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Published on 03/27/11 at 21:24This 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!
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!