PRS guitar range hierarchy

[RedVee]

Hi,
I'm new here as I recently have become quite infatuated with PRS; and I have been looking around for a bit of the history and aim of the various PRS model ranges, their specific market targets/aims; so SE, S2, Core, private stock, ??? & even the sub brands (standard? Custom?) within those brand ranges would be of great interest to me.

so, does anyone have any links to this sort of information? Either articles somewhere or forum threads would be fine (wonderful even).

I am hanging to checkout the SE Kestrel & Kingfisher as bass is my primary interest. I have recently decided to learn guitar and a couple of friends pointed me to the PRS SE range as a better alternative to the guitars I was looking into. One in particular showed me photos of his pair of fully fledged PRS guitars - wow! - and has now loaned me his PRS SE Tremonti in silver (Platinum?) to buy when I decide I want to keep at the guitar.

So, at the moment I'm in a PRS immersion process - lol - and hugely impressed too.

 

[CVS]

For PRS History - check out the PRS Electric Guitar Book by Dave Burrluck -30th anniversary edition
Check out the PRS web site under products and you will see all guitars currently being made.

 

[Whitecat]

It's fairly easy to work out the hierarchy of the main lines -

SE - literally stands for 'Student Edition' - entry level, built overseas, final QC in the US, made to a price that anyone can buy into. Takes advantage of foreign labour and material costs to get to this price, but is deigned to have a similar fit & finish to their big brothers.

S2 - the newest range - stands for 'Stevensville 2' as they are made in the same factory as the 'Core' line but on a different production line. A handful of compromises get these to the price they are at but they are still 'made in America' and appeal to those who want that but still haven't got unlimited funds.

Core - only recently named this, this is the 'classic' range of made-in-America models.

Private Stock - the 'custom shop' - almost anything goes, limited only by imagination and taste, and sometimes not taste.

Where is gets a little confusing is that within those tiers there are sub-tiers... for example, within the Core lineup you have Artist Packs and Wood Library instruments in addition to the 'regular' production guitars - each representing an 'upgrade' for those who want something a little different, often a little nicer, a little more customised and generally more expensive.

Within Private Stock you have some limited-runs where they do 25 or 50 of the same model, you have the custom one-offs, and you also have the Collection instruments which are made in limited quantities out of the best of the best (but specced out fully by PRS).

Beyond this you need to understand their wood grading - opaque, custom (same price), 10 (upcharge), Wood Library, Artist Pack (upcharge), Private Stock (Vault), Collection - 10-tops might be $500 more than a 'custom' (non-10), Artist Packs more still although more wood options possible on the rest of the guitar (neck, fretboard). Wood Library can mean a lot of things, everything from a hand-selected 10-top (by a dealer) to Private Stock-grade components (necks/fretboard, occasionally even a PS-grade top on a guitar which is otherwise Core spec). The price can vary a lot too on them, I've seen them cost more than a 10-top but less than an Artist Pack and occasionally as much as an Artist Pack. Just depends on what it is I guess...

So it can get confusing fast and this is all just OTOH stuff! But CVS offers good advice, and if any of the jargon I've used here interests you just hit up Google and see what it comes up with.

Good luck on your quest, let us know what you end up with...

 

[rugerpc]

Actually, SE doesn't stand for Student Edition. It's a common misconception. So much so that it was even (mis)printed in the PRS Book.

What it really stands for is somewhat of a mystery.

Perhaps Hunter could find out and then at last we would know...

 

[Whitecat]

Actually, SE doesn't stand for Student Edition. It's a common misconception. So much so that it was even (mis)printed in the PRS Book.

What it really stands for is somewhat of a mystery.

Perhaps Hunter could find out and then at last we would know...

Yeah, my source is that + the countless press releases and articles from various other media outlets that Google turns up.

BUT if we don't know *what* it stands for, how do we know it *doesn't* stand for Student Edition, even if it's never been acknowledged officially?

EDIT: plus this - https://youtu.be/LL6nvCmVmvw?t=3m2s

 

[rugerpc]

BUT if we don't know *what* it stands for, how do we know it *doesn't* stand for Student Edition, even if it's never been acknowledged officially?

EDIT: plus this - https://youtu.be/LL6nvCmVmvw?t=3m2s

Several PRS employees have stated it is not 'student edition', including PRSh. But, they don't then follow up and say what it does stand for.

In that video, Paul confirms that the line was originally designed as a "student instrument," but falls short of actually calling it the "student edition."

The idea for the SE line is largely credited to a collaboration between Paul and Carlos Santana who described it as a new guitar player's "wings" and, yes, intended for students.

So "student edition" is convenient and seems to fit, but factory sources tell me (and others with better connections) that it isn't so.

 

[justmund]

This also has some good info:

http://prsguitars.com/forum/showthread.php?1044-The-PRS-Lexicon

 

[RedVee]

Thanks guys.

Is there any "ranking" to the various fret marker styles. Eg I've got dots, my mate has one with birds and one with hollow birds... I believe there are some with moons... I'd like one with dragons

is there any ranking to the models within a range ? ie is there a meaning/ranking to "standard" or "custom" etc or any they just names for a model?

 

[Whitecat]

Dots are comparatively rare but do occur on a handful of models . "Moons" are more common and used to be the 'standard', with birds being an upcharge. Most models now have birds as standard. The style of birds has varied over the years so how the birds look generally just depends on the vintage. Dragons are a different line altogether... there are also Tree Of Life inlays, Celtic Knots/Crosses, a few others no doubt...

Standard usually means all-mahogany and Custom usually means maple-topped, but there have been "maple topped standards" in the past as well.

As I said, it can get confusing quickly. Check out the FAQ on the PRS site as well (under 'Support'), it's got some info on model history, although it is somewhat incomplete.

 

[HANGAR18]

Actually, SE doesn't stand for Student Edition. It's a common misconception. So much so that it was even (mis)printed in the PRS Book.

What it really stands for is somewhat of a mystery.

Perhaps Hunter could find out and then at last we would know...

Popular culture can change the definition of words over time. Likewise, "Student Edition" may not have originally been the intended meaning of the SE series but nearly everyone now calls them the Student Edition models. So whether PRSh likes it or not, that's what it means now. IMNSHO

 

[Whitecat]

Popular culture can change the definition of words over time. Likewise, "Student Edition" may not have originally been the intended meaning of the SE series but nearly everyone now calls them the Student Edition models. So whether PRSh likes it or not, that's what it means now. IMNSHO

I agree.

More research has also turned up a comment on another PRS forum where a user wrote to [email protected] and they wrote back saying that indeed it was 'Student Edition' internally when it was launched but that since it's grown to stuff way beyond that they don't refer to it as that anymore. But that doesn't stop everyone else in the world...

This is obviously the internet so salt grains in hand but this is the verbatim response posted:

"Thank you for writing PRS Guitars. When the SE line was introduced the initials stood for Student Edition as they were a lower price point guitar that a 'student' could afford. I think the SE line has surpassed being a beginner guitar as we have made improvement and added features to be a great lower cost PRS guitar."

If you watch the video I posted where Paul uses the word "student" one might simply deduce that it's a case of old habits...

 

[rugerpc]

The debate over the name of the SE line is emblematic of the line itself. The guitars are well suited in price point for a serious student with a playability that surpasses anything else in the same range. They will never hold the student back.

And, they are good enough to be out of the box stadium rock star rockers.

I have core line PRS guitars that I play all the time at home, but I still take an SE to lessons. I sacrifice nothing in playability and the things I learn on the SE easily translate to my core guitars.

 

[Dusty Chalk]

Good luck with the dragons -- there are standard inlay shapes for all the lines, and the price increases with the more exotic inlay materials (and complex -- as in shapes within shapes). Anything that isn't in their standard line (they do have a dragon's tail that is on 40 of their guitars, but not the rest of the dragon, pretty sure that'd be extra to do on the neck), would be a custom jobby.

That said, they have some pretty spectacular inlay work, so yes, we all want some of that. I had and gave up a guitar with the brushstroke birds on it...regretfully.

I want one with bats instead of birds, but in similar sequence of stages of flight.

EDIT: Or turkey vultures. Wait...

EDIT #2: Short answer -- SE, S2, core, artist package, private stock

 

[markintime]

I think it should be "Supremely Excellent"! (that ought to give the market a boost)

:dancing:

 

[RedVee]

Dots are comparatively rare but do occur on a handful of models . "Moons" are more common and used to be the 'standard', with birds being an upcharge. Most models now have birds as standard. The style of birds has varied over the years so how the birds look generally just depends on the vintage. Dragons are a different line altogether... there are also Tree Of Life inlays, Celtic Knots/Crosses, a few others no doubt...

Standard usually means all-mahogany and Custom usually means maple-topped, but there have been "maple topped standards" in the past as well.

As I said, it can get confusing quickly. Check out the FAQ on the PRS site as well (under 'Support'), it's got some info on model history, although it is somewhat incomplete.

Good luck with the dragons -- there are standard inlay shapes for all the lines, and the price increases with the more exotic inlay materials (and complex -- as in shapes within shapes). Anything that isn't in their standard line (they do have a dragon's tail that is on 40 of their guitars, but not the rest of the dragon, pretty sure that'd be extra to do on the neck), would be a custom jobby.

That said, they have some pretty spectacular inlay work, so yes, we all want some of that. I had and gave up a guitar with the brushstroke birds on it...regretfully.

I want one with bats instead of birds, but in similar sequence of stages of flight.

EDIT: Or turkey vultures. Wait...

I think it should be "Supremely Excellent"! (that ought to give the market a boost)

:dancing:

thanks... And yes I was joking somewhat on the Dragon one - too rich for me, even though I support a NRL club nicknamed the "Dragons".
bats would be cool, lol.
?? And those line looking ones are "brushstroke bird" ? Cool.

 

[alantig]

Actually, SE doesn't stand for Student Edition. It's a common misconception. So much so that it was even (mis)printed in the PRS Book.

What it really stands for is somewhat of a mystery.

Perhaps Hunter could find out and then at last we would know...

The SE designation is actually a phonetic corruption of the phrase "is he", as in "is he (PRSh) ever going to put out a cheaper line of guitars?" And the answer, as we saw, was yes.

 

[HANGAR18]

The SE designation is actually a phonetic corruption of the phrase "is he", as in "is he (PRSh) ever going to put out a cheaper line of guitars?" And the answer, as we saw, was yes.

I am prepared to believe you.

 

[dogrocketp]

We do talk funny down here in Murrilin and Warshingten. You better b`lieve it!

 

[Michael_DK]

SE - literally stands for 'Student Edition' - entry level, built overseas, final QC in the US, made to a price that anyone can buy into. Takes advantage of foreign labour and material costs to get to this price, but is deigned to have a similar fit & finish to their big brothers.

A clarification: I do believe that the SEs are subject to QC at PRS ONLY IF they are to be sold in US.

(see how I managed to cram 4 abbreviations into that single short sentence?)

I other words, SEs sold in Europe, Asia, Africa, whatever are NOT QC'd by PRS in US - I think. I recently read this somewhere, can't remember where.

 

[Whitecat]

A clarification: I do believe that the SEs are subject to QC at PRS ONLY IF they are to be sold in US.

(see how I managed to cram 4 abbreviations into that single short sentence?)

I other words, SEs sold in Europe, Asia, Africa, whatever are NOT QC'd by PRS in US - I think. I recently read this somewhere, can't remember where.

This makes sense (double freight fees would probably jack the price up) - wonder if PRS Europe QCs the European ones though...