PRS Starla with Brent Hinds (Mastodon), what pickups?

[IRG]

I'm a big fan of Mastodon, and I like seeing Brent playing a PRS Starla - which I guess has to be an S2 model. But in pics I've seen, they don't appear to be stock pickups, nor do they look like the Lace pickups that have his name on it. Anyone know what they might be? Also, on PRS site, I see they have a few unique colors I've not seen on retailers, like the Ice Blue and the Gold Egyptian, anyone know if they are available only through select retailers? I like the McCarty sunburst a lot, which is probably more common, although Sweetwater doesn't seem to list it as an option.

Pic of Brent:

 

[IRG]

Ah, well one mystery solved, just saw on FB that PRS announced the new colors for the S2 line, the Gold and Ice Blue. Man a Starla in gold might be something I have to consider. Very different, but something about it I like.

So the S2 Starla, and the S2 Singlecut Standard are similar guitars body style/neck wise, only 2 differences I see are the pickups and the bigsby/bridge on the Starla, correct? I was going to go with an SE Singlecut of some sort, but I love these S2's.

Here some pics from their site for those interested:

 

[John Beef]

You can tell from the hollow bird inlays and fancier body carve that it's a Core Starla made some time between '08 and '11-ish. that means't it's got the 24.5" scale instead of 25". As far as the pickups, they could be anything. Premier Guitar did a rig rundown with them last November and there's no mention of PRS.

 

[DuncanCE22]

Surprises me that his PRS weren't in the rig run down as I saw them in November and he was using a white Starla as well as the one pictured above. As a wild guess I would say they are some sort of Bare Knuckle pickups due to the brushed covers.

Thought I'd add that the white one he used when I saw them looked to be an S2 one.

 

[IRG]

You can tell from the hollow bird inlays and fancier body carve that it's a Core Starla made some time between '08 and '11-ish. that means't it's got the 24.5" scale instead of 25". As far as the pickups, they could be anything. Premier Guitar did a rig rundown with them last November and there's no mention of PRS.

Ah, gotcha, thanks. So the Starla was a Core model, but now it isn't, just an S2 model. Were the Core ones just made between '08 and '11 then? I guess I never paid them too much attention before. The stock pickups seem pretty cool though. Hotter than the S2 #7 it would seem, though I don't know for sure.

 

[John Beef]

I'm pretty sure that like the Mira, the Starla was discontinued in 2013 and re-invented/relaunched as part of the original lineup of S2s (with different specs, of course). I chose 08-11 for his guitar because I think in 2012 PRS started using two piece, filled-in hollow bird inlays on all models.

 

[garrettb]

That Ice Blue one is hot!

Compared to the S2 Singlecut Standard, the Starla body shape is slightly different. They have this weird little hump on the lower bout instead of being totally rounded. Aside from the Bigsby and the pickups, you also have the different control layout.

 

[Dusty Chalk]

I'm curious what you mean by a "...fancier body carve..." -- it looks to be the non-"belly"/"plateau" look of the S2s. I'm not saying you're wrong -- I agree it's probably a pre-S2 core -- I say this because I just went back and checked my pre-S2 core Starla, and she doesn't have the fancier body carve, neither. (No bird inlays, though -- but it does have the Bigsby, and the black body with the black pickguard, so other than the inlays, it's almost the same guitar. Oh, and original pickups.)

 

[garrettb]

The original Starla had the big bevel like the S2 version, but along the rest of the edges it was carved. The S2 is just bevelled all around.

This site shows the original pretty well: http://hawaiivibes.com/fs/prs_starla/prs_starla.html . When you look at how the light reflects around the edges of the top, you'll see the carve. Even the bevel is slightly dished at the body edge. The S2 is a much simpler flat bevel.

Also, compared to the S2, the original was 24.5" scale, W/F neck, and vintage tuners. B5 Bigsby vs. the B50 on the S2. It's really quite a different guitar.

 

[IRG]

The original Starla had the big bevel like the S2 version, but along the rest of the edges it was carved. The S2 is just bevelled all around.

This site shows the original pretty well: http://hawaiivibes.com/fs/prs_starla/prs_starla.html . When you look at how the light reflects around the edges of the top, you'll see the carve. Even the bevel is slightly dished at the body edge. The S2 is a much simpler flat bevel.

Also, compared to the S2, the original was 24.5" scale, W/F neck, and vintage tuners. B5 Bigsby vs. the B50 on the S2. It's really quite a different guitar.

Interesting, and helpful thanks. I had forgotten the shape of the Starla is a little different than the Singlecut. I think it bugs me too much too, lol.

 

[Dusty Chalk]

Thanks for the detailed explanation Garrett. That difference was too subtle for my inexperienced eyes.

 

[GavQuinn]

Pickups are EMG 57/66

 

[Dirty_Boogie]

.

Pic of Brent:

Brent playing an F-U chord with his right hand

 

[Clashcityrocker]

I'm a big fan of Mastodon, and I like seeing Brent playing a PRS Starla - which I guess has to be an S2 model. But in pics I've seen, they don't appear to be stock pickups, nor do they look like the Lace pickups that have his name on it. Anyone know what they might be? Also, on PRS site, I see they have a few unique colors I've not seen on retailers, like the Ice Blue and the Gold Egyptian, anyone know if they are available only through select retailers? I like the McCarty sunburst a lot, which is probably more common, although Sweetwater doesn't seem to list it as an option.

Pic of Brent:

Great guitar face..
Great guitar...
giving y'all the finger while using the whammy bar.... priceless.