SE245 Information Request

MagnumP45

New Member
Joined
Jan 20, 2018
Messages
4
Location
Tennessee
Hi everyone,

Yesterday I just bought a new 2017 SE245 and Marshall Code 25 amp. I am completely new to electric guitars. Never played one until yesterday. I have only played acoustic until now.

I didn’t receive an owners manual with the guitar which I hear is normal. However, I would be interested in any websites, forums, or online videos that give some good information and/or instructional demos about my specific model.

Any recommendations would be greatly appreciated!

Thanks!
 
There aren't really any instructional videos on the guitar itself, that I know of. Just a lot of demos on YouTube, etc.

But, a brief rundown of your guitar - there are two volume controls and two tone controls, one of each for each pickup. There's also a switch to select which pickup you're using. Up position is the neck pickup, down is bridge, in the middle is both. To determine which control knobs go to which pickup, put the switch up or down, and then play with the controls and just see what they do. I believe the front, top control is the neck volume, the front bottom is the neck tone, and likewise for the back controls on the bridge pickup. But you will want to doublecheck that, as I don't have one of your model of guitar. Stock strings are 9-42 gauge. If you find them too thin, go to a 10 set, but make sure to have a tech file out the slots in the nut to accommodate the bigger strings. Also, I recommend restringing the wound strings and leaving the plain ones on while you do that, then take off the plain strings and replace them when you have some tension on the new wound strings. Reason being, the bridge will fall off the studs if you take all the strings off, and the studs can turn, and your setup can float away from where it is now. Or, alternatively, use some gentle adhesive tape like painters masking tape around the posts and bridge when you take the strings off - don't need much, just to hold the bridge on and keep the studs from rotating (rotation is what adjusts the bridge height).
 
There aren't really any instructional videos on the guitar itself, that I know of. Just a lot of demos on YouTube, etc.

But, a brief rundown of your guitar - there are two volume controls and two tone controls, one of each for each pickup. There's also a switch to select which pickup you're using. Up position is the neck pickup, down is bridge, in the middle is both. To determine which control knobs go to which pickup, put the switch up or down, and then play with the controls and just see what they do. I believe the front, top control is the neck volume, the front bottom is the neck tone, and likewise for the back controls on the bridge pickup. But you will want to doublecheck that, as I don't have one of your model of guitar. Stock strings are 9-42 gauge. If you find them too thin, go to a 10 set, but make sure to have a tech file out the slots in the nut to accommodate the bigger strings. Also, I recommend restringing the wound strings and leaving the plain ones on while you do that, then take off the plain strings and replace them when you have some tension on the new wound strings. Reason being, the bridge will fall off the studs if you take all the strings off, and the studs can turn, and your setup can float away from where it is now. Or, alternatively, use some gentle adhesive tape like painters masking tape around the posts and bridge when you take the strings off - don't need much, just to hold the bridge on and keep the studs from rotating (rotation is what adjusts the bridge height).
Thank you very much! That was a much more in-depth response than I had expected. Much appreciated!
 
Couple of other things: the tone knobs roll off the high end. Most people roll off some high end when they're playing dirty. On a tube amp on the verge of breakup, the volume knobs will control the amount of distortion more than they'll control the volume. There is also some high-end roll-off when you roll the volume down.

There is a lot of tonal variation given the various combinations of pickup, volume knobs, and tone knobs available.
 
Couple of other things: the tone knobs roll off the high end. Most people roll off some high end when they're playing dirty. On a tube amp on the verge of breakup, the volume knobs will control the amount of distortion more than they'll control the volume. There is also some high-end roll-off when you roll the volume down.

There is a lot of tonal variation given the various combinations of pickup, volume knobs, and tone knobs available.
Thank you! There’s a lot more to think about on an electric. Never used an amp either until now. Quite a bit of overload going on right now.
 
Start simple. Put all the knobs on the guitar full-up and just experiment with the pickup selector.

For the amp, start with all knobs halfway/12:00. If the amp has a crunch/lead/gain channel, start with gain on the low side. Too much gain makes the channel mushy, bassy, and indistinct. It is easier to play fast with more gain, but better to play well with lower gain. Remember that your playing isn't better with higher gain. You just can't hear it as well.
 
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