SE Swamp Ash Special - What Upgrades?

[ShawnF1222]

Hi Folks and Happy Saturday!

I bought an SE Swamp Ash Special recently and am considering upgrading the tuners to locking tuners. What other upgrades have you done or are considering?

 

[Torvald]

I added a Kinman type treble bleed which improved the split tone of the neck/middle. Personally, I wouldn't spend the money for lockers, because quick string changes aren't important to me. I think the pickups sound darn good through my 5E3, so I'm not changing them.

 

[ShawnF1222]

I added a Kinman type treble bleed which improved the split tone of the neck/middle. Personally, I wouldn't spend the money for lockers, because quick string changes aren't important to me. I think the pickups sound darn good through my 5E3, so I'm not changing them.

Thank you.

I saw replacement trem blocks and trems over at https://www.johnmannsguitarvault.com - Just curious to folks are doing or have done to the SE SAS

 

[dogrocketp]

First of all, live with it for 30 days. Remember, change and upgrade are different. Personally, I had the fret ends dressed because of bad fret sprout, they were a mess. I did put SE locking tuners on it, I’m a freak for being in tune. The guitar sounded a little shrill when gigging, so I ended up putting a core trem on it. If I didn’t have one in my parts drawer, I would have bought a Mann. That was it. I think these are a serious bargain right out of the box. I do my own simple setups, and this one was a breeze. Two of my friends have also bought the same guitar. Both of theirs had the same sharp fret ends. This seems to be a problem that PRS hasn’t addressed. GUYS, FIX IT! Anyway, it’s a seriously good guitar with a little attention.

 

[ShawnF1222]

First of all, live with it for 30 days. Remember, change and upgrade are different. Personally, I had the fret ends dressed because of bad fret sprout, they were a mess. I did put SE locking tuners on it, I’m a freak for being in tune. The guitar sounded a little shrill when gigging, so I ended up putting a core trem on it. If I didn’t have one in my parts drawer, I would have bought a Mann. That was it. I think these are a serious bargain right out of the box. I do my own simple setups, and this one was a breeze. Two of my friends have also bought the same guitar. Both of theirs had the same sharp fret ends. This seems to be a problem that PRS hasn’t addressed. GUYS, FIX IT! Anyway, it’s a seriously good guitar with a little attention.

Thank you. I agree about being in tune.

Question - did you replace the entire trem or just the trem block? Making sure I understand. Will it say "Core Trem" or just replacement trem that fits SE? Not doing anything yet - did playing and planning.

 

[Torvald]

First of all, live with it for 30 days. Remember, change and upgrade are different. Personally, I had the fret ends dressed because of bad fret sprout, they were a mess. I did put SE locking tuners on it, I’m a freak for being in tune. The guitar sounded a little shrill when gigging, so I ended up putting a core trem on it. If I didn’t have one in my parts drawer, I would have bought a Mann. That was it. I think these are a serious bargain right out of the box. I do my own simple setups, and this one was a breeze. Two of my friends have also bought the same guitar. Both of theirs had the same sharp fret ends. This seems to be a problem that PRS hasn’t addressed. GUYS, FIX IT! Anyway, it’s a seriously good guitar with a little attention.

That's odd. The fret ends on mine were perfect. As good or better than my core McCarty and my S2. They must have gotten in a hurry at some point.

 

[Veetwin]

My fret ends were perfect also. It was my 24-08 that had fret sprout

 

[dogrocketp]

Thank you. I agree about being in tune.

Question - did you replace the entire trem or just the trem block? Making sure I understand. Will it say "Core Trem" or just replacement trem that fits SE? Not doing anything yet - did playing and planning.

The entire trem. I had it from a trade. It doesn’t have core trem written on it. And I forgot to mention, 2 of my friends stayed with the stock tremolo, because they liked the way the guitar sounded stock.

 

[cdnaxeman88]

For me, the fret ends needed a dress too... I also didn't care for the pickups in there even though I liked the choices of configuration. I worked with a custom pickup shop (Peg City Pickups) and it turned out awesome. The voicing i can get out of it really work with my amps...

 

[Glide-bpm]

Frets and ends on my SE SAS were perfect! New MannMade tremolo with brass block, locking tuners with brass shafts, and a pair of USA 57/08's to complete the mods. It's a beast now!!!

 

[Torvald]

Frets and ends on my SE SAS were perfect! New MannMade tremolo with brass block, locking tuners with brass shafts, and a pair of USA 57/08's to complete the mods. It's a beast now!!!

Looks killer, too!

 

[Glide-bpm]

Looks killer, too!

Thanks!!!! I was very satisfied with the wood and finish on this one!!!
The upgrades make it a core guitar as far as I'm concerned! I love doing experimental upgrades on SE models!