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King Loudness « Great budget PRS »
Published on 08/31/11 at 10:59The PRS SE245 is basically an SE version (made overseas) of their ever popular SC245 model. Many of the specs are the same, but it doesn't have the price tag of the original model.
This particular guitar has a mahogany body with a flamed maple top, a mahogany neck with a rosewood fretboard and 22 frets, the trademark PRS bird inlays, classic PRS wraparound bridge/tailpiece, and a pair of PRS designed humbuckers. It also offers a 24.75 scale length to go that extra mile. It's loaded with the PRS SC245 control layout of two volume controls and two tone controls with a 3 way selector switch.
UTILIZATION
The design of this guitar is fairly ergonomic considering that it's a mahogany guitar built in the general style of the classic Gibson Les Paul. The guitar sits well on the body due due to its reasonable weight which is definitely a great thing for any players of this type of guitar. The neck heel is molded differently than a standard Gibson and to me I can attain greater upper fret access with this design. The singlecut shape isn't the greatest guitar for playing uber fast on, but the PRS doesn't make things difficult by any means - it's quite a treat to play.
Getting a good tone out of this guitar is pretty easy. Despite being an SE model PRS, it still sounds great. Picking it up and strumming it unplugged yields a very full and rich tone that is only bettered when the guitar is plugged into a good tube amplifier such as a Fender, Mesa Boogie or Dr. Z.
SOUNDS
I've tried this guitar through various different amplifiers and have been fairly impressed each time. The PRS designed pickups in this guitar are very nice and articulate, just the same as the pickups in the real SC245, and it definitely sounds wonderful for a whole host of styles. The clean sounds have a great complex sparkle that lends itself very well to clean tones using effects or to the heaviest of distorted tones a-la Porcupine Tree where clarity is of maximum importance. I've always liked the SE pickups and this guitar does not disappoint.
There is a great vintage snarl to this guitar, with a lot of killer harmonics lurking inside for distorted work. Heavy rhythms are just awesome with this guitar, and it sings for fusiony lead work too. Though the pickups seem vintage at first, they can certainly handle modern tones quite well too.
OVERALL OPINION
All in all I think the PRS SE245 is a great guitar that is an excellent version of the famed PRS singlecut for those on a budget or who are apprehensive about buying a PRS for $2,000. Though its made overseas, it still is an extremely high quality instrument and it has the cosmetics and tone that are close enough to a real PRS to maybe even fool someone. For the sub $1,000 price bracket that these sell for new, it's really a no brainer if you want to get a guitar that has the PRS vibe for not a lot of cash.
This particular guitar has a mahogany body with a flamed maple top, a mahogany neck with a rosewood fretboard and 22 frets, the trademark PRS bird inlays, classic PRS wraparound bridge/tailpiece, and a pair of PRS designed humbuckers. It also offers a 24.75 scale length to go that extra mile. It's loaded with the PRS SC245 control layout of two volume controls and two tone controls with a 3 way selector switch.
UTILIZATION
The design of this guitar is fairly ergonomic considering that it's a mahogany guitar built in the general style of the classic Gibson Les Paul. The guitar sits well on the body due due to its reasonable weight which is definitely a great thing for any players of this type of guitar. The neck heel is molded differently than a standard Gibson and to me I can attain greater upper fret access with this design. The singlecut shape isn't the greatest guitar for playing uber fast on, but the PRS doesn't make things difficult by any means - it's quite a treat to play.
Getting a good tone out of this guitar is pretty easy. Despite being an SE model PRS, it still sounds great. Picking it up and strumming it unplugged yields a very full and rich tone that is only bettered when the guitar is plugged into a good tube amplifier such as a Fender, Mesa Boogie or Dr. Z.
SOUNDS
I've tried this guitar through various different amplifiers and have been fairly impressed each time. The PRS designed pickups in this guitar are very nice and articulate, just the same as the pickups in the real SC245, and it definitely sounds wonderful for a whole host of styles. The clean sounds have a great complex sparkle that lends itself very well to clean tones using effects or to the heaviest of distorted tones a-la Porcupine Tree where clarity is of maximum importance. I've always liked the SE pickups and this guitar does not disappoint.
There is a great vintage snarl to this guitar, with a lot of killer harmonics lurking inside for distorted work. Heavy rhythms are just awesome with this guitar, and it sings for fusiony lead work too. Though the pickups seem vintage at first, they can certainly handle modern tones quite well too.
OVERALL OPINION
All in all I think the PRS SE245 is a great guitar that is an excellent version of the famed PRS singlecut for those on a budget or who are apprehensive about buying a PRS for $2,000. Though its made overseas, it still is an extremely high quality instrument and it has the cosmetics and tone that are close enough to a real PRS to maybe even fool someone. For the sub $1,000 price bracket that these sell for new, it's really a no brainer if you want to get a guitar that has the PRS vibe for not a lot of cash.