Jourdan

Prior to this, I had no idea who Jon Jourdan is. I'm currently not following Wolfgang Van Halen's musical developments so the name was simply unfamiliar. This here is Jourdan's signature model which I really fancy; single pickup, single knob, no fretboard markers. Downright simply & to the point. Already, many people are looking forward to seeing this manifested as the SE version along the way. Really hope it would happen. This grey finish is rather wicked. Not so good news in the mean time - this is limited to 200 pieces & PRS is not hinting at further production.

Pic: PRS

Mango

PRS is currently doing a limited run of instruments featuring a mango wood top. Mr PRS himself, in a recent dialogue at the launch of this lineup, did not mention any tone-related benefits of this wood type save for the fact that they look good as guitar tops. Waiting for any coconut, durian & perhaps a jackfruit top in time to come should they decide to extend this oriental wood interest.

Pic: PRS

Silver blue

PRS did a simple thing to perpetuate the sales of its Silver Sky this year; giving it a matching body - headstock finish. Only this colour is offered (in the mean time) & it's called the Wild Blue.

Pic: PRS

Saturday sky

Got up early today to give this a quick re-string & play. It's one of those days when I want to hear some single coils in action but I do not wish to play a Fender.

I love these Pure Blues but I don't buy them often (price considerations), always grabbed some when there's a seasonal discount. To me, these go very well with the Silver Sky's single coil tones especially for those mild overdrive settings. I'm quite of oblivious to the strings' material type because when you play with excessive distortion, you can't hear the material contributions to your tone. One more time - DR strings are great for those of us with a hard attacking picking style, regardless of the genre.

Stoptail

Looks like it's a busy time of the year over at the PRS camp. Not too long ago, we saw the SE CE Standard 24 taking headlines in the value-for-money consideration & now, the same guitar is offered in a hardtail version. I've played the previous incarnation in the stores here & it was a serious contender in terms of playability & affordability. I was also of the opinion that the default pickups require no replacement if there's a decent amp to supplement the tone. The hardtail version here is slightly more affordable than the whammy version which is already a steal at $659.

Pic: PRS

Chleo SE

Due to its unattainable price tag (to many of us), PRS has released the SE version of Herman Li's Chleo signature model. But it's still unaffordable (more on this later). Unlike the core version, the SE take is a bolt-on affair & sports a Floyd Rose 1000 bridge. The core is a set neck make with a GOTOH whammy bridge.

PRS did a bulge design for the core to avoid interfering with the flame top aesthetics which actually backfired; players claim these look like bulging genitals under a blanket. Right. The SE version simply appointed metal plates (rear mounted so the screws aren't visible from the front) which are definitely a less costly construction approach. Personally, I find the SE version more appealing. The input jack is more functional as it is visible unlike the core version, according to players, require a certain degree of estimation when plugging in is concerned. 

The SE Chleo lists for USD1,999 & makes it the most expensive SE in the mean time. To the manufacturer, this is justified in view of the signature affiliation & exclusive specifications but it goes against the PRS philosophy of affordability, first & foremost. When the Santana SE debuted (the initial wave of SE models), these were downright affordable. Putting things into chronological context, the SEs had been affordable over time despite price hikes along the way but the Chleo here is a spit into the face of the average Joe who are indeed looking forward to embrace this guitar's SE version but that price tag is downright unreasonable. In any case, PRS is not the only commercial entity to slowly make their affordable models more costly; Squiers & Epiphones are manifesting unaffordability as well. 

Pics: PRS

Mira 594

When I bought a Mira like a decade ago (yes, it's been that long), I saw it as a more elegant version of the SG. It was an instant hit. This year, PRS brings back due attention to the Mira with this 594 iteration & I'm still attracted to it, especially this non-pickguard look, despite those rather annoying mini split coil switch. If you are interested as well, despite being an S2, prices would probably be north of $2K. Back in the day, mine was not even $1.5K.

Pic: PRS

New Holcomb

Mark Holcomb's new signature model sports a 25.5" scale length. So this makes it one of the few guitars which are not conforming to PRS' preferred 25" default scale length. For those who are interested, be informed that the fretboard radius here is 20" so it would appeal to those super-strat type players as opposed to those in the vintage camp.

Pic: PRS

Chleo

This is the new Herman Li signature by PRS, it's called Chleo. They took a while to get this going because the proto which went on the road with Herman Li broke as a result of rough handling. Rough here refers to the act of kicking the guitar while it's still strapped on. There are plenty of clips going round showing that structural failure but I'm not here to highlight comic relief.

As you can see, Chleo is essentially a re-interpretation of the Ibanez Egen. It's tapered at the sides to mimic the S-Series proprietary design but required some swelling to accommodate the pickup selector & input jack. That's hinting at how thin the body is. Pickups here are Fluence & it sports a Gotoh bridge. It exceeds $6K & currently on a limited run. 

Pics: PRS

Mc 56

This is the new PRS McCarty SC56, a 40th Anniversary commemorative unit & the company's recognition & respect for Ted McCarty. It's a limited edition piece so it may / may not be available here & it's gonna cost a premium.

Do note that the body is chambered at selected spots to address the weight issue.

Pics: PRS

CE 22

I'm a closet admirer of bolt-on PRS guitars after the Silver Sky experience. The CE 22 already existed in the annals of PRS' history but only the 24 fretted version remained in production. The revived CE 22 here is simply gorgeous with those silhouette inlays. Like many core models, the price of this one is semi-prohibitive. Since it's a limited edition model, let's see if it gets here at all.

Pic: PRS

What?

Some time last week, I saw these errors over at Swee Lee's webstore listings. A PRS S2 was priced as a core model Standard 24.

The other, an Indonesian Ibanez labelled as a Prestige. 

I reached out to someone over at Swee Lee to highlight the aforementioned oversights & it was attended to. Not the swiftest of reactions but hopefully it was done on time. I do not have a vested interest in Swee Lee, I don't receive perks for doing so. I believe I can mitigate a potential disaster because I value my friends at Swee Lee. Yes, I still have (good) friends working there. This is my way of supporting them.

Imagine someone actually bought an S2 PRS for that price, the refund process might be painful. Ditto the Ibanez, despite not being a price issue, after buying the instrument, there's a realization that it's not a Prestige model. What if the discovery for both cases happened after some time, will refunding still be an option considering there's a potential for wear & tear happening along the way? I'm not a Swee Lee employee & I do not wish to speculate on any refunding administration here, just an after-thought. On a personal note, I've nothing against Swee Lee, I will continue to support them & my friends there. Hopefully the individual(s) behind this oversight re-visits the required conviction to serve the company purposefully. 

Pics: SL webstore

B Clearance @ Swee Lee

Swee Lee is having good discounts for B-Stock items. I find some of the guitars clearing for good prices but the extent of the B-grade was not disclosed so I'm a little wary when it comes to recommending others on what to grab before the offers cease. For instance, bridge misalignments, despite being slight, should be avoided due to intonation issues. Also, fretboard lifting off might lead to expensive repair episodes down the road. 

A sub-$3K PRS Silver Sky should interest many fans of this guitar but as mentioned before, the nature of the flaw was not disclosed in the listing details so tread with caution. Two colours are available, moc sand & dodgem blue ($2,931 ea).

This Cort G300 is one heck of a player. Because it doesn't sport a glam brand on the headstock, players are naturally not drawn to one. I played this model a few times back when it was still available at Swee Lee's Bras Basah outlet & it's an easy recommendation for those looking for a good guitar without spending a bomb ($805).

This is an easy recommendation for newbies but pros won't mind getting one for backup - Heritage Ascent H-150. The only dislike (personal) are those tuners. For all models that I've tried in store, they were either dodgy or stiff ($289).

Pics: SL / Cort / Mannys

SC Sunday

Early start to guitar-ing. Feels like playing a singlecut today. Every time this happens, I will always have a PRS in mind, not a Gibson. So today's guitar of choice - the SC250.

Re-visiting the pick that kick-started my custom order itch; the DAW MAN guitar pick. I'm sticking to the ones with rough / unpolished edges for aggressive music. This one does not disappoint every time.

Vela '24

PRS revised the S2 range this year equipping all guitars with American parts. The Vela was no exception. Instead of giving this instrument the American version of its default pickups, PRS decided to replace the neck pickup entirely hence the 2024 version features a Narrowfield humbucker.

So the pre-2024 version is rather collectible in this aspect as it used to feature an HS pickup configuration: DS-01 (bridge - retained + American-ized) / Type D singlecoil (replaced with the Narrowfield humbucker). We note the coil split function in the 2024 version only splits the bridge humbucker, the Narrowfield pickup remains as a humbucker throughout.

Pics: PRS

S2 Ver 2024

PRS' S2 lineup has undergone a -mindful revision, so to speak, this 2024. The instruments now feature the American 58/15 LT pickups. The other electronic components are equally American, ditto the bridge. So the S2 is truly an American guitar this year.

My perspective: Even before this overhaul, the S2 prices had increased by so much, it's no longer worth considering getting one. This is compounded by the fact that the SE version of the Core / S2 lineup are up there when it comes to value-for-money options. The Indonesian craftsmanship plus export electronics simply get the job done. In view of the aforementioned price hikes, PRS did a smart thing by American-izing the S2 so that buyers would not feel short-changed when they pay exponentially more for the latest iteration because it's American through & through.

Pic: PRS

Dead mods

I just brushed this aside when I first saw it a couple of days ago; just another Silver Sky iteration with a top mount input jack.

Folks, the guitar in question is the PRS Silver Sky given the Dead Spec mod. The main highlight here is of course that top mounted input jack with that flick switch I initially thought was a pickup selector. A careful re-look showed the SS already had a 5-way so this one is a pre-amp switch (Blaster they call it). Adding to this are the top-mounted fixed bridge which still has a whammy bar hole. Obviously, they avoided re-tooling for this one. Over at the headstock, there's a string retainer bar which is unnecessary if string pressure is the consideration - it was absent in the original iteration. According to PRS, this adds to resonance... like it would make a drastic difference in tone. Not. If you can hear it, then good for you. 

This is how the rear of the body looks like. You won't realize it's a fixed bridge till you go flip-side & note there are no springs here for some whammy-able moments. I'm just interested in the ash body & fixed bridge feature, of course, it has to be a real fixed bridge sans whammy bar hole.

Pics: PRS

PRS discounts

Heads up, folks - some discounts for you if PRS guitars are your thing. This had been going on for a few days already & I'm a little late in noticing. 

Selected PRS models are offered at reduced prices (price listed have been discounted). If you notice, big music stores (USA) are having some good discounts for their PRSes; Guitar Center, Musicians Friend, Sweetwater, etc. so it's good to know Davis GMC has some discounts for us this time of the year. Of course, the stores here have no obligations to keep up with what's taking place state-side. 

Pics: Davis GMC

SE CE

That's right folks, PRS has included the CE models into the SE lineup. This stunning orange version is the SE CE 24. 

This means the SE range welcomes another bolt-on make into the family. But PRS being PRS, they made sure the SE version (right) is different from the USA-made CE (left). From this visual reference alone, we note the SE version was done well & in no way inferior to its American sibling. It's just different.

The other bolt-on CE in this release is the Swamp Ash Special. 

The initial Swamp Ash Special created a little controversy with that reversed middle pickup which irked many fans & it didn't prolong the guitar's longevity in the catalog. Looking forward to try these instruments out when they get here, whenever that will be.

Pics: PRS / Elevate

Price watch (63)

The PRS S2 Standard 24 is now listing for $2,249. If you see any of these guitars going for less than $2K, those are from the previous shipment. That's right folks, guitars are not getting any cheaper. First, Fender, now PRS - prices are going up quite unreasonably, I would say. There are no design revisions for the current Standard 24 models so why the steep price increase? 

Pic: PRS