NECK DEPTH 22.6mm at 1st fret, 24.9mm at 12th fret NECK WIDTH 43.7mm at nut, 53.3mm at 12th fret LR Baggs/PRS piezo system with dedicated volume control. HARDWARE PRS Adjustable Stoptail Piezo, PRS-designed nickel tunersĮLECTRONICS PRS 58/15 ‘S’ bridge and neck humbuckers, 3-way toggle pickup selector, volume and tone. For those considering the non-piezo version, the extra scope on offer here is worth every penny of the upcharge.ĭESCRIPTION 6-string double-cut hollowbody electric, made in ChinaīUILD Laminated maple top and back with flame veneers, laminated mahogany sides, Wide Fat mahogany set neck with 10”/254mm radius ebony fingerboard, 22 medium frets, bone nut For credible acoustic textures in a band mix, plus an array of sophisticated electric tones and inspiring new blends, this superbly made instrument would be a fine addition to any player’s arsenal. Unless you are blessed with a road crew, integrating an acoustic guitar alongside your regular electric rig can be a chore. The Hollowbody’s piezo tones are not going to replace anyone’s pre-war Martin, but that’s hardly the point. Blending in the piezo signal adds some percussive spank to our overdriven rhythm sound – it’s a trick Pete Townshend has been employing onstage for many years and it works superbly here too. Engaging a drive pedal, any suspicion that the airy construction might deliver an unfocused lead tone is quickly dispelled – there’s sustain and grit aplenty from the USA-designed, Indonesian-made 58/15 ‘S’ pickups. We send the magnetic output to a Suhr Badger. We dilute our pick attack slightly to compensate for the comparatively light string gauge, but the acoustic-style textures here prove percussive and dynamically rich with a pleasing absence of telltale piezo ‘quack’. It’s always a little unnerving to hear acoustic guitar sounds emanating from an electric guitar, and with just the piezo volume engaged, this strangeness is accentuated by the three-dimensional realism of the tones on offer. We choose to test its capabilities by sending the piezo output to our Axe-FX III using a multiband compressor, a sprinkling of reverb, and a few other effects to help ‘stereoise’ the sound. Most players drawn to a piezo-equipped guitar will be interested in its ability to provide a realistic-sounding acoustic guitar emulation. You can either plug into the mix/piezo socket and use the individual volumes to blend between electric and ‘acoustic’ sounds or plug into both jacks separately, running the signal from the magnetic pickups into a standard electric guitar amp and the piezo to a dedicated acoustic amp or into the PA. Twin output jacks and independent volume controls for the magnetic and piezo pickups can be configured in two different ways. PRS claims the Hollowbody II Piezo is the most versatile SE instrument to date, and with good reason. The headstock is subtly enlarged too, aping the dimensions of PRS SE acoustics. The Wide Fat neck carve possesses the girth reflective of its name, but is a very comfortable palmful. With a body thickness of 63.5mm, it’s 11.5mm deeper than the standard McCarty model but, despite the extra bulge, it retains the ergonomic comfort of its solidbody counterpart. Along with the newly designed LR Baggs/PRS piezo system, upgrades to the earlier SE Hollowbody II found on our review model include flame maple rather than plastic binding and fancier abalone inlays instead of pearloid birds. Unlike the routed solid-wood construction of the USA models, the slightly enlarged SE design features a bevelled laminated maple top and back with flame veneers, laminated mahogany sides, and a mahogany centre post under the bridge that couples the top and back. The considerably more accessible PRS SE Hollowbody II arrived in late 2019 and was joined in the ranks by this Piezo version in mid-2020. However, with pricing in excess of £4,000, it remains out of reach for many players and sits comfortably in the pro/boutique category. The PRS Hollowbody has been a staple of its USA Core range for over two decades and is much loved by fans of the brand.
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