tremonti se custom mods

[mmoore54321]

Hi, first time post so Hello everybody. Looking for some advice on modding my tremonti se custom. Must say it's a great guitar but want to try get closer to the US model as I can't warrent spending/can afford the proper model. So, so far I have switched the pickups for tremontis and also switched the nut to a US one. Now the next few mods I'm looking at doing are..............fitting a tremel-no as I never use the trem. Maybe fitting new tuners depending on how it holds up with the tremel-no and also the wiring. So I guess my main question is regarding the wiring. I've been looking at rs pre wired or upgrade kits so I guess I just want to know if upgrading the wiring is really a worth while thing to do. At the moment I don't find using the controls on the guitar very useful. It tends go from one extreme to the other it's either all out balls rock or you have to turn down and it just loses that kick if that makes sense. I've been watching videos of more expensive guitars and when you roll off the volume or tone it seems to clean up nicely. I guess that's what I'm really aiming for. So anyone who has modded a tremonti se or justan se in general any info or recommendations would be much appreciated.

Cheers

 

[andy474x]

You may want to see if your guitar has the treble bleed caps on the volume pots. I think most of the singlecut SE's don't have them, I know my Akesson didn't. If you dont have a capacitor on each volume pot, you dont have the mod. The capacitors allows the treble frequencies to still come through when you turn the volume knob down, so you can keep that bite at all settings.

 

[John Beef]

There have been times that I have been using so much distortion that my volume knobs sound the same from .5 to 10, like an all or nothing kind of thing.

IMHO good volume pots are a big upgrade, and CTS pots are better than the Alphas (or whatever SEs come with). It can be a $6 upgrade per pot.

Also, locking tuners are only for convenience. The 11 year old SE tuners on my 03 Santana SE are just as stable as my guitars with locking Phase 2s.

It's sounds like you're more than halfway there with the pickups and nut. Really, new CTS volume pots with the treble bleed cap (180pf) and a great setup would be about as much as you could do to bring everything out of the guitar that you could get (aside from something major like upgrading to a US bridge).

 

[mmoore54321]

Hi guys thanks for the responses. If I was to switch the pots out would you recommend both the volume and tone pots? I'll have a look tomorrow to see if the caps are on or not. If not then would that also be advisable as well as the pots?

Cheers

 

[mmoore54321]

Hey up guys, so I've just had the back of my guitar and had a look at the wiring. It's a bit off a mess if I'm honest. But anyway. Having looked at the pots there is caps soldered to the 2 tone pots but not the volume pots. Is this normal. I've also come across a guy here in the UK who will make me a kit for around £45. He also has another kit for £75 which is a complete upgrade including the input and toggle. Would it be worth doing an entire upgrade rather than just the pots ?

 

[Hollis Prince]

I would do the whole kit, assuming he's using top quality components. Yes, the tone pots must have caps on them. Caps on the volume pot are, as the previous poster mentioned, to maintain the high end as the pot is lowered. Also, adding a resistor maintains the low end. So the capacitor and resistor together makes your guitar sound exactly the same as lower the pot.

 

[Raven17]

I would do the whole kit, assuming he's using top quality components. Yes, the tone pots must have caps on them. Caps on the volume pot are, as the previous poster mentioned, to maintain the high end as the pot is lowered. Also, adding a resistor maintains the low end. So the capacitor and resistor together makes your guitar sound exactly the same as lower the pot.

+1

 

[garrettb]

To match the USA Tremonti, wire it up like the "current" version here: http://prsguitars.com/csc/schematics/schem08/singlecut.pdf. I would guess the SE matches the "pre-2007" version. The SE should have Alpha brand pots, so if you swap them out, go for the brass shaft CTS brand. Actually, change to that wiring scheme before you spend the money on new pots. You may find the Alphas serve you fine.

If you absolutely never use the trem, don't buy the Tremol-no. Save some money and find a little chunk of hardwood to block the bridge. I've even seen people block them with a small stack of coins.

Tuners are a personal preference. I put locking tuners on everything just because they're simple. The stock SE keys are pretty good.

 

[mmoore54321]

Cheers fellas. Going to get a full kit I think. He uses the brass cts pots as well as switchcraft parts. Cheers forbtge wiring diagram. Good call on the block of wood for the trem. Doubt ill ever use it so makes sense to just block it and saves me money. With the tuners I think with blocking the trem and also the nut i should be fine if I ever decide to download tune.

Thanks for the help and I'll keep you updated with how everything goes when I get the parts and work done.


Cheers

 

[dogrocketp]

My Tremonti Se has RS Guitarworks CTS 550K pots for the volume, and I really like them. I found the guitar had so much bite that I had the treble bleeds removed. My tone controls are upgraded, but 550's aren't recommended. Check out RS Guitarworks for what they consider the best components. My volume controls are wired independently of each other, and the 3 way has been replaced by a Bourns blend pot. The pickups are 2007 USA Mira, and are coil tapped. The variety of tones is amazing. This may become my go to PRS. Shawn has a picture. I'm still too ignorant to post pics on the forum.