Help me decide: S2 594 or SE HB2 Piezo

[Hotspur]

So I'm feeling the itch, and I've been drooling over these two guitars, alternatively, for quite a few months now.

I tend to play clean to mid-gain (think overdriven vintage marshall at the dirtiest), from singer-songwriter folk to jam bands. I like sweet, warm, round sounds, and tend to play melodically rather than ripping off fierce licks. (Jerry Garcia, Duane Allman, early Clapton, and Trey Anastasio are probably the guys who inspire me the most).

I've been going back and forth quite a bit.

S2 594 pros:
I love the coil tap sounds.
Really like independent volume and tone knobs for the pickups.
Really like the scale 24.5 scale length of my Chris Robertson, this will be closer to that. (Never had a 25.0 scale length guitar, so might love it, who knows!)
Would love to have an American-made PRS. The whole "les paul as made by PRS" thing is very appealing to me.

The biggest con is that I'm more likely to eventually be able to afford a core 594, so this might be less likely to be a "forever guitar."

SE HBIIP Pros:

A lot of music I play out, I absolutely will use the piezo, as I currently bring two guitars. The idea of being able to blend the sounds, and run to two amps, is very appealing, as are the looping possibilities (although in truth I've struggled to get into doing much looping, so that may be more theoretical). But seamlessly being able to go from acoustic sounds to electric mid-song, or even use both? I will use that all the time.
I've always wanted a PRS HB since I first played one.
Good lord these things are gorgeous. (The black gold is one of my favorite PRS finishes, as well. It's what I'd probably want on a core, although man there was a red 10 top HB somebody posted pictures off here once which was ... drool.)
It's a little (but meaningfully) cheaper. This may be a smaller impact that it looks because I'll probably be buying a second wireless system for the piezo jack.

Cons: I won't have the chance to play in advance, so I'm taking a bit of a leap of faith on the size. I know I like the traditional McCarty shape, but these are a little bigger.

I know the standard advice is to go play them both, but given the state of the world, that's not exactly an option at the moment.

Any and all thoughts welcome!

 

[GuitarJammin]

I think if you are planning on getting a core 594 later...I'd go with the HB for variety's sake. The only thing that would stop me is this: Not spending the coin on the HB will get me to a Core MUCH faster. If not...take the plunge.

 

[Nice F Holes]

SE HB fits your musical tastes very well. I’ve been enamored by PRS ever since I touched a Core HB also. The SE is not the same but it’s as close as you’ll get without a Core HB price tag - I’ve been looking for 2 decades. The SE is a little bigger than a core but it’s not ‘big.’ I doubt it’s any bigger than a Languedoc, probably a touch smaller. If you think you’ll one day splurge for a Core HB than I’d maybe say think about it. If you think that’s unlikely then I say go for the SE HB. It’s so fun to play, sounds amazing, is fun to play late night unplugged, is beautiful to look at, and is really unique in that it’s a true hollowbody built like an acoustic.

I’m obviously biased because I have one, and hollowbody is a requirement for me, at least before I have another guitar.

 

[veinbuster]

I would definitely go HB piezo. Great range and you know you would use it.

 

[11top]

I’m much more of an S2 fan than SE (and have both).

 

[andy474x]

Curve ball: I would bet money that we’ll be seeing S2 594 semi-hollows soon, and I think that would be the perfect instrument for you, minus having a piezo.

 

[CrimesAgainstMusic]

Dude ... You know the only answer is to BUY BOTH !

The only real point of decision being, which to buy first ?

There the answer is, which one model do you find a sample of , that "talks" to you. Cop that one, then go back for the other ... (unless your pockets are deep enough to do both at the same time )

Which would still not equal Core Hollowbody II $$$

The Core, is my "Bill Gates $$$ " . Hit the Lotto money guitar...

I'd probably have to petition Paul for special dispensation to buy a Core McCarty as they usually like folks to be able to do some modicum of "justice" to 'em (be able to play a little )

But ... for a 594 Candidate (I like shorter scale lengths too ) I'd recommend the Thinline.

It sounds glorious, even with "S" pickups .... I'm wondering if the pickups perform better in the Thinline & Hollowbody as opposed to the DC & SC. The Phil Mc Knight video is hard to shake ...

I was planning to holler at Vaughn Skow for his Classic '57's to swap the 58/15 S es ... but naw ... I'll stick awhile

 

[Broseph]

Nobody is going for the new jazzmaster acoustasonic fender guitars?

I kid I kid. I was tempted by HB piezo. But that price tag is a tad high for my taste for an import. Snagged a S2 594 for the same price and i was very happy.

I also would say snag a Zach Myers and go crazy with upgrades. Can make it approach a wannabe McCarty semihollow with upgrades.

 

[dogrocketp]

The SE Hollowbody is a true hollowbody, not a semi hollow. It goes from jazz to Larry Carleton to Piezo beautifully, with everything in between. Mine is an absolute keeper. I don't think there's anything close from any other manufacturer. It's my first Chinese instrument, and I'm satisfied that I got my money's worth. Circle back later and get a 594.

 

[Hotspur]

Of course, now that I think I've decided on the HB2 there appear to be none of them in stock anywhere ...

 

[CrimesAgainstMusic]

Of course, now that I think I've decided on the HB2 there appear to be none of them in stock anywhere ...

Sweetwater.

I look at their page to see what the tops look like. I'm not ready yet ... but it looks like they have both finishes.

S2's are what nobody seems to have ...

 

[tyfu20]

I have both and while I love the S2 594, it sounds like the SE HB2 is the one that would fit your needs. Great guitar and super versatile. Good luck!

 

[Josh W.]

Sweetwater.

I look at their page to see what the tops look like. I'm not ready yet ... but it looks like they have both finishes.

S2's are what nobody seems to have ...

After stimulus checks went out I’d imagine there’s a lot of difficulty finding instruments ~$1400 and under. I finally got my CE24 sold four days after the checks started hitting people’s accounts.

 

[Hotspur]

Sweetwater.

I look at their page to see what the tops look like.

Naw, they're on "Reserve one, more on order."

Truth is I generally prefer to buy from smaller dealers when I can. Sweetwater is great, don't get me wrong, I order from them all the time. But they don't have the black gold in stock.

(I'm strongly disinclined to do the big chains, and would probably rather wait).

 

[CrimesAgainstMusic]

Naw, they're on "Reserve one, more on order."

Truth is I generally prefer to buy from smaller dealers when I can. Sweetwater is great, don't get me wrong, I order from them all the time. But they don't have the black gold in stock.

(I'm strongly disinclined to do the big chains, and would probably rather wait).

OH ... I though you said HB2 ... not Piezo ...

 

[Hotspur]

It does look like MF has them in stock. I'll wait a week or two for my vaccine to kick in and call around some local shops without much online presence to see if I have any good options.