I just picked up a Cherry Red Satin S2 Standard 22, and I'm extremely happy with it. Actually, I'm surprisingly happy with it. Now, on with the story:
I realize there are a lot of "Core" players out there that will turn their nose up at an S2, and I have to admit, I was for a while as well. I have owned "Core" guitars in the past. A '94 Whale Blue Custom 24, A couple CE guitars from the 90s, and a Single cut from the 2000s. All of them were great guitars, but I ultimately ended up trading them for other guitars or equipment. I found myself polishing them more than I was playing them. I was always afraid I was going to nick or put a scratch on them.
One of my guitars was a modified EVH MIM Wolfgang that wasn't seeing much love lately, as I have been favoring my custom Strat. I decided that if I found a guitar at the store that I felt I had to have, I would trade my Wolf for it, rather than let it collect dust. Initially, the new Ibanez AZ Premium piqued my interest. On paper, it looked great. All the appointments of the guitar were right up my alley. Problem was, when I played it, it didn't feel right, and worse, the Hyperion pickups were not my bag at all. I don't mind changing pickups, and I usually do, but if the neck doesn't feel right, it's a lost cause.
Hanging up in the shop next to it was a PRS S2 Standard 22 Satin, used for $799, with very little to no evident play wear. I picked it up and that guitar immediately felt "right". The pickups sounded good through the store's amp, and the trem action was superb. I loved the way it played, felt and sounded, but wasn't in love with the way it looked. With the cherry finish and pickguard, it kind of reminded me of an SG. I really didn't give much thought to trading my Wolf for it, but for the next few days, I couldn't get how well it played out of my head, so I set about some research.
Aside from a couple variations on how the guitar is constructed, it's bones are an American PRS. So, it's a three piece neck as opposed to a one piece. To me, it's not that big a deal. Other manufacturers have been successfully using scarf joints for years. Most headstock breaks I've seen don't occur at the scarf joint, so I wasn't worried about strength of construction. It doesn't have a violin carve on a thick maple cap. Again, not concerned about that. Actually, playability-wise, I think the way they cut the top on the S2 is very comfortable to play with the arm contour. The frets are added to the fretboard before it's glued to the neck. Who cares?
Now, onto the "negative" things I found in my research. The trem is a molded two-piece trem rather than a machined trem. Steel sustain block, not brass. I determined I could live with that for a while and eventually replace it with a Mann Made trem. Not awesome, but the original trem didn't make the instrument sound terrible from what I could tell. The pickups are Asian reproductions of the 85/15 pickups. This was absolutely no big deal, as I usually swap pickups from stock on almost every guitar I own. I determined for this instrument, I would eventually put a Duncan '59/Custom Hybrid in the bridge, and a Duncan 59 in the neck. In the meantime, I would be able to live with the stock pickups.
So in my estimation, I determined I would have to put about $400 into the guitar to get it "right" after I got it. I thought about it for a while and decided to try the Ibanez and the PRS again. After all, I really wanted the Ibanez, and thought maybe I wasn't giving it a fair enough chance. Went back to the guitar store, and tried both out, and it was just obvious that the S2 was the right guitar for me. I went ahead and made the trade, totally expecting to do all the upgrades one-at-a-time until it was "right".
I got it home and plugged it in, and I was even more happy that I decided to go with the S2. It's Mahogany, but still very lightweight. The tone of the instrument unplugged rings out like it should acoustically. Plugged it, it sounded excellent as well. I put the trem through it's paces, and it performs flawlessly. I cannot fault the performance of the trem, regardless of the construction methods or country of origin. Whether or not there is a drastic tonal difference between the stock trem and the Mann Made, I don't know, but I will assume there is an improvement. That being said, it's hard for me at this point to say there is anything wrong with the stock trem. The instrument has great sustain, and the tone seems to be excellent as well. It could probably be improved with a Mann Made, but if it sounds and performs good now, I have to start questioning if it's worth $200 to me to swap it out, and if the improvement in tone will be drastic enough to be heard or noticed by anyone other than me.
I then took the guitar over to a friends house to jam with him. I plugged into his Mark IV, and we played through a few songs in a band setting. I have to say, I'm beginning to question changing out the pickups now. The stock pickups, at least at this time to my ears, seem to do exactly what I want them to do. The output, the eq curve, the tone all seem to check all the boxes for me. Individual notes cut through the mix very well, and chords are well defined. I think it's too early to tell if I will keep the stock pickups or swap them out, but I know I can certainly put that upgrade off indefinitely, because the stock pickups are pretty great for Asian Repros. I will probably change them out though.
In summary, I'm pleasantly surprised by the S2 line. When I heard it was an American made PRS with SE hardware and electronics, I immediately assumed, "Half-assed USA made PRS with Crap electronics and hardware". What I discovered is that, even though there are construction variations between the core line and the S2 line, tone and playability don't appear to suffer for it. The "crap" hardware and electronics they put on them, really appear to be a little better than I gave them credit for, and are certainly worthy of some respect for their quality. Is that to say the S2 is on par with a Core model? Absolutely not, but it is a legit USA made guitar, and the compromises that were made to cut cost were done very well. In it's price point, it's an excellent instrument.
I realize there are a lot of "Core" players out there that will turn their nose up at an S2, and I have to admit, I was for a while as well. I have owned "Core" guitars in the past. A '94 Whale Blue Custom 24, A couple CE guitars from the 90s, and a Single cut from the 2000s. All of them were great guitars, but I ultimately ended up trading them for other guitars or equipment. I found myself polishing them more than I was playing them. I was always afraid I was going to nick or put a scratch on them.
One of my guitars was a modified EVH MIM Wolfgang that wasn't seeing much love lately, as I have been favoring my custom Strat. I decided that if I found a guitar at the store that I felt I had to have, I would trade my Wolf for it, rather than let it collect dust. Initially, the new Ibanez AZ Premium piqued my interest. On paper, it looked great. All the appointments of the guitar were right up my alley. Problem was, when I played it, it didn't feel right, and worse, the Hyperion pickups were not my bag at all. I don't mind changing pickups, and I usually do, but if the neck doesn't feel right, it's a lost cause.
Hanging up in the shop next to it was a PRS S2 Standard 22 Satin, used for $799, with very little to no evident play wear. I picked it up and that guitar immediately felt "right". The pickups sounded good through the store's amp, and the trem action was superb. I loved the way it played, felt and sounded, but wasn't in love with the way it looked. With the cherry finish and pickguard, it kind of reminded me of an SG. I really didn't give much thought to trading my Wolf for it, but for the next few days, I couldn't get how well it played out of my head, so I set about some research.
Aside from a couple variations on how the guitar is constructed, it's bones are an American PRS. So, it's a three piece neck as opposed to a one piece. To me, it's not that big a deal. Other manufacturers have been successfully using scarf joints for years. Most headstock breaks I've seen don't occur at the scarf joint, so I wasn't worried about strength of construction. It doesn't have a violin carve on a thick maple cap. Again, not concerned about that. Actually, playability-wise, I think the way they cut the top on the S2 is very comfortable to play with the arm contour. The frets are added to the fretboard before it's glued to the neck. Who cares?
Now, onto the "negative" things I found in my research. The trem is a molded two-piece trem rather than a machined trem. Steel sustain block, not brass. I determined I could live with that for a while and eventually replace it with a Mann Made trem. Not awesome, but the original trem didn't make the instrument sound terrible from what I could tell. The pickups are Asian reproductions of the 85/15 pickups. This was absolutely no big deal, as I usually swap pickups from stock on almost every guitar I own. I determined for this instrument, I would eventually put a Duncan '59/Custom Hybrid in the bridge, and a Duncan 59 in the neck. In the meantime, I would be able to live with the stock pickups.
So in my estimation, I determined I would have to put about $400 into the guitar to get it "right" after I got it. I thought about it for a while and decided to try the Ibanez and the PRS again. After all, I really wanted the Ibanez, and thought maybe I wasn't giving it a fair enough chance. Went back to the guitar store, and tried both out, and it was just obvious that the S2 was the right guitar for me. I went ahead and made the trade, totally expecting to do all the upgrades one-at-a-time until it was "right".
I got it home and plugged it in, and I was even more happy that I decided to go with the S2. It's Mahogany, but still very lightweight. The tone of the instrument unplugged rings out like it should acoustically. Plugged it, it sounded excellent as well. I put the trem through it's paces, and it performs flawlessly. I cannot fault the performance of the trem, regardless of the construction methods or country of origin. Whether or not there is a drastic tonal difference between the stock trem and the Mann Made, I don't know, but I will assume there is an improvement. That being said, it's hard for me at this point to say there is anything wrong with the stock trem. The instrument has great sustain, and the tone seems to be excellent as well. It could probably be improved with a Mann Made, but if it sounds and performs good now, I have to start questioning if it's worth $200 to me to swap it out, and if the improvement in tone will be drastic enough to be heard or noticed by anyone other than me.
I then took the guitar over to a friends house to jam with him. I plugged into his Mark IV, and we played through a few songs in a band setting. I have to say, I'm beginning to question changing out the pickups now. The stock pickups, at least at this time to my ears, seem to do exactly what I want them to do. The output, the eq curve, the tone all seem to check all the boxes for me. Individual notes cut through the mix very well, and chords are well defined. I think it's too early to tell if I will keep the stock pickups or swap them out, but I know I can certainly put that upgrade off indefinitely, because the stock pickups are pretty great for Asian Repros. I will probably change them out though.
In summary, I'm pleasantly surprised by the S2 line. When I heard it was an American made PRS with SE hardware and electronics, I immediately assumed, "Half-assed USA made PRS with Crap electronics and hardware". What I discovered is that, even though there are construction variations between the core line and the S2 line, tone and playability don't appear to suffer for it. The "crap" hardware and electronics they put on them, really appear to be a little better than I gave them credit for, and are certainly worthy of some respect for their quality. Is that to say the S2 is on par with a Core model? Absolutely not, but it is a legit USA made guitar, and the compromises that were made to cut cost were done very well. In it's price point, it's an excellent instrument.
