PRS SE Singlecut

The PRS SE line of guitars is PRS's group of foreign made guitars. They are made for younger players or players who dont have the money to buy a USA made PRS. These guitars are pretty much built to the same spec as the USA models just being made overseas the production costs are lower. This is the SE Singlecut model in their cool white finish. The PRS white seems whiter than other companies whites. Whenever I see a white finish on a guitar like this I instantly think of the Dave Navarro Signature PRS. It has a mahogany body with a maple top. The neck is a set mahogany neck with the PRS wide fat profile. It has 22 frets with the PRS bird inlays. The tuners are non locking and the bridge is PRS's wrap around design. You get two PRS humbuckers with a master volume and a master tone with a 3 way toggle. The hardware is chrome. I guess gold hardware would look too much like the Dave Navarro sig. This example had a set of Seymour Duncans swapped in for a better overall tone. The PRS pickups are good but you cant beat the quality of a specialized pickup maker.

UTILIZATION

The PRS SE line of guitars are real solid players. This model has the wide fat neck or Pattern normal neck as they are called now. They are not as fat and daunting as the name says. They are like your typical Gibson necks with these. The wider width and flatter radius makes them a bit easier to play than a typical Gibson would. PRS doesnt put locking tuners on their SE guitars which is a shame. They are one of the few companies that design their own and constantly improve their tuners. I am hoping one day they will put a form of locking tuners on their budget line of guitars.

SOUNDS

As I mentioned earlier this example had a set of Seymour Duncans in it. This is a pretty common swap if you want a better overall tone. The swap in this guitar was the JB in the bridge and the Jazz in the neck. The Jazz in the neck is a good pickup for modern lead playing. The Jazz is like a 59 but with a bit more high end bite to it for clarity. With the old 59 it has more of a vintage vibe but that means its more setup for lower gain situations. In higher gain situations the 59 can get a bit washed out. Thats why the Jazz exists to take a lot of the 59 feel and make it more ready for higher gain situations. The JB in the bridge is a classic bridge pickup. It has a good bit of midrange and midrange is what you want when you dont want to get lost in the mix. Everyone likes the JB and it cna do just about every style of music. If the JB isnt heavy enough for you then you might want to consider an active pickup.

OVERALL OPINION

The PRS Singlecut is a great Les Paul Alternative. Something like this is a great substitute for a Les Paul Studio or something similar to that. The quality on these guitars is well above their price on the market. While this is a newer model with a newer finish you can get older models in different finishes for about 400 dollars which is a great value. If you are looking for a singlecut Les Paul style guitar for the cheap the PRS SE Singlecuts are a good alternative.

PRS is a great modern guitar company that keeps on evolving their designs. Unlike the bigger companies they are not content with just putting out the same reissues every year and not adapting to new found technology and features. Their guitars are very modern in feel even if they still have traditional looks and sometimes tone. This is their singlecut model. Gibson tried to sue them to get them to stop making them because they are so good. This is the SE version which means that it is made overseas but still has all the great features of a USA made PRS. The design is pretty traditional. It has a mahogany body with a maple top. The flame top finish is a veneer over the real maple top piece. The neck is a set mahogany neck with the PRS wide fat profile. It has 22 frets with the PRS bird inlays. The tuners are non locking and the bridge is PRS's wrap around design. You get two PRS humbuckers with a master volume and a master tone with a 3 way toggle.

UTILIZATION

These guitars have a very modern feel even with the PRS design. The scale is 25 inches which gives it the snap of a Fender with the feel of a Gibson. Even with the simple wraparound bridge the guitar intonates very well which is quite a feat with the simple bridge design. The wide fat neck is not as fat as you might think. It has a very comfortable feel and the wide design gives you plenty of space on the fretboard to work. One gripe I have about PRS guitars is their pickup selector placement. I dont like how the pickup selector is way by itself on the rear of the body. I would prefer if it was on the upper bout like on a normal Les Paul or down by the knobs.

SOUNDS

PRS is pretty good about putting decent pickups even in their import models. These pickups are much better than what you would get in a stock Ibanez or a lower end ESP. PRS doesnt want to ruin the image of their high end guitars by putting out import garbage. The neck pickup is nice and creamy. You can really get a smooth lead tone with this pickup. The clean tones from the neck position are good as well. They are nice and bell like without sounding harsh. The bridge pickup is moderately hot and clear. You can get some good chunk out of this pickup. You might be able to play metal with the stock setup but you would most likely end up putting in some more high end aftermarket pickups.

OVERALL OPINION

I like the fact that PRS is putting out more reasonably priced guitars now. Their high end guitars are very nice but they are super expensive. With these SE import models you get much of the high end feel at a price that many more people can afford. I think these guitars can blow away just about any guitar in the same price range even with the stock import pickups. They did a great job of retaining all the unique features that PRS guitars have and just using more basic materials and veneers for the tops. Things that done really affect tone or playability. If you are looking for a PRS or just a great guitar for the price check out the PRS SE line.

This is a PRS SE singlecut, in the antique white. Made in Korea.

specs:

22 frets - wide fat neck carve
mahogany body
mahogany neck
maple top w/maple veneer
set neck
rosewood fretboard
25" scale
moon inlays
PRS designed stoptail
2 PRS designed humbuckers 1 volume, 1 tone with a 3 way toggle


UTILIZATION

I have to say that the fretwork on these guitars are amazing! I would say 80% as good as any USA made guitar. And fretwork is to me, the most important thing in a guitar as it's expensive to change and a hassle to dress.

The body is light also, I don't know if it's chambered but has a good balance. The way the set neck is done on these PRS singlecuts makes the upper fret access easier than it would be on a traditional LP type. It also has a stomach contour which I usually expect nowadays in modern guitars.

The 1 volume and 1 tone and the 3 way switch are simple to use and make the guitar look sleek. The tuners are fine and stable. It's a stop tail bridge, the intonation is not adjustable. So that's a bit of a downer.

My only beef is the neck, though I can play it comfortably, it is not what I'd prefer. I like a slightly thinner profile, this is *supposedly* (more on that later) PRS's wide fat neck carve which isn't PRS's most popular neck profile. The wide thin is definitely the most popular of all.


SOUNDS

I've played the singlecut through a bunch of different amps, from a koch studiotone to an egnater renegade to a fryette pitbull, through a voodoo amps witchdoctor. I have a good idea of this specific guitar sounds, though the amp DOES play a bigger role in how a guitar sounds than the actual guitar itself.

neck pickup:

This is probably my favorite tone I get out of the stock pickup. It's great, very smooth, clear and not muddy. I would think it's the perfect jazz pickup actually. Distorted it sounds a bit generic. It is smooth, and not sterile, but it has no real character of it's own either. Most PRS pickups in my experience have that sort of quality, where it's transparent, but too transparent where it's almost bland and flat.

bridge pickup:

The clean jangles a bit which is nice. It doesn't break up either. With distortion it sounds fluid and smooth also and could be a tad muddy if not EQ'ed properly from the amp. Though it can't get overly bright either. Overall the pickup is decent, both are very similar to PRS's actual pickups from my experience, where they're all smooth and fluid as a positive thing, but again, to my ears, because of that, it's just generic sounding to me with no significant character.

the inbetween sound:

I don't use this much. I don't really know anybody that does, but to me it sounds ok. The clarity of the bridge pickup is there, and so is the bass from the neck pickup. You would imagine the combination would be good though I find (as I do with most humbuckers in the middle position) that it's generally too bassy and doesn't cut through on clean or dirty with a drummer or a band.


OVERALL OPINION

Overall the guitar is excellently built. Very good fretwork, good weight, comfortable. I've played many many guitars, I've been playing for just over 10 years. My reviews are not comparisons, that's not how I like to judge guitars. I judge guitars on what I feel would suit as a guitar player, and critique the longevity of the product.

The pickups are decent at best however. And the stoptail not being adjustable is a bit of a hindrance if specific players wanted to set the guitar up for lower or higher gauge strings. Though it is a great guitar for the money in terms of build quality. And PRS choosing their least popular neck profile as their ONLY profile available on these guitars? Not a good idea. I've also noticed, that though the SE necks vs the USA PRS guitars are different. If you took a USA PRS with an SE that both had wide fat necks or wide thin you can notice they're different. I don't know why that is, but it is. Just so you know!

Everything has been said in previous reviews and I'll not particularly. I just want to add that the quality that emerges from this guitar under the price you can pay during questioning. In fact, when I play guitars that reach € 1500 I have great difficulty understanding what happened to the euro, except perhaps for a party in microphones found on the guitars.

UTILIZATION

In terms of use, then it's happiness. Same as above, I still have a lot of trouble sometimes make the game fun that gives this guitar under 250 € invested. The broad flat handle and is very easy to use, lighter than my Les Paul guitar and well balanced, it makes you want to play for hours without stopping. The finishes are excellent and for my part I have no problem detuning as some have to note in relation to plastic nut.

SOUNDS

At the sound, again proportionally microphones that you are bluffing efficiency. The neck pickup allows you to go to blues or rock with this hot and mesmerizing sound that makes me draw my hair. One criticism, lack of precision, but the volume and tone really help bring out all the nuances of my tube amp (I play with a mesa 5:25 express digitech gsp 1101). The bridge pickup provides sharper attack registers while keeping the high spirit guitars accajou maple. Obviously for metal that's not it but it's not what you ask of him. If you want to please invest € 200 more and paste it microphones in NOS (name of sound). So there you graze 500 € but you're in the same world and you operate the exceptional violin background (and I mean it) of this guitar. I tried comparing a LP Standard and frankly I kept my little PRS.

OVERALL OPINION

I have this guitar for less than a year, I'm an average guitarist who plays for fun. I have other guitars: G & L Tribute S500, LTD MH 1000 deluxe Lespaul Epiphone, but I confess that since I have I do not play with it when I'm in the rock records - blues. You will understand, used, provided it has been maintained, you can buy eyes closed. What is originally equipped or you decide to change the pickups, this guitar will allow you to play for hours and hours asking why pay more for a guitar. The philosophy of the brand is very relevant, as did Leo Fender in the G & L, we can finally get real pleasure without leaving its PEL or rotting life with his wife for buying guitar. So either you find a great instrument, and there you type above the € 2,000 and you have an instrument in precious wood, with microphones with onions and exceptional playing comfort, or you seek pleasure and trust me it no better for 300 €.