I think you've missed something very important with this guitar. If your an artist looking for unique tones, having both the the piezo and magnetic pickups active and playing with the mix gives you some really beautiful sounds you don't get from other guitars.
I've become a big fan of that sound -- easy to hear on that classic Incubus record years ago how Mike might have used to add clarity instantly on those big chords. Well said!
That's a great point but, now I'm confused though because he said you have to unplug it and then re-plug in to get the acoustic sound? so how can you mix the pickups?
For the quick change options - use the dual outputs and an A/B box. One amp - two amps - your choice! Or..... a volume pedal on the piezo - get that L5ish tone by blending it in. As far as I know (and I own one), if you use two outputs, the piezo/mix jack becomes piezo only when the magnetic jack is used.
One thing I like to do with my PRS Piezo is to have the acoustic output to an acoustic amp, then the electric output running to my pedalboard. Then I tweak my pedals for a subtle, room-filling ambient accompanyment. Nothing crazy, just some dreamy ambient effects. Very fun and mesmerizing.
There's a small trim pot on the board that allows you to bring down the max output. You can get to it through the battery compartment. That way you can balance the level with the humbuckers.
@@paulyoung8151 have you unscrewed the six screws and pulled out the whole output assembly? It comes out in two sections, and the pot is close to the output jacks
@@chrisgatland3177 I thought I'd replied already - anyways I've got it - didn't realize you had to pull the board out to see it. Much better balance after adjusting. Thanks.
My Hollowbody Piezo II is my Swiss Army knife. I use mine with a Line 6 HX Stomp or a Helix floor model. I use the presets created by Worship Tutorials. Both Line 6 modelers allow me to refine the tone to get a very realistic acoustic sounding tones (with very little of the quacky piezo-sounding tones you reference in your video), fat full jazz arch top tones, andof course the clean/dirty electric tones it does naturally well. These types of guitars require a mindset shift away from the "uni-tasker", this-guitar-does-one-thing-well thinking. These types of guitars require the right kind of pedals and tweaking the controls on amps to reach their full potential.
I was thinking about getting one of these because I play electric guitar for worship and Their asked me to play acoustic. I have the app on my line 6 for worship does that sound good?
I recently purchased the PRS Hollowbody Piezo II but haven't had an opportunity to use it through the courses yet. I also use a Helix, Worship Tutorials patches for Praise & Worship.
I agree, I use the magpie patch from worship tutorials that was made specifically for this guitar, and I think the content maker just hasn’t used it with the proper tools.
I play one of these through a Fractal FM9 and control the signal chain with that - Magnetic into Input 1 and it's own signal chain, Piezo Input 2 into a separate signal chain. Using multiple scenes I'm able to have an electric scene or an acoustic scene (using Taylor and McPherson IRs for a much better acoustic sound). I adjust input levels digitally so I don't have to worry about the vast difference in output between the magnetic and piezo. I cannot fathom doing this without a digital modeler! My setup works well enough for live use in a praise and worship setting, and I've had several comments about how real it sounded as an acoustic (with the IRs), and it also plays beautifully as a hollowbody electric. The gloss finish on the neck is the biggest problem with this guitar, I removed mine with 0000 steel wool and refinished it satin with gunstock finish and it's 1000% better.
I have one and use it for orch pits during the local theatre productions. I do not have to do quick swaps during a musical number- instead I use an A/B switch and never miss a beat - literally… i run the piezo through my fishman acoustic preamp and the magnets through my Milkman The Amp. Because we run XLR to the house board. It works great for this purpose
this guitar is NOT trying to do two different things, is it? A hollowbody electric guitar with vintage voiced pups is a thing, right? It is for me. Piezo is a bonus feature that is so welcomed into that mix, for a unique blend of sharp attack in the higher eq register where the magnets don't live.
Wow Jeremy, you are so on-point! I own an SE Piezo and can relate to your comments. I thought that there was something wrong with my acoustic pickup overdriving, but now I know that it is a "normal" feature. Thanks.
The pups are 58/15s which are some of the cleanest ones PRS makes. They have a lower output than others. The beauty of this guitar is not that it replaces an acoustic, but the fact you can mix the piezos with the 58/15s for some extrordinaruly unique tones. That's my take and I snagged it for creative purposes. I also have a pair of 58/15 -LTs ($500!) to bring it up towards core standards.
@@JeremySheppard no, when using both jacks they are not linked. I have vol peds on each side. If I want a quick mag output it's fairly easy. Don't really need to turn down the piezo since the mags easily over power.
Simple solution, two volume pedals, treat them like two independent instruments, I use MIDI Guitar, each synth I’m triggering from the guitar has its own volume pedal, so I can operate both, Dynamics, and what instruments has its own signal chain, and in my Mixer I’m running a looper, all these volume pedals enable me to select what instruments are being recorded by the looper at any given moment!
I use this into a Pod live with each op going into its own signal path of effects, amps & cabs so that my presets have specific mixs ready to go. Most of the time I have a regular acoustic sound in the background to fill out the sound of our duo line-up.
You seem a bit hung up on the idea of a piezo being an acoustic guitar emulator. 🤔 I get it, that’s usually how it’s marketed, but to me the piezo just makes every note stand out more. More chimey and quacky like a single coil guitar, but with the balls of a humbucker in the back. So for overdriven arpeggios and such they’re amazing. They can also do the “piezo acoustic” thing, but piezo pickups never sounded like a natural acoustic, they sound like an acoustic with a piezo. 😌
I've been looking at this guitar for a while and I found this review very informative. My band does a Who medley where I switch from "electric" to "clean" on my telecaster, and getting a reasonable "acoustic" tone is virtually impossible. I've also looked at the Fender Acoustasonic, and it has the same issues you point out. When one instrument tries to do two very different things, it usually does them both at a discount. Still haven't solved my problem.
bought one of these to play in our covers band . great quality apart from some niggles like the second day I had it one of the knobs fell off , rubbish spline moulding so I replaced with a set of 'bird knobs' off ebay they look great but quality not much better , They do eat batteries and at the second battery change the wire broke of the connector battery end so out came the soldering iron. The wires are too stiff so even with loads of care it can strain the solder joint . If it happens the pcb end that will be a proper pain.. Prs should use more flexible wire . I find when using the piezo its good to blend a little mag in to improve the effect . It is a dream to play . I have a valve amp and i am thinking of using an aby switch to send the piezo to my Laney ah 150 for the acoustic sounds. Good amp they are and it would be a back up if the valve amp grumbles .
in my cover band, i play several different piezo loaded guitars - most are PRS. I run the magnetic output to a line 6 helix direct to board, and the piezo output to a radial engineering piezo deluxe straight to board, and i absolutely LOVE this set up!! you can play each separately or put mini toggle in middle position and play both at same time!! super versatile and huge sound!! I have 2 core hollowbody ii piezo models and 2 p22's and 1 se hollowbody piezo - i also have 2 ernie ball jp models loaded with piezos and 2 strats with piezos and couple other models as well. this setup covers any and all bases for me
I have also seen folks build helix patches that do the acoustic and electric on individual lines using the split outs on the guitar and to different inputs on the helix and then out that way.
@Sean Silveira I use to do same thing. I started using the radial engineering pz deluxe because it sounded better to my ears and it has a solo boost for acoustic soloing
I use it through a TC Electronic IR loader. I have some acoustic guitar IRs and putting the piezo through one of those gets an amazing sound. Also use neck pu with a little piezo blended in
I have the blue SE and it's just about the only guitar I play today. Love it!!!!! I use 2 Katana 100's in stereo and a Bose L1 at the same time, the sound is amazing and it helps that the guitar plays so well. FYI, take some time and you can get any sound you want and it takes pedals well. BTW, I watch a lot of your videos and for some reason the sound on this video sounds off a bit and nothing like the sounds I get from my Hollow Body Piezo. I do have an equalizer and compressor in my chain. I am a solo performer, that being said I agree with you and wouldn't use it in a band as it doesn't cut through the mix very well.
First off, I always appreciate reviews of any kind, so thank you for that BUT…. I think a few things were missed here. If you really want to get good acoustic sounds out of one of these you have to use an EQ and either an frfr speaker or an acoustic amp. While it is true that the piezo alone is not quite up to par, with the right eq settings it’s actually quite good. Another thing to try is to run the piezo and the magnetics through different amps/speakers simultaneously! This creates some really interesting sounds, especially with stereo applications . Also, if you blend the piezo and the magnetics when going for acoustic sounds, blending the mags acts like a tone knob for the piezo. AND…. The magnetics themselves are freaking awesome! They sound amazing for clean, blues, rock, even heavy metal type tones. I definitely agree that the controls could be better and a separate tone knob for the piezo is needed. That’s something I wish was different. Also, a switch to change between the two like the more expensive hollwbody’s. I think this guitar has a lot more to offer than most people might realize. You just have to figure it out and be creative.
I've just bought this guitar in the same colour and I'm quite impressed with it's acoustic tones through my Line 6 HX Stomp XL loaded with a variety of IRs of classic acoustics. In fact, to be honest, I'm less impressed with the electric tone. I'll have to adjust my settings for that because they're tuned for my PRS DGT (core model). Caveat: I only need the acoustic tones for three short songs in our set.
These guitars (electrics with Piezos) are extremely useful for worship guitarists. In fact I used a Musicman JP6 for that purpose. Through a PA it's a very good, convincing sounding acoustic, since all acoustics are just plugged into the PA anyway. I may need to add one of these to my collection :)
I agree you. I have this beaty too. Most time I dont use the Piezo. And if I use it, I play with two amps. And so I add the piezo tone to a crunch tone. A E guitar amp for the magnetic tone and a accoustic amp for the piezo. Is like playing with two guitars, and it makes a full sound. Works verry well at old CCR stuff. One the magnatic out I use a volume pedal. So I can get overdriven verry fast. Thank you!
I think another potential buyer is for folks that want a more ergonmic alternative to a Jazzbox but want more versatility than a 335 clone. The added piezo seems to immitate enough of the acoustic response of an archtop especially when bended with the magnetic pickups but is far more compact and has way better upper fret access. And the guitar can still manage high gain tones. Just listen to any of the old incubus albums with the giant mccarty archtops Mike was using back then
Enjoyed your review. I've got this guitar and what I've come to especially love about it's tone is when I blend just a tad of the piezo in with the mag pickups. Although the mag pups are very articulate for hummers, mixing in a small amount of the piezo adds some top end shimmer that is missing otherwise. With the outputs blended, it almost sounds like fat singles without the hum. One might say the tone becomes three, rather than two dimensional when pickups are mixed together (into my Quilter).
Acoustic Amps - 20 years ago on my first foray into trying to learn guitar I bought a Marshall AS50D 2-channel - and now on my second foray into learning I dug it out and with my Piezo I can plug into both channels -using the Vox MV50 for the electric side of it. Loving it!
Compact, nano-sized pedals are so readily available now that my Acoustic/Electric board has been using two tuner pedals for a while now.... Not that I need to tune acoustic and electric separately, but so I can A/B/Both and also easily tune using either signal chain regardless of Acoustic or Electric signal turned up. Basically only touch the piezo volume knob when blending both... like it sounds great when the electric has 80's chorus and reverb while the acoustic chain is tighter. ☮❤🎶
The guitar your playing is a SE HB I not HB II and we’re this guitar really shines is when you have a need to switch between acoustic and electric quickly or need to fill in the sound as a single guitar. It pairs beautifully with something like a helix and having a patch that uses 2 signal paths (one for acoustic and one for the magnetic pickups) and with the click of a button you go from full acoustic sound to full electric or a mix of both. I have the HB II and I use it mostly for contemporary worship at church and the ability to finger pick acoustic sound then go to lead in seconds is amazing.
That's not correct it's a Hollowbody Standard, Hollowbody 1 is no longer in production. The standards have all mahogany bodies which the other hollowbodys do not.
Never found a PRS that felt and sounded 'right' to my hands and ear. Same with Taylor for that matter. They are beautiful, just not my thing. Mostly play acoustic with pickups, either factory or aftermarket. Learned on that, came to electric only recently. Quite different beasts, I don't see a good way to mix them in one tool. They live in different places in my head. As to amps for acoustic, I use a Fender modeler Mustang GTX 50 for everything pretty much.. I just built a couple of presets for my acoustics with a bit of compression, delay and reverb mostly. 1 preset with a flanger, rarely used. I get great tones and feel no need for a specialized amp for acoustic. If I want to play a small space with a mic. for voice I have a Roland Cube Street with mic and instrument channels. If I play through a PA I put a small multi-effects NuX MG100 pedal before the PA input and have those effects I use in a battery powered simple ( and cheap) box. Did I say simple? I like simple. I am a simple man. Too many options messes up my head on stage. I want to focus on what I am presenting, not fiddle with stuff, but on the story I am telling and watching my audience response. I don't want the tools to get in the way. Martin guitar, pick, voice, story and an audience to tell it to. What more could one need?
I want to buy this guitar. I am in three bands, with a mix of the same and different players. Sometimes all three play at the same place on the same night. One is a gypsy jazz/electroswing band, one is a Khruangbin/Glass Beams type band, and one is a funk/jazz fusion band. So I need acoustic manouche sounds, jazzy hollow body sounds, quacky funk sounds, and heavy distorted lead sounds. It would be nice, when taking the train to a gig to pack only one guitar. I am hopeful that this will fit the bill.
Hey if you still have that PRS with the piezo, Try the acoustic pickup through the tone master. Volume on tone master 3.5/4 - treble 6ish and bass 3/3.5. Add some reverb and a touch of delay. You will be amazed. I’ve never heard any plugged in acoustic guitar sound as good.
Jeremy, Mahalo for all pros and cons… I have the Parker Fly Deluxe 1995 ? With an piezo and it is great! I understand the switching pickups can be a problem and I agree with your great assement…. 🤙🏽 Iʻll stick to my Parker Fly🤙🏽
I wonder if you could add a mini toggle to switch b/t the piezo and the mag pick ups? I feel like the switching is so bad for a guitar thats meant to be played live when you often need to switch instantly.
Im in a cover band and work a lot and right now im using a Variax JTV 59 into a Fractal floorboard. The variax guitars are great for my job but they are VERY heavy and L6 doesnt make them anymore and batteries are probably going to be an issue in the future as well as parts so Im thinking about the future and what I will do. This can cover a lot of the ground the variax does but probably not quite as well as far as the acoustic sound and I will have to get some drop tuning pedal as well.
I just got mine a week ago and have to say you completely missed one important individual who this guitar is for. The recording artist. In studio recording I don't care about quick changes and getting close. This guitar provides great flexibility in the recording and sound creation process.
the piezo output is not really meant to run thru an electric guitar amp...moreso for running thru an acoustic preamp straight to pa system...it also helps if you run a tc electronic body rez peal after the preamp as well
Not sure why you have the ABY if you plug into both outputs it sends mag to the one labeled mag and takes it out of the mix output. The volume knobs become dedicated to their own output.
If I was playing out out at bar gigs regularly I'd probably run one of these with each output to a separate amp and tuners on each line to mute and switch quickly
IMO this guitar is for an electric player who occasionally needs an acoutic tone (e.g. playing a cover that has an acoustic strum and then an electric lead in the same song) likely in a bar gig type situation. I would really be interested comparing the PRS' acoustic tone to playing an electric with an acoustic simulator pedal. That latter option seems like the viable alternative for that type of player.
So you didn't even notice that you can get blended tones from this guitar that you can't get with any other guitar? The unique tones alone could be the reason for buying this guitar. That and it weighs half of what a Les Paul weighs.
@Jeremy Sheppard I guess you should have tried a Core. I don’t get brittle or fizzy. I get sparkling and colorful. I also don't have any problem switching the Piezo on or off, or adjusting the mix while playing.
Rick Mitaritonda from the band Goose uses (d) a PRS Hollowbody 2 Piezo Core model and so does Daniel Serriff . Billy Strings .etc….They sound incredible through their rigs . I have heard that is the model to own if you are into PRS guitars . These SEs’ seem so similar, and with the ability to change out the pickups it would seem the SE model would really get you there.
@@pauljcat1 Some reviewers prefer the SE for it's snappier sound. I wanted an American made PRS and I can afford it. I like running the piezo through an accoustic amp and the humbuckers through a high gain amp, add some effects and wow!
Researching this guitar again, I came across your video again. And had to stop right at the very beginning this time. It is NOT the SE Hollowbody II. It is the SE Standard. For someone that is making a sponsored video for PRS, you could have, at least, gotten that right. It does sound like an acoustic thru an interface.
It is not the guitar clipping. it is your EQ settings you use way to much bass in all your guitar tones. Asfar as who would buy it, if you want acoustic sounds you will have a separate amplification method.
We have a Schecter C-1 E/A that also has the piezo pickup and it is an awesome guitar but that piezo pick up system sounds like it does in an acoustic, bad .. But the rest of the guitar is great. Wow does it sound good through a tube amp. I can still highly recommend it just don't use the piezo unless you really like it... To each his own I guess. But yes, the ability to sound like an acoustic is a gimmick and not worth it.
Having watched a similar review on this guitar I wondered if I could save money by checking one of my rarely used hollow body guitars, an old Tokai made in Japan. Did myself a favour and I won't be buying this particular PRS ,much as like it. The tones on the Tokai blow it out of the water. Far more resonant and I can get acoustic tones by messing with the treble knob.
With two separate circuits off the AB switch to two separate amps was it really that hard to have this set up in advance with appropriate gain structure? Maybe spend some more time with it before you shoot the video to make sure you really understand what you can do with it?
I spent a month monkeying with this. The second output still combines acoustic and electric pickups. It'd be way more helpful to have just a piezo output.
This is confusing. The description for the black model on their website says very clearly that the magnetic pick ups go out one output, and the Piezo is on a separate output. Is that wrong?
@@JeremySheppard I went over the info on the PRS site and watched all the demo videos. I think the one you would like most is the core model which does allow the total separation of Piezo versus magnetic pick ups.
Thats an all around guitar. Like a Gibson 335 or 345....but with a piezo. No they arent really an acoustic. They are more of a resonator than acoustic.
Very interesting guitar. I definitely think the finish is amazing, and looks fantastic. I've played around on some builds of mine using a piezo on an electric. It's fun, but it never completely sounds acoustic. On top of that, they generally don't play the same, and don't play especially acoustic. I agree that this one is an electric first guitar. I've played, but never owned an acoustasonic, and in concept I like the idea. But either way, you're giving up something to be the "swiss army knife" of guitars. Overall, this one is a fun guitar. Not sure I'd spend the money on it, but it's still nice.
I've heard that observation a few times and I still don't understand it, the blended tones sounded terrible to me and I chose to not use them. I think I used this much more like two separate guitars in one rather than one guitar that can blur the lines between acoustic and electric. A piezo into a tube amp still sounds pretty shrill to me.
I think you've missed something very important with this guitar. If your an artist looking for unique tones, having both the the piezo and magnetic pickups active and playing with the mix gives you some really beautiful sounds you don't get from other guitars.
Exactly how I use it, magnetic with a touch of piezo with lots of reverb to create a unique ambient tone.
I've become a big fan of that sound -- easy to hear on that classic Incubus record years ago how Mike might have used to add clarity instantly on those big chords. Well said!
How classic are you talking? Fungus classic? @@brandonfindlay2249
That's a great point but, now I'm confused though because he said you have to unplug it and then re-plug in to get the acoustic sound? so how can you mix the pickups?
@@truegent68 there are two separate input jacks. And on one of them you activate both the magnetic pickups and the Piezo so you can blend them
For the quick change options - use the dual outputs and an A/B box. One amp - two amps - your choice! Or..... a volume pedal on the piezo - get that L5ish tone by blending it in. As far as I know (and I own one), if you use two outputs, the piezo/mix jack becomes piezo only when the magnetic jack is used.
One thing I like to do with my PRS Piezo is to have the acoustic output to an acoustic amp, then the electric output running to my pedalboard. Then I tweak my pedals for a subtle, room-filling ambient accompanyment. Nothing crazy, just some dreamy ambient effects. Very fun and mesmerizing.
I have this exact guitar. Well balanced, gorgeous finish, and better crafted than either of my US Gibsons.
I got it too. Love it.
There's a small trim pot on the board that allows you to bring down the max output. You can get to it through the battery compartment. That way you can balance the level with the humbuckers.
Yess! That's what I needed to know!
I haven't been able to find it - any chance you can post a pic or a reference to help me find the trim? The piezo is so over the top out of the box.
@@paulyoung8151 have you unscrewed the six screws and pulled out the whole output assembly? It comes out in two sections, and the pot is close to the output jacks
@@chrisgatland3177 found it. I didn’t realize the panel had to be removed. Thx.
@@chrisgatland3177 I thought I'd replied already - anyways I've got it - didn't realize you had to pull the board out to see it. Much better balance after adjusting. Thanks.
My Hollowbody Piezo II is my Swiss Army knife. I use mine with a Line 6 HX Stomp or a Helix floor model. I use the presets created by Worship Tutorials. Both Line 6 modelers allow me to refine the tone to get a very realistic acoustic sounding tones (with very little of the quacky piezo-sounding tones you reference in your video), fat full jazz arch top tones, andof course the clean/dirty electric tones it does naturally well.
These types of guitars require a mindset shift away from the "uni-tasker", this-guitar-does-one-thing-well thinking. These types of guitars require the right kind of pedals and tweaking the controls on amps to reach their full potential.
I was thinking about getting one of these because I play electric guitar for worship and Their asked me to play acoustic. I have the app on my line 6 for worship does that sound good?
I recently purchased the PRS Hollowbody Piezo II but haven't had an opportunity to use it through the courses yet. I also use a Helix, Worship Tutorials patches for Praise & Worship.
This is the comment I needed.Thanks
I agree, I use the magpie patch from worship tutorials that was made specifically for this guitar, and I think the content maker just hasn’t used it with the proper tools.
Very useful. Thanks.
I play one of these through a Fractal FM9 and control the signal chain with that - Magnetic into Input 1 and it's own signal chain, Piezo Input 2 into a separate signal chain. Using multiple scenes I'm able to have an electric scene or an acoustic scene (using Taylor and McPherson IRs for a much better acoustic sound). I adjust input levels digitally so I don't have to worry about the vast difference in output between the magnetic and piezo. I cannot fathom doing this without a digital modeler! My setup works well enough for live use in a praise and worship setting, and I've had several comments about how real it sounded as an acoustic (with the IRs), and it also plays beautifully as a hollowbody electric.
The gloss finish on the neck is the biggest problem with this guitar, I removed mine with 0000 steel wool and refinished it satin with gunstock finish and it's 1000% better.
I have one and use it for orch pits during the local theatre productions. I do not have to do quick swaps during a musical number- instead I use an A/B switch and never miss a beat - literally… i run the piezo through my fishman acoustic preamp and the magnets through my Milkman The Amp. Because we run XLR to the house board.
It works great for this purpose
this guitar is NOT trying to do two different things, is it? A hollowbody electric guitar with vintage voiced pups is a thing, right? It is for me. Piezo is a bonus feature that is so welcomed into that mix, for a unique blend of sharp attack in the higher eq register where the magnets don't live.
Wow Jeremy, you are so on-point! I own an SE Piezo and can relate to your comments. I thought that there was something wrong with my acoustic pickup overdriving, but now I know that it is a "normal" feature. Thanks.
The pups are 58/15s which are some of the cleanest ones PRS makes. They have a lower output than others. The beauty of this guitar is not that it replaces an acoustic, but the fact you can mix the piezos with the 58/15s for some extrordinaruly unique tones. That's my take and I snagged it for creative purposes. I also have a pair of 58/15 -LTs ($500!) to bring it up towards core standards.
I run both jacks. Piezo to a Fishman loud box, mags to a Blackstar and use either or, or both. Works great for me.
But you still have to duck the volume of the electric pickups or you're sending it out blended to the acoustic side, right?
@@JeremySheppard no, when using both jacks they are not linked. I have vol peds on each side. If I want a quick mag output it's fairly easy. Don't really need to turn down the piezo since the mags easily over power.
Simple solution, two volume pedals, treat them like two independent instruments, I use MIDI Guitar, each synth I’m triggering from the guitar has its own volume pedal, so I can operate both, Dynamics, and what instruments has its own signal chain, and in my Mixer I’m running a looper, all these volume pedals enable me to select what instruments are being recorded by the looper at any given moment!
I use this into a Pod live with each op going into its own signal path of effects, amps & cabs so that my presets have specific mixs ready to go. Most of the time I have a regular acoustic sound in the background to fill out the sound of our duo line-up.
You seem a bit hung up on the idea of a piezo being an acoustic guitar emulator. 🤔 I get it, that’s usually how it’s marketed, but to me the piezo just makes every note stand out more. More chimey and quacky like a single coil guitar, but with the balls of a humbucker in the back.
So for overdriven arpeggios and such they’re amazing.
They can also do the “piezo acoustic” thing, but piezo pickups never sounded like a natural acoustic, they sound like an acoustic with a piezo. 😌
Thanks for demonstrating this in a way that shows the relevance and usefulness of this instrument.
I've been looking at this guitar for a while and I found this review very informative. My band does a Who medley where I switch from "electric" to "clean" on my telecaster, and getting a reasonable "acoustic" tone is virtually impossible. I've also looked at the Fender Acoustasonic, and it has the same issues you point out. When one instrument tries to do two very different things, it usually does them both at a discount. Still haven't solved my problem.
bought one of these to play in our covers band . great quality apart from some niggles like the second day I had it one of the knobs fell off , rubbish spline moulding so I replaced with a set of 'bird knobs' off ebay they look great but quality not much better , They do eat batteries and at the second battery change the wire broke of the connector battery end so out came the soldering iron. The wires are too stiff so even with loads of care it can strain the solder joint . If it happens the pcb end that will be a proper pain.. Prs should use more flexible wire . I find when using the piezo its good to blend a little mag in to improve the effect . It is a dream to play . I have a valve amp and i am thinking of using an aby switch to send the piezo to my Laney ah 150 for the acoustic sounds. Good amp they are and it would be a back up if the valve amp grumbles .
in my cover band, i play several different piezo loaded guitars - most are PRS. I run the magnetic output to a line 6 helix direct to board, and the piezo output to a radial engineering piezo deluxe straight to board, and i absolutely LOVE this set up!! you can play each separately or put mini toggle in middle position and play both at same time!! super versatile and huge sound!! I have 2 core hollowbody ii piezo models and 2 p22's and 1 se hollowbody piezo - i also have 2 ernie ball jp models loaded with piezos and 2 strats with piezos and couple other models as well. this setup covers any and all bases for me
I have also seen folks build helix patches that do the acoustic and electric on individual lines using the split outs on the guitar and to different inputs on the helix and then out that way.
@Sean Silveira I use to do same thing. I started using the radial engineering pz deluxe because it sounded better to my ears and it has a solo boost for acoustic soloing
@@chrisosborneband4941 makes sense!
I use it through a TC Electronic IR loader. I have some acoustic guitar IRs and putting the piezo through one of those gets an amazing sound. Also use neck pu with a little piezo blended in
I have the blue SE and it's just about the only guitar I play today. Love it!!!!! I use 2 Katana 100's in stereo and a Bose L1 at the same time, the sound is amazing and it helps that the guitar plays so well. FYI, take some time and you can get any sound you want and it takes pedals well. BTW, I watch a lot of your videos and for some reason the sound on this video sounds off a bit and nothing like the sounds I get from my Hollow Body Piezo. I do have an equalizer and compressor in my chain. I am a solo performer, that being said I agree with you and wouldn't use it in a band as it doesn't cut through the mix very well.
First off, I always appreciate reviews of any kind, so thank you for that BUT…. I think a few things were missed here. If you really want to get good acoustic sounds out of one of these you have to use an EQ and either an frfr speaker or an acoustic amp. While it is true that the piezo alone is not quite up to par, with the right eq settings it’s actually quite good. Another thing to try is to run the piezo and the magnetics through different amps/speakers simultaneously! This creates some really interesting sounds, especially with stereo applications . Also, if you blend the piezo and the magnetics when going for acoustic sounds, blending the mags acts like a tone knob for the piezo. AND…. The magnetics themselves are freaking awesome! They sound amazing for clean, blues, rock, even heavy metal type tones.
I definitely agree that the controls could be better and a separate tone knob for the piezo is needed. That’s something I wish was different. Also, a switch to change between the two like the more expensive hollwbody’s.
I think this guitar has a lot more to offer than most people might realize. You just have to figure it out and be creative.
I definitely didn't master this guitar, I've heard about the blending and I don't prefer it but can appreciate other people's tones.
I've just bought this guitar in the same colour and I'm quite impressed with it's acoustic tones through my Line 6 HX Stomp XL loaded with a variety of IRs of classic acoustics. In fact, to be honest, I'm less impressed with the electric tone. I'll have to adjust my settings for that because they're tuned for my PRS DGT (core model). Caveat: I only need the acoustic tones for three short songs in our set.
I'm getting one this week.
These guitars (electrics with Piezos) are extremely useful for worship guitarists. In fact I used a Musicman JP6 for that purpose. Through a PA it's a very good, convincing sounding acoustic, since all acoustics are just plugged into the PA anyway. I may need to add one of these to my collection :)
Thanks for this. From what you said I would prefer one output solely for the piezo with the other solely for electric.
I agree you. I have this beaty too.
Most time I dont use the Piezo. And if I use it, I play with two amps. And so I add the piezo tone to a crunch tone. A E guitar amp for the magnetic tone and a accoustic amp for the piezo. Is like playing with two guitars, and it makes a full sound. Works verry well at old CCR stuff.
One the magnatic out I use a volume pedal. So I can get overdriven verry fast.
Thank you!
I think another potential buyer is for folks that want a more ergonmic alternative to a Jazzbox but want more versatility than a 335 clone. The added piezo seems to immitate enough of the acoustic response of an archtop especially when bended with the magnetic pickups but is far more compact and has way better upper fret access. And the guitar can still manage high gain tones. Just listen to any of the old incubus albums with the giant mccarty archtops Mike was using back then
I think the best solution would be to put a toggle switch in the guitar instead of the acoustic knob.
Enjoyed your review. I've got this guitar and what I've come to especially love about it's tone is when I blend just a tad of the piezo in with the mag pickups. Although the mag pups are very articulate for hummers, mixing in a small amount of the piezo adds some top end shimmer that is missing otherwise. With the outputs blended, it almost sounds like fat singles without the hum. One might say the tone becomes three, rather than two dimensional when pickups are mixed together (into my Quilter).
Great video, Jeremy! Also love this finish the most.
This is awesome! I play open d a lot, so hearing the guitar in that tuning really helped me make a decision.
Acoustic Amps - 20 years ago on my first foray into trying to learn guitar I bought a Marshall AS50D 2-channel - and now on my second foray into learning I dug it out and with my Piezo I can plug into both channels -using the Vox MV50 for the electric side of it. Loving it!
Compact, nano-sized pedals are so readily available now that my Acoustic/Electric board has been using two tuner pedals for a while now.... Not that I need to tune acoustic and electric separately, but so I can A/B/Both and also easily tune using either signal chain regardless of Acoustic or Electric signal turned up. Basically only touch the piezo volume knob when blending both... like it sounds great when the electric has 80's chorus and reverb while the acoustic chain is tighter. ☮❤🎶
The guitar your playing is a SE HB I not HB II and we’re this guitar really shines is when you have a need to switch between acoustic and electric quickly or need to fill in the sound as a single guitar. It pairs beautifully with something like a helix and having a patch that uses 2 signal paths (one for acoustic and one for the magnetic pickups) and with the click of a button you go from full acoustic sound to full electric or a mix of both. I have the HB II and I use it mostly for contemporary worship at church and the ability to finger pick acoustic sound then go to lead in seconds is amazing.
That's not correct it's a Hollowbody Standard, Hollowbody 1 is no longer in production. The standards have all mahogany bodies which the other hollowbodys do not.
This was important to me. This guitar has been on my short SHORT List for a while. Thanks!
It sounds good, how would you use it?
Never found a PRS that felt and sounded 'right' to my hands and ear. Same with Taylor for that matter. They are beautiful, just not my thing. Mostly play acoustic with pickups, either factory or aftermarket. Learned on that, came to electric only recently. Quite different beasts, I don't see a good way to mix them in one tool. They live in different places in my head.
As to amps for acoustic, I use a Fender modeler Mustang GTX 50 for everything pretty much.. I just built a couple of presets for my acoustics with a bit of compression, delay and reverb mostly. 1 preset with a flanger, rarely used. I get great tones and feel no need for a specialized amp for acoustic. If I want to play a small space with a mic. for voice I have a Roland Cube Street with mic and instrument channels. If I play through a PA I put a small multi-effects NuX MG100 pedal before the PA input and have those effects I use in a battery powered simple ( and cheap) box. Did I say simple? I like simple. I am a simple man.
Too many options messes up my head on stage. I want to focus on what I am presenting, not fiddle with stuff, but on the story I am telling and watching my audience response. I don't want the tools to get in the way. Martin guitar, pick, voice, story and an audience to tell it to. What more could one need?
Very fair and well thought out review. Thank you
Thanks, Anthony! I try.
Great demo. First time I’ve seen the acoustic/electric guitar. 😊
Extremely informative and great content! Thanks, Jeremy!
I want to buy this guitar. I am in three bands, with a mix of the same and different players. Sometimes all three play at the same place on the same night. One is a gypsy jazz/electroswing band, one is a Khruangbin/Glass Beams type band, and one is a funk/jazz fusion band. So I need acoustic manouche sounds, jazzy hollow body sounds, quacky funk sounds, and heavy distorted lead sounds. It would be nice, when taking the train to a gig to pack only one guitar. I am hopeful that this will fit the bill.
Hey if you still have that PRS with the piezo, Try the acoustic pickup through the tone master. Volume on tone master 3.5/4 - treble 6ish and bass 3/3.5. Add some reverb and a touch of delay. You will be amazed. I’ve never heard any plugged in acoustic guitar sound as good.
I use a Runt 50 and then a Bose S1 monitor for the acoustic output, sounds great and does not overload the input
Jeremy,
Mahalo for all pros and cons… I have the Parker Fly Deluxe 1995 ? With an piezo and it is great! I understand the switching pickups can be a problem and I agree with your great assement…. 🤙🏽 Iʻll stick to my Parker Fly🤙🏽
I wonder if you could add a mini toggle to switch b/t the piezo and the mag pick ups?
I feel like the switching is so bad for a guitar thats meant to be played live when you often need to switch instantly.
Im in a cover band and work a lot and right now im using a Variax JTV 59 into a Fractal floorboard. The variax guitars are great for my job but they are VERY heavy and L6 doesnt make them anymore and batteries are probably going to be an issue in the future as well as parts so Im thinking about the future and what I will do.
This can cover a lot of the ground the variax does but probably not quite as well as far as the acoustic sound and I will have to get some drop tuning pedal as well.
I just got mine a week ago and have to say you completely missed one important individual who this guitar is for.
The recording artist.
In studio recording I don't care about quick changes and getting close.
This guitar provides great flexibility in the recording and sound creation process.
The piezo pickup may not sound like a pure acoustic, but I like the tone a lot.
As you said though, a tone control would really help.
the piezo output is not really meant to run thru an electric guitar amp...moreso for running thru an acoustic preamp straight to pa system...it also helps if you run a tc electronic body rez peal after the preamp as well
Or have a Boss Katana Artist II that has an accoustic channel
Not sure why you have the ABY if you plug into both outputs it sends mag to the one labeled mag and takes it out of the mix output. The volume knobs become dedicated to their own output.
i would use it as firewood
If I was playing out out at bar gigs regularly I'd probably run one of these with each output to a separate amp and tuners on each line to mute and switch quickly
Great guitar for jazz and fusion
IMO this guitar is for an electric player who occasionally needs an acoutic tone (e.g. playing a cover that has an acoustic strum and then an electric lead in the same song) likely in a bar gig type situation. I would really be interested comparing the PRS' acoustic tone to playing an electric with an acoustic simulator pedal. That latter option seems like the viable alternative for that type of player.
Exactly. It's a party trick but it's such a powerful electric guitar
DR (ZR?) Strings makes a hybrid bronze/nickel wound string for just such an occasion.
Oooo....I'll try them out. Thanks!
So you didn't even notice that you can get blended tones from this guitar that you can't get with any other guitar? The unique tones alone could be the reason for buying this guitar. That and it weighs half of what a Les Paul weighs.
I noticed but don't like those tones in particular. They're brittle and fizzy
@Jeremy Sheppard I guess you should have tried a Core. I don’t get brittle or fizzy. I get sparkling and colorful. I also don't have any problem switching the Piezo on or off, or adjusting the mix while playing.
Rick Mitaritonda from the band Goose uses (d) a PRS Hollowbody 2 Piezo Core model and so does Daniel Serriff . Billy Strings .etc….They sound incredible through their rigs .
I have heard that is the model to own if you are into PRS guitars .
These SEs’ seem so similar, and with the ability to change out the pickups it would seem the SE model would really get you there.
@@pauljcat1 Some reviewers prefer the SE for it's snappier sound. I wanted an American made PRS and I can afford it. I like running the piezo through an accoustic amp and the humbuckers through a high gain amp, add some effects and wow!
Tom Anderson also offers dog hair finishes.
exactly my kind of beautifully Stealthy Guitar
Researching this guitar again, I came across your video again. And had to stop right at the very beginning this time. It is NOT the SE Hollowbody II. It is the SE Standard. For someone that is making a sponsored video for PRS, you could have, at least, gotten that right. It does sound like an acoustic thru an interface.
It is not the guitar clipping. it is your EQ settings you use way to much bass in all your guitar tones. Asfar as who would buy it, if you want acoustic sounds you will have a separate amplification method.
I likely use too much bass but it was clipping for sure. There's a trim pot inside that turns down the piezo gain.
I wonder if the piezo is so hot because you upped the string gauge
Your voice sounds a bit strained. You might consider seeing someone about it if it persists.
I was fighting a head cold. It lingered for two weeks. Especially a bummer when talking is most of my gig.
@@JeremySheppard Glad to hear it’s not the norm and that it cleared. It sounded pretty gnarly
I need one!
Great guitar.......I want one!!
We have a Schecter C-1 E/A that also has the piezo pickup and it is an awesome guitar but that piezo pick up system sounds like it does in an acoustic, bad .. But the rest of the guitar is great. Wow does it sound good through a tube amp.
I can still highly recommend it just don't use the piezo unless you really like it... To each his own I guess.
But yes, the ability to sound like an acoustic is a gimmick and not worth it.
“I NEED a guitar to do both!” Precise GAS therapy, telling what you already know but didn’t want to admit :,
😂
Having watched a similar review on this guitar I wondered if I could save money by checking one of my rarely used hollow body guitars, an old Tokai made in Japan. Did myself a favour and I won't be buying this particular PRS ,much as like it. The tones on the Tokai blow it out of the water. Far more resonant and I can get acoustic tones by messing with the treble knob.
Just so you know, this guitar is a hollowbody standard. Not the hollowbody ii.
Thanks! Too many words for these guitars. Fixed the thumbnail and added a dog.
It's a heck of a lot prettier than an acoustasonic
That’s true!
With two separate circuits off the AB switch to two separate amps was it really that hard to have this set up in advance with appropriate gain structure? Maybe spend some more time with it before you shoot the video to make sure you really understand what you can do with it?
I spent a month monkeying with this. The second output still combines acoustic and electric pickups. It'd be way more helpful to have just a piezo output.
This is confusing. The description for the black model on their website says very clearly that the magnetic pick ups go out one output, and the Piezo is on a separate output. Is that wrong?
The hollowbody ii piezo model indicates a blend for the piezo output.
@@JeremySheppard I went over the info on the PRS site and watched all the demo videos. I think the one you would like most is the core model which does allow the total separation of Piezo versus magnetic pick ups.
Did you mean full hollow, or semi hollow?
Full. I misspoke
@@JeremySheppard you said full. I’m just confused. Is there a center block or something else under the bridge?
Either way, nice video!
D'Angelico has a dog hair finish too.
That makes sense. Cort also makes d'angelico
Thats an all around guitar. Like a Gibson 335 or 345....but with a piezo. No they arent really an acoustic. They are more of a resonator than acoustic.
Sounds like you have a lot of fizz coming out
Many of your negatives are easily remedied with a Helix.
That's good to know. I need to spend more time with the Helix
Very interesting guitar. I definitely think the finish is amazing, and looks fantastic. I've played around on some builds of mine using a piezo on an electric. It's fun, but it never completely sounds acoustic. On top of that, they generally don't play the same, and don't play especially acoustic. I agree that this one is an electric first guitar. I've played, but never owned an acoustasonic, and in concept I like the idea. But either way, you're giving up something to be the "swiss army knife" of guitars.
Overall, this one is a fun guitar. Not sure I'd spend the money on it, but it's still nice.
...but, I like party tricks.
Me too. I can rainbow kick a soccer ball...
This entire review and no blended demo…
I've heard that observation a few times and I still don't understand it, the blended tones sounded terrible to me and I chose to not use them. I think I used this much more like two separate guitars in one rather than one guitar that can blur the lines between acoustic and electric.
A piezo into a tube amp still sounds pretty shrill to me.
I like it. Hey PRS, I'm just a poor boy, can I have one for free LOL
Hahahahaha Gerry Leonard must be wrong all this years.
I wonder if the piezo is so hot because you upped the string gauge
That's an interesting thought. It was just as hot before changing gauges.