I love my Swamp Ash se, it’s perfect for what I use it for. I’m in a variety cover band and it covers all the tones I need. The playability is amazing.
I own a 2003/2004 SAS. The pull configuration is: split bridge, split-bridge with middle, split-bridge-middle-neck (neck is full humbucker). I like the "all three pickups" the best, while the split-bridge gives me that super-Mark-Knoppfler-dire-straits-twang on a solid state amp (non-modeling solid state amp). I featured my SAS for a full year's worth of instrumental material (my playlists on my channel are organized by year).
@@TomButwin Hi, The neck cannot be split. My SAS is circa 2003/2004 (it was started in 2003, but it was finished in 2004). The neck has a bit of a LP vibe (warm), while the bridge is CU24/CU22 in vibe (brash/metal). On my playlist (about a year of material for this one guitar), I tried to feature all the pickup positions on actual instrumental pieces, including the humbucker sounds. This is one of those "employee" guitars (it has a private stock body and figured rock maple neck, and it's done up in turquoise with gold appointments and the birds were hand-selected).
Hey Tom, it turns out that from 1996-2009 that they 'core' line had the Swamp Ash Special. They also had a 25th Anniversary Swamp Ash Special with 3 Narrowfield pickups and a 5 blade switch, almost mimicking the earliest strats with modern wiring and hum-cancelling pickups.
Yes! That intro perfectly encapsulates what makes this guitar special for me. The neck pickup on this guitar sounds amazing, like a strat neck pickup on steroids. My complaints about this guitar: the pull pot positions sound thin to me, currently looking at replacing the middle pickup with something a little more oomph. I do like the neck overall, I love my Silver Sky neck and I’m not crazy about the pattern thin on my Core, this seems to be in the middle, but this guitar desperately needed the edges to be rolled. Not a deal breaker but as with any SE it needs a little TLC to get it up to par with a Core.
Thanks for watching! Appreciate it so much. There’s definitely a drop in output with the split engaged, but it’s not too terrible. A compressor on the board (or in the box) can help and I can’t see myself switching mid-song very often, but I’m sure the occasion would pop up. As far as the next, the edges were definitely a harder angle, but I thought it was still really comfortable, even compared to some other SEs I’ve played. Like you said, a couple small adjustments and these guitars punch way above their weight class!
Would love to see a core swamp ash special. I have the 25th anniversary SAS with narrowfields as well as a 2012 Swamp Ash Studio with 57/08 and narrowfields.
Great playing Tom! Really cool guitar, I tried one recently and it felt awesome. I haven't gotten to plug one in yet, but they seem dope! In all honesty it isn't quite my thing, but I'm glad you're posting this demo since I couldn't get a great read on exactly how this thing sounded!
It definitely wasn’t my thing either, at first, but after I sat with it for a long time and used it on a couple projects, I actually really started to dig it. Appreciate you watching, man! Congrats on the McCarty. Looks so cool and can’t wait to hear more from it.
@@TomButwin Thanks Tom! It's such a killer guitar, it just needs a new wiring harness and it'll be perfect! As for the Swamp Ash it seems super dope, I just have to wrap my head around it still I think!
@@TomButwin Yeah they're like 1,500-1,600 so the price is literally the only reason I haven't gotten one😆 I found some used yamahas and schecters for 500 which have the separate piezo output but they would be my last choice, I would basically use them for the piezo only, so it's not worth it to me. I'd rather have a guitar that has a good electric guitar side to it too like a PRS. It crushed my soul when Epiphone discontinued the first LP Alex Lifeson model so quickly. It had a piezo in the floyd rose and an LP style body. Amazing combo. I'd like to see something similar from PRS like a Mcarty 594 singlecut body with some kind of piezo-loaded floyd rose for around 1000.
They used to make a Swamp Ash Special in core, and it had the HSH configuration, but I am not sure if the switching did the exact same pickup selections that one does. If that guitar was a 24 fret guitar, I'd probably already have one. Way cool, though...thanks for doing this video, and hope you and yours are well...
Appreciate you watching! I knew they had one in the lineup like 20 or so years ago, but wasn’t sure of all of the specs either. Either way, this one was super fun once I learned to appreciate it!
Greg video friend. Imagine when these PRS Ash Guitars become Vintage! OMG! They have the tones of All your Best guitars out there! I have One, yet do not play it outside in my Studio...Way too cold. But my USA Deluxe Strat is my Workhorse! Can't wait until I can start making Videos. I'm going to Exploit every tone this sweet heart of a guitar has... Keep an Ear out! Jam On!
Hey Tom!! I have looked at these and put the turquoise one in my cart twice and removed it cause I just couldnt get a clear take on it, for me anyways. As usual, you nailed it Brudda!!! I decided not to get one but wanted you to know what a great vid ya did! LOL Cheers to you and yours in 24 Tom. Thanks for always going that bit extra on your delivery and just solid fun conversation. Im not a stalker. LOL!!!! I do love the show. Thanks Tom! ...and I have no idea what this "wouldn't" work on, actually. It seems to cover the gambit short of guitarist preferences of course. Cool axe either way.
I know that feeling with a guitar! For sure. Appreciate you watching, as always. The SAS is definitely versatile and I think works awesome for single coil loving players who want some more options.
@@TomButwin black gold, 5 way blade plus 2 mini toggles. Plenty of tones. Truly “Special”. New ones maybe even better with TCI pups and maybe in McCarty sunburst! The SE SAS special is nice for the price! Funny wiring but can be redone many different ways 👍
What type of music do you think this guitar works best with? With the middle pickup and split switch, is it kind of like having a Les Paul and Strat in one guitar?
That’s a tough question! It’s super versatile, but also very unique. I think it’s kind of a fun way to get LP-ish tones, but with more Tele/country inspired possibilities. Chicken picking type country stuff comes to mind, but I think Silver Sky/Strat lovers will really like this as a guitar that gives you humbuckers, but still with some “air” and “quack” options.
My uncle has an old Swamp Ash Special from the 90s that I love to play when I hang with him and his family. This sounds exactly like it. Sunburst for me and maybe add some nickel pickup covers.
Amazing. This was a really dynamic guitar. I should have been more specific that they don’t have a Core version “currently” in production lol. Agree on the sunburst and pickup covers!
This sounds amazing, very cool guitar for under a grand. I'm not a huge fan of the heel; my CE24 USA has a heel that more closely resembles the set-neck PRS instruments where the body is a single swoop across the back. The USA SAS is the same from what I can tell. This is a puzzling design choice. Wouldn't stop me from playing it, but I like it a little less.
The heel didn’t bother me and actually grew to like it. To be honest, had they not mentioned it in the PRS video, I probably wouldn’t have even noticed!
I mean, I’m closer to someone who booked an outing at Painting With A Twist than Michelangelo, but thank you. So, it’s a Fender 65 Deluxe Reverb Reissue with a Universal Audio OxBox. I think the drive pedal was a Fulldrive 2.
I’ve resisted PRS for years , but I just looked at the PRS website and this thing jumped out at me , a les Paul and a tele plus a strat;, has to be something
Come over to the “dark” side lol. (Affiliate links in the description) You won’t regret it! Seriously, though. I found this guitar to be super versatile. Check one out if you can.
como se podría ecualizar en el ampli los bajos , medios y agudos para tener un sonido equilibrado como el de tu video me acabo de comprar esa misma guitarra pero siento que en la configuración de mi ampli no le saco el sonido que realmente tiene podrías ayudarme porfavor
I borrowed it from my friends at Zzounds! The video wasn’t sponsored by anyone and my thoughts are my own. Really genuinely enjoyed this guitar after I played it for a few weeks
Shop for the SAS & Support the Channel!
ZZounds: www.zzounds.com/a--3980673/item--PAUSESAS
Sweetwater: sweetwater.sjv.io/DKd3q5
I love my Swamp Ash se, it’s perfect for what I use it for. I’m in a variety cover band and it covers all the tones I need. The playability is amazing.
Perfect application for this guitar!
Same here! Have it a few months and i have to pick and play it everytime I see it. With my Boss Katana II just a very pleasant combo!
I own a 2003/2004 SAS. The pull configuration is: split bridge, split-bridge with middle, split-bridge-middle-neck (neck is full humbucker). I like the "all three pickups" the best, while the split-bridge gives me that super-Mark-Knoppfler-dire-straits-twang on a solid state amp (non-modeling solid state amp).
I featured my SAS for a full year's worth of instrumental material (my playlists on my channel are organized by year).
Ooo right on! So, the neck can’t be split at all, right?
@@TomButwin Hi, The neck cannot be split. My SAS is circa 2003/2004 (it was started in 2003, but it was finished in 2004). The neck has a bit of a LP vibe (warm), while the bridge is CU24/CU22 in vibe (brash/metal).
On my playlist (about a year of material for this one guitar), I tried to feature all the pickup positions on actual instrumental pieces, including the humbucker sounds. This is one of those "employee" guitars (it has a private stock body and figured rock maple neck, and it's done up in turquoise with gold appointments and the birds were hand-selected).
Hey Tom, it turns out that from 1996-2009 that they 'core' line had the Swamp Ash Special. They also had a 25th Anniversary Swamp Ash Special with 3 Narrowfield pickups and a 5 blade switch, almost mimicking the earliest strats with modern wiring and hum-cancelling pickups.
You’re spot on. I should have been more specific with they don’t have one in their *current* production lineup.
@@TomButwin All good dude! That line of guitars always crossed my mind when window shopping on reverb, it seems really versatile for jam band stuff!
@NewPraetorianBlues I think it’d work great for that type of stuff.
But even when they did produce the old swamp ash special it wasn’t an se so this is the first ever of this iteration of this guitar
@@michaelwillis2198 It is! I hope that means we may get a Core or S2 Swamp Ash Special soon, I love the flamed necks on the old ones!
Yes! That intro perfectly encapsulates what makes this guitar special for me. The neck pickup on this guitar sounds amazing, like a strat neck pickup on steroids. My complaints about this guitar: the pull pot positions sound thin to me, currently looking at replacing the middle pickup with something a little more oomph. I do like the neck overall, I love my Silver Sky neck and I’m not crazy about the pattern thin on my Core, this seems to be in the middle, but this guitar desperately needed the edges to be rolled. Not a deal breaker but as with any SE it needs a little TLC to get it up to par with a Core.
Thanks for watching! Appreciate it so much. There’s definitely a drop in output with the split engaged, but it’s not too terrible. A compressor on the board (or in the box) can help and I can’t see myself switching mid-song very often, but I’m sure the occasion would pop up.
As far as the next, the edges were definitely a harder angle, but I thought it was still really comfortable, even compared to some other SEs I’ve played. Like you said, a couple small adjustments and these guitars punch way above their weight class!
That's some crazy switching... Kinda put me off to be honest. Why not go with 5 way switch and coil taps?
It's a nice idea... Neck to single and middle direct... Not complicated but interesting. But yeah, I'd be missing my solo neck split for sure.
Leen gear has a video to change the wiring for the bridge pickup to switch to single coil
Huh?
Why is my reply here?
Old fender Teles were all Swamp Ash...
Hence, the tones! WOW!
Not really, the very early one's were pine, then swamp ash or ash.
Great tutorial video. I can’t wait for my guitar to arrived from Sweetwater. They are backed order.
Appreciate it! Not surprised they’re back ordered. Such a unique guitar at a good price point.
I want one... and I'll mod it with my Custom Switching configuration I've recently developed.
Great playing and great demo as always. Thanks!
Thank you! Had fun with this one.
I picked this up and played a gig Saturday night. We play 40-ish songs. We cover rock, pop and country. My back up guitar , CE24, never left the rack.
I’m not surprised! Both great guitars.
Would love to see a core swamp ash special. I have the 25th anniversary SAS with narrowfields as well as a 2012 Swamp Ash Studio with 57/08 and narrowfields.
Great playing Tom! Really cool guitar, I tried one recently and it felt awesome. I haven't gotten to plug one in yet, but they seem dope! In all honesty it isn't quite my thing, but I'm glad you're posting this demo since I couldn't get a great read on exactly how this thing sounded!
It definitely wasn’t my thing either, at first, but after I sat with it for a long time and used it on a couple projects, I actually really started to dig it. Appreciate you watching, man! Congrats on the McCarty. Looks so cool and can’t wait to hear more from it.
@@TomButwin Thanks Tom! It's such a killer guitar, it just needs a new wiring harness and it'll be perfect! As for the Swamp Ash it seems super dope, I just have to wrap my head around it still I think!
I'm waiting for the SE line to get an affordable option for a guitar with piezo bridge pickup with the extra input jack.
It’s not the most affordable, but they do have this, as I’m sure you know PRS SE Hollowbody II Piezo
ruclips.net/video/t881XC9Ynpw/видео.html
@@TomButwin Yeah they're like 1,500-1,600 so the price is literally the only reason I haven't gotten one😆 I found some used yamahas and schecters for 500 which have the separate piezo output but they would be my last choice, I would basically use them for the piezo only, so it's not worth it to me. I'd rather have a guitar that has a good electric guitar side to it too like a PRS. It crushed my soul when Epiphone discontinued the first LP Alex Lifeson model so quickly. It had a piezo in the floyd rose and an LP style body. Amazing combo. I'd like to see something similar from PRS like a Mcarty 594 singlecut body with some kind of piezo-loaded floyd rose for around 1000.
They used to make a Swamp Ash Special in core, and it had the HSH configuration, but I am not sure if the switching did the exact same pickup selections that one does. If that guitar was a 24 fret guitar, I'd probably already have one. Way cool, though...thanks for doing this video, and hope you and yours are well...
Appreciate you watching! I knew they had one in the lineup like 20 or so years ago, but wasn’t sure of all of the specs either. Either way, this one was super fun once I learned to appreciate it!
I cannot believe how nice the SE line has become. I almost want to sell my American PRS SC58 and trade it for like 3 SE models lol
I know! Seriously.
I love PRS guitars.. this is badazz
Greg video friend. Imagine when these PRS Ash Guitars become Vintage!
OMG! They have the tones of All your Best guitars out there!
I have One, yet do not play it outside in my Studio...Way too cold.
But my USA Deluxe Strat is my Workhorse! Can't wait until I can start making Videos.
I'm going to Exploit every tone this sweet heart of a guitar has...
Keep an Ear out! Jam On!
Rock on, Greg! Looking forward to the videos and tones. Thanks for commenting.
Hey Tom!! I have looked at these and put the turquoise one in my cart twice and removed it cause I just couldnt get a clear take on it, for me anyways. As usual, you nailed it Brudda!!! I decided not to get one but wanted you to know what a great vid ya did! LOL Cheers to you and yours in 24 Tom. Thanks for always going that bit extra on your delivery and just solid fun conversation. Im not a stalker. LOL!!!! I do love the show. Thanks Tom! ...and I have no idea what this "wouldn't" work on, actually. It seems to cover the gambit short of guitarist preferences of course. Cool axe either way.
I know that feeling with a guitar! For sure. Appreciate you watching, as always. The SAS is definitely versatile and I think works awesome for single coil loving players who want some more options.
I do have a core “special”. 2 hums and a narrowfield in the middle. Plus it’s a semi-hollow! Probably best guitar I own (60+)
Nice! Early 2000s?
@@TomButwin may 13, 2019
@@TomButwin black gold, 5 way blade plus 2 mini toggles. Plenty of tones. Truly “Special”. New ones maybe even better with TCI pups and maybe in McCarty sunburst! The SE SAS special is nice for the price! Funny wiring but can be redone many different ways 👍
So, basically with the push pull down it's a CE "22" because it has 22 frets instead of 24.
With the button up it becomes a HSS "strat".
I guess you could say that!
What type of music do you think this guitar works best with? With the middle pickup and split switch, is it kind of like having a Les Paul and Strat in one guitar?
That’s a tough question! It’s super versatile, but also very unique. I think it’s kind of a fun way to get LP-ish tones, but with more Tele/country inspired possibilities.
Chicken picking type country stuff comes to mind, but I think Silver Sky/Strat lovers will really like this as a guitar that gives you humbuckers, but still with some “air” and “quack” options.
The guitar is made as an alternative to the Strat
My uncle has an old Swamp Ash Special from the 90s that I love to play when I hang with him and his family. This sounds exactly like it. Sunburst for me and maybe add some nickel pickup covers.
Amazing. This was a really dynamic guitar. I should have been more specific that they don’t have a Core version “currently” in production lol. Agree on the sunburst and pickup covers!
I just got one in black, and I like it. The back of the bridge is touching the guitar, so my question is: is the bridge supposed to float?
Mine was setup with the bridge flush to the body as well. I'm sure you could remove a spring/reposition and get it to float, if you wanted it to.
PRS 10 also made with swamp ash
I love my blue one, but damn that's nice in black..
Do I need two ?
Honestly, yes. Collect them all😂
This sounds amazing, very cool guitar for under a grand. I'm not a huge fan of the heel; my CE24 USA has a heel that more closely resembles the set-neck PRS instruments where the body is a single swoop across the back. The USA SAS is the same from what I can tell. This is a puzzling design choice. Wouldn't stop me from playing it, but I like it a little less.
The heel didn’t bother me and actually grew to like it. To be honest, had they not mentioned it in the PRS video, I probably wouldn’t have even noticed!
I know this is like asking Michael Angelo what kind of brush he uses to paint, but I have to ask what amp you were using for this video… thanks
I mean, I’m closer to someone who booked an outing at Painting With A Twist than Michelangelo, but thank you. So, it’s a Fender 65 Deluxe Reverb Reissue with a Universal Audio OxBox. I think the drive pedal was a Fulldrive 2.
I’ve resisted PRS for years , but I just looked at the PRS website and this thing jumped out at me , a les Paul and a tele plus a strat;, has to be something
Come over to the “dark” side lol. (Affiliate links in the description) You won’t regret it! Seriously, though. I found this guitar to be super versatile. Check one out if you can.
como se podría ecualizar en el ampli los bajos , medios y agudos para tener un sonido equilibrado como el de tu video me acabo de comprar esa misma guitarra pero siento que en la configuración de mi ampli no le saco el sonido que realmente tiene podrías ayudarme porfavor
What type of amp do you have?
@@TomButwin fender twin rever 65
This guitar was made in the 1990's- 2000's in the core line
It sure was...but it's not currently!
Do you know it coil splits
❤❤❤
Did you buy this or get it sent to you
I borrowed it from my friends at Zzounds! The video wasn’t sponsored by anyone and my thoughts are my own. Really genuinely enjoyed this guitar after I played it for a few weeks
The switch wiring is confusing. I would rewire them like a normal strat with coil tap switch
It’s slightly confusing if you don’t look up the diagram first, but once you do, it makes more sense. P
These are Strats for Les Paul fans.
This actually kind of makes sense to me lol
I’d wire it like a Modern Eagle V.
That’d be sick!
So why didn’t you keep it?
It was on loan to me as a demo from my good friends at ZZounds!
I ordered one 3 months ago and I am thinking about canceling. Just bad business to sell something you haven’t made yet
Where’d you order from?
@@TomButwin sweetwater