SE Mods

[GBrux]

I just got an Used SE One for $250 ... Did the following so far...

1. New Grover 406c locking tuners? No drilling. Perfect fit

2. Replaced pickup with Seymour Duncan Custom P90 (huge tonal difference), new volume pot frome my Custom 22 and lampshade knob

3. Replaced stop tailpiece with a USA PRS tailpiece (left)

Next will be the nut and and a new custom Truss Rod cover...

Oh, and has anyone tried putting a headstock overlay on your SE? Hate the SE logo... Sorry Paul, but that just looks ... Not so good. ;-)

 

[Duffy]

I have a suggestion for all of you. GET out and test drive the new SEs. Especially the Tremonti Custom and the SE245 and the CU24. They are very well built "copies" that come real close to the real deal.
I've always had a strat kicking around as a beater to take on vacays or to engagements that were a little "unsafe". A strat was always not too far away when gigging as a backup. Well...now that Ive been introduced to the new SE line and now that I finally have a "beater PRS" (oxymoron right there)...it's PRS all the way. NO MORE Fenders for me.
That's some pretty bad news for all the poor kids and schools that know me. I seemed to have a nasty habit of giving strats away to those in need. Well...maybe time to get a paper route...or if you're a school, start selling chocolate bars door-to-door...cause....as soft hearted as I am...as good as it makes me feel everytime I see that kid's eyes light up...or tear-up when I say..."here my man, this is for YOU....FREE of CHARGE!!"...and as awesome as it feels to be thanked by principles or having my name on a plaque in the highschool's hallway...uhhhh...unfortunately...THIS Tremonti SE Custom is NOT going ANYWHERE any time soon!!!
Sorry fellas...and girls...but the good news is that you can snag yourself a Squier Standard Strat for just over a hundred bucks. Spend another hun on it for upgrades and you have yourself a wicked strat for about 200 buckaroobucks.
Ahhh...just get a hold of me and I'll buy one for you and I'll even turn it into a strat that beats the USA strats!!! I'll even pay for the shipping...BUT...you can't have my new baby...the SE Tremonti Custom. No WAY man!!
OK this time I MEAN it...rant COMPLETE!!!!

I totally agree with you on this. Even for full street retail on the new PRS SE guitars they are really good values. I just got my new SE Santana and it is very, very nice, 245 pickups and all. I also have two mint SE's that I bought used for 200 each at a local store. One is a beautiful SE Singlecut Tremolo and the other is an SE Standard. I had never heard of the Standard before but the picture of it is in my Avatar.

Also, if you can use a soldering iron and have mastered some technical skills, you can make some very cost effective upgrades. I'd say just make sure you are making upgrades instead of installing lower quality parts as in a lot of the GFS type over hyped stuff. I like the Grover 406c mini locking tuners that are a direct drop in. They are high class and work great plus look normal.

 

[Duffy]

These are the same mini Grover locking tuners I have on my SE Singlecut and they are very nice and work really well. It's a tremolo Singlecut but these tuners make restringing a lot faster and easier. The stock PRS tuners on my new SE Santana also work well and very smoothly. I don't see a problem with them, yet anyway.

Beautiful P90 guitar by the way. It's really nice looking. There is nothing like a good P90 guitar. When you get a twin P90 with one RWRP it definitely quiets it down when both pickups are on and you are using a lot of gain. Never the less, yours looks like a super great guitar the way it is with the single pickup.

I just got an Used SE One for $250 ... Did the following so far...

1. New Grover 406c locking tuners? No drilling. Perfect fit

2. Replaced pickup with Seymour Duncan Custom P90 (huge tonal difference), new volume pot frome my Custom 22 and lampshade knob

3. Replaced stop tailpiece with a USA PRS tailpiece (left)

Next will be the nut and and a new custom Truss Rod cover...

Oh, and has anyone tried putting a headstock overlay on your SE? Hate the SE logo... Sorry Paul, but that just looks ... Not so good. ;-)

 

[Victek]

I just got an Used SE One for $250 ... Did the following so far...

1. New Grover 406c locking tuners? No drilling. Perfect fit

I've been thinking about those Grovers for my SE CU24. Can you describe how they work? Do you just put the string through the post and start turning without any wrap?

 

[MOBirds]

I've been thinking about those Grovers for my SE CU24. Can you describe how they work? Do you just put the string through the post and start turning with any wrap?

They have a little mechanism inside so it locks as soon as you start turning it, so with tension on string whatever amount of wrap you want will be locked in tight. When removing string, you loosen it and then twist the top to get it to release. They are amazingly simple to use. I don't put more than one full wrap if even that much - and I have them on my SE Angelus acoustic! It's so much easier and quicker to do string changes I couldn't resist.

 

[Victek]

They have a little mechanism inside so it locks as soon as you start turning it, so with tension on string whatever amount of wrap you want will be locked in tight. When removing string, you loosen it and then twist the top to get it to release. They are amazingly simple to use. I don't put more than one full wrap if even that much - and I have them on my SE Angelus acoustic! It's so much easier and quicker to do string changes I couldn't resist.

Thanks for clarifying. In my first post I actually meant to say without any wrap (I went back and corrected it). It sounds like you put the string through the post and if you tension it you get very little wrap which is what I'd want - Am I getting it right? It seems to me that you get some extra tuning stability by reducing the amount of wrap around the post. The ease of changing the strings is a real plus too, especially if you break one when you're "playing out".

 

[Duffy]

I've been thinking about those Grovers for my SE CU24. Can you describe how they work? Do you just put the string through the post and start turning without any wrap?

I usually try to leave enough string for one and a half turns, but I usually end up with more by accident.

 

[garrett]

They have a little mechanism inside so it locks as soon as you start turning it, so with tension on string whatever amount of wrap you want will be locked in tight. When removing string, you loosen it and then twist the top to get it to release. They are amazingly simple to use. I don't put more than one full wrap if even that much - and I have them on my SE Angelus acoustic! It's so much easier and quicker to do string changes I couldn't resist.

Inside the main shaft, there's another, asymmetrical shaft that locks the string in place as you turn the key. All you do is line up the hole, pull the string tight with one hand, and use the other hand to tune it up to pitch. Dead simple. The strings usually unlock themselves when I change them. If one gets stuck, just use a coin to loosen it.

 

[garrett]

I usually try to leave enough string for one and a half turns, but I usually end up with more by accident.

No wraps needed on locking tuners, and will probably hurt the performance especially if you're using a trem.

 

[GBrux]

Here is my latest mod on my SE One... Micro Wood Veneer to over up the "SE One" logo... Not sure why Paul doesn't put his signature on this... Will have Paul sign it next time I see him. Or can we buy the plastic Signature sticker from PRS?..

 

[GBrux]

Just had John Mann install a USA nut from PRS. That really sealed the deal for me. Check out http://guitarvaultusa.com/ ... Great PRS dealer.

 

[GBrux]

Here is a pic of my new nut and TRC...

 

[Dizzyg12]

For those that found the tone pros adjustable bridge, where did you find the metric in nickel? All I seen online at MF and GC and sweetwater is one option which doesn't state whether it's metric or us.

 

[hudman]

I bought a 2013 PRS Santana SE a couple of months ago.

I swapped out the stock tuners for a set of Grover 406N (nickel) mini-roto locking tuners. I added Schaller nickel strap locks. I am not planning on anything else. Here are the pictures of my guitar from Sweetwater before the mods.

 

[cayle]

I ordered a Seymour Duncan A2Pro neck with nickel cover and a pair of Schaller strap locks for my Bernie. Waiting for those to arrive.

 

[CoreyT]

I bought a 2013 PRS Santana SE a couple of months ago.

I swapped out the stock tuners for a set of Grover 406N (nickel) mini-roto locking tuners. I added Schaller nickel strap locks. I am not planning on anything else. Here are the pictures of my guitar from Sweetwater before the mods.

I have found with all four (one one is my sons) of the SEs I have bought they only needed the Autotrim locking tuners and Schaller Strap Locks, and nothing else.
They play and sound fantastic.

 

[carpincowboy]

is the american made nut a direct replacement for the SE nut. IE no sanding it down to get it to the right height etc?

 

[dogrocketp]

I have entirely too many Singlecut SE's. They all get the same treatment....Hipshot open back locking tuners (USA made) with universal mounting plates, a new nut (PRS or Graphtech) and Schroeder locking bridge studs. After this, it's all gravy. The tuners are 18 to 1. The stock nut is a puzzle to me. If I could only do one mod, that would be the one. The new bridge studs level the bridge out, and lock it down. One of my P-90 guitars absolutely came to life after the stud change. Of course, i do other different mods on each one to get different sounds. Several of them have stock pickups that are killer, especially the P-90's. To me, these are the perfect guitars to customize, because they're not expensive and they can all sound different. The only problem is that a video of the S2 Singlecut has just been posted, and the sound has me floored. The pickups are amazing. Do I really need to buy food this month?

 

[jwmcpeak]

Schroeder locking bridge studs.

What size of studs did you get? I've got a SE 245 Soapbar that I want to do some upgrades on.

 

[dogrocketp]

I don't recall there being a size option. I went to Jason Schroeder's website. I also have a tonepros adjustable bridge on my 245, but the strings can scratch the guitar under the bridge during installation. Mike Garvey has a Schroeder bridge on his Bernie Marsden, and was very happy with it. It's also aesthetically beautiful, and pictures are in this thread. Are you doing any wiring mods? We'd all like to know.