PRS SE ax20E vs PRS SE A40E

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Does any body know what the difference between these two guitars are?

All i can find is that the A40e has layered Ovangkol back and sides, and thex ax20e has layered Mahogany back and sides. Also, the X20e, has standard X bracing, vs hybrid bracing in the a40e.

Also in the 2021 lineup, it seems there is no longer a "20" series Angelus, whereas I think the two models used to co-exist, now it seems to start with the A40e.

Any knowledge here about the ax20e and does anyone know how these guitars sound against eachother?

 

[danktat]

These are examples of both. Use head phones to get the best idea. For me, the 40 is a bit fuller in the mids than the 20. The 20 seems to be crisper on the high end. That, obviously the woods you mentioned, and slightly more 'bling' are the main differences.

In the vids, they are played similarly, and even on decent computer speakers you can hear a difference. It is all in which sound you are looking for. Both are great fiddles imo. I have the 40 myself.

 

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These are examples of both. Use head phones to get the best idea. For me, the 40 is a bit fuller in the mids than the 20. The 20 seems to be crisper on the high end. That, obviously the woods you mentioned, and slightly more 'bling' are the main differences.

In the vids, they are played similarly, and even on decent computer speakers you can hear a difference. It is all in which sound you are looking for. Both are great fiddles imo. I have the 40 myself.

Ended up getting the X20e. All PRS acoustics are hard to get here, but i was lucky enough to get one off Reverb. It sounds (to me) much like a Taylor around the same price range, like Academy, or 114, 214 or something, but with a tad more low end, and it's own "prs sound" and better playability. To me it's like a better version of a Taylor around the same price point. The A40 sounded good too in the video here, but I like the high end sparkle on the 20 and the the 40 would have costed me at least another $200.

 

[Aahzz]

Ended up getting the X20e. All PRS acoustics are hard to get here, but i was lucky enough to get one off Reverb. It sounds (to me) much like a Taylor around the same price range, like Academy, or 114, 214 or something, but with a tad more low end, and it's own "prs sound" and better playability. To me it's like a better version of a Taylor around the same price point. The A40 sounded good too in the video here, but I like the high end sparkle on the 20 and the the 40 would have costed me at least another $200.

I played my AX20E against 40, as well as a couple others. I came home with the 20 as well. I agree that it has the Taylor vibe, but better - to the point that I sold my Taylor 810 after I got the AX20E.

 

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I played my AX20E against 40, as well as a couple others. I came home with the 20 as well. I agree that it has the Taylor vibe, but better - to the point that I sold my Taylor 810 after I got the AX20E.

Do you know if the SE locking tuners would work on this guitar? I have them on my Custom 24 SE and love them. Plus I think it would look kind of bad ass on an acoustic and making string changes easy, (even if it's not "tradional"). Would they still be a direct drop in? Is this a stupid idea?

 

[Aahzz]

Do you know if the SE locking tuners would work on this guitar? I have them on my Custom 24 SE and love them. Plus I think it would look kind of bad ass on an acoustic and making string changes easy, (even if it's not "tradional"). Would they still be a direct drop in? Is this a stupid idea?

I've wondered that as well....

 

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I've wondered that as well....

Looks like they do indeed. I found this thread.

https://forums.prsguitars.com/threads/adding-locking-se-tuners.48176/

 

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I've wondered that as well....

And by the way I want to add that the Ax20e is fucking amazing. Like holy crap is it ever a pleasure to play, and it sounds so good. Like so so good. What a guitar!

 

[Aahzz]

And by the way I want to add that the Ax20e is fucking amazing. Like holy crap is it ever a pleasure to play, and it sounds so good. Like so so good. What a guitar!

They are pretty dang amazing