SE Customs Now Manufactured in Indonesia?

[Bob Wilson]

These are issues that your dealer will rectify for you.

Shame they slipped through 2 QC checks.

 

[Alnus Rubra]

Shame they slipped through 2 QC checks.

That is true

 

[NBW]

I have only owned SEs (used ones at that) and that will likely continue. I played most of the guitars at GC before I laid my hands on a SE, the neck carve works for me. They seem like great instruments.

I lent my SE custom to my friend who plays jazz for a living. He used it for half his gig, he was playing a nice tele for the first part of the show. He raved about the axe and asked me how much it would cost to replicate the guitar. I think that says that these guitars are good enough for me.

 

[Acnestes]

And a minor niggle, one of the screws on the back plate is totally burred over and sharp.

As a minor upgrade, I suggest you trundle down to your local hardware store and get some flat-headed brass screws (until you can get gold plated ones, of course ) of the same specs and replace the stock domed ones. No more snags and it looks very classy.

 

[rammer69]

I just purchased a 2018 Santana SE Indonesion every thing seems fine, I also have a 2010 Korean both seem to be same quality

 

[pgj]

I'm a little late to this party as I just got my first PRS...a 2020 SE Standard 24, on the back it says made by Cor-Tek in Indonesia. It is certainly a better made instrument than my MIM Strat. In fact, when I was in the market for a new guitar, I was set on getting another Strat. I had a budget to get an American Strat, but when I discovered PRS I was totally blown away by their fit and finish. Strats look like cheap toys to me compared to even the entry level SE Standard. I checked out some of the higher level PRS guitars, but I couldn't tell a difference so I went with the one that was half the price.

No offense to Fender, but PRS is on a different level. Now, I am a new player (less than a year) and am really not qualified to critique the finer points of overall playability (I know some people just prefer Strats or Teles, or LPs or whatever), but from a fit, finish, appearance and overall presentation perspective, man these PRS guitars are works of art. Mine is flawless. The only thing I had to fix (and it's not really a flaw) was the gap around the back plate you could see some of the unpainted wood showing through (the electronics compartment wasn't completely painted). The easy fix was to take a black Sharpie marker and blacken the lip around the plate. Other than that I have been amazed at the build quality on this thing...and at only $450 I don't think any manufacturer can match it.

 

[68reissue]

I have only owned SEs (used ones at that) and that will likely continue. I played most of the guitars at GC before I laid my hands on a SE, the neck carve works for me. They seem like great instruments.

I lent my SE custom to my friend who plays jazz for a living. He used it for half his gig, he was playing a nice tele for the first part of the show. He raved about the axe and asked me how much it would cost to replicate the guitar. I think that says that these guitars are good enough for me.

That story made me smile. I have two SE CU24s, and sometimes I’ll pop down to Guitar Center and just grab a few guitars of different makes off the wall. So far, none of them have tempted me at all.

 

[David R. Katz]

I've become an unwitting PRS collector, much to my wife's chagrin. I have a 2018 SE STANDARD Santana, a 2018 STANDARD 24, a 2018 STANDARD 245, a 2018 SE Custom 24 Zebra, and a 2011 SE Santana. All the STANDARD guitars were made by P.T. Wildwood, Indonesia. In or around 2019 PRS dropped P.T. Wildwood and started using Cor-Tek (Cort) to make their STANDARD line. Cor-Tek is now also making some of their SE line of guitars. My SE Custom 24 Zebra and SE Santana are World Musical Instruments (WMI) Korean made. All are really nice instruments. Obviously, the Korean WMI SE guitars have a maple cap and are more expensive. As for quality, they are all very good. The Zebra is "breath-taking", the others are pretty and very well made. I tried to post a picture but it wouldn't take....

 

[David R. Katz]

PRS STANDARD 24, PRS STANDARD 245, PRS STANDARD SANTANA...all PT Wildwood, Indonesia, 2018

PRS SE Santana, WMI, World Musical Instruments, Korea, 2011

PRS SE Custom 24 Zebra, WMI World Musical Instruments, Korea, 2018

 

[David R. Katz]

I'm posting this picture because this is an example of impeccable Ibanez Indonesian craftsmanship. It is every bit the equal of the Indonesian and Korean PRS guitars I own. It plays and sounds and looks beautiful. $650 new. The only modifications I made were the D'Addario locking tuners and my favorite knobs. I think the issue of Indonesian quality is moot if you take it on a guitar-by-guitar basis.

 

[NBW]

I'm posting this picture because this is an example of impeccable Ibanez Indonesian craftsmanship. It is every bit the equal of the Indonesian and Korean PRS guitars I own. It plays and sounds and looks beautiful. $650 new. The only modifications I made were the D'Addario locking tuners and my favorite knobs. I think the issue of Indonesian quality is moot if you take it on a guitar-by-guitar basis.

I have an Ibanez AS-83 it is a really fantastic axe, maybe my second favorite. The fit and finish are top notch.

 

[pgj]

PRS STANDARD 24, PRS STANDARD 245, PRS STANDARD SANTANA...all PT Wildwood, Indonesia, 2018


PRS SE Santana, WMI, World Musical Instruments, Korea, 2011


PRS SE Custom 24 Zebra, WMI World Musical Instruments, Korea, 2018

Man, I like that wood grain so much more than the traditional PRS flame or quilted. Beautiful!

 

[bodia]

PRS STANDARD 24, PRS STANDARD 245, PRS STANDARD SANTANA...all PT Wildwood, Indonesia, 2018

PRS SE Santana, WMI, World Musical Instruments, Korea, 2011

PRS SE Custom 24 Zebra, WMI World Musical Instruments, Korea, 2018

Nice family! Congrats on falling down the Rabbit's hole!

 

[darkvoice]

I know it's an old thread and last post was made 10 months ago, but here are few of my thoughts on this. I am aware that many members here says moving production from Korea to Indonesia has no impact on quality, so perhaps I am in minority with my opinion.

First, there have to be serious reasons for moving well established production process from Korea to Indonesia. Guitars are complex items to make, there are multiple steps in production and numerous suppliers of materials and accessories. There are risks that something will not work out as well as with old maker. Everyone seemed to be happy with the quality of Korean guitars, so quality is not an issue here, my guess is it's cost.

Second, these cost-saving moves are never about consumer, whatever savings are to be realized they will always for the benefit of the owners and managers. Moving production from higher cost country to lower cost NEVER decreased the price of the product. Competition can drive prices down across industry, but never savings in production.

Third, such move almost always result in lower quality. I lived long enough to remember great things we used to manufacture in the USA. At some point production started moving to Mexico and quality was comparable, however over the years many of the items ended up in China and other countries, and today their quality is trash. Examples - men's shoes, specifically Florsheim, Bostonian and Clarks.

So, I'd be very cautious with these moves by PRS. Time will tell...

 

[andy474x]

I know it's an old thread and last post was made 10 months ago, but here are few of my thoughts on this. I am aware that many members here says moving production from Korea to Indonesia has no impact on quality, so perhaps I am in minority with my opinion.

First, there have to be serious reasons for moving well established production process from Korea to Indonesia. Guitars are complex items to make, there are multiple steps in production and numerous suppliers of materials and accessories. There are risks that something will not work out as well as with old maker. Everyone seemed to be happy with the quality of Korean guitars, so quality is not an issue here, my guess is it's cost.

Second, these cost-saving moves are never about consumer, whatever savings are to be realized they will always for the benefit of the owners and managers. Moving production from higher cost country to lower cost NEVER decreased the price of the product. Competition can drive prices down across industry, but never savings in production.

Third, such move almost always result in lower quality. I lived long enough to remember great things we used to manufacture in the USA. At some point production started moving to Mexico and quality was comparable, however over the years many of the items ended up in China and other countries, and today their quality is trash. Examples - men's shoes, specifically Florsheim, Bostonian and Clarks.

So, I'd be very cautious with these moves by PRS. Time will tell...

I agree mostly with your reasoning... I certainly believe the move was at least somewhat economic, and maybe totally driven by that. The price of SE instruments has gone up considerably in the last few years. Although I still haven’t encountered any sub-par Cortek guitars, and I pick them up often in the local shop.

And, speaking of great things made in the US, S2 Satin Standards are still the same price as the day they came out. SE’s are great instruments, but prices being what they are, and having owned an S2 Satin, it’s almost a no-brainer. Maybe a certain SE might be worth the purchase, say a Paul’s Guitar or something else exclusive to the line, but if I’m just shopping for a great instrument, S2 Satin and done!

 

[AP515]

...

Second, these cost-saving moves are never about consumer, whatever savings are to be realized they will always for the benefit of the owners and managers. Moving production from higher cost country to lower cost NEVER decreased the price of the product. Competition can drive prices down across industry, but never savings in production.
...

This is true in a static "one variable at a time" analysis. But a closer look will show that it's more complex than that. The need to move to a lower cost production is precisely because of competition. PRS started in Korea in 2001. Gibson moved their production of Epiphone guitars into China in 2002. Coincidence? No.

When Epi's up's their game to compete with PRS, that makes PRS have to up theirs to keep ahead of either the price or the features. PRS has chosen to up their game with features which is why you see things like better pickups, birds, finishes, and hardware, instead of lowering the price. But if they had to compete with features and keep production cost as high, the only option would be to raise the price. Lower production cost and added features means they can offer the guitar with more goodies at the same price. It isn't about pocketing the money at the expense of the consumer, it is a race with the competition.

Right now the highest priced regular production Epi Les Paul is $799. The highest priced regular production SE 245 is $769. They each know where their competition is and they know the price point they have to hit. Is it all about the dollars? Yes and no. It's all about the price point you have to hit. After that it's about the features you can put in to make your guitar stand out over your competition at that same price point. PRS wins that battle, in part, by finding production costs on par with Epiphone. Epi chose China, PRS responded with Indonesia. PRS got the better location. Will it beat Maryland? No. Will it beat Epiphone? Yes The added features are just gravy.

 

[CrimesAgainstMusic]

Second, these cost-saving moves are never about consumer, whatever savings are to be realized they will always for the benefit of the owners and managers. Moving production from higher cost country to lower cost NEVER decreased the price of the product. Competition can drive prices down across industry, but never savings in production.

True Dat !

Usually they claim prices would go up (or up even higher ) if offshoring had not occurred) ...

But people seem to get confused about 2 things generally. First , Who drives the process ? (those foreigners are stealing our jobs !)
Second, That foreign stuff (Japanese, Mexican, Chinese, Pacific Islander) is junk !

First... American companies drive the process to exploit cheap labor. "Low Cost Countries" are sought, where skilled , but low wage workers can produce the product.
I personally got to see parts of southeast China, and Taiwan as a Buyer for Stanley Tool, as the company sought to move jobs from New Britain CT .

Second .... this offshored product, is usually built to specification. So Good stuff is possible. (Like the SE series of product)

About the time I took the plunge to buy my first "Communist" (not made in America ) guitar, SE manufacture was moving from Korea to Indonesia.

I received an Indonesian instrument and have been in love ever since. The second SE, happened to hail from Korea. Although there was static about how the Korean stuff was "better", If the headstocks did not say, there in virtually no way you could tell one, from the other. Both are sweeties ...

Mexican made Fenders, I was afraid of them too, until the guys that sell them pointed some things out, and I now own one of those (that experiences waaay less fret sprout than her subsequently purchased, costs twice a much American sister ...

Japanese Fenders now command a premium. Their cars ? , Liked to put Deetroit (my Hometown) outta business !!!

Japanese Cameras ? World Standard... (aside from crazypriced German stuff)

Finally keep one last point in mind. All this stuff is sold with a warranty. I was surprised to learn that PRS warrants its imported product, with the same warranty it does its US made stuff.. We can all attest that PRS is an intelligently run company. We buy the stuff, and swill down the Kool Aid !

If the foreign made stuff meant "cheap junk, and high repair costs" , PRS would go out of business. We can all attest, that that ain't about to happen (and better not before I can buy my Chinese made SE Hollowbody !!!

I already have a name for her ,after a sweetie I met in Shanghai ...

 

[CrimesAgainstMusic]

First, there have to be serious reasons for moving well established production process from Korea to Indonesia. Guitars are complex items to make, there are multiple steps in production and numerous suppliers of materials and accessories. There are risks that something will not work out as well as with old maker. Everyone seemed to be happy with the quality of Korean guitars, so quality is not an issue here, my guess is it's cost.

Just an aside ... I think the plants in Korea committed a terminal "sin" in this world wide competition environment ... They wanted to get paid !

Boeing (another company I have some experience with) is moving (or has moved) production of the new plastic plane , the 787 to somewhere in South Carolina , in retaliation for a strike that occurred in Everett WA, while I was there .... Next Move ? (Hey get them guitars off the assembly line !!! ) Vietnam !

 

[darkvoice]

...
Right now the highest priced regular production Epi Les Paul is $799. The highest priced regular production SE 245 is $769. .

Which Epiphone is that?

 

[shimmilou]

Looks like the Epi 1959 Standard outfit (which I have ) Although the new Prophecy series are $899

https://www.sweetwater.com/store/de...1959-les-paul-standard-outfit-aged-dark-burst