NGD!!!!

[CraKaJaX]

When craigslist is good, it's great. Went to check out a guitar last night that some kid who was at the CIA (Culinary Institute of America) had. Said guitar goes stock for ~$665. He was asking $400 for his. He swapped out the stock hardware for all gold hardware, popped in a Seymour Duncan JB bridge pickup (~$70), and added the auto-trim locking planet waves "guitar machines" .. those can be found here for ~$75. So I decided this was a deal I couldn't pass up. I've always liked the looks of PRS guitars and especially the sound (thanks to Umphrey's McGee -- though they play the $4k+ ones... but still ). I met him in his dorm room and it was in mint condition. Checked for fret buzz and all of that stuff, but nothing. He traded a USA Tele for it that he never played and this one just sat under his bed in the case ever since that trade. I got him to $350 and figured that was about all I was getting out of him. He included all the old hardware (screws, bridge, trem, stock bridge pickup, etc.), 2 guitar cables, guitar strap, and the case. Anyway... here are some pics:

Full shot
Case
Pickup

and for the hell of it...

The Strat

 

[SonnyDaze]

:thumbsup: :music:

 

[Platypus]

PRS are very well made guitars, that said the pickups they use are just not up to snuff.. even in the 4k+ models I've owned. WAY too much midrange and not enough character at all. I would suggest replacing them. It looks like the original owner already had the same idea.

That said, you did really well for 350.. spend 100 bucks or so in new pickups and pots with a more linear taper and you'll have a mean player on your hands!

pic of my old 'number 1' guitar for posterity
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congrats, NGD is always fun

 

[CraKaJaX]

Platy, what value pots do you recommend? 250k? Also, pic doesn't work

 

[Newbian]

Wait... I thought people only play plastic guitars connected to their tv.

 

[nakedfrog]

Originally posted by: Platypus
pic of my old 'number 1' guitar for posterity
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Damn sexy.

 

[lxskllr]

Sweet score. PRS makes a nice guitar. I've gotta say though, I prefer the Strat :^D I have a Strat and a Tele, and after playing a bunch of other guitars, I haven't found any I like as well as the 2 I've got.

 

[Platypus]

Originally posted by: CraKaJaX
Platy, what value pots do you recommend? 250k? Also, pic doesn't work

http://www.rsguitarworks.net/r...et339otmdpgcsj7mqr0vn6

best on the market imo, forget which kind (short/long) you need but the audio taper ones are the best.

 

[Platypus]

Originally posted by: lxskllr
Sweet score. PRS makes a nice guitar. I've gotta say though, I prefer the Strat :^D I have a Strat and a Tele, and after playing a bunch of other guitars, I haven't found any I like as well as the 2 I've got.

Yeah I sold mine because I'd just much rather pick up my telecaster and a nice gibson does that soulfull tone better to my ears, but they're still really nice guitars no question.

 

[Platypus]

http://www.rsguitarworks.net/r...fo.php?products_id=395

short shaft looks like, they sell kits. keep in mind you'll want a luthier to put these in because it looks like it requires a bit of a widening to the stock holes.

 

[CraKaJaX]

Thanks man, I'll look into it. I'll probably swap out the neck pickup the same time I swap out the pots.

 

[Platypus]

What duncan is in the bridge now? I'd be curious, I'm betting its a tb59-1b

 

[lxskllr]

Originally posted by: Platypus

Originally posted by: lxskllr
Sweet score. PRS makes a nice guitar. I've gotta say though, I prefer the Strat :^D I have a Strat and a Tele, and after playing a bunch of other guitars, I haven't found any I like as well as the 2 I've got.

Yeah I sold mine because I'd just much rather pick up my telecaster and a nice gibson does that soulfull tone better to my ears, but they're still really nice guitars no question.

I really like the single coil sound. Humbuckers have a certain appeal, but I get tired of it after a bit. They're always kind of "dirty", and you can't get that crystalline single coil tone out of them. I've found that with a bit of distortion, and creative wah pedal placement, I can get close to the humbucker sound, though it isn't as good as a real humbucker.

 

[Platypus]

Originally posted by: lxskllr

Originally posted by: Platypus

Originally posted by: lxskllr
Sweet score. PRS makes a nice guitar. I've gotta say though, I prefer the Strat :^D I have a Strat and a Tele, and after playing a bunch of other guitars, I haven't found any I like as well as the 2 I've got.

Yeah I sold mine because I'd just much rather pick up my telecaster and a nice gibson does that soulfull tone better to my ears, but they're still really nice guitars no question.

I really like the single coil sound. Humbuckers have a certain appeal, but I get tired of it after a bit. They're always kind of "dirty", and you can't get that crystalline single coil tone out of them. I've found that with a bit of distortion, and creative wah pedal placement, I can get close to the humbucker sound, though it isn't as good as a real humbucker.

Tele's are great for that dirty full sound too if you dial them right (neck pickup, roll tone off, drive a clean on the verge of distortion amp).

That said, there's something about a clean les paul or ES model from gibson into a cranked clean amp that fender could never get close to.

 

[CraKaJaX]

Originally posted by: Platypus
What duncan is in the bridge now? I'd be curious, I'm betting its a tb59-1b

I believe it is a SH-4.

 

[Platypus]

Originally posted by: CraKaJaX

Originally posted by: Platypus
What duncan is in the bridge now? I'd be curious, I'm betting its a tb59-1b

I believe it is a SH-4.

Ah, that was my next guess

Either way, that's a nice pickup in a PRS. It's way more balanced than the stock ones that come in those models (HFS hot, fat, screams, ironically made by duncan but with paul's ridiculous midrange bump).

Their pots also bleed tone so badly below 7 or 8 on the knob and at 10 get a huge jump in tone. Audio taper pots will give you a much more balanced tone and the caps that come in that RS kit will preserve that precious high end at lower volumes. Hell even gibson started doing this, they call it the memphis tone circuit. It's amazing how much different my 58 les paul sounds than my ES339 with almost the same pickups; 339 having the MTC.

 

[rbV5]

I need a NGD too! Congrats!!