I spent much of the afternoon getting acquainted with my new (to me) S2 Standard 24 Satin. Wow. It’s my first US made PRS, and there’s no denying that it feels solid, at least as high quality as the American Standard Strat I had a few years ago. I bought the S2 from Dave’s, who did a wonderful low setup, and added springs to the trem on my request (I never use the trem). This is a 2018, and the plastic is still on the pickguard. The price was essentially irresistible.
Great fretwork and playability on this guitar. Just comfy and familiar feeling from the start. The Pattern Regular neck reminds me of nothing so much as the neck on my Taylor acoustic (a good thing). Still, I miss the width of the WF neck on my SE Custom 24. It’s a great neck, easy to play, just not as idiosyncratic as the WF. I think non-PRS guys would take to it easily. The satin finish on the S2 feels wonderful, on both the body and the neck.
Speaking of the SE Custom, I chose the S2 specifically because it shares some features with the SE that I love: Double cutaway, 24 frets, 85/15s pickups. I played single coils for years, and the 85/15s are some of the only humbuckers with enough clarity and definition for me. Yes, the pickups sound a bit different on the S2. They’re woodier and slightly darker (no maple top like on the SE). That said, I could easily dial my Marshall DSL to make one guitar sound like the other.
The S2 feels like a more deluxe guitar—the 3 way switch and volume/tone pots feel more solid. But it certainly feels like it comes from the same family as my SE Custom. I know the S2 doesn’t currently have the zebra pickups, but I love the look, which echoes the white piping on the pickguard.
I’m never going to own a $3000 10 top. But I feel like I have a bit of that US made luxury with this guitar.
Great fretwork and playability on this guitar. Just comfy and familiar feeling from the start. The Pattern Regular neck reminds me of nothing so much as the neck on my Taylor acoustic (a good thing). Still, I miss the width of the WF neck on my SE Custom 24. It’s a great neck, easy to play, just not as idiosyncratic as the WF. I think non-PRS guys would take to it easily. The satin finish on the S2 feels wonderful, on both the body and the neck.
Speaking of the SE Custom, I chose the S2 specifically because it shares some features with the SE that I love: Double cutaway, 24 frets, 85/15s pickups. I played single coils for years, and the 85/15s are some of the only humbuckers with enough clarity and definition for me. Yes, the pickups sound a bit different on the S2. They’re woodier and slightly darker (no maple top like on the SE). That said, I could easily dial my Marshall DSL to make one guitar sound like the other.
The S2 feels like a more deluxe guitar—the 3 way switch and volume/tone pots feel more solid. But it certainly feels like it comes from the same family as my SE Custom. I know the S2 doesn’t currently have the zebra pickups, but I love the look, which echoes the white piping on the pickguard.
I’m never going to own a $3000 10 top. But I feel like I have a bit of that US made luxury with this guitar.
Last edited:
