PRS SE Swamp Ash Special!

[Torvald]

Blue. I have seven blue PRS now.

Cool. I have five burst PRS. I've seen a few of the Iri blue SAS's that were just stunning looking, but others not so much, depending on the grain, I guess. I went with the burst. My local dealer had a Iri Blue but it was 9.6 lbs!

 

[JasonE]

You guys posting the weight of your SE SAS made me feel the need to weigh my SAS since I had it out. My older core SAS weighs 7.3 lbs.

 

[FragileThunder]

Alright, I'm going to check some out on Thursday. After 3+ months, the SE Silver Sky is on the blocks and I think the SAS may be the right guitar to fill the gap. While the SS is a great instrument, I am once again forced to confront the fact that I'm just not a Strat-style guy. As much as I love the sounds, and so many of my favorite guitarist are Strat players, there's something that I can only describe as vaguely ergonomic about them that I can't jive with. Hoping that the SAS can give me some of those tones and just feel more like me.

 

[ChickenRob]

I have a 34” scale custom built swamp ash bass that’s 6 pounds 6 ounces. I’m told that that kind of super light resonant swamp ash is almost impossible to get now. My bass is about 15 years old.

Redwood burl top. Ash body, maple neck, pau Ferro fretboard.

Sorry for non-prs content but thought it was relevant swamp ash content.

 

[SinSir]

Alright, I'm going to check some out on Thursday. After 3+ months, the SE Silver Sky is on the blocks and I think the SAS may be the right guitar to fill the gap. While the SS is a great instrument, I am once again forced to confront the fact that I'm just not a Strat-style guy. As much as I love the sounds, and so many of my favorite guitarist are Strat players, there's something that I can only describe as vaguely ergonomic about them that I can't jive with. Hoping that the SAS can give me some of those tones and just feel more like me.

Since modding my core SAS I play it far more than my strats, and I used to be a strat man. What can I say, I'm a PRS guy now. Mine really does rival a few of my strats in the strat 2 and 4 positions. It doesn't quite have the same strat neck sound, but it's passable.

 

[FragileThunder]

Since modding my core SAS I play it far more than my strats, and I used to be a strat man. What can I say, I'm a PRS guy now. Mine really does rival a few of my strats in the strat 2 and 4 positions. It doesn't quite have the same strat neck sound, but it's passable.

Thanks for the feedback, sounds like pretty much what I'm hoping I'll find.

 

[frankencat]

Off topic but I have a super nice, lightweight, one piece ash Strat body stashed for a special build I have been planning. It will have a maple neck and probably come out to around 7.5 lbs. the body itself is just a hair under 3 lbs and seems very resonant. I have built a bunch of swamp ash guitars and they were all very light and resonant. It wouldn’t surprise me if that kind of American “swamp ash” is not available for them to use on these guitars. But I digress…

 

[DreamTheaterRules]

I hope PRS takes note of the way these models are flying at the sale price, and we see more of this! Hope being the key word.

It "seems" to have been introduced along with a 20% off sale. If not everywhere, I've sure seen a bunch. And IMO, this proves these things will sell like crazy in that price range. When SE's get in the mid-upper 8s or even 9s, I'm more hesitant. In the 6 hundreds, I'm actually going to search one out to try rather than just waiting until I stumble across one in a shop.

 

[SinSir]

It "seems" to have been introduced along with a 20% off sale. If not everywhere, I've sure seen a bunch. And IMO, this proves these things will sell like crazy in that price range. When SE's get in the mid-upper 8s or even 9s, I'm more hesitant. In the 6 hundreds, I'm actually going to search one out to try rather than just waiting until I stumble across one in a shop.

100% agree. At that $1k range my mind automatically gives pause, and thinks what's on the list for core in the used market that I can put the funds to instead? At these prices I've found myself thinking why not give it a try?

 

[Torvald]

100% agree. At that $1k range my mind automatically gives pause, and thinks what's on the list for core in the used market that I can put the funds to instead? At these prices I've found myself thinking why not give it a try?

You should. They're reducing inventory. These prices are good through the end of the year.

 

[SinSir]

You should. They're reducing inventory. These prices are good through the end of the year.

I have a core with maple. Once I came home and played mine for a few days it made the decision for me. If it was rosewood, I'd already have one.

 

[Torvald]

I have a core with maple. Once I came home and played mine for a few days it made the decision for me. If it was rosewood, I'd already have one.

Good reason.

 

[ChickenRob]

I got in about 90 minutes tonight plugged in for the first time since getting it. Played through my Tonex setup with amalgam captures. It sounded great and was fun to play. For under $600 this seems like a hell of a steal. I played clean, edge of breakup, low through high gain, sampling all the pickup positions. It was so fun and I totally lost track of time. Was surprised how well it worked on van halen and Randy Rhodes stuff. Plus was super fun with the Gilmour and knopfler stuff.

Gonna restring it a little lighter gauge, lower the actin a bit and see where we are. May not even swap out the pickups. But I definitely want to increase the switching options.

Also the neck carve was a delightful surprise. Quite comfortable.

Does it play as well as my cores? No, but it feels and sounds amazing for the money. My goodness.

 

[SinSir]

But I definitely want to increase the switching options.

I can't recommend the 6way freeway switch enough. Total game changer.

 

[dogrocketp]

I compared my friend Rob’s SE SAS to my core SAS tonight, 1 set on each guitar, played through a Fender Blues Jr with no pedals. My 2005 has a fuller thicker sound, even when tapped. The 6 way freeway switch is just great, giving me sounds very quickly. The SE is one helluva guitar. It’s a little more Strat-like tapped and the pickups are louder. The humbucker sounds on both are excellent. There is a little better string definition in the SE and I was surprised at the bass response. The core has a lovely wide-fat neck. The SE has a wide thin that felt more like a pattern regular to my hands. The weight on the SE is 8 pounds dead on. The fretwork was what you expect from PRS, and there were no fret edges that needed to be filed. The abalone inlays were killer, and the fit and finish were very clean.
If I didn’t have a core SAS, I’d be all over this guitar. My core sings better with the amp cranked, but I could feel the SE vibrating beautifully. Remember, each is its own thing. While I’m tempted because the blue is so beautiful, it didn’t give me enough separation from my core to justify buying it. They do not sound the same, but I have enough guitars already (Yes, I said it). If you wanna a killer guitar that sounds different from any other, BUY IT! This is a ridiculous price for a lotta guitar! And the website demo is spot on if you want to hear all the sounds the guitar makes. Winna-Winna-chicken Dinna!

 

[tyfu20]

I compared my friend Rob’s SE SAS to my core SAS tonight, 1 set on each guitar, played through a Fender Blues Jr with no pedals. My 2005 has a fuller thicker sound, even when tapped. The 6 way freeway switch is just great, giving me sounds very quickly. The SE is one helluva guitar. It’s a little more Strat-like tapped and the pickups are louder. The humbucker sounds on both are excellent. There is a little better string definition in the SE and I was surprised at the bass response. The core has a lovely wide-fat neck. The SE has a wide thin that felt more like a pattern regular to my hands. The weight on the SE is 8 pounds dead on. The fretwork was what you expect from PRS, and there were no fret edges that needed to be filed. The abalone inlays were killer, and the fit and finish were very clean.
If I didn’t have a core SAS, I’d be all over this guitar. My core sings better with the amp cranked, but I could feel the SE vibrating beautifully. Remember, each is its own thing. While I’m tempted because the blue is so beautiful, it didn’t give me enough separation from my core to justify buying it. They do not sound the same, but I have enough guitars already (Yes, I said it). If you wanna a killer guitar that sounds different from any other, BUY IT! This is a ridiculous price for a lotta guitar! And the website demo is spot on if you want to hear all the sounds the guitar makes. Winna-Winna-chicken Dinna!

Great write up and thanks for the in depth comparison.

 

[JasonE]

I have a core with maple. Once I came home and played mine for a few days it made the decision for me. If it was rosewood, I'd already have one.

My core SAS is the same wood combination, all maple neck. If I didn't have my core model, I would have already bought the SE.

 

[Torvald]

I compared my friend Rob’s SE SAS to my core SAS tonight, 1 set on each guitar, played through a Fender Blues Jr with no pedals. My 2005 has a fuller thicker sound, even when tapped. The 6 way freeway switch is just great, giving me sounds very quickly. The SE is one helluva guitar. It’s a little more Strat-like tapped and the pickups are louder. The humbucker sounds on both are excellent. There is a little better string definition in the SE and I was surprised at the bass response. The core has a lovely wide-fat neck. The SE has a wide thin that felt more like a pattern regular to my hands. The weight on the SE is 8 pounds dead on. The fretwork was what you expect from PRS, and there were no fret edges that needed to be filed. The abalone inlays were killer, and the fit and finish were very clean.
If I didn’t have a core SAS, I’d be all over this guitar. My core sings better with the amp cranked, but I could feel the SE vibrating beautifully. Remember, each is its own thing. While I’m tempted because the blue is so beautiful, it didn’t give me enough separation from my core to justify buying it. They do not sound the same, but I have enough guitars already (Yes, I said it). If you wanna a killer guitar that sounds different from any other, BUY IT! This is a ridiculous price for a lotta guitar! And the website demo is spot on if you want to hear all the sounds the guitar makes. Winna-Winna-chicken Dinna!

Thanks for the write up and comparison. You can hardly find a core SAS for less than $2500 and they're 20 years old. If they were new core models they'd probably be $4500! I keep thinking about that Freeway switch. Not sure I want to start modding, though. Pretty darn versatile as is.

 

[SinSir]

Thanks for the write up and comparison. You can hardly find a core SAS for less than $2500 and they're 20 years old. If they were new core models they'd probably be $4500! I keep thinking about that Freeway switch. Not sure I want to start modding, though. Pretty darn versatile as is.

Core are less than that all day. Much less. Mine was a major fraction of that during covid. Just check reverb sale history. Crackhead listing prices are vastly different than sold for price.

 

[Torvald]

Core are less than that all day. Much less. Mine was a major fraction of that during covid. Just check reverb sale history. Crackhead listing prices are vastly different than sold for price.

Good to know.