PRS SE Models - Do They Have the Same “Essence” As Core Models?

[Mark Ray]

now shut up and play the damn guitar.

 

[frankencat]

You’re not hard Core, unless you live hard Core.

 

[deathworlder]

Why the unsolicited opinion though?
I've only been here a short while, but I'm sure, this kind of thing has been hashed out many times before.
Weird flex...

 

[sergiodeblanc]

That argument was never made around Frankie.

I’ve never found the Stars-n-Bars, Iron Cross, and skull knobs at all sus.

 

[Mike J.]

I've never played a Core model so I can't compare them to an SE.

I tried a number of SE's that I didn't care for due to the poor setups. Doesn't mean it can't get sorted out with a good setup. But when I look for a guitar I'm attracted to the ones that (for me) play great right from the get go. Perfect string heigth with no string/fret buzz. That speaks volumes to me. Right or wrong my thought is "if it doesn't need a setup now then it was built right." Fact is that yesterday I briefly tried out a DGT SE but I had to fight to play it due to the high action. I'll pass.

I really lucked out when I first tried my SE Standard 24. Nice low action with no string/fret buzz anywhere. For me it played like a dream. Sold. I'll admit the guitar has a few issues, things that weren't evident right away. Some of the strings (the ball ends) get stuck in the trem unit. Gotta put a small screwdriver through the top and gently tap it loose with a hammer to get it out. Didn't notice it right away, but I have to keep the B string tuned half a cent flat for the guitar to sound in tune. A few weeks later the blade switch started making that static sound when going from one poition to the next. (I tried contact cleaner, doesn't help). Would a Core model be any different? I don't know.

Despite the flaws my guitar has it's joy to play. I used it at church for the first time about two weeks ago and 5 people came up to me saying how good it sounded.

 

[shimmilou]

Strings getting stuck in the bridge block is normal, across all models. My SE Cu24 also had a weak selector switch, swapped it out for a better one. Core models come with better electronics of course. I play the SE more than my cores

 

[Draconomics]

Strings getting stuck in the bridge block is normal, across all models. My SE Cu24 also had a weak selector switch, swapped it out for a better one. Core models come with better electronics of course. I play the SE more than my cores

Yeah, they always get stuck in those steel blocks. What you do is when you change strings, cut a piece of the low E off and shove it into the holes where the strings get stuck. That'll get em out.

 

[Mike J.]

Strings getting stuck in the bridge block is normal, across all models. My SE Cu24 also had a weak selector switch, swapped it out for a better one. Core models come with better electronics of course. I play the SE more than my cores

How come the strings don't get stuck in my Strat? Different material? Not trying to argue at all, just asking.

 

[shimmilou]

Depends on the block material and machining. The original style F blocks, with the shallow drilled string holes and CRS steel were the best. Fender came up with the "Bullet" strings because of ball end strings getting stuck in their softer, leaded steel blocks that were also drilled deeper into the block. Of course the Bullets would get stuck also

 

[Daryl Jones]

This thread got long and I don't know if I jumped in yet or not. If so I apologize but a couple thoughts.
I only own 3 PRS guitars. An SE Custom 24, SE HBII Piezo, and an S2 McCarty Thinline. Have never played or even held a Core. The S2 being my most recent acquisition. I was torn between the SE and S2 an almost pulled the trigger on an SE brand new when a non-refusable deal on a lightly used S2 came up. Like virtually the same price as an SE.
First off, I don't like LP's. At all. They "feel" weird and uncomfortable, heavy (like a lump actually) and they have a nasty rep for not holding tune due to that stupid headstock angle. Same with the Epiphone versions.
Love Tele's, but don't like the variances in tone quality of Strats. I've yet to play two MIA Strat guitars that sound alike to me. Only one MIM and I didn't like it at all. I did play a Japanese one that was actually good but have never seen one in a store to compare new. Not a fan of the necks, but could live with it if I hadn't fallen for PRS 4 years ago.
My SE Custom I had to order, but when it came itcwas very well set up, and I never had to touch it for a year. Then just a couple tweaks, new strings and instant nirvana. Solid as a rock stable, light my inly complaint about Tele's), and very comfortable neck, and faster than I'm capable of playing.
Same with my HB, order-in and a long wait. But again very good, al.ost perfect out of the box. Slight intonation adjust before leaving the store and good to go. Small issue with the battery compartment over that last year and a half, but pretty much have that nailed down.
Now, the S2.
The guitar is very obviously a superior instrument to my SE Custom and HB, in spite of being radically different machines to start with. Now buying it from a better player (gigging pro and music professor) than myself and some personal adjustments by him it was flawless. But the tonality, build quality, and overall feel is a definite step up. As I mentioned in my NGD post, God forbid I ever pick up somebody's Core machine!
Anyhow, after this long essay, e oecting an SE to be comparable to a Core is foolhardy. Same with an S2 either way: up or down. But I don't eschew my trusty SE Custom for my McCarty either. They both get pretty equal playtime. My HBII is unique in its own way and it will always have that special niche and purpose. I doubt I would have it fall from favor and go "searching" for a Core replacement. Would it be better? I have zero doubt that it would. I just don't need to have it.
The SE's are PRS guitars, make no mistake about it. And Paul himself makes no bones about it . That's good enough for me and the guitars I play.

 

[Alnus Rubra]

I've never played a Core model so I can't compare them to an SE.

I tried a number of SE's that I didn't care for due to the poor setups. Doesn't mean it can't get sorted out with a good setup. But when I look for a guitar I'm attracted to the ones that (for me) play great right from the get go. Perfect string heigth with no string/fret buzz. That speaks volumes to me. Right or wrong my thought is "if it doesn't need a setup now then it was built right." Fact is that yesterday I briefly tried out a DGT SE but I had to fight to play it due to the high action. I'll pass.

I really lucked out when I first tried my SE Standard 24. Nice low action with no string/fret buzz anywhere. For me it played like a dream. Sold. I'll admit the guitar has a few issues, things that weren't evident right away. Some of the strings (the ball ends) get stuck in the trem unit. Gotta put a small screwdriver through the top and gently tap it loose with a hammer to get it out. Didn't notice it right away, but I have to keep the B string tuned half a cent flat for the guitar to sound in tune. A few weeks later the blade switch started making that static sound when going from one poition to the next. (I tried contact cleaner, doesn't help). Would a Core model be any different? I don't know.

Despite the flaws my guitar has it's joy to play. I used it at church for the first time about two weeks ago and 5 people came up to me saying how good it sounded.

The only way I can best describe it is that the Core has a subtlety to it that the SE doesn’t. It’s a sum of its parts and both are great to play, but the Core is just that bit more.



I regularly switch between these two. My son is learning guitar using my SE 245 -



So fun to see him on the same journey that I was on at his age.

 

[aphantomvaper]

The only way I can best describe it is that the Core has a subtlety to it that the SE doesn’t. It’s a sin of its parts and both are great to play, but the Core is just that bit more.



I regularly switch between these two. My son is learning guitar using my SE 245 -



So fun to see him on the same journey that I was on at his age.

Sum of its parts perhaps, not that sin ain't fun now and again...

Well said overall, lad!

 

[Mike J.]

The only way I can best describe it is that the Core has a subtlety to it that the SE doesn’t. It’s a sin of its parts and both are great to play, but the Core is just that bit more.



I regularly switch between these two. My son is learning guitar using my SE 245 -



So fun to see him on the same journey that I was on at his age.

I know exactly what you mean. I have an Epiphone SG Pro and a Gibson SG Special. As well as the Epiphone plays the Gibson has that extra little something with the way it plays. Hard to describe but you can feel the "step up" in quality.

Those two guitars as well as my SE Standard played amazing right off the rack.

 

[Alnus Rubra]

Sum of its parts perhaps, not that sin ain't fun now and again...

Well said overall, lad!

D@mn auto spell!

I know exactly what you mean. I have an Epiphone SG Pro and a Gibson SG Special. As well as the Epiphone plays the Gibson has that extra little something with the way it plays. Hard to describe but you can feel the "step up" in quality.

Those two guitars as well as my SE Standard played amazing right off the rack.

I totally agree and I’ve said this many a time, that 18 year old me would not have realised how lucky he could’ve been to have an SE 245 and a Blackstar amp.

I was looking on FB marketplace and I could set my son up with an SE Silver Sky and a Blackstar 40w valve amp for about 600 bucks. He wouldn’t realise how lucky he was compared to the “cheese graters” I learnt on.

 

[gtrdave]

Preface: I've not yet owned a Core model. I've played a bunch, from the '90s on (with that horrible rotary pickup selector), but I've never really been drawn to one yet.
I've owned two S2 guitars (Standard 24 and Vela), currently own one S2 signature model (Vernon Reid) and just recently got my first SE (Swamp Ash Special), which totally blew me away and it's no mistake to say that I really love this guitar.

Like the Core models, I've played a lot of SE models over the years and always found them to be great quality instruments, but I never really felt drawn to them and many times it came down to the feel and finish of the neck that was the deal breaker when I considered a purchase.
As I think I said in another thread, the satin finish maple neck of the SAS was what made the difference between it and every other SE I've tried and my hands just connect with it in a very natural way. I felt the same about the SE CE24 that I recently demo'ed, too; the neck was a winner.

Realistically, I can imagine the Core SAS is a fantastic guitar (when you can find them) and worth every dollar over and above the SE model, but it's my opinion that the SAS SE has some serious essence or mojo or whatever you want to call it. I've gigged with it twice so far and it's a very difficult guitar to put down. I can safely say that every other guitar I own (the Gibsons, Fenders, Godins, ESPs, etc...) will all get played less because of this SAS SE.

I have friends, really good players, who regularly gig their SE guitars and I don't think that'd be the case if they didn't find them to be fantastic instruments in comparison to the Core models that they could play. Not a dig on the Core models at all. but just to say that PRS has gone above and beyond with their 'import' guitars. I've toured the factory and seen the time, money and care that goes into making sure the SE line is worthy of wearing the PRS name.

 

[Mike J.]

D@mn auto spell!



I totally agree and I’ve said this many a time, that 18 year old me would not have realised how lucky he could’ve been to have an SE 245 and a Blackstar amp.

I was looking on FB marketplace and I could set my son up with an SE Silver Sky and a Blackstar 40w valve amp for about 600 bucks. He wouldn’t realise how lucky he was compared to the “cheese graters” I learnt on.

Ha! The "cheese graters!!" I like that one!

I started on bass guitar way back in 1968. Bought a bass from a friend of mine at school for $30.00. Strings were fairly high off the neck and on the G string, from the 13th fret up the note was G#! The pitch didn't change from the 13th fret up! Couldn't figure why but I didn't know the first thing about setups back then.

But still, those were very special days back then. The other day while at my local music store I saw a 1968 Fender Bassman head (Silver face) with a 2X12 Fender Bassman cabinet for sale. Talk about a flood of memories hitting me square in the face!
Fender amps were everywhere way back then and I seem to remember the Bandmaster amps being a big favorite with a lot of guitar players. I remember walking up to my local music store back then just to look at all of the Fender amps they had. It's a memory that's very special for me.

As much as I embrace the newer technology (using a Pod Go at church) I do miss the excitment I felt as a young kid when I was first getting into music. It's like a whole new world opened up for us and young bands were everywhere.

Maybe it's because I'm getting older (soon to be 71) but I really miss that special thing you could feel in the air back then. Like my dad use to say: Those were your good old days and you didn't know it at the time. So true dad.

 

[Tedder]

I bought an Ibanez SC1620 Prestige in 1999 for around $800 or so. It was my first real guitar and I connected with it instantly. That was my only electric guitar for a long time. Then I started buying other guitars. They came and went, but the Ibanez stayed.

Then I bought a used SE Singlecut 245 (I'm guessing) and I loved that guitar. I loved it so much that I ended up gigging with it instead of the Ibanez. Even felt like I was betraying the Ibanez somehow. I went through a couple more SE's (Tremonti, Zach Myers etc...) before picking up an SE CU24. I modded that guitar into a CU24-08 with Fralins, new Mann solid brass bridge, pots, wires, switches, tuners etc... That became my #1 for a long time. So much so, that my first and only core purchase was an actual CU24-08. I made that purchase last week, but I already have connected with the core and it's not going anywhere.

There is something intangible about the core model. Quality of the construction, components... but also that it is just a beautiful instrument. A piece of art. I have no doubt that there is something psychological about preferring it just based on looks and perceived quality, but it will definitely be my #1 now. And it is a dream to play, no doubt about it.

That being said, I don't love the SE any less and will be keeping it and playing it. For the $$$, you can't beat an SE if you connect with it. But I am not sorry for the extra dough spent on the core. (it did hurt though).

Pics of both, because who doesn't love some PRS pron? Plus, holy crap this core is just.... I mean...

 

[Veetwin]

Preface: I've not yet owned a Core model. I've played a bunch, from the '90s on (with that horrible rotary pickup selector), but I've never really been drawn to one yet.
I've owned two S2 guitars (Standard 24 and Vela), currently own one S2 signature model (Vernon Reid) and just recently got my first SE (Swamp Ash Special), which totally blew me away and it's no mistake to say that I really love this guitar.

Like the Core models, I've played a lot of SE models over the years and always found them to be great quality instruments, but I never really felt drawn to them and many times it came down to the feel and finish of the neck that was the deal breaker when I considered a purchase.
As I think I said in another thread, the satin finish maple neck of the SAS was what made the difference between it and every other SE I've tried and my hands just connect with it in a very natural way. I felt the same about the SE CE24 that I recently demo'ed, too; the neck was a winner.

Realistically, I can imagine the Core SAS is a fantastic guitar (when you can find them) and worth every dollar over and above the SE model, but it's my opinion that the SAS SE has some serious essence or mojo or whatever you want to call it. I've gigged with it twice so far and it's a very difficult guitar to put down. I can safely say that every other guitar I own (the Gibsons, Fenders, Godins, ESPs, etc...) will all get played less because of this SAS SE.

I have friends, really good players, who regularly gig their SE guitars and I don't think that'd be the case if they didn't find them to be fantastic instruments in comparison to the Core models that they could play. Not a dig on the Core models at all. but just to say that PRS has gone above and beyond with their 'import' guitars. I've toured the factory and seen the time, money and care that goes into making sure the SE line is worthy of wearing the PRS name.

Great post, I like your considered post.

 

[SixStringSlinger]

I think the SE line are clearly well made instruments, there is no doubt in that.

We question these things I think, because something doesn’t balance between our gut feeling, with the name that we see on the headstock ie PRS, and where we actually know who has made it ie Cort.

Now, what if Gibson started to put just Gibson on all of the Epiphone guitars. Would that mean that they are now Gibson guitars? Or would we be feeling like we are being deceived? Because we know it was made by Epiphone and not Gibson, and it should be labelled as an Epiphone.

My feeling is. if it does not originate from the original factory, then it is not a PRS made guitar, it is, and always will be a Cort guitar with a PRS name on it.

Much the same way the Epiphone will always be an Epiphone, even if it has the Gibson name on it, because it was not made by Gibson. Same goes for squire, etc

It doesn’t mean that any of these instruments are junk, but for me I had an Epiphone les Paul, which was a nice guitar, but by brain and heart was telling me that this is not a Gibson les Paul, I felt like I was using a fake Gibson guitar. I had no choice but to save for the real deal. The impact on my psychology now knowing that I was playing a real Gibson, improved my attitude towards my guitar and my playing.

It’s the same for my PRS guitars. I buy USA models because I don’t want the feeling that I’m playing a copy of one, made by another company like Cort. Why not just release the SE line with the Cort name on? and sell them as licences by Prs. Do you think they would sell? No because it would be clear that they are not PRS.

At the end of the day if you want a real PRS you have to buy a USA Maryland built Prs. Otherwise you are just fooling yourself that it is one.

Does it mean if PRS licenced me, and I make a PRS, exact copy and, and I mean an exact copy, and put the PRS name on it, would that mean it is a PRS? Even though it’s been made in my shed. Of course it wouldn’t. And if they didn’t licence me, i would rightly end up in court, with PRS suing me because it was not a PRS.

So buy original USA Maryland PRS because anything else is a copy made by someone else, whatever way you try and sugar coat it, whatever name you want to put on it, it’s always just a copy.

Peace.

 

[revtime]

I think the SE line are clearly well made instruments, there is no doubt in that.

We question these things I think, because something doesn’t balance between our gut feeling, with the name that we see on the headstock ie PRS, and where we actually know who has made it ie Cort.

Now, what if Gibson started to put just Gibson on all of the Epiphone guitars. Would that mean that they are now Gibson guitars? Or would we be feeling like we are being deceived? Because we know it was made by Epiphone and not Gibson, and it should be labelled as an Epiphone.

My feeling is. if it does not originate from the original factory, then it is not a PRS made guitar, it is, and always will be a Cort guitar with a PRS name on it.

Much the same way the Epiphone will always be an Epiphone, even if it has the Gibson name on it, because it was not made by Gibson. Same goes for squire, etc

It doesn’t mean that any of these instruments are junk, but for me I had an Epiphone les Paul, which was a nice guitar, but by brain and heart was telling me that this is not a Gibson les Paul, I felt like I was using a fake Gibson guitar. I had no choice but to save for the real deal. The impact on my psychology now knowing that I was playing a real Gibson, improved my attitude towards my guitar and my playing.

It’s the same for my PRS guitars. I buy USA models because I don’t want the feeling that I’m playing a copy of one, made by another company like Cort. Why not just release the SE line with the Cort name on? and sell them as licences by Prs. Do you think they would sell? No because it would be clear that they are not PRS.

At the end of the day if you want a real PRS you have to buy a USA Maryland built Prs. Otherwise you are just fooling yourself that it is one.

Does it mean if PRS licenced me, and I make a PRS, exact copy and, and I mean an exact copy, and put the PRS name on it, would that mean it is a PRS? Even though it’s been made in my shed. Of course it wouldn’t. And if they didn’t licence me, i would rightly end up in court, with PRS suing me because it was not a PRS.

So buy original USA Maryland PRS because anything else is a copy made by someone else, whatever way you try and sugar coat it, whatever name you want to put on it, it’s always just a copy.

Peace.

I am trying to wrap my head around how you justify this. They are all copies regardless of where they are made. You seem to need justification of your expenditure. Paul Reed Smith himself authorized the SE line. Higgenbotham (a very high PRS employee) oversees it. How is that not PRS? It doesnt matter what plot of ground its made on. This smacks of that idiotic "play authentic" crap gibson espouses. Pay me extra money simply because it says my name on the headstock. Paul is saying pay me and I will build you the best guitar I am capable of building. However, if you just want a damn good guitar at a reasonable price I can build that to.
You are the problem. You need justification for the money you spent.