I’ve been waiting to get my hands on one of these to give it a try. A PRS SE that sells for $499, new? What will this do to the market for the PRS SE Custom 24, which sells in the $700-$750 range? And what are the differences that are supposed to be worth another $200+?
The Good
This is a good looking guitar. Not as good looking as its big brother, the SE Custom 24, but still good looking. The model I played had no blemishes I could find. The pickups, to my ears, didn’t sound as good as the pickups in the SE Custom, but they’re pretty close. My bet would be these aren’t the same pickups, but they sound pretty good. This instrument has a bit more of a gnarly kind of sound.
The neck felt identical the SE Custom. It felt great. The tuners worked reasonably well. The fret job was very good for a guitar in this range. At $499 I think it can hold its own against the other guitars in this price range, and with some parts swapping and a great setup, it could work out to be a really good player guitar. Once this guitar hits the used market, which it eventually will, it’s worth a good long look.
The Bad
The guitar I played had a horrible, horrible setup. The action was too high, the intonation was off, and it wouldn’t stay in tune to save its life. The bridge was set up at the factory to float, but whoever set this guitar up did a terrible job. Nothing like the SE Custom – I’ve played a bunch of SE Customs and they all had a great setup right out of the box. So there’s part of the cost savings. If you do your own guitar setup work, this isn’t a huge deal. But if not, you may end up spending another $50-$75 on a really good setup.
The parts, to me, all felt ever so slightly cheaper than the SE Custom, also. Now, it could be that’s psychological. The guitar was set up so badly it might have been my imagination. But everything from tuners to the nut to the pickups to the bridge seemed a little cheap to me. My bet is, again, that PRS had all of those things made in Indonesia where this guitar was made. Saves on shipping and tariff taxes and all that stuff.
Getting back to the pickups – I didn’t much like the pickups in my SE Custom, which is why I put a Seymour Duncan Pearly Gates in the bridge position. If you’re really into pickups, you’ll likely need to spring for better ones. But for some they’ll be good enough.
The body and I assume neck are mahogany – no veneer or cap on this guitar. I won’t say that the lack of a maple cap makes this guitar sound darker and more gnarly, because I don’t need the fan mail from the “wood doesn’t matter” camp. But it did sound darker and more gnarly.
The Ugly
I already covered it – the setup was awful. Anyone who sat down to play the thing would have the same comments – won’t stay in tune and action is awful.
The Conclusion
I think all the issues with this guitar are fixable. A good setup is a must, but after that it’s down to personal taste. I think it’s a darn good guitar with some mediocre parts and a bad setup. Not every Standard will have a bad setup – if you’re looking to buy this guitar, buy it from a store where you can try it first, and don’t be afraid to try out several different ones – one of them is bound to be set up decently. And if you can, then I think this guitar is a decent deal for $499.
