Draconomics
Fearless Papa of The Brethren of the Crust
Santa came early this year.
So, I've had a dilemma for several months. I needed a new acoustic, and it was warranted. My old one was some...thing I picked up at a pawn shop back when I was like 24. She became a banana. So, it was down to a Seagull and a PRS. I have always loved Seagull acoustics and, especially for the price, I stand by that they are about as good of a value as you can get around the $400 price tier. However, I began researching SE acoustics and got really intrigued. Nobody in my area carries them so I cant test drive one, thus this is really just trusting the name on that headstock and taking a leap of faith. I'm glad I did. Sweetwater had one of these for a great deal, around $350 off retail. I assume it was a return and they claimed it and the case smelled of tobacco. For that price, who cares? I pulled the trigger. I present the SE Angelus A50E.
So, I think the thing that kinda gets in the way of people buying these is they are made by Cor-Tek in China. The dreaded "C-Word". You hear that and you think of every cheap guitar shaped object that plays like a banana you've ever seen. Forget that. This is a supremely well crafted instrument. Definitely worth the price point, getting this for what I paid was a bonus. So , observations:
- Bone nut and saddle, very nice. Nut needed a wee bit of smoothing out, but nothing major.
- First fret action is dead on to PRS specs. Damn.
- Typical on SE's, crazy responsive truss rod. This is really where SE instruments demolish anything else at the price point IMO: neck stability and dual action truss rod. BTW, TRC is not standard, that I bought from Guilliford.
- Action is slightly under PRS specs by half a 64th. Again,damn. So easy to play.
- Ebony fretboard and looks like an ebony bridge. Nice!
- Plastic bridge pins. Bummer. All that cool stuff, and yet...eh, I'll buy some ebony pins.
- Fishman GT1 pickup system. Pretty cool, the controls are under the top by the sound hole. Has a volume and looks like a presence control. I like that the controls are out of the way, though you might want to run into an external EQ to fine tune the tone.
- The maple sides and back are gorgeous. Wow.
- Sound is lovely, one of the finest sounding acoustics I've ever tried, definitely the best I've owned.
- Whoever posted this at Sweetwater must be high or something. It doesn't smell like tobacco at all. Neither does the case, speaking of which...
- Nice hardshell case. I'll be keeping this one for a while.
Again, fantastic instrument, very high marks from me. If you are considering a new acoustic yourself, definitely give these a look. I think you get more than what you pay for on these. Once again, I put my trust in that name on the headstock and it hasn't failed me yet.
So, I've had a dilemma for several months. I needed a new acoustic, and it was warranted. My old one was some...thing I picked up at a pawn shop back when I was like 24. She became a banana. So, it was down to a Seagull and a PRS. I have always loved Seagull acoustics and, especially for the price, I stand by that they are about as good of a value as you can get around the $400 price tier. However, I began researching SE acoustics and got really intrigued. Nobody in my area carries them so I cant test drive one, thus this is really just trusting the name on that headstock and taking a leap of faith. I'm glad I did. Sweetwater had one of these for a great deal, around $350 off retail. I assume it was a return and they claimed it and the case smelled of tobacco. For that price, who cares? I pulled the trigger. I present the SE Angelus A50E.
So, I think the thing that kinda gets in the way of people buying these is they are made by Cor-Tek in China. The dreaded "C-Word". You hear that and you think of every cheap guitar shaped object that plays like a banana you've ever seen. Forget that. This is a supremely well crafted instrument. Definitely worth the price point, getting this for what I paid was a bonus. So , observations:
- Bone nut and saddle, very nice. Nut needed a wee bit of smoothing out, but nothing major.
- First fret action is dead on to PRS specs. Damn.
- Typical on SE's, crazy responsive truss rod. This is really where SE instruments demolish anything else at the price point IMO: neck stability and dual action truss rod. BTW, TRC is not standard, that I bought from Guilliford.
- Action is slightly under PRS specs by half a 64th. Again,damn. So easy to play.
- Ebony fretboard and looks like an ebony bridge. Nice!
- Plastic bridge pins. Bummer. All that cool stuff, and yet...eh, I'll buy some ebony pins.
- Fishman GT1 pickup system. Pretty cool, the controls are under the top by the sound hole. Has a volume and looks like a presence control. I like that the controls are out of the way, though you might want to run into an external EQ to fine tune the tone.
- The maple sides and back are gorgeous. Wow.
- Sound is lovely, one of the finest sounding acoustics I've ever tried, definitely the best I've owned.
- Whoever posted this at Sweetwater must be high or something. It doesn't smell like tobacco at all. Neither does the case, speaking of which...
- Nice hardshell case. I'll be keeping this one for a while.
Again, fantastic instrument, very high marks from me. If you are considering a new acoustic yourself, definitely give these a look. I think you get more than what you pay for on these. Once again, I put my trust in that name on the headstock and it hasn't failed me yet.
