All user reviews of 5/5 for the PRS SE Santana - Black

I Bought this fantastic axe for 850€ (close to 1020 USD) at Faminho in Portugal (Yeah, that's right. I'm Portuguese). I was in the market for a double humbucker guitar and... this IS a PRS!!!

Everything! I mean, have you heard it's tone? It's fantastic. The fingerboard is very smooth and extremely fast. Playability is great and the sound is full and rich.

..unhh!!! Dificult! Maybe I'd like it to have separate tone control for each pickup... but it doesn´t bother me that much! It doesn't have locking tunners but it keeps tune just fine.

It's really solid!! Built like a tank, I'd say, and still manages to be quite light!! Don't think I'll ever have a problem with this unit. I think it can take a serious beating...

Fantastic!!! I play this guitar through a Line6 POD and into a Fender RockPro 1000!! It's a killer sound. I usually play lead guitar based on Eric Clapton, Gary Moore, Pink Floyd, Queen and, of course, Santana. The versatility of this piece of equipment is oustanding. This baby sunk my Fender Stratocaster to reserve status and I use it on live gigs all the time... it became my main guitar.

This review was originally published on http://www.musicgearreview.com

I bought this superb axe from FAMINHO in Famalicão (Portugal) for €850 (about the same amount in USD). Why did I bought it? Well, I was looking for a humbucker based guitar and found this amazing piece of equipment… come on, it’s a PRS (even if it is Korean made).

I love everything about this guitar. For starters, it’s extremely beautiful (mine is dark brown woodlike colour… I think it’s Mahogany Black Sunburst, but I’m not sure. That colour does not appear in PRS site as one of the available colours for the SE! Don’t know how I got it, but I love it…)! It’s really light (compared to a Gibson) and the neck fit’s me perfectly and the strap buttons seem sturdy. There’s a small buzz on the A string, but nothing special… As for the sound, just one word: PERFECT for a guitar with this price range. I mean it’s a full, warm yet a little dark sound. Maybe not as powerful as some of the “extreme metal” players would like, but since I mostly play blues and rock&roll it suits me fine. I play it through a Line6 POD and a Fender Rockpro 1000! The result is great.

I haven’t found any major complaints about this guitar yet. I would like to have locking tuners, so maybe I’ll upgrade them in the future.

This guitar seems quite solid. No finish flaws or anything. Built to last, I’d say…

Bottom line: an excellent buy!! Perfect tone and intonation, incredibly lasting sustain, fantastic neck. There’s no way you’ll get a better guitar for nowhere near this kind of price. I’ve been playing an Epiphone Les Paul and the is no possible comparison… the PRS blows the competition away. On live gigs I use both this guitar and my Eric Clapton Stratocaster. I love them both, yet the “Claptoncaster” was much more expensive. This PRS really rocks…

This review was originally published on http://www.musicgearreview.com

I bought this superb axe from FAMINHO in Famalicão (Portugal) for €850 (about the same amount in USD). Why did I bought it? Well, I was looking for a humbucker based guitar and found this amazing piece of equipment… come on, it’s a PRS (even if it is Korean made).

I love everything about this guitar. For starters, it’s extremely beautiful (mine is dark brown woodlike colour… I think it’s Mahogany Black Sunburst, but I’m not sure. That colour does not appear in PRS site as one of the available colours for the SE! Don’t know how I got it, but I love it…)! It’s really light (compared to a Gibson) and the neck fit’s me perfectly and the strap buttons seem sturdy. There’s a small buzz on the A string, but nothing special… As for the sound, just one word: PERFECT for a guitar with this price range. I mean it’s a full, warm yet a little dark sound. Maybe not as powerful as some of the “extreme metal” players would like, but since I mostly play blues and rock&roll it suits me fine. I play it through a Line6 POD and a Fender Rockpro 1000! The result is great.

I haven’t found any major complaints about this guitar yet. I would like to have locking tuners, so maybe I’ll upgrade them in the future.

This guitar seems quite solid. No finish flaws or anything. Built to last, I’d say…

Bottom line: an excellent buy!! Perfect tone and intonation, incredibly lasting sustain, fantastic neck. There’s no way you’ll get a better guitar for nowhere near this kind of price. I’ve been playing an Epiphone Les Paul and the is no possible comparison… the PRS blows the competition away. On live gigs I use both this guitar and my Eric Clapton Stratocaster. I love them both, yet the “Claptoncaster” was much more expensive. This PRS really rocks…

This review was originally published on http://www.musicgearreview.com

I was at Good News Music in Traverse City, Michigan. I go in there and hang out alot, because I love guitars. I didn't need a new guitar at all, but I've always loved PRS and I've never had the money. As I walked in I saw this Royal Blue Santana in the middle of the room and I knew right then I had to have it. I plugged it into a Marshall MG100DFX (the amp I have at home) and let it sing. I got it with the incredibly nice gig bag for $500 out the door.

First of all, it's got the PRS shape. Next, it sounds awesome clean and even more awesome cranked out. It's incredibly playable and fast. The wide neck feels really really good. The finish is definitely eye catching. I got the version with the nickel covered humbuckers and no pickguard, which I think looks alot better than the new one. Also, it feels really comfortable when it's strapped on.

The Royal blue finish is really hard to keep clean. It's impossible to keep fingerprints off.
I'm not a huge fan of the trem and it was seated crooked when i picked it up. All I had to do was push it back in. Even then, when i use the trem, it knocks against the body. The non-locking tuners don't hold tune when you use the trem, but that's typical. Also, the bridge pickup has alot of feedback when I crank up my amp.

A very high quality unit for the price. I've played guitars that cost twice as much that sounded and felt like crap. There are a couple of defects in the finish, but nothing really noticeable and nothing that is going to affect sound or playability.

If you're looking for PRS looks, affordability, and one hell of a nice axe, get the PRS Santana SE.

This review was originally published on http://www.musicgearreview.com

I bought this guitar from American Musical supply for 399.99 because I was looking for a well built and inexspensive electric guitar.

This guitar sounds really nice through my Behringer Ultraroc amp. I especially like this clean tone. It's nice and warm with good sustain. The tone is also very versatile. You could probably get just about any sound you wanted to out of this guitar. I really liked the neck. Though I am more of a fan of thinner necks, I still think that the smooth, mahagony neck is easy to grip and play.

There is not a whole lot I don't like about this guitar. Maybe if the neck was a little thinner and I wouldn't mind if it had locking tuners but other than that it's a really nice, well built, easy to play guitar.

The construction quality is very good I've dropped it a number of times and haven't had a problem. It's and overseas guitar so of course it's going to have some minor flaws, but nothing too noticeable.

The bottom line is that I would suggest that anyone buy this guitar whether you're a student or planning to go professionaly. With the great tone and price this guitar can't be beat.

This review was originally published on http://www.musicgearreview.com

at guitar center, i picked it up plugged it in and played it. didnt actually buy it yet but planning to very soon.

this guitar is the best guitar in the world for a $740 list price. it is light wieght, great sustain, solid bridge, set-in neck, smooth fretboard, stayed in tune (i played it a while until they made me put it back), looks cool, plays great, fits your body (or atleast mine), controls are out of the way so you dont hit them, full acces to all 22 frets.

about the only PRS guitar at a price this low.

well built ... mahogany i think.

Buy It!! Wonderful Guitar!!

This review was originally published on http://www.musicgearreview.com

I was trading in my Epiphone LP Special for an upgrade, maybe an Epi Les Paul Standard. I was playing an Epi Les Paul and happened to look at the Santana hanging on the wall. I plugged it in and I'll tell you the playability was much better than the LP Standard. I paid $422.00

I have a Tobacco sunburst, but this one is a darker burst than what you see on the PRS site, it has a black pickguard which looks cool. The neck is nice and fat and has white binding, easy playing. There are black open coil humbuckers which sound great. I saw on other reviews and on the PRS site that there are non locking tuners. I got it home and took it out of the bag to play it, and as I was tuning up I noted that my guitar has locking tuners! This has a tremolo which I dont really use but it looks cool and you can remove the bar anyway. The tones are amazing. I play through a small Marshall, and both distorted and clean tones are superb. The best way I can describe it is a nice blend of Gibson and Fender sounds. The guitar even sounds great un-amplified. The guitar came with a great gig bag.

I really have to work to answer the dislikes. I found run-of-the-mill minor things- there is a fret buzz here and there, and a small amount of wax visible between the coils of one pickup, that is it!

The guitar is superbly put together. This is a set neck guitar. I could not find any finish flaws. As I said above, this has a beautiful dark tobacco sunburst, which really brings out the mahogany wood. In comparison with the Epiphone Les Paul, I found the Santana to feel stronger and less flimsy, and more substantial- feeling.

This is a great guitar. Great feel, tone, construction,pickups, and tones. You get all of this for a great price. You can not go wrong with this choice and I highly reccommend it.

This review was originally published on http://www.musicgearreview.com

I was actually in the market for a new Bass and was going to trade in my Epi Les Paul Pearl, the neck was beginning to bend back and it was making all kinds of noise. While looking through the Basses the sales man showed me a beautiful Vintage Cherry Santana that actuall had mahogany flaming. IT WAS BEAUTIFUL....long story short, I plugged it into a Mesa Dual Rec and walked out with both the ax and the amp...

Warmth when I want it and screams when I need it. I think mine is kind of rare, all the other units had nice mahongnay lines, but some how I got these wonderful looking tiger stripes...

The intial set-up was questionable. I was getting fret rattle on the low E and A, but once the tech took a look at it she sang....the saddles were too low.

Excellent construction, sold! Excellent trem. and stap buttons....nice nut and tuners.

This has got to be the BEST guitar under a grand....I just found out the they are doing some cosmetic work on the second version due out in a couple of months (April/May 2002) where thay are putting bindings on the neck and head, changing to perloid in lays on the neck and adding a pick guard...oh yeah, and changing to open pick-ups....I think I got the better deal.

IT ROCKS!!

This review was originally published on http://www.musicgearreview.com

I bought this guitar frm Hubber and Breese in Michigan for roughly 570 US dollars
I bought it because I have been wanting a PRS for sometime but can't afford the customs yet

This guitar is great!
First the luster is wonderful, the guitar looks like a high end guitar. Secondly the sound is killer. The high ends a re great, but the low crunchy ends really fill in the gaps that a cheap fender of epiphone can't do. The PRICE TAG should be enough to get everyone in to one of these. I have been playing it for 6 months now and I love it. Its no Custom 24 but its close enough. It is really like a PRS Standard with out the top!

There is really only on thing I don't like, the fact that the headstock says Santana, I would have left it blank, but now some bands are endoursing them so the name will make more sense

The guitar is a set-neck 22 fret with covers pickeps. The quality of the guitar is almost perfect, a few minor paint flaws, but not bad for an overseas guitar. The neck is very solid, i feel like I am holding a really high end instrument,.

The guitar is perfect for anyone looking to get a better guitar then the beginner lines that are out there now. Also it really helps if you like a wide fat neck.

Bottom line a great guitar for the price, maybe worth a little more, and blows its compitition away!



This review was originally published on http://www.musicgearreview.com

I got this awsome axe from the Guitar Center in Concord. I wanted a screaming humbuckler and for under a thousand bucks it rocked. I payed 700 bucks, but I got it the weekend it came out. now it is cheeper but I dont care. Me and my band love it.

The pick ups and the guitar are the same as Carlos, but he has a different fretboard. the tremelo system is killer. The simplicitie of onle two knobs is great. You cant beat it. Plus it rarely slips put of tune.

Very hrd question........mabe if it were a bit more flashier.

Awsome. With Paul Reed Smith it is never bad quality.

It was between this and a gibson les paul. Have you felt how heavy those things are? Plus this has a better more useful and diverse tone. you have got to get it.

This review was originally published on http://www.musicgearreview.com

I purchased this guitar from a local music store. I was amazed to find a high quality guitar at such a good price. I paid $530. The gig bag was FREE!

I love the action and playability. As with the higher priced PRS models, this guitar makes ANY amp sound better. It doesn't have locking tuners but I have no problems with this guitar staying in tune. It's available in nice colors (I chose the vintage cherry) and has the classic shaped headstock that PRS is known for.

There isn't much that I don't like. The "cosmetics" are the the only flaw I can find. Manufactured overseas, these guitars have minor flaws i.e. glue spots, paint inconsistancies. However, they are all MINOR and you have to really search for them.

The mahogany neck and body are a big plus for a economical axe. The pick ups are great quality and the colors are nice. I found just a few flaws with craftsmanship as stated above.

This is a great playing, wonderful sounding guitar... especially for the dollar. I think I'll buy a second one just for the heck of it!

This review was originally published on http://www.musicgearreview.com

Korean PRS 22 frets, finish excellent for the price (800 €).
Pickups: 2 humbucker PRS
Bridge: With or without vibrato to choose from - typical PRS bridge in one piece (the two are the same price).
2 knobs: volume and tone
A micro switch 3 positions: serious, grave / acute, acute.

UTILIZATION

The guitar is light and fits perfectly standing as sitting. It is surprisingly light, although less than SG but is not far away. Access to acute is excellent, with cutting PRS standard at this level.
Nothing to special about ergonomics, classic and flawless.

The handle is 'fast' and a pleasant one! The guitar in its price range is unbeatable if you want a scratch double humbuckers versatile enough to rock. I find it incredible compared to other choices on the market!

For soloists against attentions, nothing to do with a Les Paul sustain level. But it was not named in this direction.

SOUNDS

I use a BOSS GT-6 on different amps (mostly Marshall JCM900 or 2000), and clear the sound is impressive for a guitar in this range. In saturated is very correct. Seriously I do not ever leave it, after more than six months.

OVERALL OPINION

I have the equipment for more than six months, I used every day and it always makes me much tripper until 3am. A marvel for its price in the style of guitar I was looking, well above concurrent. The clean sound is very good, but it also provides in saturated and in the end is quite versatile. And can move with particularly well: it is extremely well balanced and is positioned prafaitement, in addition to being lightweight and therefore easily manipulated.
Before choosing this style I tried everything I could find as guitars of this style 800 to € 1100, Ibanez to Gibson, and by far the PRS stood out by its handle, its homogeneity and its excellent! As for the price, it is one of the lowest face what other brands offer in the face.
So of course if I had the choice again, I always retry as many models, buying a guitar is not made lightly, but for now I know nothing that approaches the quality / price ratio and I would choose again. A big favorite! And to think I almost did not try to name ...

Made in Korea under license PRS
22 frets, 2 humbuckers
2 pots: 1 volume, 1 Tone selector 3 positions + 1
sleeve type Gibson

UTILIZATION

Channel trs enjoyable, though typical Gibson. This can dconcerter beginners to fans of Stratocaster.
Accs ais to acute and excellent ergonomics:
The guitar is not too heavy, and the limited number of pots allows rglages easy (I had an Epiphone Les Paul before, and I've never understood the intrt time controlled theirs!)
It is therefore ais to find the sound you want.
Vibrato.

SOUNDS

I play on a small Marshall AVT 20 and get the PRS with a large variety of sound. it's a guitar ultrapolyvalente. We are two guitarists in my band (taken from Radiohead, Muse, Placebo, Smashing Pumpkins ...) and alternate the parts of lead and rhythm guitar. Well, the PRS is well in the two cases:
In rhythm mode, with a rglage lgrement Crunshy at the amp, it happens to sound like a Tlcaster.
Guitar solo selector in the down position, distal branch was for much less than with Gibson, the "Les Paul", rich and full of sustain. A rgal. It sounds much more "Les Paul" as my old Epiphone Les Paul.
Apart from the rock record in which it excels, it is also convincing in trs things more intimate (sounds of Jean-Louis Murat in Mustango for example).

OVERALL OPINION

Santana SE I use this for almost two years.
It gives me satisfaction Entire. I was looking for a reliable guitar, which does not dsaccorde. In this respect it is the gniale. On lead guitar, I use a lot of notes tires (Gilmour), and my Epiphone lived poorly to such treatment: j'tais obligation to connect the guitar every song (a little Gnant in concert!). L no problem. I think it's the vibrato tailpiece SPECIFICATIONS that makes mcaniques (finely crafted for that matter) are less in demand than a Les Paul MODEL.
For less than 1000 EUR, it is a good value qualitprix trs.
The look is nice, although I remain a fan of the Les Paul shape, so endearing.

I think the features have already been properly documented by the manufacturer (see website PRS).

UTILIZATION

The handle is very, very nice. The comfort and simplicity. This is also what makes me a guitar. The guitar is very well balanced (the center of gravity is located at about the level of micro bass), and is very slight. It is a pleasure to handle.

SOUNDS

The pickups are PRS and it shows. You really feel the sound with any PRS roundness and warmth. I love! I plug the guitar on a PC with cubase. I use plug-ins such as amp simulation Simulanalog etc ... The result is really very good.
The guitar has 2 knobs, 1 volume and bass / treble. Button bass / treble enormously influence the sound and provides access to a very wide range of sounds. The guitar has a 3 position selector:
Micro-position low: wonderful for clean, jazzy enough anyway, but it's not a Start (for those looking for a specific stratum). For saturates, it's a very hot with lots of bass.
Intermediate-position: It's the heat of the micro bass with more acute. Perfect for saturates to be clearer while retaining heat.
Positioin micro-acute: I use it to saturate only. Enough rock type.

OVERALL OPINION

It was exactly the guitar I was looking for. A very versatile guitar, but while having its own character. I really like the PRS tone and wanted to make nice clean. I played before on a fender and I was looking for a guitar instead of saturated clean and warm but in a different style than the fender. That's what I had.

In one sentence: it is an easy guitar, with very pleasant and beautiful sound.

And all this for one low price! A strong recommendation.