S2 Mods

[S2C22]

Mine has had major upgrades...
*Seymour Duncan Custom & '59.
*New wiring, CTS pots, 047uf Orange drop cap.
*New, upgraded 3-way switch.
*I'm installing a PRS/Mann 2040 bridge this evening!

 

[Eddie kim]

Did the pots and wiring make a difference?

 

[littlebadboy]

Did the pots and wiring make a difference?

I'd like to know too.

 

[John Mann]

+1 on this opinion, except for the pots. If you can do it yourself, it's an upgrade that costs less than $20. IMHO better pots sound better, especially when decreasing the volume.

FWIW, with my SE277: I've been bugging John Mann about making a version of his Fatback for the SE277/Holcomb models for nearly 2 years, I rock my stock 85/15s pickups, and I did replace the volume pot with a CTS.

Soon !!! The hardtail bridge is definitely on my radar... just have to make sure my exiting stock is up to snuff before I tackle new projects.

 

[Gorlag]

Ok so I have an update. I have a s2 custom 24. I have had many brain storming plans and research to get it where I wanted it. My 5 way switch idea didn’t work. However I found a solution that is much better.

I just got done with my mods. It turned out great.

57/08 in the neck
59/09 in the bridge
New 3 way switch
Two new pots both push/pull for independent coil taping for blending.

Giving me 8 different options.

The G&B 85/15s bass pick up is a great pick up, but it is nothing to the 57/08 bass. I debated not changing it, but I am glad I did. This is the sound I have been trying to get my whole life.
The G&B 85/15s treble pick up is muffled and almost whiny, to my ears it does sound bad. I went with the 59/09 because I wanted this guitar to be versatile and it accomplishes what I wanted. The pick up is very clear and defined. The articulations of sounds when bending notes is fantastic. This is the best tool I have ever used for making music.

Cons I have noticed to doing this:
The volume changes in the middle position is pretty drastic and my be too drastic for people who play in the middle.

I like how different the two pick ups sound but I can also see myself putting in a 57/09 treble in the future. Getting another s2 and getting the bass 59/09 and putting them in it.

Pros:
To me the con I posted is a pro for me sometimes during a song if I am using both pick ups I am playing background rhythm anyway. Switching to 1 or 3 give me a significant volume boost without having to play with the knob. I don’t even use my DB boost pedal anymore. Over all the guitar sounds much better I understand why people buy core guitars. I am eyeing a 594 next.

 

[pac90]

Great combination

There shouldnt be a vol drop though, if the volume is lower with both pickups engaged in the middle, then you may have wired them up out of phase, which is an easy fix, just swap wires

It can sound great oophase though, and i had one setup like that, to be more twangy, for want of a better word. Pete thorn has a series/parallel on a push/pull

 

[John Beef]

Yeah, they're out of phase. I had a guitar wired up like that once, what an awful racket.

 

[Gorlag]

Yeah, they're out of phase. I had a guitar wired up like that once, what an awful racket.

They are loud and sound fantastic, they are not out of phase. I may have explained this wrong. This set up may not be for everyone is what I was trying to say. I am still playing around with the 8 options I have, and I am not use to it yet. This was also trying to be a comparison from the stock pickups. This is my first PRS and I have only ever played SEs and CEs before never owned one. The CE 85/15 pick ups sound great because I think those are actually American ones. I just don’t care for the thin necks on the CE. The 57/08 and 59/09 pick ups themselves are wildly different in tone, and I wanted them to be that way. Because I never played with them and only ever heard them from an iPhone speaker it was a pleasant suppress when I got them in. It’s just going from a very blended sound in the middle to very smooth bass by switching to the neck. To very articulate trebles by switching to the bridge. It is such noticeable difference in frequency’s my ears, volume may not be the right word, but that is how I perceive it. Like I said I am not use to it but it’s a great improvement.

 

[littlebadboy]

I'm planning what to do on my next string change... Is it worth changing the electronics, pots and all to better quality ones or US parts? Nothing wrong with it at the moment but anything that would make my S2 Standard better would be nice?

I'm still saving up for a Mann bridge.

 

[Boogie]

To me, the stock S2 electronics are just fine. Bear in mind, though, that I also consider a pot change to also be a tone adjustment...or, that’s how I approach it. My personal preference doesn’t necessarily follow PRSh’s regarding pot rotation resistance and feel, either...sorry. So when I dropped a Duncan Antiquity hummer into my RL Vela, I gutted it.

RS Guitarworks SuperPots (Custom CTS), the stock cap, switch, jack, and wire.

This is a magnificent guitar in its stock config, but it feels (and sounds) very pro now, too.

 

[pac90]

such a nice guitar boogie

I like the pot values I was reading that prs may be matching the resistor value to what the pot ranges to on the silver skys, I was looking at a set of SS pickups on ebay until I talked myself out of it, better wait till they do a larger radius one and buy the actual guitar

 

[Gorlag]

I'm planning what to do on my next string change... Is it worth changing the electronics, pots and all to better quality ones or US parts? Nothing wrong with it at the moment but anything that would make my S2 Standard better would be nice?

I'm still saving up for a Mann bridge.

I didn’t change out my bridge, I honestly don’t have a problem with it. I changed out all of my electronics for us ones. It is a huge difference. Highly recommend. The US parts are much more responsive.

 

[Boogie]

such a nice guitar boogie

I like the pot values I was reading that prs may be matching the resistor value to what the pot ranges to on the silver skys, I was looking at a set of SS pickups on ebay until I talked myself out of it, better wait till they do a larger radius one and buy the actual guitar

Thank you, pac!

The thought of Silver Sky pickups isn’t an unpleasant one. I’ve had old Texas Specials in my Strat for a bunch of years, but those would be a fun departure.

Anymore, when I get a new pot, they get measured and marked with their value. Makes it easier to decide what goes where...until you cover it with solder. The value I chose for volume was deliberately as close to 500k as possible.

 

[Karura]

Wanted to confirm, what exactly does the newer 2019 and onwards S2 Custom 24 share with the SE and Core?

If I'm correct, the S2 mods that I can possibly do (and don't already come on the guitar) are the following:
Core pickup rings (probably a different color than the Korean ones)
Mann2000NOS bridge
SD pickups if I so desire
Core volume pot and push/pull tone pot
Core 3-way blade switch (better than the Korean ones)?

To confirm some of my understanding:
The tuners are already good enough, basically what PRS now offers as an upgrade for the SE, correct?
The push/pull tone pot offered on the website, is it the same one that already comes on the S2?

 

[John Mann]

Wanted to confirm, what exactly does the newer 2019 and onwards S2 Custom 24 share with the SE and Core?

If I'm correct, the S2 mods that I can possibly do (and don't already come on the guitar) are the following:
Core pickup rings (probably a different color than the Korean ones) - YES
Mann2000NOS bridge - YES (UNFORTUNATELY OUT OF STOCK TILL LATE JAN 2020). MannMade 2040 works well also.
SD pickups if I so desire - YES
Core volume pot and push/pull tone pot - YES
Core 3-way blade switch (better than the Korean ones)? - YES

To confirm some of my understanding:
The tuners are already good enough, basically what PRS now offers as an upgrade for the SE, correct? STAY WITH THE S2 TUNERS, THEY ARE NOT THE SAME AS THE SE LOCKING TUNERS
The push/pull tone pot offered on the website, is it the same one that already comes on the S2?
I BELIEVE BOTH ARE ALPHA POTS (THE SAME)

 

[IRG]

The S2 3 way switch is way nicer than an SE switch. Both of my guitars are 2019; the SE Mira switch feels cheap like it won't take much to break compared to my S2 Custom 24. Nut on both have been very good, the SE Mira may come with a better nut than most SE models. Pots/push pull seem equal. Knobs on the S2 are significantly nicer. I have different bridges so can't compare, pickups are the same, and I would say the 85/15 S are pretty good stock. Might change them on the S2, if/when I get a third PRS, and want something different.

 

[littlebadboy]

DiMarzio D-Activator X bridge and neck
Schaller Megaswitch "T"
Emerson Pro CTS 1meg volume pot
C&K USA DPDT Mini Toggle Switches
Geesatis Open Black Humbucker Covers
CTS 250k SPST Split Shaft Push/Pull Pot
Pure Tone Jack

The Pure Tone jack has a very solid double "click" because of its design, as opposed to the normal single "click" of a Switchcraft jack.

The Schaller Megaswitch is so smooth!

It has 2 mini toggles to switch each humbucker to series or parallel.

The tone control is normally out of the circuit. It is engaged when you pull the tone knob up. It is a 250k CTS pot with a .01uF CRL ceramic disc cap. It will give a clean tone, an overdriven "blues" tone, or a high gain tone. It will have the full potential of the p/u's output when the tone knob is "down" in its normal position, since the tone pot and cap are disengaged in that position.

The volume pot is a 1 meg . This will result in the most output the pickups are able to produce, short of wiring them directly to the jack! It also has a treble bleed circuit, with a 220k resistor and a .006uF cap wired in parallel.

 

[Eddie kim]

DiMarzio D-Activator X bridge and neck
Schaller Megaswitch "T"
Emerson Pro CTS 1meg volume pot
C&K USA DPDT Mini Toggle Switches
Geesatis Open Black Humbucker Covers
CTS 250k SPST Split Shaft Push/Pull Pot
Pure Tone Jack

The Pure Tone jack has a very solid double "click" because of its design, as opposed to the normal single "click" of a Switchcraft jack.

The Schaller Megaswitch is so smooth!

It has 2 mini toggles to switch each humbucker to series or parallel.

The tone control is normally out of the circuit. It is engaged when you pull the tone knob up. It is a 250k CTS pot with a .01uF CRL ceramic disc cap. It will give a clean tone, an overdriven "blues" tone, or a high gain tone. It will have the full potential of the p/u's output when the tone knob is "down" in its normal position, since the tone pot and cap are disengaged in that position.

The volume pot is a 1 meg . This will result in the most output the pickups are able to produce, short of wiring them directly to the jack! It also has a treble bleed circuit, with a 220k resistor and a .006uF cap wired in parallel.

.

Bet it sounds just as good as it looks.

 

[littlebadboy]

.

Bet it sounds just as good as it looks.

I love the sounds I'm getting from it! Thank you! I used it in recording this.

 

[Alnus Rubra]

Nice work LBB