S2 594 mini Rant... SE 245 praise?

[S2C22]

So, I bought a Singlecut S2 594, and had to return it because UPS put a big ding in the body. But, it was a blessing in disguise.. I loved the guitar, but I was unpleasantly greeted with these God-awful pickups. They're quite possibly the muddiest, ugliest sounding pickups I've heard. That in mind, I knew if I bought another, they'd have to go immediately, and I'd have to factor in extra $ for upgrading.

So, PRS is asking $1899 for these now, new? For that kinda money, they could make/use some better pickups? Or, would it hurt their Core USA sales? To me, it's simply NOT a bargain in any way, for what you get.

Now, for SE 245's. I'm looking at one now that's mint, Made In Korea with Seymour Duncans, upgraded pots, and USA Mann-Made adjustable tailpiece for about $699. I think I'd be a fool not to jump on it. They seem to get rave reviews on quality, (though need upgrades as well), but the price-point is certainly more attractive. The S2 594's are grossly overpriced, and people selling them used are just as proud.

 

[alantig]

Did you try adjusting the pickup heights? Maybe all it would have taken was a little tweaking of that to get somewhere closer to what you were looking for.

Then again, pickup taste is like anything else - we all have our preferences.

 

[chicagoslim]

I wasn't that happy with my S2 McCarty SC 594, either. I disliked the pickups. The only good sound that I got out of it was an overdriven bridge pickup sound. I'm not a Les Paul guy. Then I got a SE Hollowbody II, with the 58/15S pickups. It sounds great, even though it just was a single Volume, single Tone and no ability to split coils. I was thinking of trading the S2 MC 594 on another SE Hollowbody II.

Then I bought a Bad Cat amp. I dialed-in chimey Vox type sounds and now I like the S2 MC 594. I even dialed in my NexTone Stage, for a similar sound. Not all guitars will sound good, using the same amp or pedal settings, that work for your other guitars. Setting the EQ on your amp for your darker sounding guitar, then cutting the treble on your brighter guitars, might be an answer. YMMV!

 

[Warmart]

Pickups are quite similar to toilet paper in that their suitability varies with your daily diet. Some days you need a firm multi-ply and others a soft single sheet is best. The correct answer is having as many guitars and toilets as your house allows.

 

[bodia]

I dunno, Bryan makes them sound pretty good.

 

[alantig]

Pickups are quite similar to toilet paper in that their suitability varies with your daily diet. Some days you need a firm multi-ply and others a soft single sheet is best. The correct answer is having as many guitars and toilets as your house allows.

No consideration for bidet users? (I'm not one.) Are you a paperist?

 

[Warmart]

I have a neighbor that has one but I did not consider him lol. Are you an anti-paperist?

 

[Boogie]

I wasn't that happy with my S2 McCarty SC 594, either. I disliked the pickups. The only good sound that I got out of it was an overdriven bridge pickup sound. I'm not a Les Paul guy. Then I got a SE Hollowbody II, with the 58/15S pickups. It sounds great, even though it just was a single Volume, single Tone and no ability to split coils. I was thinking of trading the S2 MC 594 on another SE Hollowbody II.

Then I bought a Bad Cat amp. I dialed-in chimey Vox type sounds and now I like the S2 MC 594. I even dialed in my NexTone Stage, for a similar sound. Not all guitars will sound good, using the same amp or pedal settings, that work for your other guitars. Setting the EQ on your amp for your darker sounding guitar, then cutting the treble on your brighter guitars, might be an answer. YMMV!

Yes, yes, yes, and yes!

 

[S2C22]

Did you try adjusting the pickup heights? Maybe all it would have taken was a little tweaking of that to get somewhere closer to what you were looking for.

Then again, pickup taste is like anything else - we all have our preferences.

Of course I did. I frantically tried everything, considering how much I paid for it.

 

[S2C22]

I dunno, Bryan makes them sound pretty good.

Bryan doesn't play through an Engl, under high gain, either.

 

[alantig]

I have a neighbor that has one but I did not consider him lol. Are you an anti-paperist?

Not at all. Tried a bidet once, hated it. The water was nice and cold, but the tile floor hurt my knees, and I figured there was a better way to get a drink.

 

[Herr Squid]

Not at all. Tried a bidet once, hated it. The water was nice and cold, but the tile floor hurt my knees, and I figured there was a better way to get a drink.

Well done Alan! I have tears in my eyes as I type this...

 

[Oscar]

I dunno, Bryan makes them sound pretty good.

A lot of the sounds in a PRS product demo make me cringe. I find them raspy and overly mid-rangey. Usually I wish they’d just plug into an MT15 for clean, a Plexi for dirt and again an MT15 for mayhem. I’d probably never buy a PRS based on those vids. Whenever I pick one up for real, then I go ‘ah, so _this_ is what it sounds like’.

Not Bryan’s fault, he’s great. Not the guitar’s fault either, also great.

 

[Broseph]

comparing foreign made to USA made and discussing price points does not seem wise. Of course the foreign will cost a fraction of the cost. Having said that I play my Zach Myers a lot more than my s2 594 and indeed did a lot more upgrades on the ZM, which for some is a no go given the starting cost of the ZM. Cost of the upgrades is probably half the cost of the guitar. But to me worth it. I thoroughly enjoy it now

 

[HANGAR18]

So, I bought a Singlecut S2 594, and had to return it because UPS put a big ding in the body. But, it was a blessing in disguise.. I loved the guitar, but I was unpleasantly greeted with these God-awful pickups. They're quite possibly the muddiest, ugliest sounding pickups I've heard. That in mind, I knew if I bought another, they'd have to go immediately, and I'd have to factor in extra $ for upgrading.

So, PRS is asking $1899 for these now, new? For that kinda money, they could make/use some better pickups? Or, would it hurt their Core USA sales? To me, it's simply NOT a bargain in any way, for what you get.

Now, for SE 245's. I'm looking at one now that's mint, Made In Korea with Seymour Duncans, upgraded pots, and USA Mann-Made adjustable tailpiece for about $699. I think I'd be a fool not to jump on it. They seem to get rave reviews on quality, (though need upgrades as well), but the price-point is certainly more attractive. The S2 594's are grossly overpriced, and people selling them used are just as proud.

I don't have an explanation for what you experienced, but I can tell you that I recently bought a used S2 McCarty 594 Thinline and I think it is FANTASTIC!
All the rest of my PRS are Core line or higher.

 

[GuitarJammin]

Bryan doesn't play through an Engl, under high gain, either.

I play a lot in high gain as well. I have a couple ENGLs in my arsenal along with other high gain amps. I can attest that my experience has been the same as yours. I can also say the SE245 with seymours is likely gunna float your boat. I loved my SE singlecut when I had it. It's been a while since I've sold it, once I had my SC594 and SC250 core models....I didn't need it anymore. This guitar rocked though!

 

[sergiodeblanc]

No consideration for bidet users? (I'm not one.) Are you a paperist?

I am finally a bidet user. Life changing, for real. All my life I was just smearing sh!t around, I cannot believe how toilet paper is how people live now.

 

[LunarRock]

Douche!, I mean Touche!

 

[Hotspur]

What's fascinating is that they're the same pickups that are in the SE Hollowbody II, and I love them there. I did go back and forth between the two guitars in the shop and I liked the sound of the HB much better. It's possible I was biased going in, because I was leaning towards the HB before I played either guitar.

I'm not a high-gain guy, either, though, in general.

 

[11top]

I dunno, Bryan makes them sound pretty good.

I like “made in Maryland.” And I like the people gainfully employed there.