Is Whale Blue supposed to be so dark?

M

MrRabuf

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Feb 7, 2019
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Hey all! So I've wanted a PRS guitar for so long and I finally bought one... a new SE 245 in Whale Blue. I just got it yesterday (had to have it shipped since nobody near me had an SE 245) and the finish is so dark. It almost looks black. It looks nothing like any pictures I've seen. Is this normal? I really like the Whale Blue in the pictures but mine basically looks like a black guitar (and I already have 2 black guitars and don't want another one) and you can only see the flame top when looking really close under good light.

I'm going to be returning it because it also looks like the Les Paul style shape is just not for me. Unlike my strat I've had for years, it doesn't balance well when sitting. I feel like it's going to fall on the floor every time I let go. So, I'll probably exchange it for an SE Custom 24 instead but no stores near me have the colors I'd pick in stock. I'm tempted to order Whale Blue again and hope it's not so dark.

Thoughts?
 
Is it by chance a 2018 model built in Indonesia? I've noticed that the newer Whale Blue SE models are significantly darker. The 2018s I've seen are closer to navy blue or even black than they are to the older models.
 
jdag said:
Is it by chance a 2018 model built in Indonesia?
Click to expand...

Yup

jdag said:
I've noticed that the newer Whale Blue SE models are significantly darker. The 2018s I've seen are closer to navy blue or even black than they are to the older models.
Click to expand...

Yeah, that definitely describes what mine looks like. My wife thought it was black when she first saw it. Maybe I should instead consider the SE Standard 24 in Translucent Blue. I wonder if those are as dark. Or maybe I should just give up on blue or stop worrying so much about the color, lol.
 
My S2 Custom 24 (Whale Blue) looks just like this one:

shopping

Except I have Zebra pickups, because mine is from the Guitar Center build (2015).
 
I used to want a whale blue PRS because some I've seen are just beautiful. I was basically decided on a brand new S2 custom 24 in whale blue but decided when I saw it in person I didn't actually like the color. ...However, I recently saw a used whale blue CE24 used at GC and it was crazy beautiful. I totally wanted to buy it, but two CE24s in different colors seems a bit excessive). I think, like almost every PRS finish or really any transparent guitar finish, it varies from guitar to guitar. Some are darker, some are lighter. Some have better figuring in the top, etc... I have a Trampas Green CE24 which has a pretty even balance of green and grey. But i've seem some that are much more grey and others much more green.
 
MrRabuf said:
Hey all! So I've wanted a PRS guitar for so long and I finally bought one... a new SE 245 in Whale Blue. I just got it yesterday (had to have it shipped since nobody near me had an SE 245) and the finish is so dark. It almost looks black. It looks nothing like any pictures I've seen. Is this normal? I really like the Whale Blue in the pictures but mine basically looks like a black guitar (and I already have 2 black guitars and don't want another one) and you can only see the flame top when looking really close under good light.

I'm going to be returning it because it also looks like the Les Paul style shape is just not for me. Unlike my strat I've had for years, it doesn't balance well when sitting. I feel like it's going to fall on the floor every time I let go. So, I'll probably exchange it for an SE Custom 24 instead but no stores near me have the colors I'd pick in stock. I'm tempted to order Whale Blue again and hope it's not so dark.

Thoughts?
Click to expand...

I've got a 2018 SE Custom 24 from Indonesia in Whale Blue and many people have thought it was black at first glance.
At the same time many people have said it was beautiful.
It's a great guitar I suggest you just enjoy yours now you can always trade it later if the color doesn't grown on you-
 
MrRabuf said:
Hey all! So I've wanted a PRS guitar for so long and I finally bought one... a new SE 245 in Whale Blue. I just got it yesterday (had to have it shipped since nobody near me had an SE 245) and the finish is so dark. It almost looks black.

I'm going to be returning it because it also looks like the Les Paul style shape is just not for me. So, I'll probably exchange it for an SE Custom 24 instead but no stores near me have the colors I'd pick in stock. I'm tempted to order Whale Blue again and hope it's not so dark.

Thoughts?
Click to expand...

I had an SE Custom 24 in Whale Blue and it was also very dark. I ordered it because the finish in the picture was lighter and had a bit of green in it, but apparently that applies to older models. I wouldn't order it again expecting it to be different. FYI the SE Custom 24 balances perfectly (I have two) and is available in some really nice finishes. Have a look on Musicians Friend.
 
I've had a number of blue guitars. They tend to be quite dark unless photographed with a flash. I now recognize this in ads. Most will be well lit, but you can usually find one shot or angle that looks dark. That can be the color that presents in real life.
 
Google "prs se whale blue" and click on images...you will see a wide variability in shades.
 
As others have stated, the blue in Whale blue varies significantly - I'm not sure why they continue to call it Whale Blue with such variation. I've pulled two different Whale Blue SE's off the wall at a top PRS dealer, and the blue on the SE Custom 22 was nothing like the blue on the SE Custom 24 next to it.
 
It depends partially on which factory it was built in. The indonesian ones I've seen have been to the darker side. Remember, Each piece of maple or mahogany will take the stain differently. Definitely get a blue guitar, because blue guitars sound better. My friend, Phil, said so.
 
This is LITERALLY the reason I sold one of my core CU22's That was whale blue. I couldn't take have such a beautiful 10 top that I could only see in sunlight. Never in a dim room and definitely NEVER on stage in a darkened bar would that wonder top show through. Sounded and played great. But, if you have a ten top, you would think that you'd want it to be seen. To me it would be more like the EDGE of a blue burst of some sort. Had it gotten lighter towards the middle it would have been great . But to have the entire top covered in that dark blue just didn't do it for me.
 
Indonesia is an island and is further south and east in the Pacific ocean than the Korean peninsula. So, obviously the warmer climate and proximity to deeper waters means that whales are a different color there. It's just geobiology...
 
I thought Ovibos was going to tell us that the sunlight in Indonesia is brighter and that the same colors look lighter down there... :confused:
 
I kind of like the "midnight" blue effect. Not as much as green tho... too many enchanted forest fantasies.

Over Bridges of Sighs
To rest my eyes in shades of green
Under Dreaming Spires
To Itchycoo Park, that's where I've been

What did you do there? - I got high
What did you feel there? - Well I cried
But why the tears there? - I'll tell you why - yyyyy
It's all too beautiful, It's all too beautiful
It's all too beautiful, It's all too beautiful
It's all too beautiful

I feel inclined to blow my mind
Get hung up, feed the ducks with a bun
They all come out to groove about
Be nice and have fun in the sun

I'll tell you what I'll do - What will you do?
I'd like to go there now with you
You can miss out school - Won't that be cool?
Why go to learn the words of fools?

What will we do there? - We'll get high
What will we touch there? - We'll touch the sky
But why the tears there? I'll tell you why
It's all too beautiful, It's all too beautiful
It's all too beautiful, It's all too beautiful
It's all too beautiful...

Green :)
 
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