The Ratchet
New Member
Just got this very cool black with gold hardware PRS SE Dave Navarro.
After putting it through the paces, here are my thoughts:
It is quite the heavy-tone shredder!! The neck is on the thinner side, and designed for fast play. With 24 frets it is somewhat comparable to a Custom 24, though it feels smaller overall in my hands slightly (both neck and body) than the Custom 24 (USA version).
The fretboard plays smooth and fast, fretwork and intonation seem very good, overall a very good player.
Hardware wise looks GREAT with all the gold, and stays in tune surprisingly well with the non-locking tuners.
For the price, out of the box, it sounds very good. And it plays quite amazing (as stated above).
Electronics is where it fall a tad short IMO, and I will be upgrading there. My issues with the electronics are minor, and include two very stiff/sticky pots (actually difficult to turn, had to check to see if it was rubbing, but is just the pot style/type I guess), and a somewhat clunky 3-pos switch. I'll likely swap these out for smoother versions.
Tonewise - I think it sounds good for rock and/or heavy metal tones. Crystal clean tones were a bit harder to conjure from it. It's definitely got the great playability with the neck/frets/etc but for me - the pickups are a little tame, and I will be placing some much hotter pickups in there, likely something from Bareknuckle BKP.
The closest guitar I have to compare it to is my ESP M-II (that came stock with Seymour Duncans, not the EMG's). However, brand new, the ESP is like 3 times the $$ of the SE Navarro, and even after I swap the pickups, at least twice as much.
So bang for the buck wise, the SE Navarro is a killer deal in looks and playability. With a few tweaks to customize to taste in the pickups department, I think this is one hard rock / heavy metal monster. When I do the pickup swap, I will post an update and some clips.
Couple extra notes: Even though I keep it in a case, it came with a very nice and sturdy maroon-red SE gig bag. Also regarding the black color, it looks like for 2012 and beyond there are no more black SE Navarro's being produced, only white ones from what I understand. So if you're looking for the black, might want to snag one up.
After putting it through the paces, here are my thoughts:
It is quite the heavy-tone shredder!! The neck is on the thinner side, and designed for fast play. With 24 frets it is somewhat comparable to a Custom 24, though it feels smaller overall in my hands slightly (both neck and body) than the Custom 24 (USA version).
The fretboard plays smooth and fast, fretwork and intonation seem very good, overall a very good player.
Hardware wise looks GREAT with all the gold, and stays in tune surprisingly well with the non-locking tuners.
For the price, out of the box, it sounds very good. And it plays quite amazing (as stated above).
Electronics is where it fall a tad short IMO, and I will be upgrading there. My issues with the electronics are minor, and include two very stiff/sticky pots (actually difficult to turn, had to check to see if it was rubbing, but is just the pot style/type I guess), and a somewhat clunky 3-pos switch. I'll likely swap these out for smoother versions.
Tonewise - I think it sounds good for rock and/or heavy metal tones. Crystal clean tones were a bit harder to conjure from it. It's definitely got the great playability with the neck/frets/etc but for me - the pickups are a little tame, and I will be placing some much hotter pickups in there, likely something from Bareknuckle BKP.
The closest guitar I have to compare it to is my ESP M-II (that came stock with Seymour Duncans, not the EMG's). However, brand new, the ESP is like 3 times the $$ of the SE Navarro, and even after I swap the pickups, at least twice as much.
So bang for the buck wise, the SE Navarro is a killer deal in looks and playability. With a few tweaks to customize to taste in the pickups department, I think this is one hard rock / heavy metal monster. When I do the pickup swap, I will post an update and some clips.
Couple extra notes: Even though I keep it in a case, it came with a very nice and sturdy maroon-red SE gig bag. Also regarding the black color, it looks like for 2012 and beyond there are no more black SE Navarro's being produced, only white ones from what I understand. So if you're looking for the black, might want to snag one up.
