Are the SE Standard guitars…

[Mr.Blooze92]

Hey all,

I was thinking about burning a little bit of spare cash on an SE Standard 245. Are these guitars good enough to gig with and do they last? It hard to believe that at at about $450 used, they could last a lifetime.

I call most Epiphone guitars in that price range “throw aways” because I have personally seen many fall apart after 20 years. Specifically fingerboards coming unglued, truss rods not functioning, neck joint failures, etc. Bearing the PRS name, I would think these would be quite a bit better. I have a Core Custom 24, but I want a PRS Singlecut on a budget. Any help would be great and much appreciated!

Thanks!

 

[theDeepender]

Hey all,

I was thinking about burning a little bit of spare cash on an SE Standard 245. Are these guitars good enough to gig with and do they last? It hard to believe that at at about $450 used, they could last a lifetime.

I call most Epiphone guitars in that price range “throw aways” because I have personally seen many fall apart after 20 years. Specifically fingerboards coming unglued, truss rods not functioning, neck joint failures, etc. Bearing the PRS name, I would think these would be quite a bit better. I have a Core Custom 24, but I want a PRS Singlecut on a budget. Any help would be great and much appreciated!

Thanks!

Hope you get good responses. I really want to know myself.

I don’t have a 245. Mine is a Custom 24. I’ve only had it since ‘16, but so far it’s holding up quite well.

 

[Draconomics]

Hey all,

I was thinking about burning a little bit of spare cash on an SE Standard 245. Are these guitars good enough to gig with and do they last? It hard to believe that at at about $450 used, they could last a lifetime.

I call most Epiphone guitars in that price range “throw aways” because I have personally seen many fall apart after 20 years. Specifically fingerboards coming unglued, truss rods not functioning, neck joint failures, etc. Bearing the PRS name, I would think these would be quite a bit better. I have a Core Custom 24, but I want a PRS Singlecut on a budget. Any help would be great and much appreciated!

Thanks!

Short answer....are they good enough to gig with and do they last? YES.

Long answer: YES, BUT...the weakest aspect of SEs has never been the construction, it's generally the pickups. They are solid, but like other things on SEs, upgrades make a good guitar into a great one. Every SE I've played or worked on has been rock solid. Truss rods are fantastic, though adjustment sensitive. They never need much adjusting tho and they respond almost too well.

For what it's worth, Epis are fairly solid too, but an SE feels more thoughtfully made. Strangely, most if the issues you brought up I see more regularly on Gibson's. Go figure that.

 

[sergiodeblanc]

I would think so.

SE Singlecuts are fantastic!

 

[Mr.Blooze92]

Short answer....are they good enough to gig with and do they last? YES.

Long answer: YES, BUT...the weakest aspect of SEs has never been the construction, it's generally the pickups. They are solid, but like other things on SEs, upgrades make a good guitar into a great one. Every SE I've played or worked on has been rock solid. Truss rods are fantastic, though adjustment sensitive. They never need much adjusting tho and they respond almost too well.

For what it's worth, Epis are fairly solid too, but an SE feels more thoughtfully made. Strangely, most if the issues you brought up I see more regularly on Gibson's. Go figure that.

Thanks for the reply! You have convinced me to jump on one. Upgrading the pickups would be easy enough and I have some laying around. I’d be the idiot that would put a real PAF in it, just because I have one in a box in a drawer.

 

[Alnus Rubra]

I would think so.

SE Singlecuts are fantastic!

So do I, especially when they turn up at your home in a box!





This will be alive for a lot of years!

 

[Alnus Rubra]

Thanks for the reply! You have convinced me to jump on one. Upgrading the pickups would be easy enough and I have some laying around. I’d be the idiot that would put a real PAF in it, just because I have one in a box in a drawer.

I have a set of PAFs to go into mine. Now if my bloody shoulder would just behave, I could record the A/B of the PRS and new set!

 

[64 Tele]

I've got an SE 245 with stock pickups.
It's my not a Les Paul Les Paul.
Stock pickups still in it and it's the only SE (I've got three) that I've never felt the need to swap pickups.
Yes, it's plenty good enough to gig with.

 

[Jo-]

So do I, especially when they turn up at your home in a box!





This will be alive for a lot of years!

Damn that’s a beautiful piece of mahogany. The Jo approves.

 

[Mozzi]

Thanks for the reply! You have convinced me to jump on one. Upgrading the pickups would be easy enough and I have some laying around. I’d be the idiot that would put a real PAF in it, just because I have one in a box in a drawer.

Pick-ups are subjective anyway so its just a matter of choice. I personally think the SE Pups are excellent - considering the 'price of the instrument and lets not forget that they are designed by PRS, made 'exclusively' for PRS and used in their US S2 line - and no-one questions whether they are 'good enough' to gig with, will last etc...

Being perfectly honest, I don't think the SE variant - whether its 85/15 'S' or JM635 'S', they don't sound as good as the US equivalents, but a set of US made pups probably cost as much as a complete SE Standard guitar. I think they are every bit as good though (and as durable, well made etc) as the 'majority' of mainstream after-market Pups - then its just 'preference' about the output and balance of them etc - but really, they are great pups and the only reason to change, is to replace for personal preference.

The 'bones' of these guitars are really solid and should last a lifetime+ with the usual care, maintenance and upkeep. As I said, much of the replaceable stuff is also used on the S2 line as well so if its good enough for them....

 

[ScottR]

What these guys said…

SE 245’s rule…

That is all

 

[Alnus Rubra]

Damn that’s a beautiful piece of mahogany. The Jo approves.

Thanks Jo and what makes it so much sweeter is that I was kindly gifted it by @bodia @sergiodeblanc and others here.
Very lucky.

What these guys said…

SE 245’s rule…

That is all

Get that beauty shown!

 

[ScottR]

https://imgur.com/a/djDY1MN

 

[Alnus Rubra]

Yo Big Mommas in the house!

 

[Draconomics]

Thanks for the reply! You have convinced me to jump on one. Upgrading the pickups would be easy enough and I have some laying around. I’d be the idiot that would put a real PAF in it, just because I have one in a box in a drawer.

Sweet! You won't regret it.

A small addendum about SE pickups ..ill never tell you they are bad, in fact the latest ones are pretty good. The tci(s) variety are probably the best SE pickups I've ever heard and would totally put them on other axes. I find as a whole SE pickups lack some clarity from their US counterparts. I've had SEs that "came alive" with a swap to a higher end pickup. Case in point, my 35th sounded weak until I dropped some Bareknuckles in it, and that kicked her up several notches that it needed. Might be the same for you, who knows? I have dropped PAF pups in em before and liked the result! Its fun to experiment and see how good you can get these axes. I always feel like I got crazy value from mine, even with all the mods.

 

[theDeepender]

I have a set of PAFs to go into mine. Now if my bloody shoulder would just behave, I could record the A/B of the PRS and new set!

None of my business, but as a recipient of two shoulder replacements, if the issue is that they are worn out, I can honestly say that I am SO GLAD I got them replaced.

Tell ya what. I’ll pray for you. I hate shoulder issues. Especially for guitar players.

 

[theDeepender]

Sweet! You won't regret it.

A small addendum about SE pickups ..ill never tell you they are bad, in fact the latest ones are pretty good. The tci(s) variety are probably the best SE pickups I've ever heard and would totally put them on other axes. I find as a whole SE pickups lack some clarity from their US counterparts. I've had SEs that "came alive" with a swap to a higher end pickup. Case in point, my 35th sounded weak until I dropped some Bareknuckles in it, and that kicked her up several notches that it needed. Might be the same for you, who knows? I have dropped PAF pups in em before and liked the result! Its fun to experiment and see how good you can get these axes. I always feel like I got crazy value from mine, even with all the mods.

That is my experience also.
I thought the SE pups were ok, but just not what I needed. Perhaps a bit vanilla for my taste. So I dropped a PAF in the neck and a more modern medium output in the bridge. Now, I think it rivals most of the guitars I’ve ever heard. But that’s just my personal taste.

 

[Draconomics]

That is my experience also.
I thought the SE pups were ok, but just not what I needed. Perhaps a bit vanilla for my taste. So I dropped a PAF in the neck and a more modern medium output in the bridge. Now, I think it rivals most of the guitars I’ve ever heard. But that’s just my personal taste.

I think of SE pups on a whole as solid jack-of-all-trades type pickups. They do everything good, but if there is a particular genre or sound you're after, that might need a swap to really hone in on that thing you're after. My target was Santana-esque tones. The BK Abraxas pretty much gets you there to that mid 70s Santana vibe.

 

[ScottR]

I forgot to mention I recently changed the factory pups to SD Seth Lovers. Really diggin how these sound.

 

[Alnus Rubra]

None of my business, but as a recipient of two shoulder replacements, if the issue is that they are worn out, I can honestly say that I am SO GLAD I got them replaced.

Tell ya what. I’ll pray for you. I hate shoulder issues. Especially for guitar players.

Thanks brother.

It’s put a halt some of my life, hopefully not for too long.

Really hoping that an operation isn’t in my future.