGiant
New Member
- Joined
- Jul 14, 2019
- Messages
- 256
I dont think you can go wrong with any of them. Hopefully you get to try them all out (can you say return to GC if you dont like it lol).
When you described the S2 Starla as having "a wonderful, beefy Tele with humbuckers thing going on" that's kinda what I'm looking for. I do have Tele that I played for a long time, but the high end was always to thin for me. I even put a set of DiMarzio's in it, the Area T neck and Area T Hot bridge because they said it would get me more into the humbucker side of things. I loved the clarity and what I call "the snark" on the lower strings but the higher strings were still too thin sounding for my liking. (The soundman at church even mentioned this). That's when I got my Epiphone SG. Gave me that beef on the higher strings of which I love. But I still miss that clarity I got from the Tele.
One thing that I really love about the SG is the way it positions itself on my body. Sitting or standing I haven't found a guitar that suits me better. I'll try to describe it the best I can because I'm also looking for this in a guitar. I'm right handed and when I practice sitting I have my right leg on top of my left leg. With the guitar on my right leg, the end of the neck (by the neck pickup) is right in line with the middle of my body and the 12th fret is right in line with the left side of my body. When I stand, those two area's move about 1 inch to the left. So the way the neck is positioned in relation to "me" is very comfortable.
But at times I do end up fighting the SG. Certain chord shaped are difficult for me due to problems with my hands. The neck is a bit wider than I would prefer and it has a 12" radius. If I'm not mistaken, the Starla has a 10" radius and I found I wasn't struggling with certain chords shapes like I do on my SG. The Starla's neck also didn't seem as wide as the SG neck either.
Sybo
Jim
Big time !
Rod/
Vibrato & String Bender
That’s for sure
Andrew Paul
The cat's meow
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