Talk me off the ledge... S2 Semi hollow custom 22 sounds dead

[ppaul129]

Hi,
I am so glad to finally be a member of the exclusive PRS club I bought a new S2 Custom 22 Semi Hollow and I absolutely love the guitar as far as looks, playability and pretty much everything except the sound. To me it sounds ok when picking lightly, but when picking individual notes a bit more aggressively, the notes seems to die out and sounds lifeless. This happens plugged in and unplugged as well. I am playing through a '67 BF Dual Showman w/ 2 greenbacks, but have tried it on a few other amps and it just sounds marginal. When adding some gain it sounds better, but most guitars will through a nice amp. I play in a classic rock band (John Mayer, Steve Miller, DMB, Gov't Mule, Clapton, Etc.) and play an old Strat, but wanted something more aggressive to play some of the Warren Haynes, Steve Miller type songs, but still want to get a sweet clean sound too. I put new strings on, and it made no difference.

Has anyone else had this same experience? I really love the guitar and have wanted it for a long time, but was really disappointed when playing it for the first time. I ordered a new neck pickup to see if it will help, but I think it is the guitar, not the electronics. I've been playing for about 40 years, and have a great sounding rig, and I've tried everything that I can think of.

I don't want to sell it, but I just don't want to bring it to gigs in it's current state. Any help would be greatly appreciated.

 

[clasbtenn]

I recently experienced this with a "F" Tele. I described it as being "too polite".
This does occur from time to time, but from my experience, it is not the norm.

 

[shinksma]

Since you already changed the strings (what kind, by the way?), which would have been my first suggestion, I would look at the pickup heights (even though you said it sounds lifeless when not plugged it). Maybe they are too low, which would cause an overall weak signal that might be perceived as dead, or too high which might be perceived as too compressed.

Also, since that guitar has a trem, maybe something isn't quite right with the trem set-up. Is the trem floating ever so slightly above the body such that you can pull up about a half-step, or can you pull up a full step or more?

There are folks here who profess to not liking the #7 pups, so maybe a pickup swap is all you need. But as mentioned, if you say it sounds dead even when not plugged in, maybe you just have a non-resonant body, and not much will fix that.

Oh, one more thing regarding strings - I find PRSi sound better with 10s vs 9s - the extra string mass and tension seems to give better oomph and sustain. But if you put on 10s, then that isn't the reason. YMMV.

 

[AP515]

It's new, you have 30 days, return it and get a second one. Some wood just doesn't want to respond. Your next one might be magic.

 

[Huggy Love]

It's new, you have 30 days, return it and get a second one. Some wood just doesn't want to respond. Your next one might be magic.

This.
I don't think a pup change is the answer.

 

[László]

Might be better to try before buy. The only way to know, really.

 

[shinksma]

It's new, you have 30 days, return it and get a second one. Some wood just doesn't want to respond. Your next one might be magic.

Actually, as others have said: This.

Ignore my other advice, I hadn't properly recognized the guitar as brand new. Take it back, try another! Lots of fish in the pond.

 

[ppaul129]

Since you already changed the strings (what kind, by the way?), which would have been my first suggestion, I would look at the pickup heights (even though you said it sounds lifeless when not plugged it). Maybe they are too low, which would cause an overall weak signal that might be perceived as dead, or too high which might be perceived as too compressed.

Also, since that guitar has a trem, maybe something isn't quite right with the trem set-up. Is the trem floating ever so slightly above the body such that you can pull up about a half-step, or can you pull up a full step or more?

There are folks here who profess to not liking the #7 pups, so maybe a pickup swap is all you need. But as mentioned, if you say it sounds dead even when not plugged in, maybe you just have a non-resonant body, and not much will fix that.

Oh, one more thing regarding strings - I find PRSi sound better with 10s vs 9s - the extra string mass and tension seems to give better oomph and sustain. But if you put on 10s, then that isn't the reason. YMMV.

Thanks for the reply. I am using Slinky 10's and have been for a long time. I was told by a PRS customer service rep to try to lower them a bit, because it was overly compressed sounding when I got it. I lowered them about 1/32" and it got me where I am now. I ordered a Seymour Duncan APH-1N Alnico II Pro Humbucker for the neck, but now I am wondering if it will help... If it resonated when it was unplugged, I would feel much better about changing out the pups.

 

[ppaul129]

Might be better to try before buy. The only way to know, really.

I agree, but I bought it on Reverb and got a good deal on it.

 

[kes7u]

Please consider returning this guitar. I understand that you love the feel, but you have to love the SOUND as well! Regardless of the deal you got, I am afraid you will always regret it. As you have mentioned, you don't even care for the sound of the guitar uplugged. You may just continue to chase a tone this guitar isn't going to give you. Too many other guitars out there.

Kevin

 

[László]

I agree, but I bought it on Reverb and got a good deal on it.

It wasn't a good deal if it doesn't work for ya.

 

[Paladin]

I agree with the others on just returning it. Some guitars - regardless of price or reputation - are just "dogs".. Nothing you can really do..

However, having said that, I recently bought a 2014 S2 Custom 22 off Craigslist, and the original owner had replaced the stock #7 pickups with the Seymour Duncan JB/Jazz combo, and I really love the sound of my S2 Custom 22 with these pups.

This guitar pretty much does it all with these SD's.. But I never heard the original stock pickups in this guitar, so YMMV..

 

[the.hatter]

You're experienced so you've probably done this already, but I'd go through and do a full setup - action, neck relief, pickup height etc. Maybe raise the action just to see if the strings sustain longer? Knock on the body and see if anything seems off?

Pickups are a big part of the plugged in sound, so a swap may help you? May be best to just return/sell it though if you can.

 

[Drew]

I second the tweaking of the truss rod. If the strings are choking ever so slightly, it can be extremely detrimental. A quarter turn could make a world of difference. My CE was near dead flat. Very surprising coming from PRS. Maybe the folks setting up the S2/CEs aren't the top talent.

 

[andy474x]

What kind of Slinky's are you using?

Mine sounded a little too polite with pure nickel strings, so I switched out to nickel plated steel (DR Tite Fits) and that made a nice change, in terms of adding some bite and twang back to the sound. So, depending on your string type, consider a change.

If that doesn't do it for you, I would skip the pickup swap, and look for another guitar. It's most definitely a wood/construction effect that's altering your sound. The semi hollow construction mellows the tone quite considerably, and TBH I think the addition of a tremolo to a semi hollow doesn't make the best recipe for a sustain machine. Not a lot of body mass, and not as much contact for energy transfer as a stoptail or TOM type. Acoustically, that is - get it in front of even a moderate volume amp and it will sing with feedback.

I love mine, but it's very much an application thing. It works for some gigs, not for others. If you find yourself wanting more attitude and sustain at a killer price, I would highly recommend one of the S2 Satins. I have a 22 fret S2 Standard Satin, and despite having the same #7 pickups, it's a totally different animal - bright, focused, aggressive.

 

[ppaul129]

Thank you all for your suggestions. I am going to work on it a bit tomorrow as I "work from home"...

I played a used PRS metallic blue hollowbody II tonight, and I literally fell in love with the tone, the resonance, and just the vibe of the guitar. I played for over a half an hour in guitar center until I just couldn't take it anymore. I put it back up on the rack and walked away even more depressed, but hopeful that this is the guitar manufacturer for me. Someday I hope to afford an upgraded version of Paul's amazingly designed guitars. The only way I could trade up now to this is to get rid of my strat that I've had for 15 years, which I will not do

 

[dogrocketp]

I`ve noticed the same thing electronically with an S2 custom 22 solid body I have. I redid the set up and acoustically it`s now great. I am not in love with the pickups, especially the bridge pickup. I bought it used, so I think the previous owner didn`t exactly know what he was doing with it. If you can get the wood to respond, a pickup change is easy. If the wood won`t move, get another one of whichever model floats your boat.

 

[ppaul129]

I recorded a quick demo to show what I'm talking about. The first guitar is the PRS, then an American strat (to show that the amp actually sounds good). The issue doesn't really come across that well in the recording, but you can hear it when I am picking heavier. I have a new SD PU arriving tomorrow, so I can update the thread once I see if that helps. At this point the guy won't take it back, so it's fix it or sell it (and take a bath on it). I tried moving the truss rod a bit, but have never really played with truss rods, so I stopped messing with it. I only made a 1/4 turn or less, and saw no real difference.

The weird part is that I getting some decent sustain on notes and chords, but the sound just doesn't seem very lively.

 

[kes7u]

Serious question. Is the guitar non-returnable?

Kevin

 

[ppaul129]

Yes, it is non-returnable. I thought it was an authorized dealer, but it was just a guy that bought it and turned around and sold it. It is absolutely mint, not a scratch on it...