Ordered an SE, disappointed
- Thread starter PRSnewb
- Start date
Draconomics
Fearless Papa of The Brethren of the Crust
Gonna just chime in on the nut...only thing that was disappointment in on my Pauls Guitar SE was the nut. Not a month in and the strings began chewing through that thing like it was butter. Simple fix, a $20 bone nut and we're all smiles now.
Nice F Holes
New Member
I got to play an SE Hollowbody Standard a couple days ago. I don’t love the color, or the wood (I like maple) and my head says it’s just not a real PRS. I picked it up anyway, and boy was I impressed. It absolutely had that “inspired me” quality where I just wanted to play everything. Very, very nice. Very solid. Obviously not as light or nice as a USA built but I haven’t been able to stop thinking about that feeling.
it’s worth mentioning it was used, from a shop that does good setup work.
it’s worth mentioning it was used, from a shop that does good setup work.
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Black-Viper75
Just Passing Through
The only issue my 35th Anniversary SE CU had when I purchased it was the nut. G string would slightly go our of tune. It is my first PRS and I was surprised by the quality, craftsmanship and expecially by the playability out of the box. I wasn't expecting this on such a level because I'm in Greece and SEs in Europe don't go through inspection in Maryland like the SEs for the US market. These past weeks I've read a lot of people have had bad experiences with their SEs here on the forum and I'm starting to think I must have been lucky with mine.
dogrocketp
I drank the PRS kool aid, and it was tasty!
I have an SE Hollowbody Standard for sale on the bay. They are exceptionally good guitars. The neck pickup can do the jazz thing in spades with a very small tone control tweak. Why am I selling it? I jokingly emailed Jack and said the only thing they could do to make it better would be to make in in blue with a Piezo, AND THEY DID! I was powerless at the prospect of a blue hollowbody . The tone isn't quite as woody as the standard, but there is only so much physical space, and they both smoke any 3 digit semi-hollow that I've ever played.
jxe
babe en der wood
Nice F Holes
New Member
That Blue SE Piezo is the reason I’m on this forum. It’s really, really hard not to buy it. But I’d like to see one in person before I do. In some pics it looks more green which I like but I imagine that’s not really the case. The non-Piezo probably makes more sense for me but I’m still trying to figure that out.
Yours looks nice. I like that it’s a softer burst. Most of the newer ones have such a skinny sharp burst which kinda screams import.
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Draconomics
Fearless Papa of The Brethren of the Crust
I thought of pulling the trigger on one of those, but I ended up going with a 35th Ani instead. The blue piezos look amazing tho. Really blurs the lines between the American and import lines. All the demos I've seen have impressed me.
dogrocketp
I drank the PRS kool aid, and it was tasty!
The color can vary on the blue ones a fair amount. Mine is not as bright, which I really like. The big thing is to play one. They’re really impressive sounding, both models.
CandidPicker
Tone Matters. Use It Well.
If anything, the beaver looks eager to work. Fortunately, the zoo manager is likely braver cuz the beaver will hide if it feels threatened.
Me, am looking at our weather forecast...the shoreline sunset was beautiful...cool, fair weather clouds until Tuesday...Not a beach day, but one to gaze across the pond and wish you well...
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Nice F Holes
New Member
Unfortunately I’m on an island in complete lockdown, so playing one any time soon isn’t too likely. But my birthday is next month. Since I can’t go on vacation maybe a NGD is in order...
Nice F Holes
New Member
Bringing it back to the SE quality/feel topic: I remember trying out the SE semi hollow with the single F-hole like 10-15 years ago. There weren’t many choices for inexpensive hollow bodies. I wanted to like it so bad but that guitar just didn’t fit me right. The new SE hollow bodies feel much better to me.
Nice F Holes
New Member
@PRSnewb I'm just wondering where you're at with all this. Also, sorry you had a rough start to PRS guitars and the forum. We all know trolls exist but I didn't get impression from you, just that maybe you had high expectations that weren't met, and were rightfully disappointed. I'm glad the rough start wasn't enough to scare you away from the brand.
Anyway, I haven't touched an Indonesian PRS guitar yet, but it's hard to imagine anything with Paul's signature on the headstock being that bad, unless it's an isolated circumstance. I've played Korean PRS guitars in the stores over the past 20 years, and they always felt worth their price tag, though obviously not 'special' like the USA made guitars. Yesterday I received my SE Hollowbody II Piezo and it honestly blew away my expectations in terms of quality, fit, and finish. There are things I would change, but I think that's intentional to get people to buy in to PRS and work toward upgrading to a Core model. But there is no shortage of quality or attention to detail, and I'm incredibly picky.
Anyway, I haven't touched an Indonesian PRS guitar yet, but it's hard to imagine anything with Paul's signature on the headstock being that bad, unless it's an isolated circumstance. I've played Korean PRS guitars in the stores over the past 20 years, and they always felt worth their price tag, though obviously not 'special' like the USA made guitars. Yesterday I received my SE Hollowbody II Piezo and it honestly blew away my expectations in terms of quality, fit, and finish. There are things I would change, but I think that's intentional to get people to buy in to PRS and work toward upgrading to a Core model. But there is no shortage of quality or attention to detail, and I'm incredibly picky.
dogrocketp
I drank the PRS kool aid, and it was tasty!
Joe, when you are manufacturing an item, there are a huge number of considerations in making it right. The starting points are the cost of labor and materials. You work up from there, sourcing parts, paint, factory, reputation of builder, etc. The goal is to come in at a target price point, which hopefully marketing has provided correctly for you. You then work towards that goal. If you have a better product, you’ll get a market share, a fine reputation, and lesser manufacturers will try anything (like a lawsuit in a friendly home court) to stop you. If you quit trying to improve, you start sliding and depend on the gullibility of the buyers to support your inferior product.
By definition, there will always be issues with mass production, no matter how careful you are. The question is, what does the manufacturer do to fix the problem? These days, people expect old fashion service and quality without putting in the buyer effort. We should always research what we buy, and give the manufacturer a chance to fix the problem. Going on line and saying something sucks is great for 10 year olds, although I would have strangled my kids if they didn’t approach business as adults. No manufacturer, especially PRS, will intentionally build something to induce you to buy “better”. If you like the quality of a $100 product, you should love a better product. That was the rationale of the old “good, better, best” that Sears, Montgomery Wards, and other retailers used to use on their catalog selling. Not every one can afford a $3,000 dollar guitar. As you know, a PRS SE Hollowbody smokes everything else at that price level, and is an instrument you can gig with for the rest of your life professionally. The goal is the best possible when you weigh all the factors.
By definition, there will always be issues with mass production, no matter how careful you are. The question is, what does the manufacturer do to fix the problem? These days, people expect old fashion service and quality without putting in the buyer effort. We should always research what we buy, and give the manufacturer a chance to fix the problem. Going on line and saying something sucks is great for 10 year olds, although I would have strangled my kids if they didn’t approach business as adults. No manufacturer, especially PRS, will intentionally build something to induce you to buy “better”. If you like the quality of a $100 product, you should love a better product. That was the rationale of the old “good, better, best” that Sears, Montgomery Wards, and other retailers used to use on their catalog selling. Not every one can afford a $3,000 dollar guitar. As you know, a PRS SE Hollowbody smokes everything else at that price level, and is an instrument you can gig with for the rest of your life professionally. The goal is the best possible when you weigh all the factors.
Draconomics
Fearless Papa of The Brethren of the Crust
Maybe not intentionally, but if the PRS SE line isn't the gateway drug of the high end guitar world, I don't know what is. Shoot, I love my SE's and I could gig with those for all time, but one of the side effects is now you want to go all the way and buy an American model and one is curious to see just how great those are.
Straight_six
Always originate, never duplicate
- Joined
- Aug 5, 2020
- Messages
- 96
I see it as every guitar model they make has a specific formula. They use that same formula everywhere but of course there are many variables due to the differing costs of parts and manufacturing stateside vs overseas. I feel that due to using the same basic formula you get the same basic guitar but the number of "great" guitars produced is significantly higher stateside. I'm still of the opinion that there are sometimes "great" ones made overseas and sometimes only "good" ones made here, it just happens sometimes. My problem is that my favorite SE doesn't seem to have a identical core model (24.5" scale & 22 frets w/trem). There are ones that get close of course, but for some reason that exact combination just seems to be "it" for me.
Draconomics
Fearless Papa of The Brethren of the Crust
My thoughts exactly. There are some fantastic examples of SE instruments where everything is just perfect. I'd think the chances of you getting a great instrument are inherently better with the American made stuff. There doesnt appear to be huge differences between how the Indonesian guitars are made versus something like the S2's, so I suppose its the time that is put into the builds. I figure PRS sells more SE's than anything else, so thus those are probably built much faster to keep with demand.
I didn't comb this thread to see if I'm repeating others but with any new instrument I feel like you should play it for several weeks at least, in multiple musical situations if possible, before rendering judgment... unless there's a return policy deadline you're trying to meet, in which case judge away 
Nice F Holes
New Member
My previous comment doesn't sound right. I just meant that, rather than give us everything and cut corners to lower price, the SE delivers PRS quality with an appropriate level of features, and there are things to look forward to as we move up. In other words, the SE is what got a PRS in my house, and is inspiring me to work on my skills to eventually justify purchase of a Core model.
dogrocketp
I drank the PRS kool aid, and it was tasty!
PRS Are the crack cocaine of the guitar world. Talk to us in 5 years, let’s see how bad you are.
