Not impressed.

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i wonder if he bought from a chinese retailer.
i've never heard of so many problems . something is wrong should report to prs customer service.
 
I bought into all the hype about PRS and purchased a brand new 2018 SE Custom 24 lefty.

In no particular order...

1. The truss rod cover was about 0.5 mm away from the nut. It was attached with one screw so that most of the cover was lifted off at an angle to the headstock.
2. The fretboard and/or frets made my fingers immediately turn black with some black carbon residue.
3. The volume pot is wired incorrectly. I have to turn it anti-clockwise to increase volume?!? 1/16th turn = almost full volume. What makes PRS think that lefties don't want regular clockwise zero->full volume?
4. In this forum they say that the tone pots are also wired incorrectly.
5. The nut felt very plastic'y. It didn't inspire any confidence. Why should I have to spend another $10 + time and effort to upgrade to a GraphTech nut - this guitar cost $xxx+ I shouldn't have to fix the nut or get my soldering iron out to fix the messed-up pot wiring. Not at this price.
6. Strings ring harmonics above the nut. I'd only expect to hear that in much cheaper guitars.
7. I swear the neck looks slightly twisted to one side.
8. It arrived with high action and a bowed neck (so... I slightly adjusted the truss rod... but...).
9. Something was off - maybe there's a slight twist in neck but I just couldn't get a comfortable setup with lower action.
10. One of the switch screws was screwed-in at an angle.
11. I don't think the bridge can be lowered (as a whole) if you need to go lower than saddles go.

I really wanted to love this guitar but it was worse than a couple of $200 guitars that I own.

I sent it back for a refund. All that glitters is not gold...

Not impressed.
sounds like propaganda from semolia.
 
Post some photos duder

I have seen some issues with SEs but nothing like the dog you are describing.

also if you are a lefty it's pretty normal for the volume pot to work that way

yeah SE nuts can be pretty dodgy but it's not uncommon in that price range.

If you have a dog with a warped neck you need to take your retailer to task for selling it to you
 
I just received my PRS SE Customer 24 Stealth left-handed and really, other than needing a good setup and new strings (personal preference), it didn't have any of the problems you described. I did have a very slight sign of the black residue on my fingers after a couple of hours playing, but this is not abnormal. I have had a couple of Agiles built by the same manufacturer and had the exact same results with guitars of similar quality. I do think price is a little on the high side, but if you want PRS name and features, you have to pay to play.
I would send it back. It's hard to 'try-before-you-buy' being a lefty so I just make sure I'm able to send it back if I don't like it.
 
Man, you people who call someone a troll just because they report a bad experience with a PRS guitar should get a life.

More than the technical issues he specified, I read DISAPPOINTMENT and I can relate to that fully. I own 3 PRS guitars, but....

1. I ordered a PRS SE Santana Standard from American Musical Supply. I was peeing in my pants waiting to get my brand new PRS. When it arrived the pickup selector switch was sheared off even with the body and was rolling around in the bottom of the shipping box. I was massively DISAPPOINTED but AMS immediately cross-shipped me a new, perfect guitar. Great company!

2. Then, I ordered a PRS SE Custom 24 Tobacco Sunburst from Sweetwater.com. The G string buzzed up and down the neck. When I used the trem, the strings would go "PING" as they were sticking in the nut...and it would not stay in tune. Worst of all...the neck...it was SKINNY...not Wide Thin... but Wide SKINNY. It felt really uncomfortable. I couldn't believe this was happening. I looked at the back of the headstock and saw that it was a Cor-Tek Indonesia guitar.

I have a PRS dealer in town. I went in and played the exact same SE Custom 24 Tobacco Sunburst. It was great. The neck was totally different.....Thin, not Skinny, and felt and played really well. No sticking nut slots. I looked at the back of the headstock. It said WMI KOREA.

I returned the Sweetwater Custom 24 for a refund, and asked about this Cor-Tek situation. They didn't know anything more than what they've been told by the PRS folks. I've seen posts on this forum that say that Cor-Tek is making PRS guitars to specification. Maybe so, maybe not. I can and will tell you there is a world of difference between those two Custom 24 guitars I had in my hands.

3. So, I had ordered a PRS SE Custom 24 Zebrawood from Sweetwater. They assured me they were KOREAN. Then I found a DEMO Zebra on the Sweetwater website. It had fingerboard damage on EIGHT of the frets...do the math...that's 1/3 of the frets...fissures and cracks and checks in the wood. This isn't wear or misuse damage..it's bad wood. I was amazed that Sweetwater would even display such an instrument let alone try to sell it. So I looked at the closeup of the back of the headstock...you probably guessed it...Cor-Tek, Indonesia. You can probably still see that Demo Zebra on the Sweetwater website. I just looked and they have tried to fill in the cracks...either that or they've photo-shopped the pictures. But you can still see the rosewood is inferior. . Go see it for yourself and see if you'd spend over $700 for that guitar. How could Cor-Tek, PRS, and Sweetwater (55 point inspection) let this slip through their QC?

So I cancelled my order, went to the PRS website and visited all 32 of the listed Authorized dealers. All of them were backordered, and several had photos that showed the Zebra as being Cor-Tek....some just showed stock photos of Korean guitars.. except John Mann's Guitar Vault...he had ONE Zebra left. I called him and he assured me it was KOREAN. He took a picture with his phone and texted it to me. I immediately bought it. It's the most beautiful guitar I've ever owned. It was set up perfectly. BUT...The G string was out of tune. That's all...the G string...out of tune.... The setup is perfect. The neck is Wide Thin and totally awesome. Everything about it is awesome. But it is WMI KOREAN, not Cor-Tek. My Santana Standard is PT Wildwood Indonesian and it's perfect as well. My 2011 SE Santana maple flame top is WMI Korean and is awesome.

So, folks, if someone reports a bad experience with a PRS guitar, it may well be true. That doesn't make them or me a TROLL for Pete's sake.

My personal experience is that I will NEVER buy a PRS SE made by Cor-Tek. But I will buy their WMI KOREAN and PT Wildwood Indonesian guitars in the future, even if I have to go second-hand. I can't and won't say ALL PRS Cor-Tek guitars are bad...that would be foolish. But having tried two identical guitars, one WMI Korean and one Cor-Tek Indonesian, and having seen the wounded Cor-Tek Zebra on Sweetwater, I can't see any other personal conclusion for me to make.

Zebra02_resize.jpg


Santanas01.jpg
 
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This is a question that has been bothering me. I'm not convinced right now that Cor-Tek will build at the same quality as WMI. OP didn't specify if it was Korean or Indonesian. I would bet Indonesian. I also know that there has been some turnover in the SE Setup Dept at the factory. All 5 of my Korean SE's were great, but I modified to my specs. I am leery about the Indo guitars.
 
Man, you people who call someone a troll just because they report a bad experience with a PRS guitar should get a life......

Yeah, it’s much more than just complaining, as many of his “complaints” were really non issues. Most every guitar will need to be setup to the users specific needs/likes. A well oiled fretboard is a good thing, as rosewood or ebony needs oil, and the excess does need to be wiped off. A “half millimeter gap between the trc and nut”, really? As for the real issues, the OP returned it and got a refund, so what else do you think PRS should do, suck his d...?

I see some of the same misdirected complaints in your post. The switch being “sheered off”, almost certaily happened in shipping, and that is not a PRS issue, or a retailer issue, it is a shipping issue. Again, setups are almost always necessary, especially when shipped from an area with a different climate. Don’t like the feel of the neck? Neck shapes, specs have changed on many PRS models, not hard to believe some might fit your hand better than others. PRSh made a comment about people complaining about the changes, then in the next breath asking for one of the new models.

It seems clear to me that the OPs post was much more than simply complaining. It could be viewed as trolling, that stuff does happen.
 
But having tried two identical guitars, one WMI Korean and one Cor-Tek Indonesian, and having seen the wounded Cor-Tek Zebra on Sweetwater, I can't see any other personal conclusion for me to make.

Very interesting post David R. Katz and it mirrors my thoughts. As a background I don't have a PRS yet. I put an order in for one locally in Australia sight unseen in November 2017 once the PRS SE Custom 24 Zebrawood was announced that it would be available in stores from early December 2017. I was willing to take the risk of purchasing sight unseen based off all of the glowing reviews of the WMI KOREA SE's and put an order in as one retailer was doing a good pre-order deal and they only initially ordered two. I do have a Korean acoustic from another manufacturer and I was always blown away at the quality of finish for the price.

Anyway .... as I have been waiting 7 months I have extremely regularly been following various online guitar stores across the world to see when their stock was arriving and what the Zebra tops looked like in anticipation. When the early round of Zebra started to show up and they were from WMI they almost mirrored the original stock photos from PRS shown on the release announcement - perfect - great colour, consistent grain patterns and quality. Then news broke some SE's were to be coming out of Cor-Tek, but not all models. My fingers were crossed that the Zebra would still be WMI. A few more Zebra guitars started to pop up after the news of Cor-Tek and they were still WMI - still looked great. Then I have noticed that Sweetwater's latest batch of Zebra seemed to be Cor-Tek. I follow Sweetwater closely as they seem to update stock levels regularly and show many good images of the guitars - not just stock photos.

In the past few weeks Sweetwater have had a number of Cor-Tek Zebra SE's come up as being ex-demo whilst they are waiting on new stock. Just based off their descriptions and photos the first one had rough looking fret dot markers and bad fret ends - not something that would have come about as being a demo, but it sold off cheaply anyway. I think the next was the one described by David R. Katz, really messy chipping just behind a large number of frets - again not something that would have come about as being a demo. The latest has a dent near the pickups - this could have possibly been demo inflicted. Also I notice that the colour in the finish of all of the Cor-Tek Zebra's is really light. I thought it may have been the photography but even looking at the one posted by David R. Katz - the WMI one the vintage sunburst coat has really evened out the natural zebrawood and it looks striking.

My observations are obviously only a desktop assessment - after 7 months from release the zerba hasn't landed in Australia yet so its the best I can do. The models that are popping up lately on Sweetwater would indicate that the quality out of Cor-Tek is a long way from where WMI were. The "Demo" models that are being sold off at Sweetwater seem to be factory defects which is a concern for somebody who has already put down money 7 months ago sight unseen. These "Demo" models are not setup issues, they are manufacturing issues - which I am sure that some will argue can be expected on the entry level guitars given their price - but on the flip side they didn't seem to occur on the WMI models.

Sure if mine arrives and I am not happy when I go and pick it up I can refuse it, but then I have waited 7+ months and I could have purchased something off the shelf then. Fingers are still crossed that mine is from WMI and is just on the slow boat over :)

Edit - I just had another look at the Demo model on Sweetwater - that is another different guitar from the ones I have mentioned above. That would total 4x Demo models that Sweetwater have listed in the last few weeks. Difficult to tell if this one is Demo marks of factory defects. As a retailer I also wonder why Sweetwater would keep selling off the Demo model at a cheap price when they are expecting new stock. I would have thought you would hold off on your demo as long as possible and use it to secure new orders for incoming stock. When the line is discontinued you sell you demo off cheaply - not sell every demo cheaply when you have run out of stock.
 
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I think you would include some pictures, seems kind of far out to me.
you didn't mention where you bought this from.
 
Man, you people who call someone a troll just because they report a bad experience with a PRS guitar should get a life.

More than the technical issues he specified, I read DISAPPOINTMENT and I can relate to that fully. I own 3 PRS guitars, but....

1. I ordered a PRS SE Santana Standard from American Musical Supply. I was peeing in my pants waiting to get my brand new PRS. When it arrived the pickup selector switch was sheared off even with the body and was rolling around in the bottom of the shipping box. I was massively DISAPPOINTED but AMS immediately cross-shipped me a new, perfect guitar. Great company!

2. Then, I ordered a PRS SE Custom 24 Tobacco Sunburst from Sweetwater.com. The G string buzzed up and down the neck. When I used the trem, the strings would go "PING" as they were sticking in the nut...and it would not stay in tune. Worst of all...the neck...it was SKINNY...not Wide Thin... but Wide SKINNY. It felt really uncomfortable. I couldn't believe this was happening. I looked at the back of the headstock and saw that it was a Cor-Tek Indonesia guitar.

I have a PRS dealer in town. I went in and played the exact same SE Custom 24 Tobacco Sunburst. It was great. The neck was totally different.....Thin, not Skinny, and felt and played really well. No sticking nut slots. I looked at the back of the headstock. It said WMI KOREA.

I returned the Sweetwater Custom 24 for a refund, and asked about this Cor-Tek situation. They didn't know anything more than what they've been told by the PRS folks. I've seen posts on this forum that say that Cor-Tek is making PRS guitars to specification. Maybe so, maybe not. I can and will tell you there is a world of difference between those two Custom 24 guitars I had in my hands.

3. So, I had ordered a PRS SE Custom 24 Zebrawood from Sweetwater. They assured me they were KOREAN. Then I found a DEMO Zebra on the Sweetwater website. It had fingerboard damage on EIGHT of the frets...do the math...that's 1/3 of the frets...fissures and cracks and checks in the wood. This isn't wear or misuse damage..it's bad wood. I was amazed that Sweetwater would even display such an instrument let alone try to sell it. So I looked at the closeup of the back of the headstock...you probably guessed it...Cor-Tek, Indonesia. You can probably still see that Demo Zebra on the Sweetwater website. I just looked and they have tried to fill in the cracks...either that or they've photo-shopped the pictures. But you can still see the rosewood is inferior. . Go see it for yourself and see if you'd spend over $700 for that guitar. How could Cor-Tek, PRS, and Sweetwater (55 point inspection) let this slip through their QC?

So I cancelled my order, went to the PRS website and visited all 32 of the listed Authorized dealers. All of them were backordered, and several had photos that showed the Zebra as being Cor-Tek....some just showed stock photos of Korean guitars.. except John Mann's Guitar Vault...he had ONE Zebra left. I called him and he assured me it was KOREAN. He took a picture with his phone and texted it to me. I immediately bought it. It's the most beautiful guitar I've ever owned. It was set up perfectly. BUT...The G string was out of tune. That's all...the G string...out of tune.... The setup is perfect. The neck is Wide Thin and totally awesome. Everything about it is awesome. But it is WMI KOREAN, not Cor-Tek. My Santana Standard is PT Wildwood Indonesian and it's perfect as well. My 2011 SE Santana maple flame top is WMI Korean and is awesome.

So, folks, if someone reports a bad experience with a PRS guitar, it may well be true. That doesn't make them or me a TROLL for Pete's sake.

My personal experience is that I will NEVER buy a PRS SE made by Cor-Tek. But I will buy their WMI KOREAN and PT Wildwood Indonesian guitars in the future, even if I have to go second-hand. I can't and won't say ALL PRS Cor-Tek guitars are bad...that would be foolish. But having tried two identical guitars, one WMI Korean and one Cor-Tek Indonesian, and having seen the wounded Cor-Tek Zebra on Sweetwater, I can't see any other personal conclusion for me to make.

Zebra02_resize.jpg


Santanas01.jpg


So what you are saying is, you had an issue with a guitar, contacted the dealer you got it from, and they remedied the situation? You didn't go straight to the PRS Forum and launch a diatribe about how "bad" your guitar was? Well done sir.:rolleyes:
 
Man, you people...

So, folks, if someone reports a bad experience with a PRS guitar, it may well be true. That doesn't make them or me a TROLL for Pete's sake.

Did someone really come here, post something that starts with “you people” and ends with “get a life” in the first sentence, and then claim he’s not a troll?

o_O
 
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This guy’s not even making observations about a musical instrument he’s played in person.

He’s troll-whining about pictures. :rolleyes:

I think I made my position quite clear as to where I was coming from and I certainly wasn't trying to hide anything. Yes I don't have 19,238 posts, and I only joined these forums back in January. Its been a slow burn for my first troll inspired post - if you read my others they are mainly about how much I am looking forward to receiving my first PRS.

It seems clear that these forums have a lot of passionate contributors who care deeply about PRS which is great - constantly calling somebody a troll just because they dare to raise a point you don't agree with seems very shallow. Trying to sweep any discussions that aren't necessarily glowing under the rug makes for a very sterile forum - but if the aim is to have everybody all sitting around the campfire singing kumbaya then go for it.

PRS have built up such a strong reputation in regards to their quality that I am sure other manufactures would be green with envy. Not everybody has the opportunity to go down and handle their next guitar prior to purchase so the reputation alone is enough to take a leap of faith. Not all retailers are as flexible with their return policies that you seem to have in the USA. I am simply making an observation as to what I have seen over the past few months in regards to one particular guitar model. Yes I could have saved all the images of the demo models that have been listed recently by Sweetwater but I didn't - there is still one there at the moment - I assume you see the same as me and based off those images I would say that those issues are likely post manufacturing. The post by David R. Katz interested me as somebody else was also noticing the same issues as I have. I have great interest (perhaps a little too much interest given my anticipation levels) in this model as I have one on order (as previously mentioned) - this is why I have been looking in detail at the pictures available for this particular guitar.

PRS don't necessarily need to point out where their guitars are manufactured. The feeling however seems that the quality of product currently coming out of Cor-Tek doesn't seem as high as it was previously under WMI. It could just be a transition thing and it will take a while for Cor-Tek to come up to the same standard that was coming out of WMI. This still leave the limbo area for those looking at purchasing now. I would have thought that this would be an interesting point to discuss, particularly on the PRS forum.

Or it could be that just everything is rosy as I am sure you would rather it be.
 
I think I made my position quite clear as to where I was coming from and I certainly wasn't trying to hide anything. Yes I don't have 19,238 posts, and I only joined these forums back in January. Its been a slow burn for my first troll inspired post - if you read my others they are mainly about how much I am looking forward to receiving my first PRS.

It seems clear that these forums have a lot of passionate contributors who care deeply about PRS which is great - constantly calling somebody a troll just because they dare to raise a point you don't agree with seems very shallow. Trying to sweep any discussions that aren't necessarily glowing under the rug makes for a very sterile forum - but if the aim is to have everybody all sitting around the campfire singing kumbaya then go for it.

PRS have built up such a strong reputation in regards to their quality that I am sure other manufactures would be green with envy. Not everybody has the opportunity to go down and handle their next guitar prior to purchase so the reputation alone is enough to take a leap of faith. Not all retailers are as flexible with their return policies that you seem to have in the USA. I am simply making an observation as to what I have seen over the past few months in regards to one particular guitar model. Yes I could have saved all the images of the demo models that have been listed recently by Sweetwater but I didn't - there is still one there at the moment - I assume you see the same as me and based off those images I would say that those issues are likely post manufacturing. The post by David R. Katz interested me as somebody else was also noticing the same issues as I have. I have great interest (perhaps a little too much interest given my anticipation levels) in this model as I have one on order (as previously mentioned) - this is why I have been looking in detail at the pictures available for this particular guitar.

PRS don't necessarily need to point out where their guitars are manufactured. The feeling however seems that the quality of product currently coming out of Cor-Tek doesn't seem as high as it was previously under WMI. It could just be a transition thing and it will take a while for Cor-Tek to come up to the same standard that was coming out of WMI. This still leave the limbo area for those looking at purchasing now. I would have thought that this would be an interesting point to discuss, particularly on the PRS forum.

Or it could be that just everything is rosy as I am sure you would rather it be.

Honestly, I don’t care. You’re just trolling here, and without a speck of knowledg/experience to boot. Play the guitar first, then complain all you want.
 
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