Draconomics
Fearless Papa of The Brethren of the Crust
I was gonna wait till next year for another guitar, but once these blue burst versions came out, well....just take my money Paul. Figured I would do a review for anyone considering getting one. I'm gonna be honest, so here we go...Btw, this photo is the exact guitar I got.
Observations:
- Finish is nearly flawless. Just a super tiny bead of glue seeping from the neck pocket, otherwise thats it.
- Looks like abalone birds, same as the Paul's Guitar (PG). Those are gorgeous.
- Top is pretty nice. As far as SE's Ive owned, seen, and played on, Id say a solid 7.5/10 (I call my PG a 10/10). There were tops I liked better but...
- I'm not pre-ordering at Sweetwater again. I never get to pick a particular item. I got lucky with the PG, and still lucky here too, but there were maybe two or three tops I liked a little more. Next time I'll just order as soon as I get notifications.
- Pretty nice three piece maple neck. Neck has a little flame going on, its subtle but its there.
- I'm very new to PRS trems, and have only tried some out here and there. This is the first PRS with a trem I've owned. As I understand it, these are molded trems, instead of the machined version on cores. I'm amazed at the size of the block, that thing is massive. To me these feel like an updated Strat bridge, so no Floyd Rose type craziness. Fine by me, I'm terrible at that stuff anyway. If I really gel with this guitar, probably will upgrade to a Mannmade bridge later on.
- I like the trem arm insert. You dont screw it in, it just holds there with a rubber bushing. Simple, effective, I like.
- Ugh...the nut material. Looks like the same thing that was on my PG. Its too soft and gouges out too quickly. I wish they would come standard with a Tusq nut. Its a cheap upgrade at like $12, and granted not everyone likes Tusq, but at this price point it should be standard in my opinion.
- Surprisingly solid tuners. They arent locking, but still quite decent. However...
- Tuners were all loose. One was basically doing the washing machine when I removed the strings. Surprised that made it thru THREE QC checks.
- Action was a bit high. After quick saddle adjustments, I found out why. Lots of low E fret buzz. When I say this thing needed a setup, I mean it. After doing so, all is well. Still a bit higher than I would like, but its fine.
- Several sorta unpolished frets. One even had fine gouges you could feel by running a fingernail over it. After doing a fret redress, they are perfect now. Oh...just noticed, the treble side of 4th fret is slightly out of its pocket. Its not bad, but the high e can get caught under it. Looks like its hammer time.
- Strings are grabby and real stiff. Some signs of oxidation. Straight to the trash bin.
- I think this has the same TCI(s) pickups as the PG's do. Really dig these pickups, easily the best in the SE line. They really do have a singing quality to them.
- Pretty clean routing jobs. Only a few chipped out places, but overall very clean.
- Oh dear! They mis-drilled a screw hole for the back plate! Not a huge deal, It works fine.
- Soldering looks very solid. We have Alpha pots again, these ones are branded "Made in Korea", whereas the PG pots dont have that. I might, sometime down the road, try soldering a new harness myself, just for fun. I havent attempted one in years.
So overall what do I think and is it worth the price? Well, if it was my PG, I'd say huge "YES". That PG is one of the best guitars I've ever played, and is right up there with American PRS builds. I think that one was a fantastic value. This one...yes. Its worth the price, but at this time not quite as good value. That opinion may change over time, but I have to factor in that while the PG was setup near perfect from the factory, this needed some work to get to a state it deserves to be in. I know how to do that work so its just my time I spend, but honestly it needed some fret polishing, a truss adjustment, saddle adjustments, pickup height adjustments, new strings...a typical maybe $60 setup job. Granted, some of these are to suit my personal taste, but on things like the fret polishing, the loose tuners, the slightly lifting 4th fret...you get what I mean. I set that bar pretty high for PRS, especially after that amazing PG. Nonetheless, I would absolutely recommend this one. It sings beautifully, and I daresay the neck is better than the PG. I think its faster. The blue burst finish is just amazing.
Speaking of which....considering this is the same price as the PG, is this a better buy? At this point, this is essentially a PG with a maple neck and a trem. If I'm going by versatility, then yes the 35th Ani beats the PG. However, you get that sweet core bridge on the stoptail PG. Well, if you can...just buy em both. What else is money good for anyway?
Observations:
- Finish is nearly flawless. Just a super tiny bead of glue seeping from the neck pocket, otherwise thats it.
- Looks like abalone birds, same as the Paul's Guitar (PG). Those are gorgeous.
- Top is pretty nice. As far as SE's Ive owned, seen, and played on, Id say a solid 7.5/10 (I call my PG a 10/10). There were tops I liked better but...
- I'm not pre-ordering at Sweetwater again. I never get to pick a particular item. I got lucky with the PG, and still lucky here too, but there were maybe two or three tops I liked a little more. Next time I'll just order as soon as I get notifications.
- Pretty nice three piece maple neck. Neck has a little flame going on, its subtle but its there.
- I'm very new to PRS trems, and have only tried some out here and there. This is the first PRS with a trem I've owned. As I understand it, these are molded trems, instead of the machined version on cores. I'm amazed at the size of the block, that thing is massive. To me these feel like an updated Strat bridge, so no Floyd Rose type craziness. Fine by me, I'm terrible at that stuff anyway. If I really gel with this guitar, probably will upgrade to a Mannmade bridge later on.
- I like the trem arm insert. You dont screw it in, it just holds there with a rubber bushing. Simple, effective, I like.
- Ugh...the nut material. Looks like the same thing that was on my PG. Its too soft and gouges out too quickly. I wish they would come standard with a Tusq nut. Its a cheap upgrade at like $12, and granted not everyone likes Tusq, but at this price point it should be standard in my opinion.
- Surprisingly solid tuners. They arent locking, but still quite decent. However...
- Tuners were all loose. One was basically doing the washing machine when I removed the strings. Surprised that made it thru THREE QC checks.
- Action was a bit high. After quick saddle adjustments, I found out why. Lots of low E fret buzz. When I say this thing needed a setup, I mean it. After doing so, all is well. Still a bit higher than I would like, but its fine.
- Several sorta unpolished frets. One even had fine gouges you could feel by running a fingernail over it. After doing a fret redress, they are perfect now. Oh...just noticed, the treble side of 4th fret is slightly out of its pocket. Its not bad, but the high e can get caught under it. Looks like its hammer time.
- Strings are grabby and real stiff. Some signs of oxidation. Straight to the trash bin.
- I think this has the same TCI(s) pickups as the PG's do. Really dig these pickups, easily the best in the SE line. They really do have a singing quality to them.
- Pretty clean routing jobs. Only a few chipped out places, but overall very clean.
- Oh dear! They mis-drilled a screw hole for the back plate! Not a huge deal, It works fine.
- Soldering looks very solid. We have Alpha pots again, these ones are branded "Made in Korea", whereas the PG pots dont have that. I might, sometime down the road, try soldering a new harness myself, just for fun. I havent attempted one in years.
So overall what do I think and is it worth the price? Well, if it was my PG, I'd say huge "YES". That PG is one of the best guitars I've ever played, and is right up there with American PRS builds. I think that one was a fantastic value. This one...yes. Its worth the price, but at this time not quite as good value. That opinion may change over time, but I have to factor in that while the PG was setup near perfect from the factory, this needed some work to get to a state it deserves to be in. I know how to do that work so its just my time I spend, but honestly it needed some fret polishing, a truss adjustment, saddle adjustments, pickup height adjustments, new strings...a typical maybe $60 setup job. Granted, some of these are to suit my personal taste, but on things like the fret polishing, the loose tuners, the slightly lifting 4th fret...you get what I mean. I set that bar pretty high for PRS, especially after that amazing PG. Nonetheless, I would absolutely recommend this one. It sings beautifully, and I daresay the neck is better than the PG. I think its faster. The blue burst finish is just amazing.
Speaking of which....considering this is the same price as the PG, is this a better buy? At this point, this is essentially a PG with a maple neck and a trem. If I'm going by versatility, then yes the 35th Ani beats the PG. However, you get that sweet core bridge on the stoptail PG. Well, if you can...just buy em both. What else is money good for anyway?
The 35th is one of the best, if not the best, SE that I have ever heard, absolutely sweet sounds, and it is right up there with many core models as far as sound. One helluva guitar for sure. 
