2021 SE Santana Purchase Thoughts / comments

[Smith958]

Hi I’m new here, I bought a new SE Santana in September.

I play Christian top 40 and use a 2017 Nashville Deluxe MIM Tele (GREAT little guitar) I needed a fatter/thicker more organic sound to compliment the twang so I decided to go SE given my budget and dislike of the Epi and studio LP series.

Pro’s - out of the box it played nicely which is why I bought it over the 10 or so other SE’s I tried at House of Guitars in Rochester NY. I used a plexi to “audition” the guitars. In hindsight that probably wasn’t the best amp to use given I play thru a Roland Blues Cube but hey, I got to jam through the Plexi

After a proper set up and a graphtec nut installation it plays like a dream, as good and maybe better than the 2 USA Les Pauls I have owned.

Beautiful yellow finish

After a lot of research it seemed to be the best bang 4 da buck guitar I could afford.

Cons - I didn’t like the 85 / 15’s at all. Too harsh and too difficult to get a decent clean sound.

After playing it longer than 5 minutes at a music store I found that it would not stay in tune.

Fixes - I had the electronics upgraded to Emerson Pro 500K pots

The previously mentioned Graphtec nut

PRS SE locking tuners

During the set up the trem was adjusted/set up

Installed Lindy Fralin Pure PAF’s

Results - The tuners helped and it stays in tune much better but still doesn’t hold tune as well as my Tele. I’m going to block the trem, hopefully it will cure the last of the tuning issues.

The Fralins and electronics smoothed out the sound nicely although I’m not sure the Fralins are the answer, the tone is a little “generic/bland” in this set up.

$720 for the guitar, $400 for the changeover including labor = $1120 for a guitar that is much better sounding/put together than the Epi/Studio les Paul’s around that price range.

I’m a little disappointed in the SE quality out of the box but as I dial it in I like it more and more. It fills the fat sound I needed in my tone toolkit and will be a great asset once the tuning issues are put to rest.

Oh and I LOVE the body style and beautiful yellow finish, my playing looks a lot better now! LOL


Any thoughts or comments are appreciated as are recommendations

Steve

 

[Bill SAS 513]

Congrats on your guitar...
As far as a new guitar with tuning issues...I usually recommend (to anyone that'll listen ) to just spent a while the first day diving with the bar,
as trems usually need to "settle in", (Nut and the trem itself) on almost any quitar.

Enjoy it!!!!
and Happy New Year.

 

[Alnus Rubra]

Congratulations on your new guitar and welcome to the forum.

A lot of the mods you have mentioned are similar to those that myself and others have done to SE models that we’ve bought.

PRS pickups are very sensitive to height adjustment and can help with dialling them on to your taste. I’m sure you are probably aware of this and it’s mute point now you have changed them to LF pafs.

Hope your Santana brings you a lots of fun to play and works well on stage.

 

[PRSnewb]

Christian music has 40+ songs?!?!?

I kid, I kid,

 

[bodia]

Congrats on your guitar...
As far as a new guitar with tuning issues...I usually recommend (to anyone that'll listen ) to just spent a while the first day diving with the bar,
as trems usually need to "settle in", (Nut and the trem itself) on almost any quitar.

Enjoy it!!!!
and Happy New Year.

Totally agree with “abusing” the bar for a while. Gotta “break it in.”

 

[Wakester]

My only recommendation to tweak your sound, would be to adjust pickup height to find the output you like. A quarter turn one way or the other may make all the difference in the world. And good to see another Forum Member from WNY, I live about 2 hrs Southwest of Rochester, up in the sticks.

 

[Draconomics]

Congrats on the new axe! If you are still having tuning issues, its not so much a problem of SE quality...well, technically speaking, more on that below. Considering we have a new nut, it could be the the trem catching somewhere or its not balanced correctly, and potentially a combination of that with a truss rod that is still moving. These do hold tune, but it takes some dialing in. You do have to break the trem springs in too, so upon fresh strings just abuse the thing for several minutes to get its kinks out.

Now, I know you already blew a good amount of cash on the upgrades, but I highly suggest Mannmade saddle replacements. The molded saddles that come stock on SE's are...decent enough, but I find alot of intonation issues disappear once you get Mannmade saddles. Its $80 for a set, but like I say...you buy it one time, and never have to buy it again.

 

[aphantomvaper]

Congrats, and we'd love to see pictures. I think SE Santanas are some of the best of the SE line!

 

[dogrocketp]

Good on ya! As many of us have always said, the pickups are more sensitive than most to height adjustment. If you want to get rid of the 85/15’s, pm me. I need a set. I’m a trem abuser, and I’ve always found that the PRS trems stay in tune better than any others. There is a break in, of course. The Mann saddles sound different than the stock ones, any changing should be done based on the sound of the guitar. Enjoy it.

 

[horax]

Good purchase.
Ever tried the epiphone 59 les paul?

amazing guitar for the price.

 

[Rod/]

Totally agree with “abusing” the bar for a while. Gotta “break it in.”

Also, using Big Bends Nut Sauce in the nut slots and on the bridge saddle slots where the strings rest will increase tuning stability a lot.. my DGT had some tuning issues and (as always), the nut sauce took care of it. Even keeps my Lp’s in tune, which is saying something.
Beware of imitations. Other products just ain’t the same and pencil lead will just gum up your nut eventually. The D’addario stuff is just a mess

 

[Smith958]

Christian music has 40+ songs?!?!?

I kid, I kid,

I know right!?!? LOL

 

[Smith958]

My only recommendation to tweak your sound, would be to adjust pickup height to find the output you like. A quarter turn one way or the other may make all the difference in the world. And good to see another Forum Member from WNY, I live about 2 hrs Southwest of Rochester, up in the sticks.

Are you talking pickups raise and lowered or the pole screws?

 

[Wakester]

Are you talking pickups raise and lowered or the pole screws?

Both. Raise or lower the p/u first to find where you like it. Then fine tune with the pole pieces.

 

[Smith958]

Congrats, and we'd love to see pictures. I think SE Santanas are some of the best of the SE line!

They are beautiful guitars, even the inexpensive SE series have great wood in them.

I’ll post some pics tomorrow,

 

[Smith958]

Also, using Big Bends Nut Sauce in the nut slots and on the bridge saddle slots where the strings rest will increase tuning stability a lot.. my DGT had some tuning issues and (as always), the nut sauce took care of it. Even keeps my Lp’s in tune, which is saying something.
Beware of imitations. Other products just ain’t the same and pencil lead will just gum up your nut eventually. The D’addario stuff is just a mess

I’ve never heard of it, I’ll definitely try it, I also play a Nashville deluxe tele that could use some of that. Where do you get it?

 

[Smith958]

I cut some blocks and we’ll see if that works, I haven’t abused the bar and springs yet but I might pull the blocs and give that a shot.

great forum!! I haven’t been on one in years, I think I’ll stick around

 

[bodia]

I cut some blocks and we’ll see if that works, I haven’t abused the bar and springs yet but I might pull the blocs and give that a shot.

great forum!! I haven’t been on one in years, I think I’ll stick around

It’s a chill place, for sure.

 

[Smith958]

I am wondering if the 57 or 58 sets of pickups would be a better choice. The Fralins are kind of bland/clinical. I’d like a little “character”

I’d prefer the big fat smooth Les Paul sound, maybe a cap change would help.

 

[Draconomics]

I am wondering if the 57 or 58 sets of pickups would be a better choice. The Fralins are kind of bland/clinical. I’d like a little “character”

I’d prefer the big fat smooth Les Paul sound, maybe a cap change would help.

Cap change will generally only affect your tone if you use the tone knob. If not, they do nada, but if you use your tone knobs to go after like a late 60's Clapton tone, then consider those bumblebee caps by Emerson. Dont bother swapping pots or stuff like that, I only advise to do so if there is a specific harness you want that gives you other options for pickup switching or to replace aging factory wiring. If you are going for that LP sound, I might suggest a few pickup choices:

Bareknuckle makes a few great models that give you that vintage-ish sound. Black Dogs, Emeralds, Mules, and my fave the Abraxas all fit into that category.

When I was younger, I had some Burstbuckers in my SE Singlecut. They got close, though an LP has more mass. Those will definitely get you close.

I've seen some cats on here talk about Wolfetone. They make some PAF style models that I'm gonna try on one of my axes. They sound pretty stellar.