Chipsotoole
Chipsotoole
I've just taken delivery of my second PRS soapbar II SE . I got a super cheap 2004 cherry one that had been slightly modded (tonerider IV humbucker at bridge) just prior to Christmas... lovely feel to play, but I found I really hankered for an original one as all the mods and the added scratch plate renders the guitar not really retrofittable without all sorts of bore hole and routing scars.
I was lucky enough to track down a 2005 Blue Matteo soapbar II maple in the UK that has now after a MONTH and import taxes finally landed in mainland Europe (Thanks Brexit) . It was so filthy and nasty, slimy and crusty I had to strip it right down and really give it a full de-rust, fret polish, deep clean and nickel polish with various fluids and pastes. Imagine my surprise at the stripe of colour difference under the fixed bridge. Clearly the guitar is no longer Blue Matteo so I've decided to rename it Sherwood Green.
I wanted to post a pic but this appears to be tricky here compared to other sites. I heard that PRS has had problems with the colour blue.
I don't know exactly what other changes the previous owner made to the 2004 Soapbar II cherry , he/she maybe changed out the pots too but with both guitars on the soapbar neck pickup, well they really sound significantly different to one another when they should be in the same ball park. The new arrival 2005 with all original specs and a recommended set of 9's simply sounds more like a p90 guitar should..a souped up strat/gibson melody maker cross. It is aggressive and twangy: volume and tone control responsive whereas the 2004 modded one has a tendency sound muddy and undistinct and volume and tone knobs quite unresponsive.
I may end up selling the cherry on , but the most interesting thing I have taken from this is that one should think long and hard before modding a guitar, even a cheap one. Given Paul Reed Smith's well documented obsession and dedication to guitar build quality control and tone (even if it is the cheaper Korean version) you should weigh up the consequences carefully before rerouting, sticking in an expensive pup, upgrading an existing pup, or changing the pots values thinking it'll make the guitar sound better...( and then telling yourself afterwards how awesome it sounds , even though you can't compare the sounds side by side) The PRS team knows what it is doing.
But then again Tone is really a matter of personal choice innit?.
I was lucky enough to track down a 2005 Blue Matteo soapbar II maple in the UK that has now after a MONTH and import taxes finally landed in mainland Europe (Thanks Brexit) . It was so filthy and nasty, slimy and crusty I had to strip it right down and really give it a full de-rust, fret polish, deep clean and nickel polish with various fluids and pastes. Imagine my surprise at the stripe of colour difference under the fixed bridge. Clearly the guitar is no longer Blue Matteo so I've decided to rename it Sherwood Green.
I wanted to post a pic but this appears to be tricky here compared to other sites. I heard that PRS has had problems with the colour blue.
I don't know exactly what other changes the previous owner made to the 2004 Soapbar II cherry , he/she maybe changed out the pots too but with both guitars on the soapbar neck pickup, well they really sound significantly different to one another when they should be in the same ball park. The new arrival 2005 with all original specs and a recommended set of 9's simply sounds more like a p90 guitar should..a souped up strat/gibson melody maker cross. It is aggressive and twangy: volume and tone control responsive whereas the 2004 modded one has a tendency sound muddy and undistinct and volume and tone knobs quite unresponsive.
I may end up selling the cherry on , but the most interesting thing I have taken from this is that one should think long and hard before modding a guitar, even a cheap one. Given Paul Reed Smith's well documented obsession and dedication to guitar build quality control and tone (even if it is the cheaper Korean version) you should weigh up the consequences carefully before rerouting, sticking in an expensive pup, upgrading an existing pup, or changing the pots values thinking it'll make the guitar sound better...( and then telling yourself afterwards how awesome it sounds , even though you can't compare the sounds side by side) The PRS team knows what it is doing.
But then again Tone is really a matter of personal choice innit?.
