About the PRS S2 Standard...

[JMaia]

So I decided to buy a new PRS, I own a PRS SE I bought used a few years ago and it leaved me quite disapointed because it always had several problems (probably why the the owner sold it, lesson learned...).

So I decided to up a notch and buy a higher quality guitar in the hopes that I won't be faced with this kind of issues in the future. Plus I bought it new and this time I think I can hold PRS accountable if any issues arise because of lthe lifetime warranty they offer.

So I bite the bullet and bought a PRS S2 Standard 22 in Egyptian gold (with trem because the wraparound bridge on my SE proved to be a nightmare). Not my first color choice, I bet that's why they made a significant discount.

The guitar hasnt arrived yet, but I have a few thoughts that are nagging me and want to know a few things.

1. This model has a pickguard, and there is a large cavity underneath it to house electronics. As far as I can tell this was made to cut costs down. But what I wanted to know, does this affect the tone of the guitar? Is it noticeable comparing to a PRS S2 Custom (wich does not have pickgard and cavity) with the same pickups? Better? Worse? Just different?

2. Other thing I would like to know is about the pickups. I think they are #7 model. How are they? They are Korean made, I have no problem with that because my Korean SE sounds fine to me. But is it higher quality than stock SE'S pups? Are they made any different?

3. About the trem, can I go apesh*t and do crazy dive bombs with it? I saw tons of videoson youtube on guys doing crazy things with the trems on the Core models, and they just would not go out of tune! (very impressive). Is it possible with S2'S models? Probably not because the trem is also imported from Korea and is lower quality. What is your experience?

 

[AP515]

1. This model has a pickguard, and there is a large cavity underneath it to house electronics. As far as I can tell this was made to cut costs down. But what I wanted to know, does this affect the tone of the guitar? Is it noticeable comparing to a PRS S2 Custom (wich does not have pickgard and cavity) with the same pickups? Better? Worse? Just different?

Maybe...a little. But not in a bad way. Fenders have had pickguard placed pups for 70 years and they sound great. Maybe someone with ears like PRSh can tell a difference but I can't.

2. Other thing I would like to know is about the pickups. I think they are #7 model. How are they? They are Korean made, I have no problem with that because my Korean SE sounds fine to me. But is it higher quality than stock SE'S pups? Are they made any different?

#7's are the Asian made versions of the older USA models with the addition of being able to be split. IMO the older USA ones are great. I've heard the same for the Asian versions but have not tried them. They are a step up from SE's.

3. About the trem, can I go apesh*t and do crazy dive bombs with it? I saw tons of videoson youtube on guys doing crazy things with the trems on the Core models, and they just would not go out of tune! (very impressive). Is it possible with S2'S models? Probably not because the trem is also imported from Korea and is lower quality. What is your experience?

The trem is built the same as the USA version, just made in Asia. I've heard that it is just as stable and I've heard it isn't. You will have to be the judge since it's been described in both ways.

You should show us photos of that bridge and tell us the problem. We might be able to help you get that SE back in playing shape.

 

[dogrocketp]

I have a friend who is a college professor and has played only F and G guitars for the last 50 years. After he told me he wanted a PRS but they cost too much, he gave me a budget and I found him a used S2 within $25 of the number. IT has the same pickups as yours, and the same trem. He loves it, and it`s all I`ve seen for the last 2 months at a regular open mike we both go to. I also have an S2, and the pickups are the same as yours. It`s one of 2 stock PRSi I have, and I have a few PRS. The pickups are great, and are very sensitive to both height and pole piece adjustments. They don`t sound "like" another guitar, which is why it stays stock. I use the trem all the time, and it`s great. Just stick with the stock gauge of strings so the nut doesn`t bind. Have the nut changed by a qualified professional luthier, not a part time dood at a big box store.

 

[AP515]

.... 50 cents says your SE has a trem and won`t stay in tune. Have the nut changed by a qualified professional luthier, not a pastime dood at a big box store. Am I right about the SE?

I think he said it has a stoptail. I'm guessing it has some forward tilt and that is the problem but we will need more info and pics to know.

 

[dogrocketp]

Thanks for straightening me out. Under any conditions, it`ll be fixable. It`s a PRS.

 

[Russ73]

OP I have the same guitar, different finish but I like the gold, I think you will love it, mine stays in tune with no issues but I'm not a crazy trem guy, the pups sound good, and they split well and sound pretty fat overall, mine is very lightweight as well don't worry your gonna love it...

 

[JMaia]

Yes it's the bridge that has forward tilt. All these years it had that little awful sitar sound, and I didn't know what the problem is. Only recently I discovered thatnks to a youtube video of a luthier demonstrating the problem.

Plus the thing it's impossible to intonate at the D string. I tried 9's and 10's. How is it possible? Don't they measure the distance of the bridge for each string at the factory? The only thing that could be wrong besides the bridge would be the nut. Wich would not surprise me because when I got it It would constantly make that "blink" sound each time I would try to make a bend. and the thing would go wack out of tune. Then a guitar "youtuber" told me to try and insert a string High E string on the A nut slot, the A string on the D nut slot, etc, one or two times, to open the slots, so they would not bind. And voilá, it worked! So at least the thing stays in tune fairly well. But the it's impossible to intonate, and it still has the sitar sound.

So I ordered the tonepros studs, hoping that would get rid of the sitar sound, and the intonation also, maybe the D string would not sit on the bridge and would make the thing impossible to intonate. So they came, I instaled it. Got rid of the sitar sound, but intonation, same problem.I intonate the E strings, all other string intonate perfectly, but not the D string. How can it be. I went to a friends house that has 2 prs core customs with bridge like this, they both intonate perfectly (and no tilt btw). PRS should come forward and admit that these wraparound bridges of older SE models are simply defective (mine is a 2006 model). And the nuts also, what the hell. I see a number of posts on the internet talking about those "plinks" on the nut.

I even emailed the tech center about the bridge issue. Said they never encountered one with this problem. What?! Seriously?!

It also has the last fret super high (so super high action to have no fret buzz), and the first frets are also very dinged, so it will at least need a fret leveling. So new bridge, fret level, possibly new nut... Screw this I'm gonna buy a new guitar, and I bought the S2 Standard on a impulse last night. Was seeing the price of the S2 Standards around 1200 / 1300 euros online, and saw that Andertons in the UK(I'm from Portugal) was making a sellout of S2 guitars with discontinued colors (there are still a few left BTW) at around 900 euros, so I ordered it, hoping that this one will not have this kind of problems, and if it has, well, maybe I will contact PRS tech center because of lifetime warranty.

 

[AP515]

Sounds like you were headed in all the right directions with the SE. If all the strings except the D were intonated after the tilt fix, it was probably not due to the bridge. It was probably the nut. The D slot was not level and the string distance was into the nut a little. A replacement nut and some work on that last fret and you are probably good to go.

Still great to have the S2, but when you are ready, it's a pretty cheap fix to order a McCarty nut and file the last fret down a little. Or maybe it just needs a truss rod adjustment. Then the action can come back down.

 

[JMaia]

Still great to have the S2, but when you are ready, it's a pretty cheap fix to order a McCarty nut and file the last fret down a little. Or maybe it just needs a truss rod adjustment. Then the action can come back down.

Maybe, we'll see...

I've been reading about the manufacturing process of S2's (nothing to do unti my S2 arrives). It was interesting to learn that, to cut costs, they make s2's necks in 3 pieces instead of 1 like the Core. And it is actually STRONGER than the necks of the Core guitars, because glue is harder than wood. If it is actually better, why not make the Core ones like the S2's, improve the quality, and cut costs?

Other thing I noticed, they fret the fretboard BEFORE gluing it to the neck. Is this a compromise? Will this make the quality of the fretjob inferior to the Core line? Also, anyone knows if the frets material are the SAME as the Core line?

 

[AP515]

...I've been reading about the manufacturing process of S2's (nothing to do unti my S2 arrives). It was interesting to learn that, to cut costs, they make s2's necks in 3 pieces instead of 1 like the Core. And it is actually STRONGER than the necks of the Core guitars, because glue is harder than wood. If it is actually better, why not make the Core ones like the S2's, improve the quality, and cut costs?

The core won't be made with the scarf joint, at least for the near future. Not because it's not a good enough joint, but because the market doesn't want it there. When opinions change about that, maybe then. Remember, he's making guitars for a market and right now the market is willing to pay more to get a single slab of wood even though the scarf joint has been used for many years without any issues. Guitar players are funny...

 

[Rich2016]

I have a bunch of cores and two S2s...the S2 guitars are great, especially for the money/value as compared to the cores. The frets on mine appear to be the same and also the fret job/playability is pretty much on point with my core guitars. The more extensive top routing on the standard is, in my opinion, somewhat offset by the all mahogany body (no maple cap). The neck construction as you're aware is different but not necessarily better or worse, and it's hard to pinpoint what impact that and other factors like import hardware have on tone specifically as every guitar in general is different. What I will say is that my S2 sound great and if not to you're liking you an always change the pickup later on (i did on my vela, went from the import starla to the \m/ pickup with great results).

 

[Rich2016]

And just to elaborate, if I were to arbitrarily assign a number to compare the guitars and intangible elements, I'd say my S2 are 95% as good as my cores. There is a steep upcharge for that extra 5%.

I think of cores compared to private stocks in a similar fashion.

 

[JMaia]

The more extensive top routing on the standard is, in my opinion, somewhat offset by the all mahogany body (no maple cap).

I didn't understand this part, could you please elaborate?

 

[Rich2016]

I didn't understand this part, could you please elaborate?

Sure, sorry. Definitely not a science and it could be flawed logic based on loaded assumptions, but my thought is the maple top on the custom brightens that guitar to roughly the same extent the "missing" wood on the all mahogany standard brightens that guitar (slightly more wood is removed from the standards for the top loaded electronics).

Or I could be wrong and this can all be nonsense/in my head based on my small sample size of two s2 guitars lol. Either way I bet the guitar will sound and resonate great, and if it's too dark or bright you can always either adjust or change pickups.

 

[JMaia]

Well, like I asked in the first post, I wonder if that large cavity in the guitar underneath the pickgard would affect the tone of the guitar compared to a S2 Custom (that does not have the cavity and pickgard).

Or maybe not exactly the tone, but sustain? The pickups are inside the guitar with empty space around them, so maybe tt will not resonate as much.

No big deal, because that pickgard lowers the price of the guitar considerably and that will enable it for me to purchase it. But still, one has to wonder about that...

 

[andy474x]

I love my S2's. I have a Satin 22 and a Custom 22 Semi Hollow. Haven't had any problems with them. They've been very low maintenance, aside from needing to show some love to the trem and nut - just some lubricant on the nut and trem really, to keep things working smoothly. The frets are great and have been more resistant to wear than my SE's.

Edit: They also sound very good. I did swap out the #7 treble for a 59/09, not because it was a bad pickup, just because it wasn't the sound I wanted.

 

[dogrocketp]

I`ll swear that my friend 's S2 (Satin 24) has more treble than my S2 Custom 22 by a lot. That`s why he doesn`t pull out his tele any more. The sustain is excellent.

 

[markd21]

Well, like I asked in the first post, I wonder if that large cavity in the guitar underneath the pickgard would affect the tone of the guitar compared to a S2 Custom (that does not have the cavity and pickgard).

Or maybe not exactly the tone, but sustain? The pickups are inside the guitar with empty space around them, so maybe tt will not resonate as much.

No big deal, because that pickgard lowers the price of the guitar considerably and that will enable it for me to purchase it. But still, one has to wonder about that...

All I know is that the two S2 Standards I own, a Standard 22 and a Singlecut Standard, are AMAZING sounding, feeling, and looking guitars. My band mates like my Core guitars, but they ALWAYS prefer it when I play my S2 Standard 22. They want me to make that my MAIN guitar. I like to switch it up, so I never play the same one twice, lol. BUT, I will attest to the perfection that is the S2 Standard. The tone is fat and clear. I have the stock #7s in both of mine, and will most likely NOT change them - unless I go crazy and buy 57/08s (my favorite pickup overall) for both. Let me say, though, that while I have five guitars with 57/08 pickups, I equally enjoy the tone of the S2 #7 pickups.

The cavity under the pickguard? Never thought about it. The guitars sound good enough that it has been a non-issue for me. In fact, call me stupid, it never occurred to me that there WAS a cavity under the pickguard because the S2 Standards have a nice, thick tone that makes me smile.

Personally, I wouldn't worry about any of it. If the guitar doesn't excite you, I will be surprised.

Mine:

I actually traded the gold one toward a Core MC58. Missed it so much I bought one last week in Ice Blue Mist to match the Singlecut. It showed up yesterday, and was flawless in every way - just as I remember the gold one being.....

 

[JMaia]

I actually traded the gold one toward a Core MC58. Missed it so much I bought one last week in Ice Blue Mist to match the Singlecut. It showed up yesterday, and was flawless in every way - just as I remember the gold one being.....

Thanks for the pictures, they are great looking guitars (strange how at first I disliked these metalized colors, but they do grow on you).

And what's that switch on that Singlecut?! That's not stock...

 

[markd21]

Thanks for the pictures, they are great looking guitars (strange how at first I disliked these metalized colors, but they do grow on you).

And what's that switch on that Singlecut?! That's not stock...

Hahaha, the chicken head knob is the neck volume. I switched it to the chicken head because I like my neck pickup in a certain spot, and that helps me see it better onstage.