S2 USA pups

[mixmkr]

Will this encourage swapping out trems now too?...one last major item?

 

[Prina]

This will add a lot more value to the S2 line. They should have built them this way from the beginning.

Yep. They corrected the biggest problem with the S2's. I would have easily paid an extra 15% - 20% to get the USA 58/15LT's over the 58/15 S pups that came with my original '22 S2 McCarty, though thru Dave's (used). The downside would have been I might not have felt the need to get the Stripped 58.

And for a while folks will have the option of getting older or newer version at different price points. And it should work out well for PRS since most of the price increase is probably profit.

The s2 carve looks way better to me and it doesn't get much more comfy.

Agree on comfort. Not quite as good as a Strat but close enough.

However, my taste for looks is that almost any violin carve wins over a bevel. And on the back, those non-recessed cavity covers will always look cheap.

 

[FatFingerBlues]

Do you notice a difference with your mother of pearl birds? Not sure I can tell. And also the "cuban mahogany" fretboard. How different is that from the regular mahogany?

I can't tell any difference from the pictures
nor can I tell one mahogany from another

 

[jamjam1]

I can't tell any difference from the pictures
nor can I tell one mahogany from another

Me, neither

 

[Broseph]

They should have upgraded the birds too. Still makes no sense to me why the SE gets mother of pearls vs plain white on the lower usa lines

 

[jamjam1]

They should have upgraded the birds too. Still makes no sense to me why the SE gets mother of pearls vs plain white on the lower usa lines

I don't think the SE ones have mother of pearl. Not according to this:

S2 Series - Made In The USA

Maryland-based Manufacturer of Electric Guitars, Acoustic Guitars, Basses and Accessories.

prsguitars.com

That said, mine have mother of pearl birds and I can't tell the difference. They look pretty uniformly white.

 

[Broseph]

I don't think the SE ones have mother of pearl. Not according to this:

S2 Series - Made In The USA

Maryland-based Manufacturer of Electric Guitars, Acoustic Guitars, Basses and Accessories.

prsguitars.com

That said, mine have mother of pearl birds and I can't tell the difference. They look pretty uniformly white.

Sorry. It’s a fake pearloid mother of pearls. I still think it looks better than the white acrylic.

Prices for the older S2’s will plummet!

 

[JasonE]

Sorry. It’s a fake pearloid mother of pearls. I still think it looks better than the white acrylic.

Prices for the older S2’s will plummet!

I don't know that the old ones will plummet. There was a price increase to get the new ones with the US pickups. Someone could upgrade their pickups and end up with the same guitar.

 

[spawnofthesith]

I guess they're saving the release of the S2 Hollowbody for next quarter

 

[jamjam1]

Sorry. It’s a fake pearloid mother of pearls. I still think it looks better than the white acrylic.

Prices for the older S2’s will plummet!

Ah, that explains it. So they lied when they called them mother of pearl. Oh, well.

 

[Anachronism]

I think this is a great change that was necessary to keep the S2 line viable. New S2 instruments will fill their natural niche as full USA PRS guitars that are kept much more affordable than core by reducing the expensive and labor-intensive bling and using a few other tricks (e.g. scarf joints).

 

[Broseph]

I don't know that the old ones will plummet. There was a price increase to get the new ones with the US pickups. Someone could upgrade their pickups and end up with the same guitar.

Will they upgrade the wiring too? I didn’t click the promo vids. But that would be a huge plus since the SE toggles fail over time. L

 

[FatFingerBlues]

Will they upgrade the wiring too? I didn’t click the promo vids. But that would be a huge plus since the SE toggles fail over time. L

The PRS website says core pickups and electronics

 

[SinSir]

Will they upgrade the wiring too? I didn’t click the promo vids. But that would be a huge plus since the SE toggles fail over time. L

Yup, pickups and electronics. I think the upcharge is fair because its the whole deal. And I'm a cheap a$$.

 

[FatFingerBlues]

Yup, pickups and electronics. I think the upcharge is fair because its the whole deal. And I'm a cheap a$$.

Yes it's more than fair considering the pickups alone sell for $500
So it's cheaper than upgrading an older S2

 

[sergiodeblanc]

Will this encourage swapping out trems now too?...one last major item?

I don’t even mind the way the zinc block sounds in the SE/S2 tone wise. I’d totally settle for them reengineering the block with bigger and deeper string holes like the “real” trems.

The SE/S2 trem is broken. It’s a functional thing.

 

[mixmkr]

I don’t even mind the way the zinc block sounds in the SE/S2 tone wise. I’d totally settle for them reengineering the block with bigger and deeper string holes like the “real” trems.

The SE/S2 trem is broken. It’s a functional thing.

Mine actually works supprisingly well and keeps the guitar in tune. I did put in Graphtec saddles (probably not needed since they move with the trem) and a Tusq XL nut and locking tuners.

My strings come out ok...but do "want' to stick. I simple drilling would solve that, but it isn't a big enough issue for me, since the string balls pull out of my SE block ok.

I just thought some "golden ears" would want the $300 Mann trem block now...since that's the last item on the S2 for hardware to distinquish from the SE line

 

[sergiodeblanc]

Mine actually works supprisingly well and keeps the guitar in tune. I did put in Graphtec saddles (probably not needed since they move with the trem) and a Tusq XL nut and locking tuners.

My strings come out ok...but do "want' to stick. I simple drilling would solve that, but it isn't a big enough issue for me, since the string balls pull out of my SE block ok.

I just thought some "golden ears" would want the $300 Mann trem block now...since that's the last item on the S2 for hardware to distinquish from the SE line

That’s awesome yours works.

John sells amazingly well crafted trem blocks for around $80.

But you may as well just splurge on the whole trem.

 

[spawnofthesith]

Question, someone on another forum stated that the s2 594s have always had the same bridge/tuners as the core model. Is that true?

 

[FatFingerBlues]

Question, someone on another forum stated that the s2 594s have always had the same bridge/tuners as the core model. Is that true?

False
the PRS website lists 85/15 "S" pickups for the last 3 years
(3 years is as far back as the PRS site goes)