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!