SE Mods

[Tim S]

I had to take a 7 hour Greyhound for a new job.

That sounds like the beginning of a new blues song! (I'd drop the leading "I", but that's just me)

 

[Eddie kim]

That sounds like the beginning of a new blues song! (I'd drop the leading "I", but that's just me)

Maybe country?

 

[Tremontinator]

That sounds like the beginning of a new blues song! (I'd drop the leading "I", but that's just me)

I'm not giving you a writer's credit

Maybe country?

I hate country


I'm crying in my beer cause my dog got hit by a car my sister won't gimme no tail the tornado destroyed my trailer my Ford broke down this Bud's for you I like Marlboro Reds and drinkin ol Milwaukee my cousin is sexy and my daddy's meth lab blew up. Again.


That's country music

 

[Eddie kim]

I'm not giving you a writer's credit



I hate country


I'm crying in my beer cause my dog got hit by a car my sister won't gimme no tail the tornado destroyed my trailer my Ford broke down this Bud's for you I like Marlboro Reds and drinkin ol Milwaukee my cousin is sexy and my daddy's meth lab blew up. Again.


That's country music

Let me rephrase, like Tennessee Whiskey country like.

 

[Tremontinator]

Let me rephrase, like Tennessee Whiskey country like.

Alright so, add in the part about loving old #7, and wanting to bang his momma, too...

 

[matt3310]

I decided after all I did to my blue ZM, it deserved a nicer headstock. So.....

Before

Now!

 

[Tremontinator]

Hell yeah!

Looks good, brother!

 

[grausch]

I decided after all I did to my blue ZM, it deserved a nicer headstock. So.....

Before

Now!

Wow, that looks great! If I may ask, how did you do the veneer?

 

[matt3310]

Found a seller on Etsy. Its a vinyl overlay.

 

[Beery Swine]

I have a 2014 SE 245 on which I plan on swapping the pickups (definitely want a set with A2 magnets) and the toggle (it can be a little iffy sometimes). I've looked at the pots, and they have orange drop caps, but I can't tell the resistance. Do y'all think upgrading the pots on this guitar is worth it? They seem good, I think, but without having a variable to test, i.e. a second SE 245 with stock everything save upgraded pots, I can't really be 100% certain.

 

[Tremontinator]

Can I ask why you're set on AlNiCo 2 instead of 5 or ceramic?

 

[NBW]

I have a 2014 SE 245 on which I plan on swapping the pickups (definitely want a set with A2 magnets) and the toggle (it can be a little iffy sometimes). I've looked at the pots, and they have orange drop caps, but I can't tell the resistance. Do y'all think upgrading the pots on this guitar is worth it? They seem good, I think, but without having a variable to test, i.e. a second SE 245 with stock everything save upgraded pots, I can't really be 100% certain.

I left the pots alone, but changing out the switch should be pretty easy.

 

[Beery Swine]

Can I ask why you're set on AlNiCo 2 instead of 5 or ceramic?

I have ceramics and A5s in other guitars, and want something different. Slash, EVH, Billy Gibbons, Bonamassa, and tons of others use A2 magnet pickups. Also those other magnets are typically in higher-gain pickups, especially ceramic.

 

[Tremontinator]

So, if I'm hearing you right, you're saying that I need to only buy pickups they have ceramic magnets in order to acheive the ultra highest of ultra high gain

Thanks for the tip

 

[Beery Swine]

So, if I'm hearing you right, you're saying that I need to only buy pickups they have ceramic magnets in order to acheive the ultra highest of ultra high gain

Thanks for the tip

I mean, if that's what you want, but on a modern metal amp (or even one from 1984 like a Mark IIC+) you're not going to be cranking the gain/s all the way. I've found that the extra 25-40% of output you get from a high output pickup is wholly unnecessary. Having said that, I still love the SD SH-6 Distortion and think it's vastly underrated, especially compared with the JB, but I already have 2 guitars with the SH-6. Also, that McCarty sounds best to me no matter what I'm playing, from 60s rock and roll all the way up to modern technical brutal death metal. I seem to like the more PAFfy type pickups and guitars combined with modern metal amps and pedals.
Also the amp is for the audience, the pickup is for the musician. No non-guitarist is gonna listen to a song and think "If only he'd used a better pickup". It's really just for tone freaks, which is pretty much why we're here.

 

[Tremontinator]

If we didn't care about tone, we wouldn't be playing PRSi lol

Don't get me wrong, I love a really bluesy sounding pickup, too.

I just think nothing sounds better than punching the front end of a high gain amp as hard as you possibly can, sending the pre-amp into distortion, and subsequently making the power amp section scream for mercy which then puts the speakers on the ropes


*ALL* *THE* *GAIN!!*

 

[John Beef]

I have a 2014 SE 245 on which I plan on swapping the pickups (definitely want a set with A2 magnets) and the toggle (it can be a little iffy sometimes). I've looked at the pots, and they have orange drop caps, but I can't tell the resistance. Do y'all think upgrading the pots on this guitar is worth it? They seem good, I think, but without having a variable to test, i.e. a second SE 245 with stock everything save upgraded pots, I can't really be 100% certain.

My SEs both have upgraded volume pots. I find the stock ones to be a little muddy when decreasing the volume, even with a volume kit installed. I haven't used SE245 pickups, but generally people seem to like them in their Bernies and ZMs. Maybe a magnet swap to A2 is all you need. You could get new magnets, pots, and a switch for less than a decent used pickup.

 

[Beery Swine]

My SEs both have upgraded volume pots. I find the stock ones to be a little muddy when decreasing the volume, even with a volume kit installed. I haven't used SE245 pickups, but generally people seem to like them in their Bernies and ZMs. Maybe a magnet swap to A2 is all you need. You could get new magnets, pots, and a switch for less than a decent used pickup.

I was considering that, but then they still wouldn't have nickel covers for vanity. Also the windings wouldn't be matched to the magnet in specific ways which manufacturers like to do and it'd probably wind up (no pun intended) being darker than a less wound pickup. I also don't really care if I spend an extra few bucks here and there on a guitar so long as it gets me what I'm after. Besides, I think I found a good deal on a Slash set with nickel covers.
If I didn't have other pickups to compare the SE245s to, I'd probably think they were great. But I do. The McCartys, the Distortions, the Jazzes, the Full Shreds, the EMG 81/60 all instantly sound better when I switch to the appropriate guitar. It's like there are a few high frequencies that the pickup just isn't getting in any way, and it winds up sounding flattened, but not quite muddy.

 

[garrett]

$15 ($19 with shipping) very well spent with John and Roxanne Mann.

Some yahoo had previously botched adjusting the bridge height on my One. Must've done it with a regular screwdriver under tension, because the slots on the stud heads were chunked up and the bass side stud rubbed on my palm uncomfortably.

I found out MannMade USA had started making metric studs, so it was a no brainer. I went for the unplated satin. The tops are flat and smooth and the tolerance is very tight. The bridge fits snugly in the posts. No need for locking studs.

 

[Karura]

Do we have a good option upgrade to the SE CU24 3-way-blade switch? Is the Core USA 3-way blade a direct drop in for the SE?