CardMeHD
New Member
- Joined
- Dec 24, 2015
- Messages
- 23
Well, it's finally here. My first (and second) PRS.
First, the pictures.
You can see the full gallery here: http://imgur.com/a/dtEta
Now, the backstory. I've had tremendous GAS lately, and even bought a couple of guitars within the last 6 months, but they were lower end guitars (mainly Epiphone and LTD). I was in search of a new "flagship" guitar, and I've always admired PRS. I saw the 30th Anniversary models and decided that it was time to pull the trigger, so I went searching for the perfect one, and the only thing I knew was that I wanted a Pattern Thin Custom 24. I almost pulled the trigger on a Black Gold Burst with a Korina back and neck, when I stumbled across this non-30th Anniversary model at Music Store Live. It wasn't what I was expecting, but the beautiful quilted Charcoal Blue Burst finish immediately caught my eye. Then, there were the other unique features - a 57/08 and 59/09 pickup combination, a Wood Library Korina neck and a Mun Ebony fretboard (it looks light enough to be rosewood, but it's definitely got the feel of ebony). I got into contact with Max at MSL and he got me set up with a great deal, so I had to take it. In fact, the deal was so great, and I saved so much money compared to what I was initially planning on spending, that when I saw a Sapphire PRS SE 7 on clearance at Prymaxe, I went ahead an pulled the trigger on it, too.
I love both of them. The PRS feels amazing and plays incredibly well. The neck feels great, and the ebony fretboard is smooth as butter. I was initially concerned about the pickup selection, because I tend to play a lot of heavy stuff (though not exclusively), and it seemed like the 85/15 combo was going to perfect. But I have to say that the 57/08 is tremendous, and has really nice clarity. It's not as high output as some of my other guitars, but it's not far behind, nothing a little boost from my Tubescreamer or DOD 250 can't fix. I need to spend a little more time playing, especially with the 59/09, but so far everything is great.
The SE is taking some getting used to as it's my first 7 string (though I have a 5 string bass), but the neck feels and plays really well and the pickups sound pretty good, too. Not as clear as the PRS proper, but that's to be expected. The only issue is that the 3-way toggle switch has some sort of issue, and the neck position cuts out. I opened up the control cavity and couldn't find any wiring issues, so I think it's a PCB or switch issue, because I can get the neck pickup to cut in and out by flexing the switch side to side. I'll probably just order a new switch to replace it. Can anybody make any recommendations? It seems like you can't order a straight up replacement from PRS (they only have the toggle style 3 way switch for the SE). Would the PRS 3 way blade switch work? Or can I just get an aftermarket replacement (I'm assuming it's an Alpha part like the pots)?
First, the pictures.
You can see the full gallery here: http://imgur.com/a/dtEta
Now, the backstory. I've had tremendous GAS lately, and even bought a couple of guitars within the last 6 months, but they were lower end guitars (mainly Epiphone and LTD). I was in search of a new "flagship" guitar, and I've always admired PRS. I saw the 30th Anniversary models and decided that it was time to pull the trigger, so I went searching for the perfect one, and the only thing I knew was that I wanted a Pattern Thin Custom 24. I almost pulled the trigger on a Black Gold Burst with a Korina back and neck, when I stumbled across this non-30th Anniversary model at Music Store Live. It wasn't what I was expecting, but the beautiful quilted Charcoal Blue Burst finish immediately caught my eye. Then, there were the other unique features - a 57/08 and 59/09 pickup combination, a Wood Library Korina neck and a Mun Ebony fretboard (it looks light enough to be rosewood, but it's definitely got the feel of ebony). I got into contact with Max at MSL and he got me set up with a great deal, so I had to take it. In fact, the deal was so great, and I saved so much money compared to what I was initially planning on spending, that when I saw a Sapphire PRS SE 7 on clearance at Prymaxe, I went ahead an pulled the trigger on it, too.
I love both of them. The PRS feels amazing and plays incredibly well. The neck feels great, and the ebony fretboard is smooth as butter. I was initially concerned about the pickup selection, because I tend to play a lot of heavy stuff (though not exclusively), and it seemed like the 85/15 combo was going to perfect. But I have to say that the 57/08 is tremendous, and has really nice clarity. It's not as high output as some of my other guitars, but it's not far behind, nothing a little boost from my Tubescreamer or DOD 250 can't fix. I need to spend a little more time playing, especially with the 59/09, but so far everything is great.
The SE is taking some getting used to as it's my first 7 string (though I have a 5 string bass), but the neck feels and plays really well and the pickups sound pretty good, too. Not as clear as the PRS proper, but that's to be expected. The only issue is that the 3-way toggle switch has some sort of issue, and the neck position cuts out. I opened up the control cavity and couldn't find any wiring issues, so I think it's a PCB or switch issue, because I can get the neck pickup to cut in and out by flexing the switch side to side. I'll probably just order a new switch to replace it. Can anybody make any recommendations? It seems like you can't order a straight up replacement from PRS (they only have the toggle style 3 way switch for the SE). Would the PRS 3 way blade switch work? Or can I just get an aftermarket replacement (I'm assuming it's an Alpha part like the pots)?
