PRS SE Hollowbody II

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TTonyTTony Frets: 27346
I've had one of the recent-ish SE Hollowbody IIs for a couple of years now.    Great guitar, love it, etc, etc.

But I bought it just before the Hollowbody II piezo was announced.  

And, naturally,  I'm wondering whether the piezo model is enough of an upgrade to warrant selling mine and watching out for the piezo model. 

Anyone got any hands-on experience of the piezo model?


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Comments

  • FunkfingersFunkfingers Frets: 14324
    Darrell Braun does a shoot out comparision video of the Baggs system in the PRS SE, Fishman Powerbridge and GraphTech Ghost.

    Give that a listen. Form your own conclusions.
    Be seeing you.
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  • stickyfiddlestickyfiddle Frets: 26753
    Piezo guitars are horrible and I wish they would be uninvented. 

    Don't over think it
    The Assumptions - UAE party band for all your rock & soul desires
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  • FunkfingersFunkfingers Frets: 14324
    Piezo guitars are horrible
    I wholeheartedly agree but I also respect TTony's right to decide for himself.
    Be seeing you.
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  • guitars4youguitars4you Frets: 14036
    tFB Trader
    I would suggest that for the difference of funds involved between trading yours in and buying a new 'upgraded' version, that a better option will be to buy the Boss AC3 Acoustic Simulator - Plus point with this option is that you can use it on all your 'many' guitars - £100/120 or so

    I own a core series HB1 with the piezo - The guitar I play the most - I use the piezo option at times but could equally live with or without it - To get the best from it, tonal wise, the piezo needs to go through an appropriate amp (acoustic amp, keyboard amp, studio monitors etc - something that has a wide/full range band width) then keep the hum buckers through your regular guitar amp - You can run both options into your regular amp, but it doesn't bring out the best of the acoustic option 
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  • TTonyTTony Frets: 27346
    Darrell Braun does a shoot out comparision video of the Baggs system in the PRS SE, Fishman Powerbridge and GraphTech Ghost.

    Give that a listen. Form your own conclusions.
    His conclusion - just his of course - from his review of the guitar stand-alone was that "the piezo sounds really good".  Better through an Acoustic amp than the Mesa he was using for the magnetic's output, but that's really to be expected.



    A couple of reasons I asked about this specific guitar.

    1.  I like the idea of being able to take both acoustic & magnetic outputs into different paths on my Helix and apply different FX to the 2 signals before blending them out.

    2.  I've long trusted the PRS SE sub-brand anyway,  but my experience of the non-piezo model makes me think that adding piezo is only going to be more of a good thing - as opposed to taking a punt on any of the alternatives.


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  • TTonyTTony Frets: 27346
    a better option will be to buy the Boss AC3 Acoustic Simulator - Plus point with this option is that you can use it on all your 'many' guitars - £100/120 or so

    That's a good call Mark - I did have one of those years ago, and never really used it, so I've tended to dismiss it or forget about it as an option.

    But all those years ago, I didn't really have much need for an Acoustic sim pedal, and I'd have been running the output through whatever dirty-amp I was using at the time (so it wouldn't have sounded very good).

    Or perhaps I should spend more time on getting a better acoustic sim sound out of my Helix FX for an even-lower cost (do I need an IR?) solution.

    Watching the  Darrell Braun comparison video that @Funkfingers ; linked also reminded me that I've got a Graphtech Ghost system (complete bar the  saddles) ready to fit into something.   


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  • MusicwolfMusicwolf Frets: 3627
    edited June 2022
    If you are using a Helix then I would run through an Acoustic Guitar IR rather than an AC3, this is what I do (I'm direct to PA so FRFR).  That said, I get by far the best 'acoustic' sound when using a guitar with either a single coil pickup or a humbucker with a split.  I also have a Hollowbody II, which I really like, but I favour either my Silver Sky or S2 Semi Hollow to gig for this reason.  Neck Pickup (coil split on the S2).

    Does anybody know whether the pickups in the Hollowbody II are 4 or, as it's PRS, 3 wire?  Save me having to take them out.
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  • FunkfingersFunkfingers Frets: 14324
    Musicwolf said:
    Does anybody know whether the pickups in the Hollowbody II are 4 or, as it's PRS, 3 wire?  Save me having to take them out. 
    PRS SE G&B-made humbuckers that offer coil splittage have 4-con + shield cable. 

    Models with basic three-way pickup selection and no splittage - e.g. SE Santana II - are single con + shield.

    Knowing the OP's fondness for Kawai, Godin and other electro-acoustic hybrid guitars, I expected his conclusion to be non-standard.
    Be seeing you.
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  • crunchmancrunchman Frets: 11414
    edited June 2022
    If you take the piezo output to something external (like an IR on the Helix) it will sound better than the Boss AC3, and you don't need a separate pedal for the acoustic sounds.

    It's never going to sound great though with a plain G string.  You will need a wound G to get a convincing acoustic sound.  No outboard processing will compensate for the spiky sound of a plain G string.  If you go for the wound G that might compromise how you play it as an electric if you do lots of bends.
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  • TTonyTTony Frets: 27346
    edited June 2022
    Knowing the OP's fondness for Kawai, Godin and other electro-acoustic hybrid guitars, I expected his conclusion to be non-standard.
    You really can NOT argue that this isn't a thing of pure beauty



    Apart from the mis-match pickups, long-since corrected.

    I've tried Godins, and never managed to properly bond with one.    I was thinking about an A6, and would have grabbed one had the recent fuel-non-availability problems not got in the way.


    Musicwolf said:
    Does anybody know whether the pickups in the Hollowbody II are 4 or, as it's PRS, 3 wire?  Save me having to take them out.
    I'd have assumed that, if it didn't leave the factory as a coil spit design, then PRS would have used 3-wire pickups - no point in using anything else.
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  • StefBStefB Frets: 2331
    GuitarGuitar have quite a decent saving on the blue smokeburst piezo SE Hollowbody in their new flash sale which, apparently, lasts until Monday at which time it will be rebadged as something else - https://www.guitarguitar.co.uk/product/200617359430025--prs-se-hollowbody-ii-piezo-peacock-blue-smokeburst
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  • johnhejohnhe Frets: 189
    edited June 2022
    I started playing in a Cher tribute band. The band plays music from all throughout Cher’s career, so there is a wide variety. And I play acoustic for several songs. As I’ve gotten older, I dislike more and more to carry lots of gear to gigs. So I sold my 335 and bought a SE Hollowbody Piezo. It’s fantastic. I can play everything from 60’s stuff, to the harder rocking 80’s music. I run the piezo though a separate board with a Fishman Aura into a Fishman Loudbox. Honestly, live, on a stage this loud, the piezo sounds as good as my Martin 000-18.

    so I’m a big fan. Admittedly, if I was playing my dream blues gig, of course I’d prefer to be playing one of my expensive acoustics. But on a loud stage, in the mix with tons of other stuff, the acoustic sound is just great. And crucially, as you’ve found out already, the guitar itself is a superb instrument. I honestly think it sounds just as good as my 335 did.

    Here is my PRS in action at our most recent gig:

    https://imgur.com/a/nIKlvhE

    https://imgur.com/a/D46vx5m


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  • ToneControlToneControl Frets: 11791
    I just tried my electric to acoustic patch on the Helix with my PRS SE HB
    It sounds quite good, definitely worth trying first


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