redmax61 said:
Beautiful guitar! That's an interesting pickup combination on that one. What combinations can you get with the electronics?
Thanx. The idea is pretty much to have humbuckers and single coils on the same instrument. Humbuckers would mimic LP type of feeling and single coils the Strat. Mind you they are all encased in a single spaced enclosure. So there's actually 5 pickups (if you look carefully) on that guitar. Pickups are siwtched in a regular fashion: 5-way (or 3-way of you prefer) switch for 'Strat' and 3-way toggle for LP. That mini switch you can see is for blending the 2 sets. Switch up and only LP set plays, down and 'Strat' set plays, and middle (neutral) and both sets play!
This was an early prototype so there's no balance pot, you have to install pickups with similar impedance and output level. Balance pot is installed on newer models (you may note the actual Balance pot on the bottom guitar named Delta Wing). Suffice to say, the prototype was shown couple of years ago at the NAMM show to Paul Smith and whaddya know, he ripped it off introducing PRS 513, which is still light years behind this setup. Options are limitless pretty much, especially with the introduction of balance pot, phase shifting, coil selection, stereo output etc...
Imagine how much fun this is, when you wire these 2 sets separately ('stereo') and run them through separate amps, perhaps with a harmonizer on one of the channels. People literally think 2 guys are playing, unison or harmonizing, on 2 quite different guitars :shock:
It has to be said, for purist's sake, you won't really get 100% Strat sound on a mahogany/mapletop body (in this example). By the same token you could ask for ash or alder body (typical Strat wood) but then no 100% LP sound. The former combo actually achieves this tonal duality better.
I'm still experimenting with the pickups (that is, the luthier is). Right now, the 'Strats' are DiMarzio Virtual Vintage and the LPs are Duncan mini-59s if I remember correctly.
Oh yeah, and the newer models have 'air-vents' on request which gives a new meaning to the term 'sustain'. Might as well go grab a beer, pick mail and when you come back it'll still be resonating (it 'breaths').
Of course, playing is believing...