1st Gen PRS SE Santana and tone rainbow chasing

[Chipsotoole]

Hi there,
I was recently fortunate enough to get hold of a minty completely stock 2001 PRS SE Santana. I see there is quite a difference of opinion on these instruments here as many people rightly or wrongly believe the Santana Se model has morphed over the years to be a great improvement on the original . Bound fingerboards, uncovered pups, natty wee pick guards, contours bodies, and then body shape and maple cap changes have been the order of the evolution from 2001-2020 or so. I just want to put it out there that the first gen whilst not remotely like Meister Santana's original is a monster of a guitar. Really beautiful rosewood fretboard of a much higher quality of many modern ones, and a beautifully balanced trem system that is as good as I've played.. ..and yet it's so hard to find a stock one. Once they were no longer flavour of the month all manner of mods were done to so many. In particular the pickups were more often than not replaced.. Tone rainbow chasers will no doubt phone in dimarzio 36th anniversary, or pearly gates, Super 58's or Swampbug specials (whatever) and suggest that's what'll make a good guitar a great guitar. Whatever these stock covered pups were that were put in are real gems. Possibly a bit old fashioned by todays standards, and Yes the bridge pup can lean slightly on the trebly side, but comparing it with a number of other humbucker equipped mahogany guitars in my collection I gotta say it really holds up in every setting and has a voice all of it's own. Anyone else cherish a stock one?

 

[Proteus]

If I had a shot at an unmolested one at a reasonable price, I probably wouldn't be able to refuse. As the first SE, it's pretty historical - and Paul had a lot to prove out of the gate with an import series. Very little is under-thought or haphazardly implemented on any PRS, but I believe he and everyone else involved were highly motivated to get that one as right as possible, and pretty committed to its success.

And yeah, compared to a lot of recent production, I'm noticing nicer rosewood and even better body wood (and wood-matching on multi-part backs) on various brands of Korean guitars from the early 2000s. So I guess I'm kinda with you on this one.

Also, I've changed a lot of pickups over the years, but so far I'm impressed with all the SE series pickups I've had experience with so far. To me they're a significant factor in why I want the guitars. I'm buying up the ones others are tearing out of their SEs.

I get changing pickups in a generic catalog-build brand, and in some of the lower-end models from other big names. But Paul and team are just awfully attentive to details, and it doesn't escape their attention that pickups are a huge contributor to a guitar's tone. He's been a winder for decades, and I believe he understands pickups - especially in his guitars. I suppose guys swap them out because they want a different tone out of the guitar than they're getting: they appreciate the build quality, hardware, and overall specs of a PRS, maybe, and see the guitars as platforms to get a different tonal spectrum than Paul intended for a given model. And that's fine, ain' no matter to me. I just find the pickups an integral and important part of the PRS recipe, which I enjoy for its unique attributes.

 

[AZGiant]

The pups on my santana SW really sing. Not sure how they do it, but as far as being able to just hold a note and let it sing out the stock pups on this baby really seem to deliver.

 

[Chipsotoole]

The pups on my santana SW really sing. Not sure how they do it, but as far as being able to just hold a note and let it sing out the stock pups on this baby really seem to deliver.

What year is your Santana SE from? 1st gen too? I've never been a fan of uncovered pickups...Too much plastic clashing with lovely woods and metal.

 

[Mystic38]

Actually my experience was slightly different.. bought a gen 1 Santana SE on clearance, ie no return policy and while it played nicely tonally it was simply anemic... the biggest disappointment in any guitar purchase for me ever.

At the time I couldn't justify a $250 pup change on what was a $400 guitar so I unloaded it. Luckily a few months later I found a local used Les Paul Standard DC that while admittedly was $1000 (a laffable figure today) has been a tone monster. That was my only DC 2HB guitar until some weeks ago.

I was put off PRS for a long time due to that first experience and ignored the brand until the emergence of the 594...which attracted my attention in a good way.