SE CE?!

[bodia]

I blame Brian Ewald. He makes it extra difficult to say 'I will not buy another guitar'

That's a fact! Him and Pete Thorn get me every time!

 

[shinksma]

Our pricing is about $350 more than US (grrrr).

Using publicly published MAPs, so hopefully this doesn't run afoul.

Sweetwater has MAP $559 for an SE CE.

Anderton's MAP £695 same guitar, including VAT (according to their website and shopping basket). So pre-VAT price is £580.

GBP is worth ~1.2 US$.

So you are paying retail cost (pre-tax) about $137 higher than the US. That's not so bad, really. Not ideal, but not $350. I have no idea if the UK's import duties vary vs the US etc.

We pay tax too, variable amounts (much less than your VAT here in the US), but you gotta compare pre-tax prices to be fair - it isn't Anderton's fault the VAT exists and is so high.

I imagine many of our Canadian friends are paying prices similar to yours, due to the Canadian 13-15% HST in many of the provinces.

 

[Alnus Rubra]

Using publicly published MAPs, so hopefully this doesn't run afoul.

Sweetwater has MAP $559 for an SE CE.

Anderton's MAP £695 same guitar, including VAT (according to their website and shopping basket). So pre-VAT price is £580.

GBP is worth ~1.2 US$.

So you are paying retail cost (pre-tax) about $137 higher than the US. That's not so bad, really. Not ideal, but not $350. I have no idea if the UK's import duties vary vs the US etc.

We pay tax too, variable amounts (much less than your VAT here in the US), but you gotta compare pre-tax prices to be fair - it isn't Anderton's fault the VAT exists and is so high.

I imagine many of our Canadian friends are paying prices similar to yours, due to the Canadian 13-15% HST in many of the provinces.

My comment about price difference referred to @aphantomvaper share about the SAS. Hence the higher price difference. Apologies for any confusion.

I refer to my previous comment that I should stop griping and so I have (haha).

Edit: Certainly no intention of slating any dealer.

 

[andy474x]

Got to play one of the new CE SE's briefly yesterday - didn't plug it in, but I do have to say, the feel was fantastic. Still not sold on that neck heel, visually, but it played like butter.

 

[Aahzz]

Got to play one of the new CE SE's briefly yesterday - didn't plug it in, but I do have to say, the feel was fantastic. Still not sold on that neck heel, visually, but it played like butter.

What was the neck finish like? I'm leaning towards the CE over my initial thought of the SAS. My local shop had an SAS, and it felt GREAT, with a nice satin neck finish, but I haven't been able to try a CE yet...

 

[bb_boogie]

I was looking at several of these new models, and I ended up playing about five different ones. Out of those 5, four of them had SERIOUS neck problems. When I say serious, I mean that the neck isn't joined properly. It's not even close. Strum some strings and then barely touch the neck and they went out of tune.

Two of the guitars would go out by at least a half-step. That tells me that the QC on these is nearly non-existent, which is a bummer. They are pretty though. You could also easily put several business cards fully between the neck and the neck pockets in them. Just horrible quality. Makes me sad.

 

[Arcoril]

I was looking at several of these new models, and I ended up playing about five different ones. Out of those 5, four of them had SERIOUS neck problems. When I say serious, I mean that the neck isn't joined properly. It's not even close. Strum some strings and then barely touch the neck and they went out of tune.

Two of the guitars would go out by at least a half-step. That tells me that the QC on these is nearly non-existent, which is a bummer. They are pretty though. You could also easily put several business cards fully between the neck and the neck pockets in them. Just horrible quality. Makes me sad.

Sorry to hear that you had such a bad experience with these. I'm also inclined to believe that QC isn't the best with these imported models. I had an SE DGT with a nut that was glued in off-center and had a crack in the fingerboard. That guitar should never have made it out into the world.

In spite of that, though, I finally received a replacement SE DGT with no visible flaws that plays wonderfully. I also have an SE Hollowbody II Piezo that looks amazing and plays like a dream. I'm really happy with these guitars and I'm a huge fan of the SE line. They're not all perfect out of the box, however. I'd definitely only purchase one if the store had a good return policy.

 

[bb_boogie]

Sorry to hear that you had such a bad experience with these. I'm also inclined to believe that QC isn't the best with these imported models. I had an SE DGT with a nut that was glued in off-center and had a crack in the fingerboard. That guitar should never have made it out into the world.

In spite of that, though, I finally received a replacement SE DGT with no visible flaws that plays wonderfully. I also have an SE Hollowbody II Piezo that looks amazing and plays like a dream. I'm really happy with these guitars and I'm a huge fan of the SE line. They're not all perfect out of the box, however. I'd definitely only purchase one if the store had a good return policy.

That's good.

The weird thing about these new models, to me, is that I've noticed the problem at several different PRS stores (I live in the ATL area and travel around the southeast a lot). One store actually took the models off the wall when I pointed out the issue. I guess most stores don't do any real quality check before they put them out for display. At least that's what I have found.

This problem seems to be a larger issue than just a few guitars though. It's weird.

A few years ago, I bought a core model "Paul's Guitar" and it had horrible hum problem. Turned out that it wasn't wired correctly at the factory (ground wasn't correct). Totally easy fix, and definitely a one-off problem that I've never heard of coming up on another guitar. Ands that's totally understandable. But these CE models that I've been trying have had real bad issues across the board. It's sad.

 

[Nadir]

WTF is this ?

Look at the core CE ...

^^ this shape ^^ to me is one of the trademarks of PRS (even more than the birds...)

 

[toothace]

WTF is this ?

Look at the core CE ...

^^ this shape ^^ to me is one of the trademarks of PRS (even more than the birds...)

It's been used before...Look at the 509/513 neck joints. Same architecture but glue in as opposed to bold on.

 

[Aahzz]

WTF is this ?

Look at the core CE ...

^^ this shape ^^ to me is one of the trademarks of PRS (even more than the birds...)

WTF is it? It's a really comfy neck heel, that's what it is.

 

[jak3af3r]

What year is your SE?

It's been used before...Look at the 509/513 neck joints. Same architecture but glue in as opposed to bold on.

My SAS NF has a similar heel joint.

 

[Nadir]

@Aahzz
more confortable than the core CE ? At that point it is twice as thicker.

Anyway, my point is:
this is unequivocally a PRS

this is identical to dozens of other models, starting from Strato ending to ... Cort M Series (just to remain in the Far East)

 

[Aahzz]

@Aahzz
more confortable than the core CE ? At that point it is twice as thicker.

Anyway, my point is:
this is unequivocally a PRS

this is identical to dozens of other models, starting from Strato ending to ... Cort M Series (just to remain in the Far East)

I find it more comfy than the heel of older CEs I've owned, yes. As always, YMMV.

 

[Alnus Rubra]

The Silver Sky has a similar neck joint too.