PRS SE custom 24 or gibson sg

[HailLoutro]

Hello I'm checking this forum since a while and I can't find an answer.

I'm currently in GAS mode for a new guitar. I'm trying to decide if I take a PRS or a Gibson. My choice are PRS SE custom 24 or gibson sg standard .

I already have two guitar :
- Epiphone LP standard pro top plus : I like the sound but the pickup are muddy
- G&L legacy tribute : a strat

At first I was in love with my LP but I find the strat to be easier to play (scale length maybe?) But the I love the tone of my LP BUT (sorry again) I want a sound more precise.

So what to do ? Go with the SG and the same neck profile and length than the LP or go for the PRS wich feel different and don't have the LP sound ?

and what to think about a PRS S2 ? They are at xxxx euros here, the SG cost xxxx and the SE only xxx.

Help me decide please !

 

[Glide-bpm]

Might want to look at a PRS Mira as well if the SG interests you.

 

[Victek]

I'm currently in GAS mode for a new guitar. I'm trying to decide if I take a PRS or a Gibson. My choice are PRS SE custom 24 or gibson sg standard .

One thing to be aware of with SGs is they tend to be neck heavy; I would definitely check that out before buying one. On the other hand the PRS SE Custom 24 hangs perfectly.

 

[Dirty_Boogie]

I loved my SG... until I tried an SE Custom 22 (stoptail.) Sold the SG right away to pay for the C22 (and had a chunk of change left over. )

Seriously, though, SG's are wonderful instruments, and have a distinctive tone, but can be a little "quirky" - as mentioned, neck heavy, top strap button in an unusual place, and the neck joins the body almost at the end of the fretboard, making it easier to bend the neck (relative to the body) and possibly forcing the guitar out of tune if you're not careful. But if it's good enough for Angus to go apesh!t with for 2 hours at a time...!

 

[markd21]

I had an SG for a couple of years. Loved it at first, but the SG "quirks" ended up annoying me enough to pass it along. The neck dive was the biggest offender. The next was the lack of "beef" in the tone. It sounded great, but I felt it lacked the "oomph" I was looking for.

I replaced it with a PRS SE Bernie Marsden. MUCH more of what I wanted to hear. Personally, I would go PRS and smile everyday.

Regarding the difference in xxxx vs. xxx euros for the S2 vs. the SE.....

I greatly appreciate the SE guitars. It was the SE that got me excited to try S2. It was worth the difference in price. The S2 just feels AMAZIING. While the SE is great, to me, side-by-side with the S2 you CAN feel the difference. With you considering the Gibson, I'd look at the S2. You will get a killer guitar. As I have said many times in posts like this, I have multiple Core guitars and multiple S2s. I EQUALLY love the S2s, and in some ways on some days actually PREFER them to the Core guitars. I keep mine stock. I gig them (I gig the Core guitars too) and have experienced ZERO issues with the S2 guitars in a live context. The tone is fabulous. The neck feels gorgeous. The stability of the entire instrument is RIGHT there with the Core.

Just my two cents. The biggest thing is you find what excites you most!!

 

[sergiodeblanc]

Might want to look at a PRS Mira as well if the SG interests you.

+1

 

[Iceman101]

Mira

 

[HailLoutro]

My issue with the mira is that he cost more than a SG standard here

And it's not sexy has a custom but I like the sound of this one too... If only I could buy 3 PRS at the same time

 

[grausch]

Your prices have been edited out, and I am not sure what SGs you are referring to. A SG Standard is a great guitar and comes with a hard-case. Can have neck-dive and may have minor finish issues. It is a good idea to play before buying due to both those factors. Nitro finishes can also be sticky (but not always) when your hand sweat and you need to take special precautions to ensure the finish is not damaged - you can’t leave the strap on and need to be careful with guitar hangers or stands.

PRS SEs are great. I like replacing both tuners and nuts, and it is worth it to me. Build quality of my Bernie (wth those upgrades) is almost on par with a 2013 SG Deluxe. The SG sounds betterto me, but the Bernie plays better. I could upgrade pups in the Bernie and get a hard case and it would still be cheaper than the SG.

My S2 Singlecut Satin Standard is a very solid step up from the Bernie. Better build quality than the SG and more care was taken in the build process. Since this guitar doesn’t need upgrades, and since I can feel the difference in wood and build quality compared to the Bernie, I currently rate this as best value-for-money for me.

The above may sound like the SG is not that good. It definitely has its weaknesses, but it has several strengths too. It is light, upper fret access is best of all, it sounds phenomenal, the nitro finish looks and feels amazing and the guitar is just the easiest to throw around when playing. It makes me rock more, but it frustrates me more as well. Great guitar when the mood strikes, but not so great at other times.

 

[Iceman101]

You must not confuse the S2 Mira with the Core Mira. And you can get a couple of Mira's for fair prices in europe. And it will play circles 'round an SG

 

[Callan]

Get the PRS you like and a new set of pickups for your Les Paul to get rid of the mud (bkp rebel yell maybe..)
Then you have a great set of 3 unique guitars.

I sold my explorer because it just felt like a les Paul in a different shape body.

 

[Johnny Rigs]

I currently have an '09 Gibson LP Traditional, a '16 Gibson SG Standard, and a '15 PRS SE Custom 24 Floyd. So, I'll just offer my small thoughts.

The LP sounds great, plays great, it's a keeper. It also has '57 Classic pickups, which might be what is keeping your Epi from sounding so good. Look into upgrading its pickups.

The '16 SG Standard I just got. It has 490R/498T pickups, I'm still undecided as to whether I like them. Let me just say that, before you buy an SG, look at it up close and in person. My last 3 SE guitars have been online purchases and they've all been high quality. For their USA made Standard, this SG's neck work is pretty sad. Cheap binding material, sharp fretboard edges, fret ends peaking out through the nibs, score marks on the fretboard, etc. I'm trading it in for a used CE-22. If you are buying online and can't see the details of the Gibson, and you don't want to deal with the chance of getting a poorly built, just get the SE Custom.

One other question to ask yourself is which neck profile do you prefer? The SE Custom 24 will be thinner than the SG. And, depending on year, the SG may not have the same profile as your Epi LP.

 

[HailLoutro]

The SG would be a 2018 so a thin neck, but overall everybody here seems to be happy with PRS guitar so I'm just gonna try one. I will eventually upgrade the pickups of my LP later, I'm really interested to give PRS a try.

 

[Lister]

I'm a firm believer that the wand chooses the wizard, so my advice would be to play both if possible then decide. But...I own a 2016 SG HP with the mini humbuckers and I also own a 2015 SE Custom 24 so let me give you my thoughts on each:

The SG definitely has some quirks as someone mentioned. Neck dive is a real concern but can be somewhat limited with a wider strap or even moving the rear strap button up. The good: the action and intonation were right on the money. The bad: it has the G-force tuners which I'm not a fan of(the 2018 SG standard doesn't have these tuners), it also has the printed circuit board electronics(not sure if Gibson is still using these in the standards), also not a fan. Then we can talk about Gibson's legendary quality control issues, my SG had fret sprout so bad that it would leave marks when I played it, and the PCB is starting to act a bit wonky. Now, I knew all that going in and still bought the guitar because it sounded incredible, and I got a seriously killer deal on it. So after fixing the frets, I'm now getting ready to replace the pcb and eventually I'll do the same to the tuners. Seems like a lot to fix for a new guitar, doesn't it?

My SE Custom 24 I bought used and it's my first PRS, but it won't be the last. Quality wise, it blew the SG out of the water. The SE needed nothing like the SG did and all I've done is add amber lampshades and a PRS truss rod cover. Sound wise, they're really two different animals, although IMO, the PRS covers more sonic territory than the SG. YMMV.

Now if you want to compare prices, you can get an S2 Standard, Singlecut, Vela, Starla, or even a CE 24 for around the same or even a little less money than the SG Standard. And of course, the SE will be way under the money versus the SG.

So which would I choose? Again, I'd try and play both before I bought, but if I'm honest with myself, my PRS gets played pretty much every day while the SG spends most of its time in the rack. And I can say with absolute confidence that my next guitar will be another PRS. But, hunting for the next guitar is always half the fun, right?

 

[MichaelS]

actually what you're really asking is which one to buy FIRST.
You will end up owning both of them eventually.

 

[HailLoutro]

I'm a firm believer that the wand chooses the wizard, so my advice would be to play both if possible then decide. But...I own a 2016 SG HP with the mini humbuckers and I also own a 2015 SE Custom 24 so let me give you my thoughts on each:

The SG definitely has some quirks as someone mentioned. Neck dive is a real concern but can be somewhat limited with a wider strap or even moving the rear strap button up. The good: the action and intonation were right on the money. The bad: it has the G-force tuners which I'm not a fan of(the 2018 SG standard doesn't have these tuners), it also has the printed circuit board electronics(not sure if Gibson is still using these in the standards), also not a fan. Then we can talk about Gibson's legendary quality control issues, my SG had fret sprout so bad that it would leave marks when I played it, and the PCB is starting to act a bit wonky. Now, I knew all that going in and still bought the guitar because it sounded incredible, and I got a seriously killer deal on it. So after fixing the frets, I'm now getting ready to replace the pcb and eventually I'll do the same to the tuners. Seems like a lot to fix for a new guitar, doesn't it?

My SE Custom 24 I bought used and it's my first PRS, but it won't be the last. Quality wise, it blew the SG out of the water. The SE needed nothing like the SG did and all I've done is add amber lampshades and a PRS truss rod cover. Sound wise, they're really two different animals, although IMO, the PRS covers more sonic territory than the SG. YMMV.

Now if you want to compare prices, you can get an S2 Standard, Singlecut, Vela, Starla, or even a CE 24 for around the same or even a little less money than the SG Standard. And of course, the SE will be way under the money versus the SG.

So which would I choose? Again, I'd try and play both before I bought, but if I'm honest with myself, my PRS gets played pretty much every day while the SG spends most of its time in the rack. And I can say with absolute confidence that my next guitar will be another PRS. But, hunting for the next guitar is always half the fun, right?

There are no shop here with PRS guitar I have to buy online, but I will take a PRS,.like everybody says the quality of Gibson is a big issue for me. The shape and the color of a PRS please me much more

 

[AxlGianne]

Prs se custom 24 some upgrade and it will be great

 

[HailLoutro]

It seems an online shop will have PRS limited edition this week ! I'm waiting to see them

 

[bodia]

It seems an online shop will have PRS limited edition this week ! I'm waiting to see them

That looks sweet! PRS, everyday

 

[László]

There’s no better source of advice on what kind of guitar you should buy than a bunch of complete strangers on the internet, whose tastes you are completely unfamiliar with, and who know nothing about you and how you play!

Especially if, like us, those complete strangers are fans of a particular brand of guitar, and will do their best to enable you to buy their favored brand.

Of course you should buy the PRS!