Grateful Dead Music Forum

I have a PRS Special 22 Semi-Hollow that I purchased to Jerry rig in 1 of 3 ways.

Any insights on the 3 options I'm considering?

Option 1: Simply change tone pot to a push-pull pot that will isolate the middle Narrowfield pickup when engaged. No other changes to the guitar. (Alternative would be to change position 3 on 5-way to isolated middle and add push/pull pot for Neck/Bridge on)

Option2: PRS Super Eagle spec w/TheToneGeek.com “PseudoEagle” clone of the JCF preamp. EQ switch. (I'm unsure if I will be able to, or even want to split the Narrowfield coils on my current middle pickup like the custom NF in Mayer's SuperEagles.)

Option3: Full Jerry OBEL/Blaster/coil splits, replace middle Narrowfield pickup with a full humbucker, but would be doing all 3 pickups as PRS pickups, rather than Dimarzios to stay with the PRS vibe.

Though I got this guitar to mod, I ended up liking it's current tones more than I thought I would. I'm really hoping to not remove it's current capabilities... such as the flipped neck pickup that when selected with bridge pickup in middle position, is a unique and excellent tone that is usually not something I would care about, but it's great on this guitar. (So I can't just change wiring to position 3 as isolated middle pickup.

Factory configuration for Special 22 Semi-Hollow controls:
1. BridgeHB (can split or not)
2. BridgeHB-MiddleNF (can split bridge hb or not)
3. BridgeHB-NeckHB (can split either or neither)
4. MiddleNF-NeckHB (can split neck hb or not)
5. NeckHB (can split or not)

JBLephant wrote: ↑Sun Mar 16, 2025 3:22 pm I have a PRS Special 22 Semi-Hollow that I purchased to Jerry rig in 1 of 3 ways.

Any insights on the 3 options I'm considering?

Option 1: Simply change tone pot to a push-pull pot that will isolate the middle Narrowfield pickup when engaged. No other changes to the guitar. (Alternative would be to change position 3 on 5-way to isolated middle and add push/pull pot for Neck/Bridge on)

Option2: PRS Super Eagle spec w/TheToneGeek.com “PseudoEagle” clone of the JCF preamp. EQ switch. (I'm unsure if I will be able to, or even want to split the Narrowfield coils on my current middle pickup like the custom NF in Mayer's SuperEagles.)

Option3: Full Jerry OBEL/Blaster/coil splits, replace middle Narrowfield pickup with a full humbucker, but would be doing all 3 pickups as PRS pickups, rather than Dimarzios to stay with the PRS vibe.

Though I got this guitar to mod, I ended up liking it's current tones more than I thought I would. I'm really hoping to not remove it's current capabilities... such as the flipped neck pickup that when selected with bridge pickup in middle position, is a unique and excellent tone that is usually not something I would care about, but it's great on this guitar. (So I can't just change wiring to position 3 as isolated middle pickup.

Factory configuration for Special 22 Semi-Hollow controls:
1. BridgeHB (can split or not)
2. BridgeHB-MiddleNF (can split bridge hb or not)
3. BridgeHB-NeckHB (can split either or neither)
4. MiddleNF-NeckHB (can split neck hb or not)
5. NeckHB (can split or not)

Option 1 is a no-brainer. I don't know why they don't come like this from the factory. It's reversible, and even people who aren't Dead/JM people want this.

For Options 2/3, you really just need to think about whether you want to put a decent chunk of money into an already pricey guitar. You'd never recoup the money in general, and you're also looking at a very niche market if you do try to sell. Option 2 isn't nearly as drastic as Option 3, which I personally would not do.

ssmug wrote: ↑Mon Mar 17, 2025 8:08 am

JBLephant wrote: ↑Sun Mar 16, 2025 3:22 pm I have a PRS Special 22 Semi-Hollow that I purchased to Jerry rig in 1 of 3 ways.

Any insights on the 3 options I'm considering?

Option 1: Simply change tone pot to a push-pull pot that will isolate the middle Narrowfield pickup when engaged. No other changes to the guitar. (Alternative would be to change position 3 on 5-way to isolated middle and add push/pull pot for Neck/Bridge on)

Option2: PRS Super Eagle spec w/TheToneGeek.com “PseudoEagle” clone of the JCF preamp. EQ switch. (I'm unsure if I will be able to, or even want to split the Narrowfield coils on my current middle pickup like the custom NF in Mayer's SuperEagles.)

Option3: Full Jerry OBEL/Blaster/coil splits, replace middle Narrowfield pickup with a full humbucker, but would be doing all 3 pickups as PRS pickups, rather than Dimarzios to stay with the PRS vibe.

Though I got this guitar to mod, I ended up liking it's current tones more than I thought I would. I'm really hoping to not remove it's current capabilities... such as the flipped neck pickup that when selected with bridge pickup in middle position, is a unique and excellent tone that is usually not something I would care about, but it's great on this guitar. (So I can't just change wiring to position 3 as isolated middle pickup.

Factory configuration for Special 22 Semi-Hollow controls:
1. BridgeHB (can split or not)
2. BridgeHB-MiddleNF (can split bridge hb or not)
3. BridgeHB-NeckHB (can split either or neither)
4. MiddleNF-NeckHB (can split neck hb or not)
5. NeckHB (can split or not)

Option 1 is a no-brainer. I don't know why they don't come like this from the factory. It's reversible, and even people who aren't Dead/JM people want this.

For Options 2/3, you really just need to think about whether you want to put a decent chunk of money into an already pricey guitar. You'd never recoup the money in general, and you're also looking at a very niche market if you do try to sell. Option 2 isn't nearly as drastic as Option 3, which I personally would not do.

I think you're right. I'm going to at least start with option 1 and see if I want to take it any further.

As a general rule of thumb in all experimentation, change one variable at a time.

My thought is that the need for an OBEL is limited to those who don’t want to use a volume pedal these days. Jerry didn’t have a lot of the options we have today, so he and the crew came up with some inventive solutions, but today we have choices.

Instead of an OBEL, and the associated cable needs, I would suggest running from the guitar to the effects and then into a good active volume pedal like the lehle mono s. Even better if there is a buffer in or near the guitar to help drive the effects, but you can also get this by using a wireless system.

In other words, you can do the same thing without the dual cables and heavier modifications to the guitar which than makes it more portable to any guitar. The tradeoff is you change volume with your foot and not the on guitar control. You can even put the entire thing in a loop using a pedal to engage or bypass the “not OBEL” effects.

So short answer, I would remove option 3 and stick to option 1.