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tjon901 « Budget version of PRS's famous singlecut »
Published on 09/05/11 at 11:08PRS 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.
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.