SE Silver Sky vs SE SAS for cleaner tones?

[Alfi27]

Hey guys,

This is my first post here, but I've been active on other forums for years and been playing for about 15 years. I've recently discovered how amazing the PRS SE guitars are after getting a singlecut SE McCarty 594, it's pretty much what I've always wanted out of a Les Paul and more... So I have another singlecut and a doublecut on the way.

Cutting to the chase, even though I don't love a middle pickup from a playability perspective (it is placed exactly where I naturally pick the string when palm muting), I've realised it's a necessary evil for the quacky Stratty inbetween tones and I am a huge fan of Stevie Ray Vaughan in particular. My problem with Strats is that I find them a bit bland aesthetically, I don't love how they feel and I really struggle to find a practical use for the bridge pickup by itself, middle pickup by itself and to a certain extent the middle and bridge combined (though it can be cool for certain things). The neck and neck + middle are where it's at for me, and on top of the other points I struggle to justify having a guitar just for those two sounds.

So the question is, can an SE Swamp Ash Special pull off somewhat authentic Stratty cleaner tones? I've heard some pretty convincing demos and some less convincing ones, and I guess in the end there is no substitute for trying a guitar for yourself. I'll admit I'm not totally in love with the admittedly odd switching scheme, but I can quite easily fix that if needed. Some reassurance (or lack thereof) from some of you fine folks on here would be very helpful, either way!

 

[Russ73]

The SAS sounds killer clean and with gain....I went with it over the SS because I like the shorter scale and I'm a HB guy overall...can you play them local to you?? They're quite different...if you like single coils you can't do better than the SS plus great neck, at least on the RW board model I had...

 

[Alfi27]

Cheers man, thanks for commenting! I'm definitely a humbucker guy as well, pretty well covered in the HB department with 2x SE McCarty 594s though so I don't really need another humbucker guitar... But then again, different scale length and bolt on vs set neck so it won't sound the same. Afraid I can't play them locally, if I do get one I will order it from Peach Guitars in the UK so I know I get a lightweight one.

I used to have a rosewood SE SS as well and it was a nice guitar, found the neck a tiny bit on the skinny side but I understand the maple version is slightly beefier which I think would be sufficient. Quite like the look of the purple one but not a massive fan of the grey inlays, and also thought of another thing I don't love about Strats/SS - the control layout... The volume knob is too close for comfort. I also seem to recall the frets were pretty small, and the huge frets is a major thing I absolutely love about the 594s.

That said I do think it sounds great, I can't post links because I haven't posted 3 times yet but search for Peach Guitars' demo of the purple with maple fretboard on Youtube, which sounds exactly like a good Strat should sound like to my ears. But I'm just not sure if it's worth giving it another shot, I've surpassed double digit number of Strats owned and have none at the moment, they always get sold sooner or later... I think it's one of those guitars I like the sound of in someone else's hands, but not so much in my own.

 

[Jimmy]

If you have gone through over 10 strat style guitars and they haven’t worked for you… um… I think that’s enough tries to move on, unless you are committing to mods.

 

[Alfi27]

That's a very logical thought for sure, the cycle has usually gone like this:

- buy a Strat
- figure out after a few months I don't actually play it that much, for various reasons mentioned above
- sell it shortly after
- fast forward x number of months, I listen to some sort of demo or song with a Strat and think it sounds great
- cycle repeats

Main reason for that I think is that I haven't found a guitar I like better that can pull off the same or at least similar tones. I actually put a Suhr V63 (strat pickup) in my Tele tonight and guess what... It sounded like a beefier, clearer version of the whimpy Tele neck pickup - definitely an upgrade, but not quite a genuine Strat tone.

Pretty much convinced myself together with you guys' input that I should give the SAS a shot, it does seem like it could be the answer while also covering much more ground than a Strat does. Hopefully it's not that hard to change the switching, would really like to get the neck humbucker split sound in there as well.

 

[dogrocketp]

The SAS is a guitar that doesn’t sound like anything else I own. Lately, playing has been all blues for me. I can get the clean, sparky, funky rhythm sound, and also a great solo sound. It’s in solid rotation for open mike use so I can keep my beloved triple soapy from getting too trashed. It’s not a Strat, but it’s sure as hell a great guitar, especially for the money. I have a DC3 with single coils if it has to be a Strat, but I prefer the spank of the SAS.

 

[Alfi27]

Brief update, I actually ended up getting a second hand S2 Studio instead... Haven't received it yet, but I just love the concept and tones I've been hearing so far! Somewhat like a 'Strat on steroids with a twist', but at the same time even more unique and unlike anything I've ever heard.

The SAS is very cool though and maybe somewhere down the line I'll get one anyway, but the S2 Studio is more aligned with what I'm looking for this time around.

It's an antique white one, not crazy about the tortoise/camo looking stock pickguard but fortunately some guy on here already traced it out with Dan at Mojoaxe so he can make me a 3-ply black one!

 

[Russ73]

Brief update, I actually ended up getting a second hand S2 Studio instead... Haven't received it yet, but I just love the concept and tones I've been hearing so far! Somewhat like a 'Strat on steroids with a twist', but at the same time even more unique and unlike anything I've ever heard.

The SAS is very cool though and maybe somewhere down the line I'll get one anyway, but the S2 Studio is more aligned with what I'm looking for this time around.

It's an antique white one, not crazy about the tortoise/camo looking stock pickguard but fortunately some guy on here already traced it out with Dan at Mojoaxe so he can make me a 3-ply black one!

I think any S2 trumps an SE...I would have suggested the studio had I known it was an option...I have 3 S2 Standard 22s and they're my absolute favorite...very comfortable bodies as well...congrats on a great purchase!

 

[SinSir]

You made the right decision. Congrats!

 

[Alfi27]

I think any S2 trumps an SE...I would have suggested the studio had I known it was an option...I have 3 S2 Standard 22s and they're my absolute favorite...very comfortable bodies as well...congrats on a great purchase!

Thanks! Haha yeah, I actually didn't know the S2 Studio existed before yesterday or the day before. But once I found it, it immediately caught my attention.

Regarding S2 vs SE, I recently got an SE McCarty 594 Singlecut and it's really impressive. I've owned Core and S2 594s in the past and I'm not feeling like I'm missing out on anything with the SE to be honest. Guessing it might depend on the model though, or perhaps they've made some recent universal changes, not sure. But obviously the Studio doesn't exist in the SE range, if it did I probably would have gone that route to be honest.

You made the right decision. Congrats!

Cheers mate, exited to put my hands on it! Will let you know what I think

 

[dogrocketp]

I have an S2 Studio. It also does the clean rhythms to overdriven solos very, very well. The bridge pickup is off the charts.

 

[Russ73]

Thanks! Haha yeah, I actually didn't know the S2 Studio existed before yesterday or the day before. But once I found it, it immediately caught my attention.

Regarding S2 vs SE, I recently got an SE McCarty 594 Singlecut and it's really impressive. I've owned Core and S2 594s in the past and I'm not feeling like I'm missing out on anything with the SE to be honest. Guessing it might depend on the model though, or perhaps they've made some recent universal changes, not sure. But obviously the Studio doesn't exist in the SE range, if it did I probably would have gone that route to be honest.


Cheers mate, exited to put my hands on it! Will let you know what I think

Yeah the SEs are fantastic...I like my SAS every bit as much as my S2s...but there's def more appointments with an S2 IMO...they feel different and I like that feel...I enjoy both and I own a Core as well I love em all!! I like my SE acoustic so much I sold my American Taylor in favor of it...lol

 

[Alfi27]

Wonder how similar the bridge pickup will sound to my SE Starla, from my understanding it's the exact same pickup but I'm guessing the bridge/trem will make some difference - not sure in exactly what way though. Does anyone have any experience with that?

 

[d^rren]

It really comes down to whether you like humbuckers or single coils. Either can be super hot and garbled, or lower output and clear sounding.

In my experience, a Strat type guitar does not automatically mean “clean.” I’ve heard distorted and gritty sounding Strats and Les Paul’s that rank clear as a bell with no gain.

Play lots of guitars to find what you like and play that. You can’t decide based on a spec sheet.