Core PRS Owners Who Love Their SE.

[sergiodeblanc]

So you own a Core (or above) grade PRS guitar but fell in love with a SE. Which one is it? What about it do you love? Can you even get a Core guitar with the same specs?

I think this thread could be helpful for first-time buyers and people with a casual interest in PRS guitars.

Let's hear about what makes that SE so special to you!



I'll go first:




I got this first year SE Orianthi as a backup to my 1993 CE that has been my best buddy for over twenty years. It was back when I thought I was only gonna have two guitars (Ha!).

I slapped some DII's, some wings, and a rotary switch in it thinking I would just be able to knock it around and not be too upset if something happened to it. I didn't plan on falling in love with it though..

At the time the only way you were gonna get a PRS with an ebony fretboard was to get a SE, go PS, or find a random Artist(?) model. There weren't any wood library guitars sporting a maple neck with a korina body that I knew of, even if there were, I don't know if I would've been brave enough to gamble on buying one. What I didn't expect was how much I would use this guitar for recording. It's pretty much my "go to" guitar for clean sounds. The covered DII in the neck position is chimey but yet robust, and the notes just cut!

I seriously don't think I could let this one go.

 

[CoreyT]

I like most of my SEs, but my two favorite are the SE Tremonti Custom, and the SE Kingfisher.
My 2012 SE Santana was my introduction to PRS shortly after I got my 2012 Gibson '61 SG Reissue, so it will always hold a special place with me.

If I had to let a few go, they would be the SE Custom 24 and the Zach Myers.
If anything they would go to my youngest son and I would replace them with more PRS, probably both cores.

 

[John Beef]

I would say this guitar is about 85-90% as good as my Custom 22 and I paid 15% as much for it. I've had iot for a good 5 years or so, and can't say I've ever had to adjust anything. Action is great. Neck carve is identical to the CU22. Perfect tuning stability. Not too heavy or too light. If I was recording a song where I used a both pickups on/in between sound that I wanted to be funky, this would be the guitar I have used for that. I was thinking about using it as my main guitar for this particularly crusty dive bar gig we have coming up. It's got a 59/09 bridge pickup and the stock neck pickup.

 

[mezzio]

Still love these two

 

[sergiodeblanc]

Still love these two

Yeah, they're dope lookin', but why do you love them?

 

[dogrocketp]

My favorite is my Tremonti SE custom, modified out the Wazoo. It`s the only PRS with a tremolo that has an uproute. I had to sell most of my gear during a horrible 10 year separation and divorce. I kept my Core Mira, but this was my reward after the divorce. It just sings, and has more cojones than a well endowed gigolo.

 

[ViperDoc]

I'll tell you what introduced me to PRS in the first place: my SE Soapy II. It is an incredible guitar. What I like about it immediately aside from its all-mahogany badness was that it combined the PRS stoptail with an armcut flat guitar body and a 25 inch scale, which was naturally comfortable unlike any other guitar I'd played. It was the first guitar I've ever purchased and I still have it. Furthermore, the P90 pickups are so sonically individual as to deserve their own category. I dig the higher output single coil vibe. Anyway, it's still stock and resident in my collection, and I'll never sell it.

 

[CantankerousCarl]

I re-kindled my guitar love after a 10+ year hiatus with a gen2 SE Santana in 2011. Although that guitar (and many other fine SEs) have passed through my fingers, all of them very good to great guitars, the ones that stick for me are the unique ones - the ones you cannot get in Core (or even S2 as of yet) models.

I LOVE my SE Custom Semi-Hollow Soapbar. 100% stock. I'll echo ViperDoc's sentiments - what a great vibe, love the P90s with the semi-hollow body. Ditto the SE EGs - both the HSS and SSS ones offer things that are unique to PRS, and even uncommon in guitardom. How often do you see an all-mahogany set-neck triple-single 22 fretter with a stoptail?

Special cross-line mention to the S2 Vela - ain't nothin' like it in Coredom, and what a great feel and vibe from this axe. And sexy too. I love my McCarty burst one, but that "Ice Blue Firemist" has me thinkin' 'bout a second one...

 

[RedGuitars]

SE Angelus makes a great 2nd acoustic in the house.

 

[Ol'Lefty]

I have never owned a Core, but how I came to my S2 Singlecut says something about SE's. Last December I ordered an SE Singlecut as my introduction to PRS in my 50+ year life with playing and building guitars. I have very limited income due to health forced surprise retirement. I received the SE and played it for maybe 15 minutes or a bit more and examined it closely from the viewpoint of a sometimes -builder I was so impressed with the quality of the import that I knew wanted to invest more in a PRS and pre-retirement I would have probably gone to a McCarty SC ( my Sweetwater wish list has a black/gold wrap burst 245). I could not do that and I now have a Dark Cherry Burst S2 Singlecut that is one of the best guitars I have owned. Dollars just don't always tell the tale. But I just figured that if PRS could deliver all of that quality for $630, doubling that would be even more rewarding. It is. Note that my choices are self-limited by preference for single, modest cutaways and near hatred of tremolos (thanks Fender) and long term LP ownership and builds . It is obvious that Mr. Smith's years at Gibson taught him what NOT to do. One logical reason to build overseas is to deliver more quality for the dollar and still profit if the company cares a whit for consumer satisfaction. Most of the time, PRS competitors have chosen another reason- less quality @ less cost = more net profit.

 

[mezzio]

Yeah, they're dope lookin', but why do you love them?

Well, the SECU24 I've had long enough for form a bond with, and over time I've been able to set up exactly to what I like, action, pickup height, intonation is spot on, and it just feels good to play I haven't decided if I'm gonna change the pickups, but depending on how this SD Black Winter sounds in the Peavey I'm putting it in, I might upgrade to a set of those.

The baritone, well, it's a baritone, it sounds cool, and they don't have a core baritone, lol.

 

[xjbebop]

First few PRSi were SE's....because...affordable. Pretty much 'common knowledge' that any SE is going to be a quality instrument, especially for the money.
A few years down the road now and we're at four cores and 6 or 8 (lost count..) SE's in the stable currently. Then I come across an exceptional deal on the SE MF, bring it home and proceed to be impressed even beyond my expectations. They just keep getting better. Still in the honey moon but became attached right off the bat. Looks great, feels great, sounds great. This guitar is making me happy, and that's what matters!
Simple and solid, easy to upgrade if so desired. Easy to personalize, without any feelings of guilt. SE's rock....

Great thread! :top:

 

[phillybri]

I love my SE Angelus in addition to my Wood Library DGT. Most comfortable acoustic I've ever played!

 

[stratcpo]

I have four SE guitars and the one I am most impressed with is my 245. I like it so much much that I want out and bought a Core SC245. Never thought I was a singlecut guy until I got the SE. ENJOY!!!

 

[WeFixFlats]

I have my 'Core Four', but in the case of my brand new Kestrell and the MM Baritone(with Railhammer Pickups btw), these two SE's are the best price/performance, bang for buck I have ever owned. They are great workingman, professional stage quality instruments, play with complete ease, balance and look good doing it too.

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[shinksma]

I have a SE-7, which is great and obviously has no Core equivalent. (I'd buy a core 7-string in a heartbeat, Mr. Smith...hint hint)

EDIT: I played my SE-7 last night, exercising a couple new pedals I got for my gigging board, and had lots of fun making gloomy dark fuzzy sounds on that low-B. It had also been slightly neglected recently - xref the other neglected SEs described below...

I have a SE MM Baritone, which gets me a whole bunch of tones that also can't be found in a Core equivalent, and I gig with it. (I'd also buy a core Baritone in a heartbeat, Mr. Smith...hint hint)

I have an SE Angelus Custom, and it is my main acoustic guitar - it has been gigged regularly, and will continue to in that role. I'm sure a Maryland-made Angelus or other acoustic would be very nice, but they are mostly Private Stock line now, IIRC, and well outside my budget.

My other SEs need to get more attention, but I must admit they get neglected - my ZM and Akerfeldt are good guitars, but I just don't have the time to play them very much - too busy with other stuff, so my music life is somewhat compressed and centers on getting my pedal board tweaked when I'm not gigging or practicing (e.g. practice tonight, gig tomorrow night!).

Even my Core CU24 and SAS get neglected, because my P24 and Hollowbody are my main gigging guitars (and even the Hollowbody is playing second fiddle to the P24 right now).

Sigh, I need to retire, or at least take a non-traveling and non-housework vacation.

 

[watelessness]

my SE Angelus Custom is just an insane machine. the neck is nice and fat, the guitar just feels comfortable, and sonically, it is a loud and powerful beast.

 

[Dusty Chalk]

I have a SE-7, which is great and obviously has no Core equivalent. (I'd buy a core 7-string in a heartbeat, Mr. Smith...hint hint)

Hear hear!

I was trying to decide to post this same concept in this thread (and if so, how to phrase it), when you came in and solved both for me.

 

[shinksma]

Hear hear!

I was trying to decide to post this same concept in this thread (and if so, how to phrase it), when you came in and solved both for me.

Glad to help!

 

[yankeebulldog]

I picked up this SE One Korina a little while back:


I did a few mods - locking tuners, Duncan Custom P90, and a Schroder bridge. I like the tone of this one a lot and you can't get a core model with this config.