Slartibartfarst42
New Member
Obviously I wouldn't be expecting a full spec PRS made in Korea for the price of the S2, all I'm saying is that by having production in Korea it would have freed up a bit of money to make the guitar itself better. I may be cynically British but this whole argument about things being made with loving care in certain locations, while true up to a point, has distinct flaws. Now I haven't got a clue what a '1911 .45 ACP' is so the location of manufacture isn't something I'm losing sleep over. As I'm British, I'd rather my beer was made in Britain but in fairness, what you call beer isn't really proper beer to us so that's rather subjective. To each his own and as long as you like it, that's fine by me. Cars are a rather more difficult one. I'd certainly rather have a European, Asian or Eastern car than an American car but other than that, I'm not too bothered. I used to work for Land Rover so I can tell you that most people at the factory were there simply because it was a job and it was nothing more idealistic than that. I think a better example of what you're trying to say might be something like a Morgan. With that car I'd agree with you - it is made by people who simply love the brand.
I do see the appeal in an S2, I really do but I think the whole 'American made' thing probably impacts more on the domestic market than it will on the rest of the world and that's why for me, it would need a lot more about it than simply being made in the American factory. As a guy on another forum has pointed out, some of the things that PRS have said about the new line warrant further investigation before I'd jump into buying one as it strikes me that their language has been chosen VERY carefully.
"While some of the design and construction methods used in the S2 Series (the neck blank’s starting dimension across the Series and the S2 Custom’s wood grade, for example) allowed us to use less expensive and more readily available woods, no compromise has been made to the tone or integrity of S2 instruments."
Clearly a compromise must have been made if they are using cheaper and more readily available woods to say nothing of the passing comment about wood grade. These S2 guitars are quite clearly not made from the same wood as a full spec PRS and that's important because as many people on here have pointed out, the wood will make all the difference. It's this phrasing that makes me think that the wood used will have as much in common with the SE line as it does the 'core' line.
"Our PRS S2 locking tuners are used across the S2 Series. These proprietary tuners are reminiscent of our “Phase II” tuners"
That word 'reminiscent' can cover an awful lot of ground.
"the nut, jack assembly, fret wire, electronics knobs, and strings are all shared between our Core and S2 instruments."
Note it only says the knobs are the same as the full spec PRS guitars, not the pots.
"If there was a time that we could not share a component with our current Core lineup, we set out to design a new process for ourselves or source new, proprietary components"
So you mean make a cheaper version!
These are all areas where costs are being cut and that's fine because they have to make the guitar a hell of a lot cheaper than the full spec versions. All I'm saying is that if production was in Korea, some of these costs wouldn't have to be cut.
I do see the appeal in an S2, I really do but I think the whole 'American made' thing probably impacts more on the domestic market than it will on the rest of the world and that's why for me, it would need a lot more about it than simply being made in the American factory. As a guy on another forum has pointed out, some of the things that PRS have said about the new line warrant further investigation before I'd jump into buying one as it strikes me that their language has been chosen VERY carefully.
"While some of the design and construction methods used in the S2 Series (the neck blank’s starting dimension across the Series and the S2 Custom’s wood grade, for example) allowed us to use less expensive and more readily available woods, no compromise has been made to the tone or integrity of S2 instruments."
Clearly a compromise must have been made if they are using cheaper and more readily available woods to say nothing of the passing comment about wood grade. These S2 guitars are quite clearly not made from the same wood as a full spec PRS and that's important because as many people on here have pointed out, the wood will make all the difference. It's this phrasing that makes me think that the wood used will have as much in common with the SE line as it does the 'core' line.
"Our PRS S2 locking tuners are used across the S2 Series. These proprietary tuners are reminiscent of our “Phase II” tuners"
That word 'reminiscent' can cover an awful lot of ground.
"the nut, jack assembly, fret wire, electronics knobs, and strings are all shared between our Core and S2 instruments."
Note it only says the knobs are the same as the full spec PRS guitars, not the pots.
"If there was a time that we could not share a component with our current Core lineup, we set out to design a new process for ourselves or source new, proprietary components"
So you mean make a cheaper version!
These are all areas where costs are being cut and that's fine because they have to make the guitar a hell of a lot cheaper than the full spec versions. All I'm saying is that if production was in Korea, some of these costs wouldn't have to be cut.
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