It's interesting that here on the PRS forum everyone seems very enthusiastic about the S2 guitars whereas on other forums the reception to this news is far more luke warm. To a degree I do get what they're aiming for but I think they should have gone about it in a different way. There's clearly a huge price hike between an SE and a PRS made in the USA so it makes absolute sense to have a model range that sits somewhere between the two and that logic is not just down to price. PRS is a well respected brand that many guitarists would love to own but let's face it, how many mere mortals are going to be able to drop £2000-£3000 on a guitar? I'd love one but even ignoring my limited funds, the sad reality is that I'm a guitarist of limited ability who plays at home and gigs in pubs so for what I'd use it for, I'd never be able to justify that expense unless I won the lottery! I suspect many other guitarists are like me. Conversely, I'd be inclined to believe that there are equally guitarists out there who'd love a PRS but can't afford it and won't buy the SE because it's 'entry level'. The whole 'student edition' tag doesn't help here either. As a result, I believe that there is a market out there for the S2.
So, if that's not my issue with it, what is? For me, it boils down to the inescapable conclusion that the way they've done it, the S2 is more like an 'SE Plus' rather than a 'PRS Minus' and that's where, for me, they've gone wrong. Like it or not, manufacturing a guitar in the USA is more expensive than doing so in Korea, which means that if they are to control the costs, they have to do it in areas other than labour and premises etc. and in this case, part of that means using SE hardware. That being the case, you are inevitably paying a chunk of the price difference over the SE for the privilege of having 'Made in USA' stamped on the back. Personally, I'd rather they kept costs down by making it in Korea with the SE but throwing more money at the quality of the components involved and leave the USA models as the absolutely top drawer guitars. So what is this extra £400-£500 going to actually get me over the SE model?
It says 'Made in USA' on it - Not even in the slightest bit bothered about this.
US woods, crafted in the USA factory - Nice and I'd like that but not at that price. From the description it sounds like the woods are sourced and rough cut in the far east and then finally sanded and prepared in America. That's a pretty marginal difference in my book.
SE pickup built to US spec - Not remotely interested as I'll change them to Bare Knuckle pickups anyway.
Upgraded pots - Again, the wording is extremely ambiguous but either way, I'm still not remotely interested as I'll change them to BKP anyway.
Different tuners - Nothing hugely wrong with the SE tuners I have and though I may upgrade them, I'd rather choose my own upgrade.
US frets - Nice touch this but I can easily live without them (the US spec ones, not the frets themselves).
US nut - Again, quite nice but I'm not that bothered and I can easily upgrade that on an SE anyway.
Better carved body - Yes, nice again but I wouldn't be selling my granny to have this over the SE version.
I'm not saying I wouldn't buy an S2, but with those differences I sure as hell won't be buying a new one! If an S2 version of the Custom 24 came up about a year or so old and in mint condition I'd pay around £600 for it as that's what a new SE costs. With those marginal differences it's just not worth any more to me.