Special 22 Semi Hollow (SSH) Modification Thread

neil godbole

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Mar 9, 2021
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Hey All,

First post here. I've had a PRS Swamp Ash Special since 2002 which I absolutely love (modded with a Fralin P92 neck pup). But I haven't had any other PRS guitars since then, and I decided to take the plunge this year and got me a beautiful black gold wrap burst finish.

So after playing it for the afternoon, I have a couple questions and observations....

- I noticed that the pickups can be a little 'spiky' when 'leaning into them'. I play mostly with my fingers so I can really dig in. With the volume knob rolled off slightly, this mostly goes away, but so does the edge on the tone as well - it mellows out.

Q: Does this guitar have the treble bleed cap installed in the volume pot and if so, would removing this solve this issue and make 10 on the volume feel more linear?

- I feel like this guitar has a nice warmth, a larger overall sound (and more volume output), and more liveliness in general compared to my SAS. However, I use a more full range (relatively) setup, and play mostly clean or cleanish from a Sarno SMS->McIntosh 250->JBL D123 rig. The SAS sounds amazing, and has a top-end sheen that surprisingly enough, the SSH does not seem to have. The SSH by contrast has a kind of smooth glossy-ness to it. I use 10 gauge thomastik infeld superalloys (been mainly using these for the last 12 years).

Q: I just got a hold of a super eagle pre-amp clone (don't answer this question if it violates PRS rules). This pre-amp is modeled after what is in the super eagle with internal mounted amp/buffer and bright switch. I'm wondering if this mod is worth it, and would give me that crispness I am looking for - I don't want to go down the road of mucking with pickups ideally.

As an aside, I just got this guitar today, shipped from Florida to California. It let it sit for 3 hours. Then I opened the case and let it acclimate to my recording studio. I then restrung the guitar, and let it chill out a bit more. Once I played it, I played for 3-4 hours straight (until I got really thirsty), and I noticed the sound kept opening up as the wood physically warmed up. So perhaps my observations are a tad premature. But anyway, here's my first post anyway!

I do have a few other observations, but will wait a bit...

Best,
Neil G

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Beautiful guitar! I find with mine that the tone knob is more useful than on many of my other guitars. If I want a really vintage tone I’ll roll the tone all the way back to 4. It still sounds great even at that level. If I want maximum spank from the 2 and 4 positions I’ll roll it all the way up to 10. I find that the volume knob is much more touchy, there’s a lot of variation between 8 and 10. I almost never go below 8.
 
Beautiful guitar! I find with mine that the tone knob is more useful than on many of my other guitars. If I want a really vintage tone I’ll roll the tone all the way back to 4. It still sounds great even at that level. If I want maximum spank from the 2 and 4 positions I’ll roll it all the way up to 10. I find that the volume knob is much more touchy, there’s a lot of variation between 8 and 10. I almost never go below 8.

Interesting. Yah - I like a lot of play on the tone knob - and I also go quite low sometimes and am very happy to find that there are a lot of usable variations on this guitar with the tone knob dialed low. The touchy volume knob on the other hand is what made me think removing the treble bleed capacitor could help--- other PRS models have this I believe and I've read removing this makes a difference, but wanted some expert opinion first.
 
Completely agree about the tone knob. Also, fwiw, I love the tone through my vintage Fender amp, much more than a digital amp. I would play around with maximizing EQ.
 
Beautiful guitar, and may I add, very nice monitors, too, complete with the Sound Anchor stands. Please post more studio pics!
 
Ahahaha. Thanks guys. Yah I am a lucky guy to have a studio like this - built in 1978 - they don't make em (affordably) like this anymore! It's actually a larger facility, almost 3k sqft. And I do have one live-in producer tenant who doubles as a security guard.
Not too bad a set-up I suppose, but no Klon anywhere to be seen?? Meh ... :cool:
 
The studio is gorgeous!! And the acoustical planning looks the business..

What kind of work do you do there?

I work at the intersection of Jazz and Indian classical mainly. Other producers at the studio have other focus points like indie rock, gospel/r&b, folk, etc...
The artists I've worked with range from fantastic local talent to musicians like John McLaughlin, Zakir Hussain, Billy Cobham, Larry Coryell, George Brooks, Alam Khan, etc... I also like to work with dance companies - like the Alonzo King Lines Ballet, and the Chitresh Das Kathak Dance Company.

Since this is a guitar forum, here are a few recordings featuring guitar-like instruments:
Here is an Electric Mandolin played in the Carnatic (south indian) style. Quite unique: https://www.dropbox.com/s/al0ft2cfqnbcu2g/Kamas-Marubhari-feat.-N.-Ramakrishnan-U.P.-Raju.wav?dl=0 Also featuring mouth harp (morsing) and mridangam.

And here is a Sarod, played by my brother Alam Khan (son of Ali Akbar Khan) with accompaniment on tabla by Jim Santi Owen: https://www.dropbox.com/s/nrwekzh39fuswmu/Bageshri-Teentaal-Gat-feat.-Alam-Khan.wav?dl=0

Both these recordings aren't about the sound quality or production (although I do enjoy doing that). I captured these fairly raw. It was more of the in the moment nature we wanted to get.

Best,
Neil
 
I work at the intersection of Jazz and Indian classical mainly. Other producers at the studio have other focus points like indie rock, gospel/r&b, folk, etc...
The artists I've worked with range from fantastic local talent to musicians like John McLaughlin, Zakir Hussain, Billy Cobham, Larry Coryell, George Brooks, Alam Khan, etc... I also like to work with dance companies - like the Alonzo King Lines Ballet, and the Chitresh Das Kathak Dance Company.

Since this is a guitar forum, here are a few recordings featuring guitar-like instruments:
Here is an Electric Mandolin played in the Carnatic (south indian) style. Quite unique: https://www.dropbox.com/s/al0ft2cfqnbcu2g/Kamas-Marubhari-feat.-N.-Ramakrishnan-U.P.-Raju.wav?dl=0 Also featuring mouth harp (morsing) and mridangam.

And here is a Sarod, played by my brother Alam Khan (son of Ali Akbar Khan) with accompaniment on tabla by Jim Santi Owen: https://www.dropbox.com/s/nrwekzh39fuswmu/Bageshri-Teentaal-Gat-feat.-Alam-Khan.wav?dl=0

Both these recordings aren't about the sound quality or production (although I do enjoy doing that). I captured these fairly raw. It was more of the in the moment nature we wanted to get.

Best,
Neil
Fantastic stuff! And gotta say ... even through mac/earbuds, I can tell the recording and sound quality is top notch!
 
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