SC Monday

Yet another episode of staying indoors. The guitar if choice today was this PRS S2 Singlecut Standard in gold finish. Nothing fancy / special, just a singlecut with a limited run finish.

While playing, the knobs were rather stiff. A quick check revealed no deterioration / anomalies. A quick contact spray treatment did the trick. Those huge orange drop caps were replacement units for the default ones. The two volume pots are Gotohs while the tone pots (with default push-pull coil split options) are default units.

The humbuckers here are also replacement units, the 57/08 models which, as the name suggests, micmic the Gibson 57 models. I hear more treble coming from these pickups so they are my kinda pickups. Costly pair but worth every cent.

A pack of fresh SIT .0095s for the playing experience today.

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

S2 ver 2024

Folks, the new (ver 2024) PRS S2 Custom 24 is now available at Swee Lee. New here refers to the fact that the S2 range is now a full American, ie. all parts are made in the USA. The S2's Previous iteration has non-American pickups & electronic components. Of course, there's a price revision in the midst of all this - $2,799 (previously $2,699). 

 

Pic: PRS

SC Sunday

Was at Beez's yesterday to get this done - dead tone pot (bridge PU). It's been a while since I played this guitar so the different feel got me hooked & I played for an hour. The thing about PRS in general; it's not an instrument that attracts a certain player profile. In fact, everyone who clicked with a PRS would like it for what it is regardless of the genre of music it's used for.

Black Friday @ DGMC: Recommendations

If you are looking for a good grab this year end & wish to take advantage of some bargains, do consider the PRS S2 Singlecut (Sale: $1,690). 

Even the semi-hollow version is worth considering (Sale: $1.950). Two reasons 1) The S2 models are no-frills players, well made & absolutely worthy of the asking price 2) The Singlecuts will be discontinued in 2020, this is your final chance to consider a good one out of the Gibson offerings. Yes, Gibson is still the go-to name but there are worthy contenders out there surpassing what Gibson has to offer in many aspects. The final batch of Singlecuts are equipped with adjustable wrap over bridge so you need not worry about intonation issues. 

Moving away from tradition but still in singlecut territory, the E-II Eclipse is another worthy consideration (Sale: $1,700). Please be reminded that the pickups here are active models so being excessively vintage in terms of tone is not quite it. In my opinion, the Eclipse is the most popular non-Gibson take on the design, it's selling well everywhere, State-side included. Even the aggressive music proponents do not shy away from the more reserved Eclipse outlines; Gary Holt (Slayer), Ted Aguilar (Death Angel) & Teloch (Mayhen), among others. Now you know why PRS is not too keen in keeping up with the numbers & they have other more defining models to fall back on to.

Moving on to the acoustic side of the sale, this Takamine P3NY is one heck of a player (Sale: $1,450). Not many of us look East when it comes to acoustics but Takamine had been the quiet success story this side of Martin & Taylor. The P3NY is a parlor-sized instrument; the scale length remains as standard while the body width had been trimmed to accomodate two things: 1) Less overbearing body size for playing comfort, especially so for the smaller built players among us 2) Less boomy tone much appreciated by the finger pickers & those excelling in arpeggios & single notes as compared to chords. 

Where I'm coming from

I've personally played & tested the models mentioned above  (OK, I bought some...). They will never be an ultimate, end-all reference when it comes to choice. More importantly, you should be doing some reading up & testing prior to purchase. Use personal recommendations (like mine) as a final reference before buying. On my part, I'd be up front with what these instruments have in store for you in terms of objectivity & appeal. As far as price-to-satifaction ratio is concerned, this is the best time to buy as prices are slashed but not for long, of course.

Wider, please

My hand is telling me to lay off Gibsons for a while. That narrow, rounded profile is not doing the fretting hand any good in terms of wide stretches. Ironically, wide stretches are better done on wider, thinner necks. I'm avoiding any Ibanez necks in the mean time, trying to condition my hand to accept thicker, rounder stuff but it's difficult. I've been playing thinner, wider necks since day one, anything different, the hand would tell me to quit playing & switch to something else. So for the last two days, it's the PRS S2 SC250 which sports a wider feel but not Ibanez thin. 

M & P

Had some playing time this morning so it's these two through the same set up.

The Potbelly is LP-ish in looks but not in feel (slimmer, flatter neck profile here but not the shred type). The Duncan 59s in there are ace; awesome cleans & lots of beef for high gain stuff. The Mira has the JB in the bridge for its cutting tone & the P-Rails in the neck to keep things smooth on some days. Both are adept to my quirks, fast enough for shred stuff, smooth enough for legato works & angry enough for days when black metal is the only rewarding genre to play.

If both could satisfy the same needs, is it not logical to keep only one? No.

It's down to playing comfort & feel. I could not sustain good riffing on the Potbelly without lethargy setting in & inducing mistakes. The Mira, due to its bevelled body edges, sustains a comfortable elbow placement for the picking hand & it drives me on for extended playing. I am more comfortable playing legato stuff with the Potbelly due to the narrower neck profile. The wider Mira neck checks on my sloppiness; it encourages precision playing & accuracy. So there you go, having more than one will always keep my playing in perspective. 

Goldcut

I bloody hate 1) Singlecut guitars 2) Finished necks. That was my rotten attitude some time ago towards all things non-Ibanez. That's how it was when you stick to a guitar for a good number of years & not being open to embrace difference. Glad that phase was over. 😁

It's kinda strange but I guess it's reverse psychology. With singlecut guitars, I tend to play more at the upper frets. It's like proving to an invisible audience that playing a guitar with only one area of upper fret access is really a mental barrier. If you are an able player, nothing should get in the way. Ditto finished necks. Yes, that coated feel does affect play to some extent for many of us but if you make time to overcome this hindrance of sorts, you'd be as worthy a player playing such necks as your preferred unfinished models. 

Managed to end the Sunday (last night) with the PRS S2 Standard depicted here. Since it's fitted with a Duncan Super V bridge pickup, the '70s-esque voicing was apparent regardless of how much distortion was pumped into the signal. I wouldn't say it's in the Led Zep/ KISS territory exclusively but that's the kind of sonic quality you hear coming from this one.

Hard tails

Spent the Sunday playing my PRSes, the Mira in the morning...

... the SC250 to close the day. Both guitars were given a fresh set of strings before playing.

I'm not too fond of finished necks so the real reason why I played them today was because I like to hear the Seymour Duncan pickups in action:

• Mira: JB/ P-Rails
• SC250: Pegasus/ P-Rails

Mira's partial hollow body dampened some brightness from the JB so it has a strong bottom end response for heavy music, no problems there. The P-Rails in its full humbucking mode sound very wooly in the neck but unlike a Gibson humbucker, there's still clarity in the mix. 

The SC250 on the other hand was pretty much dictated by the Pegasus. On a personal note, it's a prog-esque pickup for that rock-hippie type of tone very prevalent in the 70s but with a strong distortion presence. Technical geeks would love this pickup for its ability to manifest individual notes very well.

After a re-set up following the re-string & thorough cleaning I came to the realization that I could not get a super low, super shredding action simply due to the bridge type of both instruments Yes, a low action was possible but nothing Ibanez-like. It's a different playing experience but nothing hopeless & struggling when fast playing is concerned. Even for Gibson guitars, hard tail bridges are just not cut out for low action settings. They have this fixed height which was compounded by the top mount nature. We can only go so deep/ low & that's it. But I'm rather sick of this sunburst-type finish- no more for me.

Here's wishing you a good week ahead. Remember to embrace difference but ditch it once it makes you feel stupid. 😁

Vela Reid

So it finally happened- Vernon Reid's gotten his signature PRS. It moved away from being traditional by incorporating a locking, dual action whammy bridge, a V-profile neck as well as a humbucking neck pickup. That eccentric pick guard won't win fans over readily but it simply suits the personality of both the player & instrument. 

This is an important development for PRS because: 1) The Vela has finally gotten an ambassador 2) It's an endorsement for the S2 series. The Vela was PRS' initial offset model which was a hit/miss for the market at its time of release but from the way things are shaping up, it's more of a hit. The offset outline is a subtle shift from the usual double cutaway design but it was done not to be radical. The S2 range is picking up steam as it is, we see more adventurous involvements lately & it's a firm statement by the manufacturer; the S2 models mean something, they are not just there to appeal to the cost wary individuals. Let's hear what Mr. Reid has to say about his new squeeze:

PRS: S2 Vela (reclaimed)

Back in March, I alerted Davis GMC of this intriguing PRS S2 Vela semi-hollow model made from reclaimed, aged, unfashionable, wood (peroba rosa top, brauna preto fretboard). I was waiting (still am) for the S2 Standard 22 Satin to make it here because I badly want to experience the manufacturer's non-gloss model; I know it'd be something different in terms of feel & tone. More importantly, I'd like to witness the extension of PRS' impeccable QC & tone-worthiness trickled into some lesser known wood. If they claim to be one of the greatest name in the guitar-making business, their satin finished instruments should be on par with the glossy counterparts. 

The good people of Davis GMC was up front about it. This is a limited run model, PRS might have a preference allocation for authorised dealers in terms of quantity as well as the export time frame (meaning- get ready to experience a semi-eternal wait for one). I told them I am willing to commit a deposit for it as it's a definite purchase. I was given a positive answer; they'd include a special order for me (just this one for their upcoming shipment) but it's subject to cancellation at the behest of the manufacturer. It's all understood with me; I just want this to get here. There's a 50-50 chance of disappointment. 

Fast forward June 2017; the guitar finally arrived in impeccable condition. It was quite a surprise because as at May 2017, PRS posted the above announcement at their homepage & that basically dashed hopes. But all's well that ends well. 😬

Would like to thank Janet & the Davis GMC camp for this worthy endeavour. 👍

Reclaimed Saturday

Reclaimed holiday eve. To be continued... 😁

Meanie, greenie, semi

Darn. Another one of those too-good-to-ignore guitar. Was hunting for a birthday present but today's not my birthday. 😅

Vela & friends

Yesterday's line-up: PRS Vela, Seymour Duncan Killing Floor & that blue pick- DAW's Karma model.

Vela's action was lowered a tad & it makes a huge difference in terms of legato playing; my fingers weren't as lethargic in trying to press the strings down. Pickups height was left undisturbed as sustain wasn't affected. The Killing Floor pedal is now rather mandatory in boosting the amp (Blackstar HT Metal) for saturation, not for drive (despite the fact that more drive was added in the mix). Finally, the pick. A preferred pick goes a long way in terms of focus. You simply need a supplementary tool to manifest your picking style. If you are a light picker, it's unwise to carry on with thin picks; it lacks impact. Ditto bass note peddling; those wound strings will wear your pick down very quickly & a deformed pick will definitely affect your picking & this leads to mistakes. I certainly think my pick made a big difference in terms of effectiveness & focus. My friends, you should put some attention to this as well.

Custom voicing

I'm currently not a fan of whatever PRS puts into the S2 range; majority of the pickups are not drive friendly for intensive music. You can pull off an ACDC number fine, anything more intense, you'd wonder what's missing. I have a Seymour Duncan Custom in my Vela as seen above. The Vela has a rather bright resonance pronounced by the brass saddles so bass note chugging sound unconvincing. The Custom is a high output pickup with a rather traditional voicing but a slightly more pronounced low frequency & this did wonders for the instrument. That Type-D single coil is for keeps in the mean time as it sounds great clean.

PRS S2: Vela

Final acquisition for 2015- PRS S2 Vela. Thank you Davis GMC for listening to me: 1) I want a Vela 2) I want it in a finish that isn't conventional 3) Can I get it before Christmas? Yes, yes & yes... :-)

Gone satin

 
This is some piece of news- PRS has released the S2 Standard in a satin finish.

There are 3 models in this range- Singlecut, Standard 22 & Standard 24.

Implications- we now have an even more affordable selection of PRS S2s to consider. That's right, the satins are a little more affordable than their gloss finished siblings. Looking forward to buy try one.

Customizing

Master Beez, hard at work as usual. Giving his 100% & nothing less but meticulous workmanship.

Beez worked on this guitar:

• Neck: Seymour Duncan Phat Cat
• Bridge: Seymour Duncan Custom Shop Super V

Tone report to come :-)