Lightweight SE/S2 offerings

alex1fly

New Member
Joined
May 12, 2020
Messages
146
Location
USA
Hey everyone, I picked up a beautiful SE Custom 24 Floyd model during quarantine. You can see it as my profile picture. Plays like a dream and we've bonded nicely. Unfortunately I'm having a bit of buyer's remorse because the guitar is too heavy for my comfort - it weighs about 8.5 lbs and after weighing the rest of my guitars and basses, I'm realizing that I just don't enjoy playing my instruments unless they're 7 lbs or less. Yes, that's limiting, and I'd love to get over it but it's just a quirk that I've developed.

I'm seeing that Sweetwater lists weights of their guitars, which no other vendors seem to do. So I'm considering trying to recover what I paid for this SE Custom and using Sweetwater to get a different SE or S2 model with a lighter weight. Without the ability to try out these guitars in this period of lockdown, I'll use this space here to brainstorm out loud on models that come in at 7 lbs or under for Sweetwater's current In-Stock selection and hopefully solicit some feedback that will help me make a good decision. I'm also operating under the assumption that I'm going to like any model that I get my hands on (based on these few months with the Custom and a few years spent with an SE Soapbar II double cut). And I don't need any particular sounds - feel and quality is more important to me than certain pickup voicings, as long as it compliments the two Strats I have (one with vintage pickups, the other with high-output actives). Feel free to comment, ignore, educate, etc!

SE Paul's Guitar - I love the wide thin neck of the SE Custom. Is the wide fat that different? Can you feel a 2 mm different in thickness? Is this the epitome of the SE line? They sure look beautiful, including that bridge!

SE Zach Myers - short scale at 24.5", interesting. I'd probably put some thick strings on it, maybe even flatwounds.

SE Hollowbody I & II - never had a hollowbody or semi hollow. Keeping an open mind. I do love playing jazz and fingerstyle. I wonder if they are more sensitive to changes in humidity and temperature than solid bodies.

Another SE Custom - not a bad idea! I'd know what I'd be getting, as long as the proper weight could be found.

SE Standard - is this a downgrade? Depends on who you ask.

SE Mira - looks really similar spec-wise to the SE Custom. Not terribly clear on what the point is of this model other than lighter weight and a different body style.

S2 Standard - don't know much about the S2 line other than what I've read on here... similar parts to SEs, made in USA, opinions vary on if they're worth the extra $$.

S2 Vela - maybe this is a more "vintage" type offering? Awesome looking axes.

Keep current guitar - take a sander to the body and remove any non-essential wood. Not really, this is here to see if anyone's paying attention to the rambling.

Thanks, Alex
 
Last edited:
One of everything!

Nah, but really... if I were you and wanting something light, I would look at a Mira. I’ve owned 2 and both were very light. They are different than the SE Custom in more ways than just body shape, the neck is mahogany, so the tone is warmer, and a different neck shape as well. And it has a stoptail, different tone there, and an added bonus in your case that without a trem you don’t have a big heavy trem block inside the guitar. Also the Mira is 22 frets so your neck pickup is in a different place than on the Custom 24. Basically the same story for the Paul’s SE here, too, I’ve held a few and they were all very light.

The S2 Standards and Vela are really, really good too, but not as universally lightweight in the solid bodies, although you might be able to find one on the leaner side, or the Vela comes in semi hollow.

Another option would be to hunt for a new S2 Mira. They’re discontinued, but not that long ago, and I’m sure there are some new ones still around, maybe even a semi hollow which would be lighter yet.

The W/F carve feels a little fatter in the back than the W/T if your Custom, not as flat on the back and more meat on the sides. The S2 carve (other than the 594’s) is somewhere in between shape wise, and slightly more petite in general.
 
Another option is to rethink your straps.

A 3” wide bass strap distributes the weight more. There’s also options that use both shoulders or waist.
 
The S2’s have an improvement in wood, and especially fretwork over the SE’s. I have a few of both. Ask the seller what the weight of whatever model is that you fancy the most. There is no one correct answer. The SE hollow bodies are featherweight and very nice. An S2 McCarty thin line is guaranteed to be light. My old CE 24 is almost 9 pounds. It sounds so well that I got a heavily padded leather strap and it works fine.
 
OP My 2 S2 standard 22s are both around 7lbs a tad more and my S2 Mira is under 6 with no neck dive and my SE Mira that I recently grabbed as a gig in NYC guitar is 6.2, VERY light on both the Miras but I guess the point is that the S2s can be really light as well, I bought one from Sweetwater and they weigh their guitars and I bought the other 3 from Daves guitars who also weighs their guitars, if you buy from GC online used ask the store to weigh they usually will and shoot for uder 7.5lbs which is usually comfortable to play all nite at least for me....good luck and let us know what you grab, also Music Zoo has weight listed as well....
 
Thanks for the suggestions. I played the Custom again over the weekend and just love the heck out of it. Can't bring myself to change models at this time, so if I do switch something I'll try to recover my costs and get another SE Custom. But good thoughts for the inevitable next one, haha. Good tip on the Music Zoo listing weights, though I'm not seeing it obviously listed on their guitar pages. Maybe when you message them?
 
S2 Satins have thinner nitro finishes, compared to glossy poly, which adds weight. My poly is slightly heavier than my satin, by at least several ounces.

Factor in heavier bridges adding extra weight as well. Also, fewer knobs translates to less internal electronics, which decreases weight. Larger body shape of a SC will weigh more than a double-cut.
 
Here are my 3 lightest SEs:
6.07 lbs 2008 Soapbar
6.10 lbs 2019 Hollowbody Standard
6.43 lbs 2005 Soapbar II

My heaviest SE is:
9.48 lbs 2015 245 Soapbar

My S2 guitars range in weight from
7.50 lbs to 8.04 lbs
 
S2 Mira semi hollow?
Possibly the lightest electric guitar on the planet.

hNcfPIX.jpg
 
Back
Top