Well, the day has finally arrived. The anticipation is over. The Antique White S2 Mira from Wildwood was delivered today. For those who read or participated in my http://prsguitars.com/forum/showthread.php?9540-Incoming-NGD-S2-Mira-First-Wildwood-Purchase and http://prsguitars.com/forum/showthread.php?9430-Bernie-Versus-S2-Mira-Worth-The-Upgrade threads, I promised a head-to-head comparison of the S2 Mira and the SE Bernie. For the sake of being clear and concise, I'll break it down into simple to understand categories.
Fit & Finish: By a very slim margin, the Bernie wins this round. It's hard to compete with a flawlessly finished/manufactured guitar, and that's exactly what the Bernie was out-of-the-box. Not a speck on it. No signs of poor craftsmanship or finish flaws. Conversely, the S2 has a few very minor flaws. On the butt end of the rosewood board, there's a bit of Antique White overspray. Nothing major, subpar tape job, but it's there nonetheless. The paint line along the edge of the fretboard going down the neck isn't perfectly crisp in a few spots. Most people might overlook this, but I'm both OCD & anal + I worked in QC for GM in a past life. The cavity for neck pup also shows a bit of bare mahogany through the pickguard if you look at the right angle. I also noticed one speck of something very small in the paint (it looks metallic) on the front of the guitar. It's very tiny, but its still there. If we're ranking the Bernie a 9.5 on a scale of 1 to 10, the S2 Mira comes in at a solid 8.75 ~ 9.0. All in all, the fit & finish of the Mira reminds me more of a mid-range Gibson than a PRS. That being said, it still is a very nice guitar from this aspect.
Sound: This one is easy... the S2 Mira wins this category going away. Acoustically, the Mira smokes the Bernie (even with tuner & nut upgrades). The Mira is so resonant unplugged, it rings loud & long with a very smooth and pleasant tone. Plugged in, the Mira continues to outshine the Bernie. In my mind, these are both "rock n roll" guitars, and the Mira does this & everything else better than the Bernie. Granted, this is a VERY subjective category, but for my tastes the Mira is the much better guitar here. The Mira is closer to a truly musical instrument than the Bernie. Notes are clearer, sustain is better, tone is richer, and overall it's just more "musical" than the Bernie. Despite the fact that they both wear Korean made pups, the Mira sounds delicious in all positions and has a plethora of tones available with the push/pull feature.
Out-of-the-Box Setup: By all rights, the Mira should smoke the Bernie here, especially considering that it was setup prior to shipment by Wildwood. My Bernie was near perfect out-of-the-box, and the Mira comes in near perfect as well. As with any guitar, it's all about player preference, and both guitars needed a few minor tweaks to fit my taste. It's a dead nut tie in this category.
Fretwork: As nice as the Bernie is for a Korean made guitar, the S2 Mira wins here as well. Fretwork on the Mira is as nice as you'll get for any guitar in the $1200 price range. Nicely dressed & rolled fret edges, with no sharp edges to be found. The Bernie is quite nice in this respect, just not quite as nice as the Mira.
Hardware: And the Mira for the win! For starters, the Core line Aluminum Stoptail with Brass Studs is a MUCH nicer piece than that of the Bernie. The bridge on the Bernie is totally functional, but I assume that the precision machined aluminum Core bridge adds to the natural acoustic ring of the Mira. Tuners? Seriously... I don't have to answer this one. Just take the SE Vintage Tuners and gently place them in the nearest trash can. The Phase II copies on the Mira are light years better... plain and simple. Nut? We already know the answer to that as well. Electronics... you're getting mostly Asian parts on both guitars, but the Mira clearly wins with Core line output jack and lampshade knobs. The Mira pots feel quite nice, and there's no issues to note whatsoever. I can also note that the 3-way switch on the Mira is smoother and less noisy (when switching pup positions) than the Bernie. Strap buttons look quite a bit nicer on the Mira as well... but who really cares about strap buttons?
Overall: The win has to go to the Mira. As I stated earlier, even with the upgrades on the Bernie, the Mira just sounds & feels much more musical. Sure, you could dump another $500 or more worth of upgrades (Phase 2 Tuners, Core Aluminum Stoptail, Pickup Upgrade, Nut Upgrade, etc.) into the Bernie, but it will still just be a SE with upgrades. The Mira comes stock with the almighty PRS signature on the headstock, as well as all of the appointments previously noted. If a SC245 is your thing, I'd buy a S2 Singlecut and forgo all the upgrades on the Bernie. I say this strictly from a resale value standpoint, because let's face it... anything made in the good ole USA will hold long term value much better than an Asian counterpart.
Without writing a novel, that's my quick comparison of a S2 versus a SE. In short, I think the S2 is a very fair value for someone that wants a "real" PRS. The Bernie, as nice as it is, still carries a few attributes of a foreign made guitar... specifically in the hardware department. Like I said... go ahead and mod the hell out of your SE if that's your thing. I say it's better to leave good enough alone (aside from a nut upgrade) and enjoy the SE range for what it is... a fantastic Asian made guitar. If you are wanting & willing to dump a bunch of cash into said Asian made guitar, I recommend taking that same amount of money and buying a S2. But then again, this is only my opinion. And you know what they say about opinions... :biggrin:
If I missed something, or if anyone has specific questions, please feel free to fire away.
Fit & Finish: By a very slim margin, the Bernie wins this round. It's hard to compete with a flawlessly finished/manufactured guitar, and that's exactly what the Bernie was out-of-the-box. Not a speck on it. No signs of poor craftsmanship or finish flaws. Conversely, the S2 has a few very minor flaws. On the butt end of the rosewood board, there's a bit of Antique White overspray. Nothing major, subpar tape job, but it's there nonetheless. The paint line along the edge of the fretboard going down the neck isn't perfectly crisp in a few spots. Most people might overlook this, but I'm both OCD & anal + I worked in QC for GM in a past life. The cavity for neck pup also shows a bit of bare mahogany through the pickguard if you look at the right angle. I also noticed one speck of something very small in the paint (it looks metallic) on the front of the guitar. It's very tiny, but its still there. If we're ranking the Bernie a 9.5 on a scale of 1 to 10, the S2 Mira comes in at a solid 8.75 ~ 9.0. All in all, the fit & finish of the Mira reminds me more of a mid-range Gibson than a PRS. That being said, it still is a very nice guitar from this aspect.
Sound: This one is easy... the S2 Mira wins this category going away. Acoustically, the Mira smokes the Bernie (even with tuner & nut upgrades). The Mira is so resonant unplugged, it rings loud & long with a very smooth and pleasant tone. Plugged in, the Mira continues to outshine the Bernie. In my mind, these are both "rock n roll" guitars, and the Mira does this & everything else better than the Bernie. Granted, this is a VERY subjective category, but for my tastes the Mira is the much better guitar here. The Mira is closer to a truly musical instrument than the Bernie. Notes are clearer, sustain is better, tone is richer, and overall it's just more "musical" than the Bernie. Despite the fact that they both wear Korean made pups, the Mira sounds delicious in all positions and has a plethora of tones available with the push/pull feature.
Out-of-the-Box Setup: By all rights, the Mira should smoke the Bernie here, especially considering that it was setup prior to shipment by Wildwood. My Bernie was near perfect out-of-the-box, and the Mira comes in near perfect as well. As with any guitar, it's all about player preference, and both guitars needed a few minor tweaks to fit my taste. It's a dead nut tie in this category.
Fretwork: As nice as the Bernie is for a Korean made guitar, the S2 Mira wins here as well. Fretwork on the Mira is as nice as you'll get for any guitar in the $1200 price range. Nicely dressed & rolled fret edges, with no sharp edges to be found. The Bernie is quite nice in this respect, just not quite as nice as the Mira.
Hardware: And the Mira for the win! For starters, the Core line Aluminum Stoptail with Brass Studs is a MUCH nicer piece than that of the Bernie. The bridge on the Bernie is totally functional, but I assume that the precision machined aluminum Core bridge adds to the natural acoustic ring of the Mira. Tuners? Seriously... I don't have to answer this one. Just take the SE Vintage Tuners and gently place them in the nearest trash can. The Phase II copies on the Mira are light years better... plain and simple. Nut? We already know the answer to that as well. Electronics... you're getting mostly Asian parts on both guitars, but the Mira clearly wins with Core line output jack and lampshade knobs. The Mira pots feel quite nice, and there's no issues to note whatsoever. I can also note that the 3-way switch on the Mira is smoother and less noisy (when switching pup positions) than the Bernie. Strap buttons look quite a bit nicer on the Mira as well... but who really cares about strap buttons?
Overall: The win has to go to the Mira. As I stated earlier, even with the upgrades on the Bernie, the Mira just sounds & feels much more musical. Sure, you could dump another $500 or more worth of upgrades (Phase 2 Tuners, Core Aluminum Stoptail, Pickup Upgrade, Nut Upgrade, etc.) into the Bernie, but it will still just be a SE with upgrades. The Mira comes stock with the almighty PRS signature on the headstock, as well as all of the appointments previously noted. If a SC245 is your thing, I'd buy a S2 Singlecut and forgo all the upgrades on the Bernie. I say this strictly from a resale value standpoint, because let's face it... anything made in the good ole USA will hold long term value much better than an Asian counterpart.
Without writing a novel, that's my quick comparison of a S2 versus a SE. In short, I think the S2 is a very fair value for someone that wants a "real" PRS. The Bernie, as nice as it is, still carries a few attributes of a foreign made guitar... specifically in the hardware department. Like I said... go ahead and mod the hell out of your SE if that's your thing. I say it's better to leave good enough alone (aside from a nut upgrade) and enjoy the SE range for what it is... a fantastic Asian made guitar. If you are wanting & willing to dump a bunch of cash into said Asian made guitar, I recommend taking that same amount of money and buying a S2. But then again, this is only my opinion. And you know what they say about opinions... :biggrin:
If I missed something, or if anyone has specific questions, please feel free to fire away.
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