PRS SE Tremonti - My Original Run SE (in 2019)

[@UltimateSigmaGigaChad]

Just bought one of the original Santana SEs yesterday and waiting for it to arrive!

[@MattsGAP]

They’re great guitars, I had students with them years ago and they’re really amazing for the money, I think PRS and World musical instruments were a formidable team. Thanks for watching!

[@obijuan3004]

Thanks for the video. I have been looking at the 2021 Tremonti, with a tremolo. Oddly I was thinking about using the same Seymour's that you used, but with the JB at the neck since the PRS pickups can sound a bit tinny.

[@MattsGAP]

That's cool, I owned the trem version briefly some years ago. It was a nice guitar overall but mine wouldn't stay in tune. Turned out to be bent screws and loose springs in the trem unit. Otherwise I loved it.

[@obijuan3004]

@@MattsGAP Thanks for the head's up on the tremolo. I'm trying to get down to one guitar, I have a '94 Strat and a Les Paul like guitar '82 DAION POWER MARK X. So I was thinking of replacing them with a PRS Tremonti ( 25" scale in the middle of the Strat and the Paul) with split coils and a tremolo should be close. I would have to change the pickups and two of the pots to switch pots, and upgrade the tuners to locking tuners, so I guess i should get a good tremolo while I'm at it. When I get bored, I would sand down the neck to bare wood and put a satin finish. Again thanks for the video.

[@MattsGAP]

That could be really cool, you can get better bridges, springs and electronics no probs. I've found that the 25" scale is cool, although I don't liken it to either strat or lp. Its definitely it's own thing, and I love my se, I have been really curious about the Zach Myers se.... time will tell!? Good luck with your journey, and thanks for watching!

[@dronephotographyireland]

That guitar sounds insane man and your playing is beautiful.I think the guitar is totally unique and looks awesome i didn't think the original tremonti was so substantial in its build quality and those duncans are exactly the tone i am looking for , that vintage warm tone...

[@MattsGAP]

Thanks.... It's a cool guitar. If I need to do one thing to it., that is to re finish it properly .. maybe one day!?

[@sandyslade3774]

Cool video 👍😊👍

[@MattsGAP]

Cheers, glad you enjoyed it!

[@Ashpet1]

i don`t understand how come your guitar doesen`t look purple if you used purple stain/dye? Did you use the grain filler after the color? i bought purple stain, but it is really purple!

[@MattsGAP]

Hi Petter, I grain filled the mahogany, sanded it back and then applied the Purple stain. I assumed at the time that the colour of the mahogany dulled the purple however it could have been the filler which was a rustins paste I believe. The camera has also darkened it a bit in the video but it was never bright like it would have been on maple.

[@shanegoodchild2469]

I could have sworn that the finish on this was much closer to a maple colour when I last saw it! Maybe I'm thinking of a different guitar? Either way, I still love my Tremonti SE - even though I rarely play now!

[@MattsGAP]

Hi Shane, erh it has been purple ish for years n years now. never maple coloured, perhaps you're thinking of one of the other 200 guitars i've owned and sold over the years? Keep hold of that guitar you never know when the guitar playing bug will re-surface!

[@Ashpet1]

Hi! I am going to sand down a prs se tremonti, just the same as yours, how did you do it with the binding? Also, do you have any idea of what it would look like without the dye, just yhe tung oil? I am loving that colour and want to achieve something similar. But maybe i should use some dye first to make the grain pop, any ideas? Is the tung oil you used colored, or blank?

[@MattsGAP]

Hi Petter, I tried everything to get the finish off and in the end I had to just sand it back. It took ages but was worth it imo. I used a mahogany colour grain filler and a water based purple stain made by chestnut. If I were to do do it again I'd use a sharp scraper to get the worst of the finish off as this would be more efficient. I liked the way it looked all natural and the tung oil was clear although it has darkened up a lot over the years. If you're careful with the binding it'll be fine when sanding. I used a sanding block to make sure the sides stayed square and was carefully not to round it over on the top. Good luck with it, you could also probably avoid using filler if you apply the oil with wet and dry paper... I didn't know that when I did mine.

[@Ashpet1]

@@MattsGAP thanks for the answer! You're thinking of wet and dry sandpaper right? Did you sand down the purple dye alot, so if was just left in the grain? I am also thinking of maybe use black dye to pop the grain. Do you by any chance have any photos of the guitar that i could get? I love your result, so it would be nice to have something to go after when i start on mine.

[@MattsGAP]

@@Ashpet1 Sadly I don't have any photos of the process, I did it yrs ago and wasn't ever planning to make a YT video about. I applied the dye straight to the mahogany and didn't sand the dye at all before starting the oiling. Wet and dry paper soaked in the tung oil and then apply the oil by sanding it into the body should work really well, however if you're using a lot of dye you run the risk of sanding through it and creating a patchy mess. Do you watch Big D guitars and or Crimson? they have lots of great videos on finishing, well worth watching the experts first.