Lacking Talent
New Member
Sharing this here in the event it might inspire anyone's approach to their own SE...
Picked up the 2009 SE Custom Semi-Hollow in the below "Before" photo locally, in like new condition (except for the fretboard, which -- while not at all worn -- was in need of a good cleaning), for exactly $200.
After selling the pair of custom Seymour Duncan-made Benedetto brand pickups that were already in there courtesy of the previous owner, which were way too warm and chocolatey (verging on syrupy) sounding for me, the total cost of the guitar ended up being...$30.
Spent a long while figuring out what would make this gorgeous piece of machinery work best in my hands and to my ears, and ultimately settled on deploying the following bits and bobs I've had sitting around the house forever, along with -- eventually / ultimately -- a new set of custom cut and engraved plastics (as I found the stock PRS tortoiseshell material much too red-hued for my taste):
pickups: 2 Fender DeArmond USA Gold Tone humbuckers
controls: from bridge to rear body edge can now be found Volume, Tone 1 (treble cut), Tone 2 (bass cut), Pickup Pan (with center détente). Extra hole drilled between Volume knob and original single Tone (treble cut) knob, which was then moved to that new / center hole as Tone 1 (treble cut), in order to place Tone 2 (bass cut) at the rearward end of that line of three knobs. Pickup Pan knob replaced the stock three-way pickup selector toggle switch (NOTE: This control scheme and its attendant component values (listed below) was inspired by particular models from the Reverend Guitars line.).
pots: 3 Alpha 500K Audio Taper (full), 1 Alpha 500K Audio Taper Blend Pot (mini)
caps: Volume (master) Mouser 270pf, Tone 1 (treble cut) Mouser .022uf, Tone 2 (bass cut) Mouser 1000pf
knobs: 4 Bogart Amber Acrylic 6mm Shaft Notched Top Hat Knobs for Les Paul/LP/SG
plastics: Frets On The Net 3-layer B/W/T made to measure pickup surrounds, pickguard, rear control cavity cover, engraved "PRS" logo truss rod cover
strings: GHS Big Core Nickel Rockers, Custom Light 009-1/2 - 048
So, an already impressive-from-the-factory, unbelievably inexpensive used guitar is now also incredibly versatile, able to deliver, thanks to the Pickup Pan pot and Reverend Guitars-style "BCC" (Bass Contour Control), completely hum-free tones from super-skinny to full-fat, anywhere on the spectrum of clean to mean (within the inherent parameters of the bright-verging-on-"twangy," USA-made DeArmond replacement pickups' "vintage PAF"-like design, that is), and with whatever precise amount of bridge and/or neck pickup you might want dialed in at any given moment, one can cover -- depending, of course, on amp settings -- anything from trad to alt country, blues to blues rock, or rockabilly and early rock 'n' roll and pop to hard rock to alt rock (NOTE: This is not a "modern metal"-capable guitar.); will share additionally that the SE neck profiles from this MIK PRS era are super comfy, intonation accuracy is surprisingly acceptable despite the wraparound bridge, action can be set low-ish and remain buzz-free, and the semi-hollowness of it all resulted in a real lightweight that reads only 6.2 pounds on my currently in-use digital home scale. The bridge posts, nut, and tuners are all factory stock, BTW.
Here are some "After" pix...
When all was said and done, and having most recently impulsively splurged on the beautifully hand-made, brown tort pieces (which then got sprayed with a clear, hard, glossy and glassy top coat), total out of pocket costs, including labor for the mods and a comprehensive set up, have now skyrocketed, way up to nearly...$330.
Actual value? "Priceless."
Picked up the 2009 SE Custom Semi-Hollow in the below "Before" photo locally, in like new condition (except for the fretboard, which -- while not at all worn -- was in need of a good cleaning), for exactly $200.
After selling the pair of custom Seymour Duncan-made Benedetto brand pickups that were already in there courtesy of the previous owner, which were way too warm and chocolatey (verging on syrupy) sounding for me, the total cost of the guitar ended up being...$30.
Spent a long while figuring out what would make this gorgeous piece of machinery work best in my hands and to my ears, and ultimately settled on deploying the following bits and bobs I've had sitting around the house forever, along with -- eventually / ultimately -- a new set of custom cut and engraved plastics (as I found the stock PRS tortoiseshell material much too red-hued for my taste):
pickups: 2 Fender DeArmond USA Gold Tone humbuckers
controls: from bridge to rear body edge can now be found Volume, Tone 1 (treble cut), Tone 2 (bass cut), Pickup Pan (with center détente). Extra hole drilled between Volume knob and original single Tone (treble cut) knob, which was then moved to that new / center hole as Tone 1 (treble cut), in order to place Tone 2 (bass cut) at the rearward end of that line of three knobs. Pickup Pan knob replaced the stock three-way pickup selector toggle switch (NOTE: This control scheme and its attendant component values (listed below) was inspired by particular models from the Reverend Guitars line.).
pots: 3 Alpha 500K Audio Taper (full), 1 Alpha 500K Audio Taper Blend Pot (mini)
caps: Volume (master) Mouser 270pf, Tone 1 (treble cut) Mouser .022uf, Tone 2 (bass cut) Mouser 1000pf
knobs: 4 Bogart Amber Acrylic 6mm Shaft Notched Top Hat Knobs for Les Paul/LP/SG
plastics: Frets On The Net 3-layer B/W/T made to measure pickup surrounds, pickguard, rear control cavity cover, engraved "PRS" logo truss rod cover
strings: GHS Big Core Nickel Rockers, Custom Light 009-1/2 - 048
So, an already impressive-from-the-factory, unbelievably inexpensive used guitar is now also incredibly versatile, able to deliver, thanks to the Pickup Pan pot and Reverend Guitars-style "BCC" (Bass Contour Control), completely hum-free tones from super-skinny to full-fat, anywhere on the spectrum of clean to mean (within the inherent parameters of the bright-verging-on-"twangy," USA-made DeArmond replacement pickups' "vintage PAF"-like design, that is), and with whatever precise amount of bridge and/or neck pickup you might want dialed in at any given moment, one can cover -- depending, of course, on amp settings -- anything from trad to alt country, blues to blues rock, or rockabilly and early rock 'n' roll and pop to hard rock to alt rock (NOTE: This is not a "modern metal"-capable guitar.); will share additionally that the SE neck profiles from this MIK PRS era are super comfy, intonation accuracy is surprisingly acceptable despite the wraparound bridge, action can be set low-ish and remain buzz-free, and the semi-hollowness of it all resulted in a real lightweight that reads only 6.2 pounds on my currently in-use digital home scale. The bridge posts, nut, and tuners are all factory stock, BTW.
Here are some "After" pix...
When all was said and done, and having most recently impulsively splurged on the beautifully hand-made, brown tort pieces (which then got sprayed with a clear, hard, glossy and glassy top coat), total out of pocket costs, including labor for the mods and a comprehensive set up, have now skyrocketed, way up to nearly...$330.
Actual value? "Priceless."
