SE Mods

Okay so I finished off the Zach Myers this morning (though I may re-do the neck pickup if I can find a closer colour match to the bridge pickup, that said it looks a lot closer in person). I managed to score a Vintage Bass pickup of Evilbay for £50 (the box says it's a Artist Bass but the sticker underneath says Vintage Bass) I installed it in the bridge and made a matching neck pickup (using the PRS handwiritten pickup sheet) that's floating around on here. I also wired in the 5 way rotary switch in place of the bridge volume control and moved the other into a DGT configuration).

52721401811_dd548dfda1_o.jpg


Full Mods include =
Vinyl headstock overlay
Gold PRS signature
Custom Ebony & MOP TRC
Gotoh SD-90 HAP machineheads
"Core" Wraparound tailpiece
"Core" Vintage Bass pickup in bridge position
VGR Custom wound "VB" neck pickup with reversed coil colours
"Core" Ivory pickup surrounds & switch tip
Gold "John Mann" brass bridge studs
Upgraded wiring & pots
Toggle switch converted to kill switch
2 volume pots, 1 tone pot (DGT Configuration)
5 way rotary switch
Russian K40P-2 .022 Paper In Oil Capacitors
Amber lampshade knobs
Wide nickel strap buttons
Pure Tone (4 point) Jack Socket

The kill switch is wired to take the rotary switch out of the circuit giving me the option on both humbuckers on together in the Peter Green mod due to the pickups being magnetically out of phase to make the rotary switch work correctly.
 
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I bought my SE Soapbar used and it came with Gibson P90's. They sound great but hum a lot.

I lined the control cavity and pickup routs with copper foil.

Then took one pickup apart flipped the magnet and rewired it backwards

So now it's RW/RP and when they're combined they don't hum.

My SE Singlecut now has double cream Seymour Duncan Antiquity pickups.

Sounds as GREAT as it looks!

https://imgur.com/NixqY0F
 
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Fullmoon 1971 said:
Okay so I finished off the Zach Myers this morning (though I may re-do the neck pickup if I can find a closer colour match to the bridge pickup, that said it looks a lot closer in person). I managed to score a Vintage Bass pickup of Evilbay for £50 (the box says it's a Artist Bass but the sticker underneath says Vintage Bass) I installed it in the bridge and made a matching neck pickup (using the PRS handwiritten pickup sheet) that's floating around on here. I also wired in the 5 way rotary switch in place of the bridge volume control and moved the other into a DGT configuration).

52721401811_dd548dfda1_o.jpg


Full Mods include =
Vinyl headstock overlay
Gold PRS signature
Custom Ebony & MOP TRC
Gotoh SD-90 HAP machineheads
"Core" Wraparound tailpiece
"Core" Vintage Bass pickup in bridge position
VGR Custom wound "VB" neck pickup with reversed coil colours
"Core" Ivory pickup surrounds & switch tip
Gold "John Mann" brass bridge studs
Upgraded wiring & pots
Toggle switch converted to kill switch
2 volume pots, 1 tone pot (DGT Configuration)
5 way rotary switch
Russian K40P-2 .022 Paper In Oil Capacitors
Amber lampshade knobs
Wide nickel strap buttons
Pure Tone (4 point) Jack Socket

The kill switch is wired to take the rotary switch out of the circuit giving me the option on both humbuckers on together in the Peter Green mod due to the pickups being magnetically out of phase to make the rotary switch work correctly.
Click to expand...

Stunning work as always John. Hope the young lad is keeping well?
 
Fullmoon 1971 said:
Okay so I finished off the Zach Myers this morning (though I may re-do the neck pickup if I can find a closer colour match to the bridge pickup, that said it looks a lot closer in person). I managed to score a Vintage Bass pickup of Evilbay for £50 (the box says it's a Artist Bass but the sticker underneath says Vintage Bass) I installed it in the bridge and made a matching neck pickup (using the PRS handwiritten pickup sheet) that's floating around on here. I also wired in the 5 way rotary switch in place of the bridge volume control and moved the other into a DGT configuration).

52721401811_dd548dfda1_o.jpg


Full Mods include =
Vinyl headstock overlay
Gold PRS signature
Custom Ebony & MOP TRC
Gotoh SD-90 HAP machineheads
"Core" Wraparound tailpiece
"Core" Vintage Bass pickup in bridge position
VGR Custom wound "VB" neck pickup with reversed coil colours
"Core" Ivory pickup surrounds & switch tip
Gold "John Mann" brass bridge studs
Upgraded wiring & pots
Toggle switch converted to kill switch
2 volume pots, 1 tone pot (DGT Configuration)
5 way rotary switch
Russian K40P-2 .022 Paper In Oil Capacitors
Amber lampshade knobs
Wide nickel strap buttons
Pure Tone (4 point) Jack Socket

The kill switch is wired to take the rotary switch out of the circuit giving me the option on both humbuckers on together in the Peter Green mod due to the pickups being magnetically out of phase to make the rotary switch work correctly.
Click to expand...
Beautiful guitar! Did you flip the magnet in one of your pickups? My '97 CE22 has the five position rotary switch but one Dragon pickup is reverse polarity to the other. I've checked other Dragons and one in every set was reverse polarity so it seems to be the norm.
 
Lewguitar said:
Beautiful guitar! Did you flip the magnet in one of your pickups? My '97 CE22 has the five position rotary switch but one Dragon pickup is reverse polarity to the other. I've checked other Dragons and one in every set was reverse polarity so it seems to be the norm.
Click to expand...
Yeah I actually wound the whole pickup the opposite way (clockwise versus the the standard anti-clockwise- this makes the pickup electronically out of phase not just magnetically) the neck was also wound using heavy formvar 42 awg.

PRS pickups that were made to be used with the rotary switch had one pickup out of phase with the other (it's the only way to the hum cancelling on positions 2 &4)
 
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Fullmoon 1971 said:
Yeah I actually the whole pickup the opposite way (clockwise versus the the standard anti-clockwise- this makes the pickup electronically out of phase not just magnetically) the neck was also wound using heavy formvar 42 awg.

PRS pickups that were made to be used with the rotary switch had one pickup out of phase with the other (it's the only way to the hum cancelling on positions 2 &4)
Click to expand...
Right. But I don't get humcancelling in the #3 position on my '97 CE22. It's not a bad hum. But it hums. So 4 out of 5 are humcancelling.

Also, the neck pickup has the screw polepieces aimed towards the middle of the guitar and not the neck. Is that normal for a PRS guitar with the rotary switch?

Sounds good though!
 
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Lewguitar said:
Right. But I don't get humcancelling in the #3 position on my '97 CE22. It's not a bad hum. But it hums. So 4 out of 5 are humcancelling.

Also, the neck pickup has the screw polepieces aimed towards the middle of the guitar and not the neck. Is that normal for a PRS guitar with the rotary switch?

Sounds good though!
Click to expand...
All the one's I've seen have had the screws on the outsides. Try rotating the neck pickup back to correct postition

Rotary switch guitars I currently own

2001 Standard 22 = Dragon II's
2006 Ce 24 mahogany = HFS & Vintage Bass
2013 SE Santana = Modded with rotary switch Dragon II's
2015 SE Zach Myers =Modded with rotary switch and PRS Vintage Bass and "VGR" VB pickup
 
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Fullmoon 1971 said:
All the one's I've seen have had the screws on the outsides. Try rotating the neck pickup back to correct postition

Rotary switch guitars I currently own

2001 Standard 22 = Dragon II's
2006 Ce 24 mahogany = HFS & Vintage Bass
2013 SE Santana = Modded with swich and Dragon II's
2015 SE Zach Myers =Modded with switch and Vintage Bass and "home made" VB pickups
Click to expand...
Nah. I kinda like it. Seems to give the pickup a clearer sound.

Peter Green and Wes Montgomery both had their neck humbuckers rotated too.

Makes it clearer and less "woofy".

It's the only one of my guitars like that so I'll just leave it.

I might replace the cracked pickup rings tho. Or not.

Thanks!

https://imgur.com/tP8zmOp

https://imgur.com/B5XbVsw
 
Maybe you could fill and re-drill the holes for the rings so you don't have the bent ring effect. Tedious, but I've done it. The old toothpick glued in the hole trick.
 
Lewguitar said:
Nah. I kinda like it. Seems to give the pickup a clearer sound.

Peter Green and Wes Montgomery both had their neck humbuckers rotated too.

Makes it clearer and less "woofy".

It's the only one of my guitars like that so I'll just leave it.

I might replace the cracked pickup rings tho. Or not.

Thanks!

https://imgur.com/tP8zmOp

https://imgur.com/B5XbVsw
Click to expand...
Beautiful guitar, the luthier who rewound Peter Green's neck reinstalled the pickup the wrong way hoping to fix the out of phase issue, as we all know it didn't work.
The gent in question was Sam Li who was a fantastic craftsman but his electrical skills weren't the best, he worked for a music store in London called Selmers and built some pretty nice custom guitars.
He was also the guy who repaired Paul Kossoff's guitar which he wound the damaged coil the wrong way causing the pickups to be out of phase, to try and cure this Sam then flipped the coil upside down resulting the coil end coming out on top of the bobbin but cured the out of phase situation.
 
Fullmoon 1971 said:
Beautiful guitar, the luthier who rewound Peter Green's neck reinstalled the pickup the wrong way hoping to fix the out of phase issue, as we all know it didn't work.
The gent in question was Sam Li who was a fantastic craftsman but his electrical skills weren't the best, he worked for a music store in London called Selmers and built some pretty nice custom guitars.
He was also the guy who repaired Paul Kossoff's guitar which he wound the damaged coil the wrong way causing the pickups to be out of phase, to try and cure this Sam then flipped the coil upside down resulting the coil end coming out on top of the bobbin but cured the out of phase situation.
Click to expand...

Wow. I've made a normal P90 into a reverse wound/reverse polarity pickup by simply flipping the magnet and unsoldering the little black wires at each end of the coil wire from the shielded cable and then reversing them. Worked fine. And now i have humcancelling when both P90's are combined.

I think Sam Li could have done the same thing...right?
 
Lewguitar said:
Wow. I've made a normal P90 into a reverse wound/reverse polarity pickup by simply flipping the magnet and unsoldering the little black wires at each end of the coil wire from the shielded cable and then reversing them. Worked fine. And now i have humcancelling when both P90's are combined.

I think Sam Li could have done the same thing...right?
Click to expand...
Yeah he could but it was the early days of USA guitars getting imported into the UK after the war(there had been a trade embargo to help the UK economy) so humbuckers were a mystery to a lot of tech's especially if grey weren't electronically minded.
 
Fullmoon 1971 said:
Yeah he could but it was the early days of USA guitars getting imported into the UK after the war(there had been a trade embargo to help the UK economy) so humbuckers were a mystery to a lot of tech's especially if grey weren't electronically minded.
Click to expand...
So did Gary Moore play that guitar with pickup wired like that?
 
I keep kicking around the idea of getting a set of Gotoh locking tuners that would fit exactly, screw holes and all (I think), for my SE Singlecut trem, but I'm undecided mostly because I'd have a useless set PRS/Gotoh tuners laying around. I did replace the plastic nut with a nut from a Tremonti SE Custom that I had. It's a big improvement being the composite type vs the sticky plastic original. I would actually hear a creak or ping as I tuned up with the original. Not good.
 
Fullmoon 1971 said:
Yeah he did and Kirk Hammett- Greenies current custodian continues to play it since taking possession of it in 2014.
Click to expand...
I saw that guitar up close a few years ago at a Dallas Guitar Show.

It was in a glass or plastic case but I was able to get my face right up to it and check it out from a foot or so away.

It was really worn and beat up! One of the roughest looking old Les Pauls I've ever seen.
 
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