My thoughts on PRS SE

[Der Oberherr]

Ok, so this is basically something I want to hear people's experience of.

I went guitar shopping with a friend yesterday (he wants to start playing bass, and I am always up for guitar store browsing!) and while taking a break from the basses to think I stumbled upon one of the sandblasted swamp ash PRS SEs. A few artists I like (namely Black stone cherry and alter bridge) seem to swear by PRS. I've never played one so thought I'd give it a go. Here are my thoughts:



Good bits:
- It felt like a quality instrument. Can't really describe that feeling but I'm sure you know what I'm getting at. It felt like somebody had put time into making it good.
- The weight. Lighter than I was expecting.
- The action was low. I felt like I could play fast on this thing, and I'm a rubbish guitar player.

Not so good bits:
- Not used to the shape. Personal issue, but it just felt bulbous to me, like a friends red special. It was not that comfortable to me.
- Scale length. Again, most of what I play is 25.5", I can play 24.75" quite happily, and 24" as well. Basses are easy too. But the 25" was just weird, My fingers naturally went too far apart, and then adjusted too close together. Time could probably heal this, but at the time it just felt wrong.
- The neck in general. The wide thin shape was more pronounced than I thought. Up at the top frets it felt ridiculously thin, like playing a wide matchstick, or a TV remote. I like wide necks, but thhey need something to support them, the neck felt absolutely atrocious in my hands.

Sorry that got a bit rambly. Also, it was so rammed in that shop that I didn't plug it in, so can't say anything about the pickups, but the feel was just off so I wasn't going out of my way to try it further.
Anybody else had experience with stuff like this? I'd love to know.

 

[ehdwuld]

Re: My thoughts on PRS SE

Yeah the only thing that stops me from playing a PRS is the wide thin neck

It's just what it says it is

 

[jmh151]

Re: My thoughts on PRS SE

Yeah the only thing that stops me from playing a PRS is the wide thin neck

It's just what it says it is

They also have the wide fat, and the Pattern regular which is a narrower neck

 

[JB_From_Hell]

Re: My thoughts on PRS SE

- Scale length. Again, most of what I play is 25.5", I can play 24.75" quite happily, and 24" as well. Basses are easy too. But the 25" was just weird, My fingers naturally went too far apart, and then adjusted too close together. Time could probably heal this, but at the time it just felt wrong.

I really wonder how much of this is from being overly informed.

There's a 1/2" difference in a Fender and PRS scale length. This comes out to one-FIFTIETH of an inch per fret. That's the thickness of a red Tortex pick. If you could see where your fingers landed whenever you were playing normally, there's going to be far more variation than that regardless of the scale.

Even going from a Strat to a Jaguar or Mustang is gonna be 1.5mm difference per fret. Considering most people aren't going for 9 or 10 fret stretches at a time, it really shouldn't amount to night and day differences unless you can feel that pea under the mattress.

 

[Masta' C]

Re: My thoughts on PRS SE

Agreed. Missing the frets is less a scale length issue than a matter of where the neck is positioned in space relative to your body. This changes with shape and construction type, as well as whether you're sitting down vs the guitar is hanging on a strap.

I usually stand when I play and when I moved from playing Flying V style guitars, which kept the neck slanted in a more "classical" position and also set far to the left side of my body, to Strat-style guitars, which moved the neck flatter and more to the right side (relatively speaking), it took a while before I was adjusted. Wrist angles and other things changed quite a bit. At first I was missing frets all the time, now not so much. You get used to the tool after a while

Still, that sandblasted finish gives me G.A.S. I see Jackson is doing the same this year, as well! If PRS did the black and neon green finish, I'd have a heart attack

EDIT: Spoke too soon...

 

[Der Oberherr]

Re: My thoughts on PRS SE

I really wonder how much of this is from being overly informed.

You make an interesting point, I may have been quick to blame scale, as it was one thing I knew was different to everything else I've played, so possibly I jumped to conclusions. I suppose I was trying to compare chalk and cheese really, as the PRS was something far removed from my home turf, so to speak.

Maybe I should try one with a wide fat neck, might work a bit better for me.

 

[Mincer]

Re: My thoughts on PRS SE

I love the color, and the satin finish although I am not sure about the green! I also love that it is light. Too many PRSs are on the heavy side for me. I don't think I'd like the 24 frets, though.

 

[eclecticsynergy]

Re: My thoughts on PRS SE

Agreed. Missing the frets is less a scale length issue than a matter of where the neck is positioned in space relative to your body. This changes with shape and construction type, as well as whether you're sitting down vs the guitar is hanging on a strap.

I usually stand when I play and when I moved from playing Flying V style guitars, which kept the neck slanted in a more "classical" position and also set far to the left side of my body, to Strat-style guitars, which moved the neck flatter and more to the right side (relatively speaking), it took a while before I was adjusted. Wrist angles and other things changed quite a bit. At first I was missing frets all the time, now not so much. You get used to the tool after a while

▲ ▲ ▲ This. For me it's kind of a readjustment switching between Strats and Teles - a Telecaster wants to hang differently and it makes the neck feel longer.

 

[ehdwuld]

Re: My thoughts on PRS SE

The pattern regular is one sixteenth narrower at the nut

Hardly Ibanez skinny

 

[Lucius Paisley]

Re: My thoughts on PRS SE

Yeah the only thing that stops me from playing a PRS is the wide thin neck

What stops me from playing a PRS?

 

[64 Tele]

Re: My thoughts on PRS SE

I've got three PRS SE's (Custom 24, Custom 22 semi hollow and 245), with the Custom 24 being my first/favorite.
I've replaced the stock pickups on the 24 and 22 with SD Seth Lovers which was a huge improvement.
The Custom 24 has the wide/thin, which initially, I did not care for. After playing it more, it's near the top of my
neck size/shape favorites. I've since bought a Core (American) Custom 24 that also has the wide/thin and it's also either my favorite or near the top.
The SE's are a great bargain (I got all three of mine barely used for a great price) even with a pickup swap.
I'd feel comfortable playing live/recording with any of them.
The Custom 24's seem to hang like a Strat with Tele like controls, have a trem that works great. The 24's seem a little less compact (for lack of a better word) than then 22's.
Proportionately, the 24's seem to fit me better. The neck pickup position (a little closer to bridge) seems to brighten them up somewhat.
I've had Gibson's previously (SG Melody Maker, ES335, vintage LP Jr, '55 LP Special RI) and currently have a Gibson SG Standard. I prefer the way the PRS guitars look, feel, play and sound to Gibsons currently.
My two cents.

 

[GuitarDoc]

Re: My thoughts on PRS SE

I've got three PRS SE's (Custom 24, Custom 22 semi hollow and 245), with the Custom 24 being my first/favorite.
I've replaced the stock pickups on the 24 and 22 with SD Seth Lovers which was a huge improvement.
The Custom 24 has the wide/thin, which initially, I did not care for. After playing it more, it's near the top of my
neck size/shape favorites. I've since bought a Core (American) Custom 24 that also has the wide/thin and it's also either my favorite or near the top.
The SE's are a great bargain (I got all three of mine barely used for a great price) even with a pickup swap.
I'd feel comfortable playing live/recording with any of them.
The Custom 24's seem to hang like a Strat with Tele like controls, have a trem that works great. The 24's seem a little less compact (for lack of a better word) than then 22's.
Proportionately, the 24's seem to fit me better. The neck pickup position (a little closer to bridge) seems to brighten them up somewhat.
I've had Gibson's previously (SG Melody Maker, ES335, vintage LP Jr, '55 LP Special RI) and currently have a Gibson SG Standard. I prefer the way the PRS guitars look, feel, play and sound to Gibsons currently.
My two cents.

That was more like 6 cents.

 

[64 Tele]

Re: My thoughts on PRS SE

Inflation.....:joke:

 

[tstone2]

Re: My thoughts on PRS SE

I just recently picked up an S2 Single cut Satin. I was really surprised a half inch in scale length would matter (I play mainly Strats and Strat-Esq scale length). I love the guitar but I did have some overstretch issues when first starting out on it. Now I tend to rip on it a bit before cranking up to activate the scale length memory.

 

[Rex_Rocker]

Re: My thoughts on PRS SE

I wonder how PRS SE's are right now considering their production has been moved out of Korea. I'm not really liking them being produced by Cort, TBH, considering the whole scandal Cort went through a few years back.

I have a red Singlecut, and I used to have a Mike Mushok and a Korina Singlecut. The red SC and the MM are/were great after a few mods, the Korina SC was so-so. They all came with kinda crappy tuners and plastic nuts cut to take only 9's, but both are swappable. They had mediocre no-name pickups, which seems to be the norm with most SE's.

The one thing I'm not sold on with any of them is the wide fat neck. It's pretty round and fat. It's not that wide, though. It's around 43mm at the nut, which is pretty standard Gibson-y, I think. I'm into more contemporary-feeling necks. I can deal with the roundness and the thickness, but what really bothers me is the 10" fretboard radius. My SC sounds and looks great, so I can let it slip, but I definitely much prefer the neck profiles on my Ibanez and my LTD. By far. I have not tried the wide thin, but I'm pretty sure I'd dig it in a Torero or a Holcomb which come with flatter fretboards. Or maybe the thinness would let me look past the round Fender-y fretboard.

Overall, I thought the Korean SE's were solid mod platforms if you're into the feel of a PRS. Like I said, I'm dubious of the Indonesian-made current ones.

 

[JB_From_Hell]

Re: My thoughts on PRS SE

A few months ago, I sold almost all my guitars to buy bass gear. The only guitar I kept was a PRS SE Custom 24. It does whatever I need.

 

[chadd]

Re: My thoughts on PRS SE

I have an old SE One with a baseball bat for a neck. It really fits that old junior vibe to a T. New tuners and an Antiquity P90 made it gig or studio ready. Currently have a noiseless P90 in there now because some of the clubs here have awful power.

 

[Diego]

Re: My thoughts on PRS SE

Love 'em. I'd kill for a SE One, a Friedman signature model and a Custom 22.
Their pickups can be a bit uncharacteristic but they're solid instruments, very slick and buttery. I adjust to most neck shapes unless they're horrendous V shaped with vintage 7.25 inch radius. I hate that ****.

 

[BaritoneVitoND]

Re: My thoughts on PRS SE

I started playing PRS SE guitars probably 8 or 9 years ago and have been in love with them ever since. I started with the Mike Mushok baritone and now I'm using the SE 277 baritone. I also have a Clint Lowery signature SE. All these guitars have a wide fat neck, so I can't speak to how the wide thin necks are since I've never played that shape on a PRS before.

For me they are perfect. Super easy to play and they just feel "right" when I'm sitting down or standing up with them. I do prefer the plate style bridge that the baritone SE guitars have rather than the wrap around bridges on their other non-trem guitars.

 

[eclecticsynergy]

Re: My thoughts on PRS SE

I've loved PRS guitars since I got my first in 1987. I have a number of them now, but that first is still the one I turn to most often. One of my favorite axes ever.

I had a 30th Anniversary SE that was great at the price, no flaws in build quality except that the stock pickups were less than stellar. (Not a big fan of the HFS/VB set even on the core series guitars.)