Garrett came by...

[markd21]

...and got his hands on my SEs. He brought his 2016 Core 594 to compare to the SE 594. He played the DGT, the HBII, and the MAGICAL, modded SE245 57/08.

We had a great time shooting the guitars out, talking the direction of PRS, and gear in general.

I am hoping @garrett pops in to give his opinions of the guitars and the various things discovered. It was a fun afternoon!!

 

[bodia]

Nice! Forum bro hangs are always a great time.

 

[dmatthews]

Too much fun!

 

[garrett]

I almost started my own thread to talk about how killer that SE DGT is. It's insane that a guitar at that price can be so good. I think the SE One finally has a contender for the title of Best SE Ever.

Mark would hand me a guitar, I'd noodle around, we'd make observations. Repeat.

Some takeaways:
It was my first time playing Cor-Tek SE models, and they impressed. The fretwork was immaculate. Each one of them had beautifully rounded and polished fret ends. They all played fantastic and sounded great in their own way.

The mega-upgraded 245 did everything you expect a guitar of that type to do. I couldn't fault it. A great example that these guitars are very much worth upgrading if you're into that.

The SE 594 sounded VERY different to my 2016 Core. It was darker and had more of a grunt to it. Not sure if it's just the particular example or if they've tweaked the doublecuts to sound closer to the singlecuts.

The SE HBII is a super value. It certainly does capture most of the tone and feel of the '02 I used to own.

The SE DGT is just ridiculously good. Maybe Mark got a magic one, but of the seven guitars I played (including a couple non-PRS), my favorites were my 2016 594, the mega-upgraded 245, and the DGT. All three were on equal footing for me, which is bonkers considering the DGT is stock.

 

[markd21]

Yeah, the SE 594 is nothing like the 2016 Core. That guitar was so clear. All the notes ring out like a bell. Hearing Garret play the two back-to-back was interesting. The SE was more "raw" while Core was more "refined." Same family? Yes. Kind of like cousins rather than brothers.

The DGT is just a killer guitar. We were talking tone mods, and I think after pondering I have decided what I want.

(2) push/pull volumes with splits, N vol in front, B vol in back

I want to keep the tone circuit the same, just with better pots/wire.

The DGT has a Mann trem (hybrid), SE locking tuners, gold Hipshot buttons, Core rings and knobs. The pickups are definitely staying.

 

[RedGuitars]

Magical SE 245 57/08? Do tell.

 

[markd21]

Magical SE 245 57/08? Do tell.

Once, several moons ago, I had an amazing limited run 57/08 SC245. It was the ONE. Then, like a total dumbass, I traded it for a Gretsch Black Penguin. I missed the magical SC245 57/08. I even drove back to Nashville to trade back after a couple days. Nope. My beloved was gone.

I sold the Gretsch and decided to recreate the guitar. I bought a used SE245 from Dave's. Then I bought all killer parts to totally trandform it.

Here is a link to the OG post:

Over spend on an SE? Lol, check out mine!!

So, I got a hair-brained idea a few weeks back. I had bought a thrashed 1992 Epiphone Les Paul for $199 @ GC, and it was a beast of a player. However, it wasn't a PRS. Since moving to TN I am living a simpler life. Instead of continuing to work in education, I took a job as Human Resources...

forums.prsguitars.com

 

[Alnus Rubra]

Great that you guys got to hang out.