SEEG and Ye Shall Find

[sergiodeblanc]

All (almost) my favorite songs have Strat tones in them, from He’s The Greatest Dancer, to A Night To Remember, to And The Beat Goes On... G@damn I love the sound of that guitar, especially pos 4&5. Gotta have that sh!t.

BUT! Strats f@cking suck. The knob placement, wideness of the body, that painfull AF trem with dubious tuning issues... tried repeatedly for at least 30 years and countless purchases of all kinds of Strats to find one I could enjoy playing, but to no avail. I’m just not down.

So since all other guitars are trash, I did what any PRS guy could do and tried all (almost, haven’t tried a Fiore, and neither have you yet) their strat-y guitars.

“Real” EG’s are kinda wonky. They have kinda weak neck pockets, flexible little necks, and a similarly cramped control setup. The EGII is a dope guitar that “fixed” some of my issues, but... weird pups or buckers.

My old DC3 was just about perfect, and I hemmed and hawed about buying another one, but... those f@cking pickups. Not a fan of them clean, they’re alright dirty, but replacing them is kinda a chore and you’re limited to buying ones without the lil triangular bobbin bottoms or carving out the routs with a spoon. And there’s also something about them not being mounted to the pickguard that f@cks with how they sound, and then you gotta get a custom guard made... IDK... maybe someday when they’re under a grand again?

Then there’s the Silver Sky. Hey, millions of peeps think it’s the best guitar ever, and I will admit it’s a GREAT sounding guitar, but.... f@ck that piece of trash Don’t want one, didn’t like any of the ones I’ve tried, leaves me cold playing it. Just my opinion, means nothing. I sincerely hope you all enjoy yours for years to come, and know I won’t try to steal it or buy it from you.

So.... WTF was I to do? Well, I bought this a year (or so, maybe two?) ago and finally got around to fixing it up

https://i.imgur.com/p7gDcTE.jpg

 

[sergiodeblanc]

Dammit, this website is still broke d!ck

 

[sergiodeblanc]

 

[sergiodeblanc]

I have 100% finally stopped making excuses for the SE/S2/New CE trem. They don’t work as well as a Core trem or a MannMade trem. I could list the sh!t I think is wrong with them but... whatever, I don’t wanna be a b!tch about it. You love yours? It works great for you? Good. Glad to hear it. I threw mine in the trash, and I have one last Excel trem to put on my SE “O” and then I will be done with them for life.

I went back and forth on putting a trem that cost as much as the f@cking guitar did (used) and tried really hard to be like Nicky Moroch and play this thing STOCK!?! But... I am not Nicky, and besides, his is a hard tail and I you know, actually want to use the trem so I slapped this unfinished brass MannMade trem in there.

 

[sergiodeblanc]

And some real f@cking tuners

And a real f@cking nut.

(but I re-used the old strings because I ran out of strings!)

 

[DISTORT6]

Proper tuners.
SEEG AND DESTROY.

 

[EdSevered]

Holy Sh!t! I have the same guitar as THE @sergiodeblanc. Plus an SE EG SSS. But, I’m having trouble bonding with HSS, the pickups are just “meh” to me, I’ve tried some adjustments to the pickup heights, without any success, whereas the SSS pickups are pure audio candy.

 

[sergiodeblanc]

I also spent about an hour getting all the leftover polish outta the truss Rod hole and the trem hole... jeez it was everywhere!

But if you look real close, you can see the over spray of black paint in the truss rod nut. This thing is like, IDK... 10-15 yes old maybe? And the neck is sooo stable the truss Rod had only had to have been moved a... eighth of a turn in either direction. Pretty impressive.

 

[sergiodeblanc]

So there’s a recipe with Strats. Change one ingredient and the whole thing can go outta whack, and it’s up to the ear of the beholder to decide what’s “good” and what’s “bad”.

Does the 500k pot for the bridge bucker mess with the single coils? Does the all mahogany set neck construction sound exactly like a strat? Does a solid one piece brass bridge sound and feel like a janky @ss pot metal strat trem?

The answer to all these questions is: Yeah! Does it matter to me (the only person it should matter to) Maybe? Not really, who f@ckin cares anyway?

What does matter is that all mahogany guitars are my sh!t. And the “bell like” sustain and note separation of an all brass bridge won’t be the reason I am doomed to a second place Grammy for the rest of my life.

I have a “Strat” now. It feels like a PRS in the ways that appeal to me, my hands don’t get mauled from the trem, it stays in tune for days, the knobs (once changed to lampshades, the stock ones were a little too tall) don’t get in my way, and I finally have that 4&5 position back in my life.

The pickups are.... FINE! The bucker in the bridge is maybe the lamest, but when it’s split, they’re all enjoyable. I mean, I have a pile of pickups I could swap them out for but didn’t feel the need. It sounds... Stratty.

So aside from losing my gold trem arm and ebony tuner buttons somewhere in the house (looked for weeks! ) I think this one is done. Maybe I’ll get a hold mirror pickguard and/or some gold screws and a jack plate but... ehhh.. I’d rather just play the damn thing. It’s not a terribly sexy looking guitar anyway.

When you’re looking for a PRS “strat” my advice is to try em all, you might be surprised which one you like the best.

 

[sergiodeblanc]

Holy Sh!t! I have the same guitar as THE @sergiodeblanc. Plus an SE EG SSS. But, I’m having trouble bonding with HSS, the pickups are just “meh” to me, I’ve tried some adjustments to the pickup heights, without any success, whereas the SSS pickups are pure audio candy.

Maybe check your pots on the black one? Could be just outside of tolerances or the 500k thing. A 350k might be a good compromise.

 

[EdSevered]

Maybe check your pots on the black one? Could be just outside of tolerances or the 500k thing. A 350k might be a good compromise.

As I look closer at your HSS, assuming that yours is all original, it looks like maybe the pickups in mine are not original. Mine have black non-adjustable poles, whereas yours appear silver and adjustable. That could explain the “meh-ness”. I ordered a set of GM HSS to try out. From what I’ve read and heard the GM pickups are excellent for the money. I’m not ready to spend +$200 on just pickups.

Oops, sorry, it just occurred to me that I’m very close to hijacking your thread.

 

[bodia]

Forking rad as sh!t, dude! Hope to fondle it some day. Check Paco’s toy box for the buttons and arm, or the bottom of the litter box

 

[jxe]

no paint job?

 

[sergiodeblanc]

As I look closer at your HSS, assuming that yours is all original, it looks like maybe the pickups in mine are not original. Mine have black non-adjustable poles, whereas yours appear silver and adjustable. That could explain the “meh-ness”. I ordered a set of GM HSS to try out. From what I’ve read and heard the GM pickups are excellent for the money. I’m not ready to spend +$200 on just pickups.

Oops, sorry, it just occurred to me that I’m very close to hijacking your thread.

No worries! It’s not much of a thread anyway.

No, the pickups are the original ones, they’re black pole pieces fer sure

 

[sergiodeblanc]

no paint job?

Ain’t nobody got time for that.

 

[Fram]

I love it, take it, make it your own

 

[jxe]

Ain’t nobody got time for that.

i’ve told that lie too.

 

[pac90]

Nice, very stealthy for you too

Here's some inspiration to add a little something something to it

 

[veinbuster]

Ah...made my day.
Nothing like a good Sergio guitar project.

 

[AaeCee]

So there’s a recipe with Strats. Change one ingredient and the whole thing can go outta whack, and it’s up to the ear of the beholder to decide what’s “good” and what’s “bad”.

When you’re looking for a PRS “strat” my advice is to try em all, you might be surprised which one you like the best.

So I know it's a compromise although in a good way to my ears, but don't positions 3 and 2 on a Cu24 with a 5-way get you close enough? And on models like the 24/08 with mini-toggles, you can add in close imitations from the 5 and 1 positions as well.

I dunno, I'm one of those who thinks close enough is good enough and getting the feel right is up to the player, but again, I'm not super picky about nailing a tone dead center, so there's that.