NGD X 1 1/2!

[_pete_]

I've been looking for a singlecut guitar of some kind for a while now to replace a Les Paul copy that I have that is having some minor issues. I found something on GC's used site and took a shot at it.
It's a 2012 SE 245 in Tortoiseshell. It was advertised as a 2013 but that didn't matter to me. What I did see was that in the one blurry pic they had you could see it had an uncovered black bobbin pup and a nickel covered neck pup. SE 245's have zebra pups stock so I wondered if it was a USA Tremonti set in there but doubted it seeing that the guitar was priced VERY cheap (about $275 less than a new one). All the ad said was “Guitar may have non factory pickups and comes with case.”

When it arrived I was very surprised to see it was in a nice, new black LP style hardshell case. I expected a PRS SE gig bag (which would have been fine). I then plugged it in and it sounded really good. It needed some setup work but every guitar does. Ther also was not one single mark on the guitar. It looked brand new and even still had the plastic peel coat on the back plates.

I pulled the pups to see what I had and damned if it wasn't a USA Tremonti bridge pup! Score! The neck pup was a nickel covered Duncan '59. I'm not a fan of those but I can flip it easily enough.

I had plans for this guitar anyway. It was getting the pups and electronics from the aforementioned LP copy. It has Gibson 490R/498T pups (I like them) and I had wired it up with a very cool variation of the Jimmy Page wiring scheme with four 500K Bourns push/pull pots, Mojotone caps, and a Switchcraft switch and jack. The wiring setup is called the Les Paul Tweny-Dual mix and is flat out awesome. Read all about it here - http://guitarnuts2.proboards.com/thread/3772


I had some other parts from other project that I set aside for the SE also. Locking tuners, PRS USA nut, PRS Ivory pup rings, gold Gibson Bell knobs w/ pointers, and a PRS USA jack plate. I used a scotchbrite pad on the pup covers and the stop tailpiece. The brushed nickel look is much classier IMO. I also used the scotchbrite on the stock truss cover to remove the silkscreened PRS logo and knock the 'cheap plastic shine' off of it.
I'm also going with the PRS hybrid hardware look but haven't got all the gold parts yet.

The guitar turned out great. It sounds very LP like,and plays perfectly, and looks great.

I wanted to get some pics out in the sunlight but I'm in Florida and of course it's raining.
Excuse the dust.




Now for the 1/2 NGD part.

I now had the Tremonti pup and another leftover part from my old LP copy to use so I volunteered my '96 CE22 for a makeover. The pup was the easy part and it just sounds spectacular in that guitar.
The 'other' part will make some of you cringe but I just love it. A Gotoh Floyd Rose.
Yep, I routed the CE out and put the Floyd on it.
I didn't expect much of a change but it took the CE22 from a backup guitar that I never played much to most likely my new #1. It sounds so much more alive now it's just crazy. It feels like a totally different guitar now and I cannot put it down.

I also just scored a Dragon I bridge pup on Ebay that will go into my CE24. It's been a good week.

Pics:

 

[Bill SAS 513]

Naaaaaa...as long as the CE plays the way you want it to, great job!! Nice guitars!! And great score on the pick ups!

 

[Imzadi]

Looks great! I know some people think routing a PRS would be blasphemy but I say do what will make you happy. I bet it sounds awesome too.

 

[gush]

Got to admit, I went WHAT!!!!!!! But it looks good and if you like it then what the heck.

Now explain the controls.

 

[_pete_]

Got to admit, I went WHAT!!!!!!! But it looks good and if you like it then what the heck.

Now explain the controls.

On which one?

The CE22 has a master volume with a push/pull for neck pup split, 3 way toggle, a master tone with push/pull for bridge pup split and a volume for the piezo which is currently not there anymore. It had Graph Tech Ghost saddles on the old PRS trem. I'm gonna add Graph Tech Ghost Floyd saddles soon. The preamp and wiring is still in there, just disconnected for now.

The SE's controls are as follows:
(This is copied from the link I posted above)

 

[wardog]

On which one?

I'm gonna add Graph Tech Ghost Floyd saddles soon.

NICE!!!!!!!!

 

[gush]

NICE!!!!!!!!

DITTO

 

[sergiodeblanc]

Madman!

Cool makeover on the SE.

 

[_pete_]

Madman!

High praise indeed!

 

[TFC]

Super cool mods as always, Pete! Funny how our gear comings and goings seem to always be very similar. I recently picked up an SE245, for what sounds like the same price as yours (no case or Tremontis, though ). Sounds and plays surprisingly great, but not like a Les Paul to my ears. So, I picked up an LP copy which sounded how I liked, but is too heavy for me. I ended up finding a great LP with 490R and 498T pickups that is just perfect for me. And like you, I really like those pickups. Similar tastes in guitar tone, I would bet .

Enjoy the SE245. I've tried a handful of other SEs, but the 245 was the first one I tried that felt like a "real" instrument to me, and one that I would be just as willing to gig with as my core models. BTW, if you want someone to take that '59 off your hands cheap and quickly, shoot me a PM.

 

[_pete_]

Super cool mods as always, Pete! Funny how our gear comings and goings seem to always be very similar. I recently picked up an SE245, for what sounds like the same price as yours (no case or Tremontis, though ). Sounds and plays surprisingly great, but not like a Les Paul to my ears. So, I picked up an LP copy which sounded how I liked, but is too heavy for me. I ended up finding a great LP with 490R and 498T pickups that is just perfect for me. And like you, I really like those pickups. Similar tastes in guitar tone, I would bet .

Enjoy the SE245. I've tried a handful of other SEs, but the 245 was the first one I tried that felt like a "real" instrument to me, and one that I would be just as willing to gig with as my core models. BTW, if you want someone to take that '59 off your hands cheap and quickly, shoot me a PM.

Thanks Andy!
Yeah the SE245 is in the LP ballpark but way up in the nosebleed seats. It doesn't have the low end oomph. It's really just a placeholder until I find the right SC245 or SC58.
The CE22 gained a lot of low end growl that was not there before. I don't know how much is from the Tremonti pup and how much is from the added mass of the Floyd but I don't care. It just sounds great now.

I'll PM you on the Duncan '59.