G'OlPeachPhan
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Some may argue PRS guitars are perfect right out of the case... I chose to upgrade and customize a little bit. Starting with a couple pics:
(view the whole album HERE)
Bill Nichols hand-carved tuner buttons and trussrod cover
Well, it started out as a cosmetic modification to my PRS. I installed a bone nut and double creme Wagner Goodwoods which all matched the natural binding on my vintage yellow PRS really nicely, and I wanted to continue the look by adding more "vintage" looking tuner buttons that matched the 'creme theme' I started with this guitar. Rather than go for the cheap plastic type tuning buttons, I opted to seek out somebody that made hand carved wood ones, and found Bill Nichol's business:
Link to Bill Nichol's website
I went with the natural maple satin finished tuner buttons, as I thought the wood grain would match the maple top grain nicely, and the natural color would look great with the creme theme. I also ordered a rosewood trussrod cover to get rid of the black plastic one that PRS's come with.
Cosmetically, everything worked out just as planned... What I didn't plan on was how much lighter the wood tuner buttons are compared to the metal ones. The guitar feels FAR more balanced now, as this took a pretty signifcant amount of weight off the headstock. It was always a fairly balanced guitar, but in comparison to how it feels now, it was head heavy before. It now slings perfectly on a strap, and sits well-balanced on my knee while seated. I don't know if there's any truth to it, but it's claimed that decreasing mass at the headstock also increases sustain, and this would certainly accomplish that goal as well (though this guitar sustains very well to begin with).
Bill does top quality work, and I highly recommended if you want to customize your axe a bit (his prices don't break the bank either).
Tonepros locking studs
I'm going to keep it short and sweet, and just reiterate what everyone else has said. The locking studs are THE missing link on a PRS stoptail guitar. Nice sustain increase, and the overall resonance of the guitar has improved!
I also put the full tonepros hardware kit on my ES-335 copy with similar, but even more drastic results as the t.o.m. bridge on that guitar was a POS, and the tonepros bridge is a top quality piece of craftsmanship.
bone nut
Not much to say here that hasn't already been said about bone, but the brilliance and overall tone of the guitar improved for my tastes compared to the stock graphite nut. No real reason to have a soft graphite nut on a guitar with a stoptail. A little gun oil, liquid graphite, or pencil lead in the slots is nice for preventing string binding when tuning, and that's really all you need (assuming the slots on your nut are cut correctly).
Past Upgrades
Past upgrades on this guitar include replacement of the Dragon I's the aforementioned WCR Goodwoods (highly recommened as always), McCarty wiring kit (this guitar started life as a Custom 22) and cap upgrade from RS Guitarworks (excellent improvement tonally and playability-wise, as I always hated that rotary switch and much prefer straight single coil sounds as opposed to the in-between positions).
Finally, I can't recommend the Snake Oil Strings highly enough. Far and away the best strings I've ever used, and a huge improvement over the mass produced brands you buy at the local music store. The vintage strings give just that - a vintage tone.
All in all the upgrades to my 1996 Custom 22 have given it a more vintage look, feel, and tone... Exactly what I set out to accomplish.
(view the whole album HERE)
Bill Nichols hand-carved tuner buttons and trussrod cover
Well, it started out as a cosmetic modification to my PRS. I installed a bone nut and double creme Wagner Goodwoods which all matched the natural binding on my vintage yellow PRS really nicely, and I wanted to continue the look by adding more "vintage" looking tuner buttons that matched the 'creme theme' I started with this guitar. Rather than go for the cheap plastic type tuning buttons, I opted to seek out somebody that made hand carved wood ones, and found Bill Nichol's business:
Link to Bill Nichol's website
I went with the natural maple satin finished tuner buttons, as I thought the wood grain would match the maple top grain nicely, and the natural color would look great with the creme theme. I also ordered a rosewood trussrod cover to get rid of the black plastic one that PRS's come with.
Cosmetically, everything worked out just as planned... What I didn't plan on was how much lighter the wood tuner buttons are compared to the metal ones. The guitar feels FAR more balanced now, as this took a pretty signifcant amount of weight off the headstock. It was always a fairly balanced guitar, but in comparison to how it feels now, it was head heavy before. It now slings perfectly on a strap, and sits well-balanced on my knee while seated. I don't know if there's any truth to it, but it's claimed that decreasing mass at the headstock also increases sustain, and this would certainly accomplish that goal as well (though this guitar sustains very well to begin with).
Bill does top quality work, and I highly recommended if you want to customize your axe a bit (his prices don't break the bank either).
Tonepros locking studs
I'm going to keep it short and sweet, and just reiterate what everyone else has said. The locking studs are THE missing link on a PRS stoptail guitar. Nice sustain increase, and the overall resonance of the guitar has improved!
I also put the full tonepros hardware kit on my ES-335 copy with similar, but even more drastic results as the t.o.m. bridge on that guitar was a POS, and the tonepros bridge is a top quality piece of craftsmanship.
bone nut
Not much to say here that hasn't already been said about bone, but the brilliance and overall tone of the guitar improved for my tastes compared to the stock graphite nut. No real reason to have a soft graphite nut on a guitar with a stoptail. A little gun oil, liquid graphite, or pencil lead in the slots is nice for preventing string binding when tuning, and that's really all you need (assuming the slots on your nut are cut correctly).
Past Upgrades
Past upgrades on this guitar include replacement of the Dragon I's the aforementioned WCR Goodwoods (highly recommened as always), McCarty wiring kit (this guitar started life as a Custom 22) and cap upgrade from RS Guitarworks (excellent improvement tonally and playability-wise, as I always hated that rotary switch and much prefer straight single coil sounds as opposed to the in-between positions).
Finally, I can't recommend the Snake Oil Strings highly enough. Far and away the best strings I've ever used, and a huge improvement over the mass produced brands you buy at the local music store. The vintage strings give just that - a vintage tone.
All in all the upgrades to my 1996 Custom 22 have given it a more vintage look, feel, and tone... Exactly what I set out to accomplish.
