HUH a new SE DGT just announced on Youtube

[docteurseb]

Odd.

 

[24Fretter]

So...being a barnyard luthier, I've worked on a few guitars in my time. $100 guitar shaped things, Gibson's, SEs, Chinese, USAese, Mexicanese, East LAese...etc. SEs can vary a bit in quality here and there, but they are consistently above average. The fretwork on my Paul's SE was near flawless out of the box, and they feel good to play on. I did do a little spot leveling and polished the snot outta them, but that's just me being anal. It plays better than any Gibson I've compared it to, and can hang with some US made PRS geetars I've demoed.

Ok...nitro vs poly. There is a valid argument sure, but considering the actual thickness of the coats on SEs? Nah. The difference is miniscule, if any, and heck on an electric the pickups matter far more than the wood. Once you send that signal thru pedals, amps, mics, room sounds...how would you even tell which is better? Put some domestic PRS pickups in there, swap the nut, stick some man made saddles in, and it's basically 95% there. Been playing for 16 years now, I can't hear any difference. Doesn't matter much to me either I guess, I just play the darn thing and hope it doesn't sound like a sick cat.

Actual luthier here, can't tell you how many thousand I've worked on. Ok at the price point. Other than that, well, mostly they are essentially Corts shaped like a PRS. We can agree to disagree on the rest.

Maybe they'll step it up on these, we'll see.

Curious what fret wire these will get, whether it will be the real jumbo like on the core dgt, or the smaller import standard wire. Tiny fret wire is another thing I dislike on imports.

 

[docteurseb]

They are incredible at the price point they're sold at, and much better than some other brands (the worst one was a $2k Fender Made in Japan that had a fret job (or lack therefore) worthy of a $150 guitar).

Having said that, anyone believing an SE that costs a fraction of a Core is as good quality as a Core needs a serious reality check.
Whether that difference is worth the large extra cost is however highly subjective.

 

[24Fretter]

They are incredible at the price point they're sold at, and much better than some other brands (the worst one was a $2k Fender Made in Japan that had a fret job (or lack therefore) worthy of a $150 guitar).

Having said that, anyone believing an SE that costs a fraction of a Core is as good quality as a Core needs a serious reality check.
Whether that difference is worth the large extra cost is however highly subjective.

I wouldn't say SE vs core is an appropriate comparison, but SE vs S2 is a closer price point, especially on used S2s.

Fancy veneers is all an SE has going for it there. S2s are usa guitars made to the same quality standards as core or private stock, with less frills. Different top carve, less fancy wood, import pickups, BUT, and this is the heart of the issue, the same attraction to detail on fit/finish, same finishes, and, most importantly, same attention to detail on fretboard prep and frets as any $20k private stock.

I can change pickups for cheap, even private stocks get replaced electronics because they use the same junk pots, but the most expensive issue is if I have to do a major fret level or even a refret because the import has standard meh import board prep. Expensive if I do it for you, using up valuable time if I do it for me.

I have s2s, core, artist, PS. The S2s are just as high quality, and frankly often sound better with the satin finish, as any usa prs. People complain about import trem, but it sounds fine and I don't change them. I'm a dealer for Mann so I easily could do that if it was an issue, but it isn't. Pickups not an issue since almost every guitar gets a pickup change anyway, and I'm not a huge fan of most usa prs pickups, with a couple exceptions.

 

[docteurseb]

most importantly, same attention to detail on fretboard prep and frets as any $20k private stock.

Please.

Core frets are sanded/levelled to a very high grit but they still have scratch marks you can feel when bending, PS are mirror like and butter smooth out of the box. Is it hard to do on a Core ? No, it takes 10-20min (just did it on a SC594).

PS fretboards such as rosewood and ebony are burnished/buffed to a high luster. Not even close to the prep/look/feel of any Core, and not something you can that easily achieve once frets are installed.

PS fretboard edges are on average more rolled, not something you can do without running the risk of damaging the finish on an already finished Core.

By the way PS are more like $11k, to reach $20k requires a hefty amount of options (but double necks and Koa will get you there quickly)

 

[TheBlueOne]

Anybody else catch this posted vid of Grissom playing the SE the other night? Sounds good. The knobs tho...

 

[24Fretter]

Please.

Core frets are sanded/levelled to a very high grit but they still have scratch marks you can feel when bending, PS are mirror like and butter smooth out of the box. Is it hard to do on a Core ? No, it takes 10-20min (just did it on a SC594).

PS fretboards such as rosewood and ebony are burnished/buffed to a high luster. Not even close to the prep/look/feel of any Core, and not something you can that easily achieve once frets are installed.

PS fretboard edges are on average more rolled, not something you can do without running the risk of damaging the finish on an already finished Core.

By the way PS are more like $11k, to reach $20k requires a hefty amount of options (but double necks and Koa will get you there quickly)

Cosmetics.

I'm talking about how well the board is leveled and the fallaway geometry, then how well the frets are seated.

If you actually do this kind of work, you know the stuff you just mentioned is final clean up stuff that affects looks, not function. It's stuff I do at the end just as added service. It doesn't take a long time, nor a genius.

Getting the fretboard geometry correct and the frets seated right is the hard part, very few people can actually do it right, even with instruction, and that is what affects playability.

You can polish poorly installed frets in a fretboard with incorrect geometry, polish the wonky board and roll the edges. Will be pretty but will buzz and feel like ass or require high action because you punked out on the important stuff.

 

[docteurseb]

I'm talking about how well the board is leveled and the fallaway geometry, then how well the frets are seated.

We can agree on that.

If you actually do this kind of work, you know the stuff you just mentioned is final clean up stuff that affects looks, not function. It's stuff I do at the end just as added service. It doesn't take a long time, nor a genius.

- Frets left with sanding marks left from leveling that feel rough when bending strings is just cosmetics ? Interesting take.
Does it take a long time ? As I said it doesn't, unless you're dealing with SS frets, yet it's not part of the 'final cleanup' except on PS guitars.

- Rolled fingerboard edges
Subjective I guess. Some couldn't care less and even prefer that lovely sharp edge feel of a Fender MIM/Squier.
For me that's the difference between an extra comfortable guitar and a very passable one (however well set up it may be).

But to say this doesn't take a long time to do properly on an already fretted neck, couldn't be further from the truth.
If you actually do this you would know it does take an awful amount of time.

- Burnished fingerboard
Certainly getting to the point where it's more cosmetic, although there is a definite change in feel compared to the typical rougher S2/Core/SE fingerboard. However it's not something you can that easily achieve in a timely manner on an already fretted neck.

 

[grausch]

Youtube suggested the following video for me…does not help much with the GAS…

Towards the end he mentions that the DGT has tall frets. I am really interested in knowing whether these are 6100s or medium jumbos as Phil McKnight said in his review.

 

[ruger9]

Youtube suggested the following video for me…does not help much with the GAS…

Towards the end he mentions that the DGT has tall frets. I am really interested in knowing whether these are 6100s or medium jumbos as Phil McKnight said in his review.

Yesterday on Five Watt World livestream Grissom said they are not only the same frets as on the Core, but the edges are finished/angled the same as well.

 

[aphantomvaper]

Anybody else catch this posted vid of Grissom playing the SE the other night? Sounds good. The knobs tho...

Don't like the knobs. Clear/Black lampshades would fix it

 

[sergiodeblanc]

Don't like the knobs. Clear/Black lampshades would fix it

SE Amber knobs are effective when used in a P&W scenario, ‘cause ain’t nobody feeling sexy around them.

 

[alantig]

SE Amber knobs are effective when used in a P&W scenario, ‘cause ain’t nobody feeling sexy around them.

Nobody?

 

[sergiodeblanc]

Nobody?

Rawr!

 

[dmatthews]

 

[Draconomics]

Actual luthier here, can't tell you how many thousand I've worked on. Ok at the price point. Other than that, well, mostly they are essentially Corts shaped like a PRS. We can agree to disagree on the rest.

Maybe they'll step it up on these, we'll see.

Curious what fret wire these will get, whether it will be the real jumbo like on the core dgt, or the smaller import standard wire. Tiny fret wire is another thing I dislike on imports.

Well...I think they are a stellar deal at the price point, but eh...to each their own. Sure, they are basically a Cort guitar made using PRS specs, but I don't think that's a knock against the SE line at all. Cort makes solid stuff. I will say...if you can score a used S2 around the price of a new SE, buy it over the SE. I do kinda wish I had held off buying my 35th SE as about two months later an S2 McCarty rolled thru Dave's Guitar Shop for a grand. I would have gone for that for sure. I have no regrets, but to get that 35th to feeling more like an equivalent S2 took some work...and money. Not a lot, but I threw some cheddar at it.

I am curious too about the fretwire. Small fretwire feels odd to me, but so does jumbo wire. I like something in the middle.

In an unrelated note... apparently there is now a SE McCarty. Oh yes baby....yes...finally.

 

[Mpcoluv]

Since I received one of the sunburst SE DGTs Thursday, I can tell you that hey are a cut above any SE I have ever held before. The neck profile feels just like a core DGT I used to own. the knobs do suck so I changed Them.
Try one. I think you will be surprised how close it is to a core Sound and feel wise.

 

[Alnus Rubra]

So today I walk into the local music store and go to the PRS display (x4 SE’s - 2 Silver Sky, an SE245 and CU24) looking for the SE DGT, to at least try one.

I go to walk out and a guy behind the counter asks if everything is ok. I stop, because I’m polite like that. I ask him if they’re expecting an SE DGT’s in. He replies:

“What’s that”

I tell him, the new guitar from PRS.

He still seems none the wiser. He asks me if I work for PRS, because I’m wearing my PRS jacket that @bodia kindly sent me (he’s such a dude).

So I went all medieval on the shops guys @ss.

 

[Lewguitar]

Did you feel that gust of wind? That was me whipping out the credit card.

Good thing I'm more into single coils these days!

The SE DGT looks and sounds delicious.

But I'm loving my two SE Silver Skys.

One's set up with a floating trem, the other lowers the pitch only.

 

[bodia]

So today I walk into the local music store and go to the PRS display (x4 SE’s - 2 Silver Sky, an SE245 and CU24) looking for the SE DGT, to at least try one.

I go to walk out and a guy behind the counter asks if everything is ok. I stop, because I’m polite like that. I ask him if they’re expecting an SE DGT’s in. He replies:

“What’s that”

I tell him, the new guitar from PRS.

He still seems none the wiser. He asks me if I work for PRS, because I’m wearing my PRS jacket that @bodia kindly sent me (he’s such a dude).

So I went all medieval on the shops guys @ss.

Nice!