shinksma
What? I get a title?
- Joined
- Mar 20, 2014
- Messages
- 5,411
Picked up a used SE Mikael Akerfeldt from a big-box guitar/music store for a pretty good price. Got here today. The photos below are not the best - inside shots at night, so incandescent lighting. Adjusted in Lightroom as best I could, but raw sunshine is always better...maybe a family outing into the yard on the weekend.
It looks in pretty good shape - missing the trem bar, a few nicks in the finish. Frets look to be in pretty good condition - not overplayed, but not brand new.
I had to adjust the intonation a fair bit, which surprised me. It was off by enough that you could hear it quite obviously as you moved up the fretboard (well, obvious if you are the type to notice such things, I guess, which I imagine describes most of us here at the forum).
The action seems to be about where I like it, but I may lower it a smidge. I replaced the A string because it was a .032 in what seems to be a set of hybrid .009s (.009, .011, .016, .026, .036, .046) - the rest of the strings on there are good enough for now, as I adjust stuff. Hybrid .009s are something I use occasionally, so I'm good with that gauge/mix.
I've not gone over it with a fine toothed comb, but the fit/finish looks very consistent.
I like the feel of the ebony fretboard and the satin-finish maple neck. Feels different yet again from my Spruce HB (which also has a Wide-Fat neck profile, but rosewood fretboard and hog neck) and CU24 (rosewood fretboard and hog neck, but wide-thin).
So far, taking into account the still-somewhat-rough set-up, old strings (oxidized a bit, but that's cleaning up as I play), and a fretboard that needs cleaning, it plays pretty darned close to those Maryland-made models. I'm impressed! The pickups sound pretty good too - seem to have a bit more bite/definition compared to the HFSs in my CU24.
Weight-wise it seems about the same as my CU24, and a fair bit less than my 1978 LP Deluxe. So it shouldn't feel tiring playing it all night.
So now I look forward to getting my SE ZM Spalted from Brian's, sometime next month, hopefully. That should be fun to compare the two SE single cuts!
Here's a group shot of my PRS family hanging on the wall outside my music room, ready to be played:
I'm gonna need more guitar hangers! (Another nearby wall has other branded guitars, like the LP Deluxe)
It looks in pretty good shape - missing the trem bar, a few nicks in the finish. Frets look to be in pretty good condition - not overplayed, but not brand new.
I had to adjust the intonation a fair bit, which surprised me. It was off by enough that you could hear it quite obviously as you moved up the fretboard (well, obvious if you are the type to notice such things, I guess, which I imagine describes most of us here at the forum).
The action seems to be about where I like it, but I may lower it a smidge. I replaced the A string because it was a .032 in what seems to be a set of hybrid .009s (.009, .011, .016, .026, .036, .046) - the rest of the strings on there are good enough for now, as I adjust stuff. Hybrid .009s are something I use occasionally, so I'm good with that gauge/mix.
I've not gone over it with a fine toothed comb, but the fit/finish looks very consistent.
I like the feel of the ebony fretboard and the satin-finish maple neck. Feels different yet again from my Spruce HB (which also has a Wide-Fat neck profile, but rosewood fretboard and hog neck) and CU24 (rosewood fretboard and hog neck, but wide-thin).
So far, taking into account the still-somewhat-rough set-up, old strings (oxidized a bit, but that's cleaning up as I play), and a fretboard that needs cleaning, it plays pretty darned close to those Maryland-made models. I'm impressed! The pickups sound pretty good too - seem to have a bit more bite/definition compared to the HFSs in my CU24.
Weight-wise it seems about the same as my CU24, and a fair bit less than my 1978 LP Deluxe. So it shouldn't feel tiring playing it all night.
So now I look forward to getting my SE ZM Spalted from Brian's, sometime next month, hopefully. That should be fun to compare the two SE single cuts!
Here's a group shot of my PRS family hanging on the wall outside my music room, ready to be played:
I'm gonna need more guitar hangers! (Another nearby wall has other branded guitars, like the LP Deluxe)
