PUP Conundrum >>> to HNGD coming soon!

markintime

markintime

Wood Grain Devotee
Joined
Jun 12, 2014
Messages
1,171
Location
Clinton, SC
Hot dang! It has finally happened. Expected delivery date is 4/21/15.

As some might remember, I was asking for opinions on what pups to put in a SE CU24. Well, ended up selling one and buying another. Since it is still in transit, I can only post the Sweetwater pictures for now, but it will look a little different when it finally gets here, so I will have to do an update, natch.

Presenting my new SE 30th Anniversary Custom 24 in living Vintage Sunburst:

O24586-front-large_zpsbasflqxu.jpg


Oh yeah, back to the question: what did I do? She is now equipped with a set of 59/09's and a set of D'addario EXL 10-46 gauge strings. I asked Sean Geyer, my sales engineer, to have the nut slots massaged to accommodate the new strings and do an intonation setup. Not that I couldn't do that part myself, but I want to plug that baby in and play and not waste any time futzing around. I tell ya, these Sweetwater guys are outstanding! It seems nothing is out of the realm of possibility with them. The sweetest part of the whole deal was that I saved money on every part of the mods.

Two more of their pics:

O24586-angle-large_zpssid07x0i.jpg

O24586-body-large_zpslwazthqj.jpg


The funny part, at least to me, is that I just saw what Hunter posted in the PSF thread about the new SE 30th Anniversary Custom 24 Flame Top colors. I am thinking that I got the better of the deal, because if I had waited after seeing those new colors, I may have had entirely too much for my poor fuzzy brain to deal with. Now my hindsight is slapping me on the back with an attaboy.

All I have to do now is survive the long wait until Tuesday. Hurry up, FedEx!!!

:dancing:
 
That is a perfectly matched top and an awesome quilt-congrats!
 
Thanks, guys. I did not know, until a slightly lengthy conversation with Sean, that, although they showed 4 available guitars on their web site, they actually had 4 more available that were hidden from the general public. He emailed me links to them, and when my wife (yeah, had to tell her, just so it wouldn't be one of those, you know, surprises) and I saw them, well, that was it. That was THE One.

Well, to add to the details, I was also able to get a 3 pack of strings, a 6 pack of Dunlop Jazz III XL picks, 2 Blue enCore 200 mics, cables for same, and a Focusrite Scarlett 2i2 Studio Bundle into the deal. All except the Focusrite were also discounted, so all in all, I am feeling right nicely, thank you, and now - time to get down to bidness.

I know the Focusrite is kind of an introductory thing to recording and such, but I wondered if anyone had any thoughts on this. Seemed like the best way to go for me right now. ?.
 
Sweet looking top! The tops of some these SEs are simply amazing recently. Looking forward to the pics of the new configuration too!
 
Love that quilt! I see a frog face below the trem! Sweet :beer:
 
shinksma said:
Sweet looking top! The tops of some these SEs are simply amazing recently. Looking forward to the pics of the new configuration too!
Click to expand...

And I can't wait to do the photo layout, either.

While posting, my mail person just delivered the Blue enCore 200 mics and cables (they were a separate order). But the Focusrite is part of the SE order, and it is what will provide the 48 volt phantom power the mics require, so can't play with them just yet.

Hey Les. I understand you might have a little experience with recording stuff? I dunno, think I vaguely remember something to that effect. ;) Your thoughts, one way or the other, welcome. And anyone else with knowledge of that stuff?
 
It came. Tuesday. And right now, I have a plus and a minus (+ & -). First, the minus. It doesn't have the black pup rings, nor the black toggle switch tip. SO WHAT! Yet, BUT they're on the way. A minor bit of forgetfulness that I will not hold against my guy. Very understandable, because I am just so absolutely happy, I can hardly stand it!

Now the plus(es). It is flat out bee-yoo-tiful. It really pains me that I have not had the time yet to do a decent photo shoot, so right now I can't post any pics (but they will be coming soon), but just picture the Sweetwater shots at the beginning of the thread with the 59/09's, black rings, and black tip, and you have it. No cotton-picking zebras! Yeah!

Yes, it DOES have the 59's, it HAS had the nut properly fixed for the 10 gauge string set, and it DID come ready to play, in tune, right out of the box. 'Cause I plugged that baby in just as fast as I could, straight into my Blackstar, and I couldn't put it down for the longest time. The tone in all settings is AWESOME! The cleans just came straight from Mr. Clean himself. Smooth as a 20 year old Scotch and just a little bit smoky when the gain goes up. On the OD, it can bite your head off! The velvet becomes steel wooly. Add the reverb and you are transported into a cavernous hall with 50' high ceilings. One neat thing about the Blackstar is that is has a dark/bright reverb and no metal pan spank with the 'verb fully clockwise. So I get a beautiful, almost religious, sustain on the neck pickup in humbucking mode, Kinda makes you feel like doing a Gregorian chant. Pull the tone knob up and of course it needs a little volume tweak up, but a little more sparkly then. And the bridge, whoa. It will wake you UP. I know I don't remember my '13 SE CU24 sounding like that. Unfortunately I can't A/B that since I sold it while I was buying this one at the same time. As a matter of fact, I was seriously going to do the same thing to it, but I have a feeling that it wouldn't quite sound the same as this one. It's funny in a way, but I have the very definite impression that PRS has somehow improved the 2015 SE's. This one feels better on the neck and fretboard. Why, I don't know, but it does. The frets feel like a work of art, bending notes is so smooth. I even did a full 2 step up bend and it just slid right up there. Of course, since the strings are completely new, I did have to retune that string. There might still need to be a bit more string stretching, but it is staying in tune quite well, thank you. I don't believe I need to get locking tuners other than to make it easier and quicker to change strings. Maybe down the road I might decide to put Grover 406c's on it, but then again, maybe not.

Oh, and I almost forgot to mention the trem. Even the trem seems to be somehow better made than the one I had on the '13 SE. It just looks like a better machined piece of steel. And works like a dream. Dive bombs like crazy and stays in tune. I am never, ever going to touch that thing with a screwdriver. No need, those Sweetwater boys got the intonation dead zero spot on.

Of course I had to compare it to my PG, and it does not have to take a back seat there. They both sound great and have their own character. The 59's are stronger, brighter, but not ice pick sharp, very articulate high and low. The 408's have a warmer timbre to their sound and I know that part of that is due to the fact that my PG is a solid mahogany one piece body, rosewood neck, brazzy fretboard. The 30th SE has that maple quilt and a mahogany neck. So which one do I grab out of the stand will simply depend on my mood. Yes, I am in the honeymoon phase right now, and if I even THINK about another PRS right now I know I am going to face the problem of how to handle what would have to be described as a harem. What a problem to have!

To sum up: I am as happy as, well... you fill in the blank.
 
Last edited:
I should not have read this thread.

My desired mod list is very similar and now you're just giving me a roadmap. And now to learn there are secret guitars...
 
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