New Sterling Silos vs. older Sterling Silos

[markd]

Hey everyone. I have a question about the quality of the new Sterlings vs. the older models. I bought a Silo 30 when they first came out, and while it was a decent guitar I had to make a lot of upgrades to get it on par with my mexi-strat. From reading through various threads it seems that you guys REALLY like the Sterling guitars. Aside from that first generation Silo, I haven't had the chance to play any new ones. What are the differences? I am thinking of getting a new Silo 30 to establish as my EBMM dropped D guitar....the new AL HH I ordered is too nice to be relegated to dropped D (1 song in the set)....

Thanks!!

 

[SBMM]

The Silo30 is now the Silo30D Model, and is factory loaded with the DiMarzio HSS - 1 DiMarzio virtual PAF; 2 DiMarzio custom single coil Silhouette pickups, same as what comes in the HSS EBMM Silhouette Special.
The major difference is that the Silo30D does not feature the exclusive patented Music Man "Silent Circuit" that comes on the EBMM Silhouette Special, and the fact that it's Made In Indonesia.
All in all, the Silo30D is a fantastic guitar for the money.

 

[markd]

Cool, thanks! That was the bummer on the Silo30 I had before was the cost of upgrading the pickups!!!

 

[mtrejo]

I own a first year production Silo20 hard tail and its a very solid player. Had one issue with the pickguard curling upward but Pat Park was kind enough to send me a replacement. Haven't had any other issues and don't feel a need to upgrade parts on it. It would be cool to have the dimarzios but the stock pickups sound pretty good to me.

As far as the differences in quality? Hmmm, I don't really know that any other parts were upgraded other than the pickups so I'd imagine it's probably similar to what you've already had.

 

[edhalen]

One other difference to note is the 30D's do NOT have the locking tuners that the original Silo30's had. I for one was very disappointed that they removed them.

 

[markd]

One other difference to note is the 30D's do NOT have the locking tuners that the original Silo30's had.

Ahhhh - good to know, thanks! None of my local shops EVER carry the Silo - on the Axis and JP - so I would NOT noticed that through a web purchase....

 

[ksandvik]

The old Sterling Silo had locking tuners (nice!) but not that good pickups. New one is the opposite. I would get the new one as DiMarzio pickups are really, really good.

 

[AgustinJP50]

Wow, that's a bummer... I love SBMM, but I really think they made a wrong move by ditching the locking tuners, you know the tremolo won't stay in tune as it should without them. At least they should've made it a hardtail, or charge a few bucks more and keep the locking tuners! I'm not asking for miracles, but don't sacrifice quality over price!

 

[ksandvik]

I'm not sure locking tuners contribute that much to stability with the exception of less wiring around the tuner which you could do with ordinary tuners, too. Locking tuners makes string changes much faster, though.

With proper techniques and lubing you could get most tremolo systems pretty stable. Not that the classic tremolos in EBMM USA made guitars are fantastic concerning tuning stability.

 

[AgustinJP50]

In my experience, they do make a big difference, precisely because you have less amount of string wrapped around the tuner post. You can do that with ordinary tuners, but that also reduces tuning stability, even on fixed bridge guitars.