PRS SE SILVER SKYS. Are they chambered?

[Tag]

Just got one of these and I'm stunned.
It sounds better than my 4.5k 1954 Fender Custom shop and my US Silver Sky, both of which are phenomenal. The SE rings so much louder acoustically it's hard to understand. Possibly the finest Strat I have owned and that's a LOT of Strats. Are these chambered by any chance? That would explain it.

 

[Oscar]

Not chambered as far as I know. SE’s are so surprisingly good that the first impression can be somewhat overwhelming but a bit of time usually reveals exotic subtleties in the high end guitars. Whether or not that’s worth the extra money is another matter.

 

[d^rren]

It could be a couple of things, but the SE Silver Sky has a 2-point bridge and a poplar body, which would probably be the biggest differences as far as resonance goes. Poplar can be a very lively and resonant wood, since it's so light.

 

[Justin1971]

QQ - does the SS have noise cancelling on position 1, 3 & 5 - I've never owned a Strat but my fellow bandmate does and it hums like a b*tch.
If they are noise cancelling I might buy, otherwise I'll look at the NF3 instead.

 

[Johnnykuz]

The SESS is not chambered, but the poplar body makes a noticeable difference.

 

[Mike J.]

While at my local music store today I played 3 SE Silver Sky's. Two had the rosewood neck and the other had the maple neck. The rosewood neck models played fairly decent and warranted a setup as most new guitars do. Grabbed the maple neck model and right away I noticed two things. This guitar rang out much more acoustically (very lively) compared to the other two and the neck felt bigger from front to back. But not "baseball bat" big. Very comfortable. Action was a touch higher than I like it but very playable. Bad thing was even with the slightly higher action the G, B and high E strings had a lot of "pinging" going on up and down the neck. Didn't plug any of them in, just wanted to see how they played.

 

[dogrocketp]

I've always felt that in every price range there can be "magic" guitars. We just find fewer of them at lower price points, but they do exist. I have a 2012 SE Singlecut trem that is extraordinary. i can't imagine a better singlecut trem.

 

[shinksma]

QQ - does the SS have noise cancelling on position 1, 3 & 5 - I've never owned a Strat but my fellow bandmate does and it hums like a b*tch.
If they are noise cancelling I might buy, otherwise I'll look at the NF3 instead.

No, it is just like any other single-coil guitar in that sense.

 

[Mike J.]

Went back to my local music store today for a pedal and thought I'd try that maple neck SE Silver Sky again. Brought my Pod Go and some headphones. (I brought those to test the pedal I bought). Thought as long as I was there lets try that SE. I admit I was a bit intrigued with it.

The neck plays great. I mentioned that it felt bigger from front to back compard to the rosewood necks and it does. Fact is, I watched a review on YouTube and the guy mentioned the same thing. I liked positions 1, 3 and 5. Thought they sounded pretty good and I was surprised how much I like the bridge pickup. All had a nice clarity. As far as those "in between positions" (2 & 4), they didn't do it for me. Had a "muffled" quality to the sound. It was like turning the tone control from 10 down to 5 in the 2 & 4 position. That nice clarity on the top end wasn't there as in positions 1, 3 & 5. Wonder why? Too bad because other than that I really liked the guitar.


Then I remembered when I first tried the SE Silver Sky about a year and a half ago. Same impression with positions 2 & 4.

Just my 2 cents.

 

[touch33]

Switch positions 2 and 4 utilize two pickups instead of just one. The two pickups are wired to act together like the two coils of a humbucker (hence dramatically reduced noise/interference) but it also results in a loss of the "single-coil clarity" that Strats and Silver Skys are known for. I find each switch position has it's own sound and I use them as required.

 

[Maertl513]

As far as scientific research went in the past 30 yeaes on solidbody guitars, neither the wood nor weight relief has an impact of the electrified sound. Even the term resonance should be used sensible, because a neck and the body shoudn't swing much, because that reduces sustain due to interferences.
It's the pickups (and their distance to the strings), the different strings, the cables (and lengths in the guitar and the guitar cable -> capacities). Aswell the hardware is of minor influece for the electric sound.
The rest is psychoacoustic belief. Some writing experts in the magazines copy and trade common wrong opinion and support magical parts without actual worth.

Therefore: Loving guitars is way more easier, to appreciate an instrument which seems to be a perfect match with all the gear you already own.

 

[Royscopp]

Question is if the Silver Sly SE is worth it, after owning strats, if it adds something

 

[touch33]

As far as scientific research went in the past 30 yeaes on solidbody guitars, neither the wood nor weight relief has an impact of the electrified sound. Even the term resonance should be used sensible, because a neck and the body shoudn't swing much, because that reduces sustain due to interferences.
It's the pickups (and their distance to the strings), the different strings, the cables (and lengths in the guitar and the guitar cable -> capacities). Aswell the hardware is of minor influece for the electric sound.
The rest is psychoacoustic belief. Some writing experts in the magazines copy and trade common wrong opinion and support magical parts without actual worth.

Therefore: Loving guitars is way more easier, to appreciate an instrument which seems to be a perfect match with all the gear you already own.

There a certain Mr. Smith who apparently disagrees (as do I): https://www.premierguitar.com/pro-advice/a-builders-perspective/tonewood-doesnt-matter

 

[rickcard71]

They are amazing. I have to try the core and SE side-by-side, but to me there is no reason to buy the core other than buying American. I am thinking about getting one doing two humbuckers.