Poor Produced 2019 SE's ?

I recently bought a PRS SE Custom 24 (2018) and was concerned about the fret and fretboard quality when I examined it. There was clear coat type peeling and globs of glue on the corners of the frets. It almost seemed either used or just a “b-stock” type guitar. I would have been okay with it if I was given a discount but of course the store (the one other than Guitar Center) refused.

I had a miserable time there and I already spent HOURS in the store beforehand and then they were closing so I bought it. I called their corporate office and they agreed to order me a new one from PRS. Was told it would take 2 months to get so I just figured if it’s going to take 2 months I might as well get the SE Paul’s Guitar.

I’m still waiting for it to come in but I have been concerned about the Quality Control of the CoreTeks. Hoping I didn’t wait 2.5 months for another dud and hoping I get one that was actually inspected in the US before shipped.

In my opinion, for a 1000 dollar guitar, I’m fine with overseas parts but for 800-1000 dollars...especially 1000 dollars, the fret work and fret board should not have blemishes.

For 1000 dollars, I should have an instrument that doesn’t look like a 300 dollar instrument. This is coming from a drummer of 15 years. I know the difference between a 300-500 dollar drum set and a 1000+ drum set. Same goes for guitars.
 
I would love to hear from PRS on articles regarding these 'issues' - whether they are within the tolerance level between a fully functional instrument passing their QC department or not. I can 'sympathise' with PRS to a degree, they were not responsible for the build and its not as if these guitars are affected as 'functional' instruments. These are 'entry' level PRS at the end of the day too and there is a reason, much more than just US labour costs vs Indonesian/Korean labour - there is a reason that these cost less than 25% of the cost of an equivalent Core and all the QC checks through their build.

I don't know what the tolerance levels are and therefore cannot say for definite whether these 'cosmetic' issues that we are hearing about in the forums should or should not of left the PRS factory. This is why it would be great to hear what PRS themselves have to say. It would be great to hear what criteria and what tolerance levels are applied. We hear that the SE's should be playable and functional out of the box (or Gig bag in the SE's case) which a lot of these SE's appear to be - those posters aren't complaining about the way it plays, sounds and or feels - just about 'cosmetic' issues that don't appear to be affecting it as an 'instrument'.

I totally understand @bodia response, asking how the instrument functions as an instrument. It does also seem that people only come here, sign up to the Forum just to complain that their cheap (cheap compared to EVERY US built PRS) isn't as cosmetically perfect as they had hoped for and instead of being polite and respectful, just make sweeping negative statements about PRS as a company and instrument maker. Its not about 'upsetting' the regulars who believe that PRS can do no wrong and being overly protective, but that the person complaining is not being polite and fair. This can be seen by reading through the threads where others have signed up and politely stated their issues, being respectful to the community and brand, asking politely for a course of action, for help etc, these regulars are extremely helpful. Of course those that have only signed up to vent and make sweeping statements about PRS don't see that because they haven't seen other threads and have no interest in those either. Therefore make sweeping statements about the 'users' here too...

For one I sympathize to an extent with Drot. You got a guitar that clearly had issues beyond the aesthetic. The worst part of the situation is the horrific customer support you were given by the dealer. If it was determined that the guitar was faulty, they should have another for you immediately, not after a two month wait. You are very right. This is a $1,000 instrument, not a $120 Strat copy. There are standards when someone spends that kind of money. That said, you should have given the guitar a better look in the store and not rushed your purchase because they were closing.

While I have not personally seen any of these defects aside from an Indonesian SE Standard at GC that had some irregular routing on the electronics cavity on the back, it does not mean they don't exist and it does not mean that PRS are not responsible for the quality of their products. Even their lowest priced guitars are equivalent to standard line guitars of many manufacturers. Every time a thread like this pops up you know some brand defenders are going to come out of the woodwork to poke holes in arguments that defects exist and argue that these guitars are cheap. They are anything but. They are not "cheap" guitars and $1,000 is still a good investment of expendable income for many people and the guitars are supposed to be QC'd in the US. None of these posters are comparing an SE to a US built guitar with the best parts and the prettiest tops (the tops to me are really the only things separating the S2/CE lines from the core/10 series).

-k
 
I don't understand why, after spending "hours" in the store looking at a guitar, you would buy it, knowing it was defective. That makes no sense.

Or, are you saying that you spent "hours" in the store looking at it and never noticed the issues you described?

Either way, you then start an account here just to disparage the whole line of SE guitars?

Something smells fishy.
 
I don't understand why, after spending "hours" in the store looking at a guitar, you would buy it, knowing it was defective. That makes no sense.

Or, are you saying that you spent "hours" in the store looking at it and never noticed the issues you described?

Either way, you then start an account here just to disparage the whole line of SE guitars?

Something smells fishy.

You missed the part where he said he was a drummer. :p
 
As far as the OP was concerned and the aesthetic vs. functional nature of the issue, I would offer this: I have not (yet) seen any PRS, SE or otherwise, advertised by a photo with the bird inlay's cut-off by the frets. By propensity of evidence, I would hold that PRS intends that MiUS, MiK, MiI guitars - all of them - have the inlays fully intact and visible. Thus, I would hold that the OP's guitar is out of spec for that particular issue regardless of other things being right. The clear "problem" here really is that the inlay setting is not redeemable with an adjustment and thus becomes essentially an all-or-nothing practical matter albeit cosmetic in nature - which presumably suggests the need for particularly careful QC vis-a-vis those inlays given the tight space tolerances.

Source: I have one and only one PRS, the SE Custom 24 seen in the avatar, and I've had it for all of two weeks. I love it: it is elegant and, according to my limited ability to discriminate at this stage of my guitar playing (maybe 4 weeks!), sounds and feels awesome. I'm drawn to play it and I'm still at the "just look at it" stage. About the only minor build issue I found is perhaps just a bit (1/32" or less say) of unevenness (not quite flush) just at the bass side of the nut/neck joint. FWIW, the perspective of a noob with no history or dog-in-this-fight.
 
@Kdogg788 Regardless of the 'make' of a guitar, there are models in the $1k or under that do have 'minor' issues with the cosmetic finishing. They are NOT exempt from some 'issue' that has NO impact on their Playability or function. Whether that is seen as less important because the 'brand' isn't known for the quality and consistency that PRS are known for, that these guitars are the 'top' line of the brand so don't come with the same preconceived opinion that these are all perfect.

In some cases, the issues are unlikely to rear up, if you aren't recessing a back panel, its a lot easier to cover the hole without a gap, a lot easier to just drill a hole and drop a circle of plastic into it as a fret marker. There are guitars though at 'much' higher price points that have cosmetic issues, a bit of stain bleeding into the binding, neck glue that has squeezed out not cleaned properly, Back plates not recessed or not fitting 'perfectly' in the recess (level and/or an even gap all around the edge), something under the finish somewhere - something that isn't necessarily 'perfect' but doesn't necessarily impact on the playability or function as an instrument.

Point is, these guitars are not exempt from having some minor issues regardless of the price or brand. There has to be 'tolerance' levels - a point where imperfections, regardless of what they are, end up not making it out to the retailers. If that 'imperfection' has an impact on the function and/or playability (a twisted neck, electrics shorting out the pick-ups for example). If something has a very minor 'blemish', whether that's a natural thing because of the woods, or some 'mistake' in the finish that has NO impact on its function, doesn't affect the playability and tone, should that guitar be scrapped completely? Its still a fully functioning instrument, fully playable.

If guitar companies don't allow any tolerance at all, then the costs accrued from building these instruments still has to be met and as such, the price of scrapping every guitar that doesn't leave Indonesia/Korea, guitars that 'fail' scrutiny in the US and/or paying staff to have QC checks at numerous stages and the 'instruments' they scrap will be passed on to the consumer. That would push SE's up higher in price. I have seen people complain that their 'SE Standard' has a two piece Mahogany body that isn't 'joined' together perfectly centred - couldn't care less if the guitar works perfectly, couldn't care less that its a 'fully functioning' guitar with no fit/finish issues anywhere but because it had a 'see through' coat, the 'join' between the two pieces of mahogany can be seen and they are not perfectly centred. Should that be scrapped? Should that be sent back to Indonesia and stripped back down just to be refinished in an opaque finish so the next person who buys it can't see the 'join line'?

SE's are not 'built' by PRS so its not directly their fault. The factory deemed those instruments to be of a sufficient quality to send to PRS to be checked. The person who checked it may have a checklist to determine whether that guitar makes it out to a retailer. I don't know what 'standards' they have to go by, what degree of tolerance they have to go by. Its not as if these issues are affecting the playability and functionality, its not as if the neck pocket has a gap where it doesn't fit perfectly, not as if the neck has twisted and/or the frets are wrong, not level or some other issue that stops the guitar being playable and fully functional.

The purchaser has their own set of standards, tolerances that they can accept and anything below that being unacceptable. That applies to the cosmetics too where one may accept, may not even notice a speck of dust under the finish where as another will deem that as a big issue for a guitar costing $1k (or less). The person who checks the guitars before sending them out may not even notice a blemish under the protective coating and, even if they did, wouldn't consider that as a 'major' flaw in the instrument as it still plays and functions exactly as it should. Its not worth scrapping a $1k guitar for something that has absolutely no impact on it as a fully functional and playable musical instrument, something that could be used straight out of the box regardless of whether that is at home, in a studio or out on tour - it would still play, sound and function perfectly for the job it was bought for.

Everything has tolerance levels, the point at which something is deemed fit for sale and anything under is 'scrapped' (or whatever they decide to do with these). As I said, I do not know what PRS guidelines stipulate for SE models that they have not built, not been part of the process and the first time they see it, is the time they open the box in their US factory. I can see a much greater/stricter set of guidelines that every SE must pass where playability and function are concerned as that is the 'most' important aspect. Purely cosmetic issues can be more 'lax' as these have NO affect on whether the Guitar can be played, how it sounds and functions. Like I said, should a guitar be scrapped for a speck of dust under the finish that cannot even be felt? If that matters so much to the purchaser, then check it first or swap it out for another one but I don't believe it should be scrapped as it doesn't affect the functionality, playability or sound of the instrument!!
 
@Mozzi
The main point is, issues do exist outside those that are cosmetic. The issues and defects are the responsibility of PRS because they A: hand pick the contractor and factories that make their imported guitars and B: QC the guitars at their US factory. There have been people complaining about structural issues on this forum and on Youtube comments that are not just cosmetic issues. I have not seen them but apparently they exist out there somewhere. SE Standards and Customs are in roughly the same ballpark price wise as a decent Mexican Strat or Tele and I would expect the same QC out of Fender as well.

The other half of the blame has to go to the BUYER! It irritates me even more to read all these threads about people who have bought a guitar with these issues either from the store because they just bought one off the wall in a rush or from a website that had no photos of the actual guitar. They didn't take their time to look over the instrument at the store or do proper research and make sure that they have exactly what they want when buying it online, and ensured that the retailer had an acceptable return policy in the event something was wrong with the guitar. It's like I feel bad about their situation on one hand because some people have guitars with issues, but then on the other hand, I don't because they didn't follow through with due diligence.

@Great Gazoo
Looks like you have a great guitar! If I had to guess, it's the Trampas Green limited edition quilt that Sweetwater has going on. I got the blue one from Moore Guitars and love it. A couple weeks ago I had the chance to go to a local store that has the entire PRS line. I'd never been able to hold and play the core guitars, Mcartys, Silver Sky, Paul's guitar and others. To be completely honest and this will probably shock a lot of the hard cores out there, there really wasn't a massive difference in feel between a properly set up SE Custom and some of the best guitars. They do a solid job on the SEs. The neck shapes were different of course, but I didn't pick up a core or a CE and had any thoughts of throwing out the SE. Maybe one day I will save up for a CE and it will be a nice guitar but the SE is here for the long run. That SE will serve you well for many years and you have a solid first guitar.

-k
 
@Kdogg788 Yes, that is correct. I saw those Special Sapphire versions at Moore Guitars and they appear quite stunning. I may have already started up a piggy bank for a future 408 or 24-08 :oops:

I understand @Mozzi though I suppose to reiterate the point I was making above, images of SE guitars clearly show that the bodies are joined elsewhere than center and that the wood veneer grains may match more or less well or have various appearances/patterns. So in those cases, one expects due diligence from the buyer and a reasonable tolerance of vagaries. The bird inlays are both so iconic, however, and so consistently portrayed visually in advertising as being well centered, that I think the company should honor that implicit intention (doesn't mean that the guitar has to be scrapped, but heck, offer a free PRS cable or a gift certificate or replacement ...).

To consider a different example, suppose one is buying a sporty car. One notes that that the two (front) seat leathers are the same color, but clearly from different dye lots. They're the same [color] as such; their difference doesn't affect the functioning of the car in any sense; but out of all proportion perhaps one just knows that they're different shades. Make an issue? Get a replacement and who pays for it if so (dealer saying this is within tolerance vs. customer saying its not)? To extend the analogy, what if the gear shift lever is slightly bent? One can reach it just fine; it doesn't affect the shifting at all, but it just isn't straight. So what to do, but now probably not so simple to "replace" it (or is it - I'm not a mechanic).
 
Clearly no one watched the video I submitted. The one demonstrated in the vid is exactly like the OP's guitar. Will it be an issue? That remains to be seen as more and more should start coming out very soon. The inlays used in these are also not of other SE's.

I will never ever buy the if it plays and functions properly, then what is the problem. My question to those with that opinion is why do you buy a 10 Top or WL? Certainly a 10 or WL doesnt play better than a Non 10 etc....
 
The inlays in the video seem a touch better than the ones on the OP guitar but it's hard to tell. The OP guitar seemed most off center but it wouldn't be a deal breaker for me. Not a big deal.

And yeah you're totally right, a 10 top or wood library doesn't make a guitar necessarily better, in fact, on some I'd have to know looking at the listing or tag if they are as such. IMO, a 10 top isn't worth an extra grand over a core model, but if you've got $3,500 kicking around for a guitar, what's another thousand?

-k
 
I think bringing cars into the conversation isn't right either. I can't think of a Car Company that imports vehicles from Asian car manufacturers to sell as their 'entry/budget' model that 'resembles' their own built models. It would be like Ferrari letting Daewoo build a 'budget' Ferrari that is sent to the Italian factory to be checked before sending it out to garages for selling to the public. If you wanted a Ferrari 488 Pista but can't afford the 'real' Ferrari, you buy the Daewoo version. It would be like those people that bought the Daewoo version then going onto a Ferrari website and complaining that the Ferrari badge isn't perfectly centred on the back, that the striping that runs down the middle of the car is slightly out on the roof, that the 'fake' carbon fibre looking centre console has a small gap instead of fitting perfectly.

In other words:-
Ferrari have checked the vehicle, seen that it drives and sounds exactly as it should (for an imported version), deemed it perfectly safe and fully functioning vehicle, can't fault the performance, can't fault the handling or the way the engine sounds, the gears change perfectly too. The garage selling it too can't fault it as a fully functioning vehicle and even after going over it, giving it an MoT deem its perfectly good enough to sell. Then a person comes in, takes it out for a test drive and love the way it handles, love the way it sounds so buy it. Then when they get home and look out of their bedroom window notice that the 'roof' stripe is out by a few mm's, doesn't line up perfectly with the stripe at the front.

That person then jumps on a Ferrari forum criticising Ferrari, blaming Ferrari that the 'stripe' isn't properly aligned (not that Ferrari put that stripe on anyway). Tarring every single 'Daewoo' built Ferrari's with the same brush and expecting them to be making 'Ferrari's' to the exact same standard and specs for 20% of the price, with the exact same QC measures in place - even with all the additional cost to shipping those vehicles first to Italy, for a Ferrari employee to test them as a vehicle, make sure they are set up beautifully to drive , and the cost to ship that to garage and for the garage to sell.

Should that car be scrapped just because something isn't cosmetically perfect even if its been tested and checked to be a perfectly functioning vehicle that handles perfectly? Should it be scrapped just because the badge isn't centred properly or the stripe isn't aligned perfectly etc.

If I was Ferrari or PRS for that matter, I would have zero tolerance on the way things function. If a guitar doesn't play or function perfectly as an instrument, then that is unacceptable. The primary reason for purchasing a guitar is for it to function as a guitar, play as well as expected, sound as expected, feel as expected and any guitar that doesn't, should not get through to retailers. Cosmetics on the other hand, I may well be a bit more lax on depending on the nature and position of any cosmetic 'issue'.

The balance between passing a guitar through and being able to sell the guitar at the price point has to be a primary concern. If you are only letting half leave the factory as 'good enough', then the other half has still had to be paid for - they still incurred the cost of materials and man-power to build, still incurred the cost of shipping and the cost of somebody to scrutinise, decide whether its 'good enough' and decide its not good enough. There is still a cost involved dealing with 'scrapped' guitars - whether that's turning them into sawdust, shipping back to the factory they were built in, maybe even setting them up and donating to schools/kids/veterans as fully functioning but cosmetically 'blemished' instruments that were deemed not 'good enough' to sell without someone whinging. Those costs will ALL need to be met and that means the price of the SE's would go up to offset the losses of the instruments that failed to pass. If that 'balance' makes it financially difficult for PRS to offer a Indonesian/Korean instrument, that pushes the price up to be competing with the S2's or even CE's, then PRS could take the decision to drop the SE product line because they cannot consistently offer the quality people expect at the price point they want and to check every one before distribution to ensure that every guitar is perfect and scrapping any that aren't. Even if PRS scrap just 10% of every SE guitar that comes in for a purely cosmetic issue, the costs of those are still passed on to the customer in the price of the other 90%.

Chapman for example don't check their instruments and are sent directly from the manufacturer to the retailer to keep the costs down. If they had their guitars sent to a base of operations, they would incur extra costs by having some one check and set-up every instrument before the extra cost of more distribution.
 
In my opinion slightly misaligned inlays are not a big deal. The OP guitar is really not bad at all and if they don't like it, they can always ship it to me. It will get plenty of love here and my wife could use a guitar learn on!

@Mozzi
Over exaggeration much? Comparing Daewoo to Ferrari is a much more extreme example than comparing SE to US guitars. In the case of guitars they do the exact same thing and in the hands of the same user will perform the same function. I mean Mahogany body with Maple cap, necks vary slightly but not that much in material differences and neck profiles. The main difference is place of manufacture and guitar top/finish option aesthetics. The Korean factory I know does a fine job on the instrument and although they don't hand polish the guitar like in Maryland, they aren't as far off as many people think. PRS are not going to scrap the whole line because a couple people complain on internet forums. They might call overseas and say "Hey can we tighten up the QC a bit?", but that's about it.

-k
 
In my opinion slightly misaligned inlays are not a big deal. The OP guitar is really not bad at all and if they don't like it, they can always ship it to me. It will get plenty of love here and my wife could use a guitar learn on!

@Mozzi
Over exaggeration much? Comparing Daewoo to Ferrari is a much more extreme example than comparing SE to US guitars. In the case of guitars they do the exact same thing and in the hands of the same user will perform the same function. I mean Mahogany body with Maple cap, necks vary slightly but not that much in material differences and neck profiles. The main difference is place of manufacture and guitar top/finish option aesthetics. The Korean factory I know does a fine job on the instrument and although they don't hand polish the guitar like in Maryland, they aren't as far off as many people think. PRS are not going to scrap the whole line because a couple people complain on internet forums. They might call overseas and say "Hey can we tighten up the QC a bit?", but that's about it.

-k

To this I will say that I have an Indonesian SE and the look, fit and finish is flawless. I would put the fretwork and finsh on par with much more expensive guitars. The rest is meh...
 
Also if everyone is meaning "off center" by head to tail of the birds then yes, both the OP's guitar and the one I posted in the vid have the heads cut off and are under the wire. I dont think bass to treble centering is the issue.....
 
I think bringing cars into the conversation isn't right either. I can't think of a Car Company that imports vehicles from Asian car manufacturers to sell as their 'entry/budget' model that 'resembles' their own built models. It would be like Ferrari letting Daewoo build a 'budget' Ferrari that is sent to the Italian factory to be checked before sending it out to garages for selling to the public.
Speaking of Daewoo....
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Daewoo_LeMans
 
Clearly no one watched the video I submitted.

Just because someone might not have agreed with your take on it doesn't mean that no one watched it. I just didn't see the inlays on the guitar in the video being in the same state as the OPs, but clearly the camera positions are not the same between them so I found it difficult to compare.
 
Just because someone might not have agreed with your take on it doesn't mean that no one watched it. I just didn't see the inlays on the guitar in the video being in the same state as the OPs, but clearly the camera positions are not the same between them so I found it difficult to compare.

Wasnt directed at anyone in particular but ok. I mean the head is missing off the bird on each of the guitars....
 
I don't understand why, after spending "hours" in the store looking at a guitar, you would buy it, knowing it was defective. That makes no sense.

Or, are you saying that you spent "hours" in the store looking at it and never noticed the issues you described?

Either way, you then start an account here just to disparage the whole line of SE guitars?

Something smells fishy.

I'l preface this by saying I'm more of a PRS fanboy than anything. I'm not disparaging the line at all and regardless of the outcome, I'm going to stick with PRS because I love the look and feel of the guitars and I'm hoping and assuming that my Paul's Guitar, whenever I get it, is not going to have any of the same problems the SE Custom I have now has.. And I'm not complaining of the materials used, the electronics, etc. I understand its an SE. There was an S2 Standard and another SE that was in great condition (and another that wasn't).

No need to get so defensive. Most of my time in the store was spent waiting at the counter and not examining the guitar because I noticed it almost immediately. It was the only one they had of that color which I wanted. I inquired about it, and they refused to budge on pricing and I was exhausted and I know their return policy/live across the street. They already took my trade in guitar to the back and was going to just have the guitar for the night and call and return the next day. Not get get too personal but the guitar was my therapy/outlet since my father passed away weeks before (the main reason I picked up guitar...drums aren't apartment friendly).

I didn't know it was going to take 2 months to get a new SE Custom or Paul's Guitar and since my money was taken on "trade in" I couldn't just cash out of there without leaving credit behind.

Regardless, they have let me keep the SE Custom 24 until my new guitar arrives as consideration for all the issues I had with the store...but this isn't about the store.

I fully back and love PRS...as evidence by me ordering a new one and waiting instead of purchasing another guitar. I'm hoping some of the QC issues are growing pains.

And to your point about a new account...I literally started an account to see if I just am a complete outlier or if other people have had the same issues. Besides the fact that I'll be sharing pictures of my new Paul's Guitar when it arrives and as a new guitar player, joining the community.
 
In my opinion slightly misaligned inlays are not a big deal. The OP guitar is really not bad at all and if they don't like it, they can always ship it to me. It will get plenty of love here and my wife could use a guitar learn on!

@Mozzi
Over exaggeration much? Comparing Daewoo to Ferrari is a much more extreme example than comparing SE to US guitars. In the case of guitars they do the exact same thing and in the hands of the same user will perform the same function. I mean Mahogany body with Maple cap, necks vary slightly but not that much in material differences and neck profiles. The main difference is place of manufacture and guitar top/finish option aesthetics. The Korean factory I know does a fine job on the instrument and although they don't hand polish the guitar like in Maryland, they aren't as far off as many people think. PRS are not going to scrap the whole line because a couple people complain on internet forums. They might call overseas and say "Hey can we tighten up the QC a bit?", but that's about it.

-k

It was the closest imagery as someone else mentioned cars. There is NO real situation with vehicles but the important aspect was the principal!!

The principal point about using a 'Korean' (in this case) to build a car that looks like a Ferrari albeit built in Asia, and then someone complaining that the aesthetics are not perfect is 'illustrative' of exactly the same situation as complaining about an Asian built, really cheap (comparatively to the model they are built to resemble) guitar and then complaining that the aesthetics aren't perfect.

Its exactly the same principal that the function of the car being 'perfect' just like the SE guitars, but a minor aesthetic issue causing the purchaser to jump online and whinge about it. The Principal is EXACTLY the SAME. Just because Daewoo don't in reality and Ferrari won't be letting Daewoo build cheap Asian versions for those on tighter budgets that can't afford to buy a Real Ferrari either but the PRiNCIPAL is exactly the same!!

The important part is also that PRS and the Retailer have both passed the guitar as 'fit' to be sold because they are perfectly functioning instruments and the purchaser had the opportunity to 'test drive' it and found it to be a perfectly function instrument and only later noticing that a 'cosmetic' imperfection that has no impact on the playability, feel and tonal quality of it as an instrument is a major issue and worth jumping online and criticising PRS and the factory they used to make them a fully functioning instrument that resembles the Core models that cost 4-5x as much.

My post was purely illustrative of the issue - Substitute Ferrari for PRS Core models and the Daewoo version for SE and the principal is exactly the same. Sorry if that is too much for you to be able to visualise, to complex for you to understand the principal, too difficult to get past the illustrative nature of my post and instead take it far too literally. Sorry that I used 'Daewoo' as an 'example' of an Asian manufacturer that everyone knows doesn't make a cheap Ferrari for Ferrari to sell to those who cannot afford a real Ferrari - maybe I should not have used 'real' car manufacturers to be illustrative of a principal. I am sorry if I didn't make it clear enough that I was using both Ferrari and Daewoo as an example of a High end Manufacturer and an Asian manufacturer. The fact that I said it would be 'like' and then went on to try and paint a similar (yet totally fictitious) situation that as everyone knows doesn't actually happen in reality because high end Car manufactures don't let Asian car manufacturers to make 'cheap' copies to sell, I mistakenly expected people to be able to visualise the similarity despite it being a 'made up' situation. I am sorry that I thought that would be enough to show the principal in place despite the fact I was talking fictitiously to apply the same principals we see with PRS to the car market.

I am well aware that Daewoo would not be making a 'cheap' Ferrari for Ferrari to those that cannot acquire a real Ferrari. The Guitar market is very different in that respect to other markets but the principals I mentioned in a 'fictitious' car situation apply in reality to the Guitar market. The SE line is built to a much smaller budget and it doesn't make sense to scrap a perfectly functional musical instrument that plays and sounds as good as any other SE. Part of me thinks that if 'perfection' is what you seek, buy a made in US built core model instead or, at the very least, check the instrument with your own eyes before buying if the 'cosmetics' are so important. If the guitar had an issue with the way it played, the way it functioned and sounded, wasn't a perfect 'instrument' then I could understand peoples complaints - after all, that is the purpose of buying a guitar to have it play, feel and sound like the guitar they expected it to.
 
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