SE Customs Now Manufactured in Indonesia?

[Elliot]

 

[BWV548]

This is a class forum. Please use branded canned worms next time

 

[toothace]

This is a class forum. Please use branded canned worms next time

 

[Big Mard]

I'm on the Sweetwater site looking at the guitar gallery.. Everything SE I see that isn't standard is showing made in Korea

 

[Big Mard]

The Standard in Multi Foil is made in Korea

 

[BWV548]

I'm on the Sweetwater site looking at the guitar gallery.. Everything SE I see that isn't standard is showing made in Korea

I imagine its very possible that this is a capacity management move, rather than an outright switch. Or an "audition" run. E.g. if the % off guitars passing QC, is on par with Korea, then the Indonesian factory may win some sort of mandate.
Just speculation, obviously

 

[Drew]

I wouldn't be surprised. Indo is churning out some decent guitars. Ibanez made exotic wood anniversary RGs last year in indo. I think the 7 string has something like an 11 piece neck and all guitars had real 3/16 figured tops. Anyways, I got my hand on one of the 7 strings in a GC one day. Aside from some fret sprout, which may have nothing to do with manufacture, it was extremely well made.

 

[Peet]

I'm on the Sweetwater site looking at the guitar gallery.. Everything SE I see that isn't standard is showing made in Korea

Look for the Custom 24 Fire Red Burst.
The site says that more are on order. I'm guessing that is a 2018 model. If you look for solid body PRS, it's one that has a yellow balloon with "New".
Most likely the 2017's were all Korean.

 

[Sir Stinkalot]

I watched an Anderson’s video last night on You Tube where they were giving a rundown on the discounts being offered on the 2017 SE range. They spoke about the Custom SE (sunburst) and said they couldn’t figure out what had changed between 2017 and 2018 with the exception of a “code” change on the system.

Perhaps changing country of manufacturing would lead to a new computer code being needed.

 

[Peet]

Does this make sense. The Cor-Tek serial number on the redit picture starts with CTI A. I'm guessing at Cor-Tek Indonesia with the A indicating the first year of production at the new manufacturer. Korean PRS are at R for 2018, because the first year of production there was 2001. Indonesian Standard is at D since the first year if production there was 2015.
Is the redit serial number one of 1,315 guitars manufactured by Cort in Indonesia?

 

[garrett]

Does this make sense. The Cor-Tek serial number on the redit picture starts with CTI A. I'm guessing at Cor-Tek Indonesia with the A indicating the first year of production at the new manufacturer. Korean PRS are at R for 2018, because the first year of production there was 2001. Indonesian Standard is at D since the first year if production there was 2015.
Is the redit serial number one of 1,315 guitars manufactured by Cort in Indonesia?

R is 2017 for Korean SE guitars. I haven't ever seen one, but there are A serial numbers built in 2000.

Wildwood Indonesian guitars started at the end of 2014, so IA would be 2014 and ID would be 2017.

 

[Peet]

R is 2017 for Korean SE guitars. I haven't ever seen one, but there are A serial numbers built in 2000.

Wildwood Indonesian guitars started at the end of 2014, so IA would be 2014 and ID would be 2017.

I was determining the letter based on my recent purchase which is an ID and it's a 2018. The Korean 2018 multi foil is IR. Do they assign the date code based on the model year of the guitar or the actual year it was built?

 

[garrett]

I was determining the letter based on my recent purchase which is an ID and it's a 2018. The Korean 2018 multi foil is IR. Do they assign the date code based on the model year of the guitar or the actual year it was built?

Actual year built. For example, my Custom 22 is 2017 spec, but was finished in December 2016, so has a 16 serial.

 

[Sir Stinkalot]

It would be interesting to see how it plays out. It’s no surprise that the majority of reviews of the Korean Custom SE go on at length about the build quality and attention to detail.

Reviews of the Standard SE tend to just mention that they are made in Indonesia and don’t really go into as much detail on the quality of manufacturing.

I have a vested interest as I am waiting on a Custom SE Zebrawood. Not really fussed where it is made provided it is made well. I would get a better feeling if they turned around and said they were going to make them all in the USA, but to now make them in the same factory as the entry level models raises a little concern the quality may be patchy.

 

[Alnus Rubra]

In reality, WMIC and Cort are probably the same company.

From videos of other brands that use the Indonesian factory, their instruments appear to be made to the same high standard as the Korean manufacturer.

Common (business) sense would predict that instruments for the European market would most likely not be shipped to Maryland for QC, as that would involve further costs.

It’s well documented that SE instruments go through the hands of the USA factory for QC.

Understably PRS want to present all their instruments to the same high standards that their customers have become accustomed to and this process is to ensure that happens.

Is it a matter of “trust”? I call it a sensible business model. Look at the discussions surrounding another well known guitar producer and their issues with finish quality.

Any luthier with pride in their instruments and their reputation isn’t going to risk putting a product in the market place that damages their name.

See an interview with Paul at NAMM 2018, where he expresses the importance of finish.

Some of this content is only my opinion and not based on any known facts.

 

[Victek]

Short answer - yes it does.

Now I'm not knocking Indonesian SE's. I trust PRS enough to believe that they will be great guitars. But I am saying that location will no longer matter when Paul stops paying for a USA inspection of guitars from Asia.

I found that very informative, thanks. I guess the bottom line is if the QC is good it doesn't need to matter to us.

 

[mtyler06]

I'm curious to see how this develops, I have the Fire Red Burst SE Custom 24 on backorder from Sweetwater.

 

[Victek]

I just took a look at a few of the SE Whale Blue Custom 24's on the Moore Guitars website. They have good pics of the guitars - one definitely says Indonesia and others say Korea. The Indonesian-made one is a darker blue than the others - much like the pic the OP showed.

I received my whale blue SE CU24 yesterday. I haven't taken it out for a proper test drive yet, but I can confirm that it was manufactured in Indonesia. It looks exactly like the one in the OPs pics. I'll have more to say about it hopefully later today.

 

[Victek]

I received my whale blue SE CU24 yesterday. I'll have more to say about it hopefully later today.

OK, so here's my little review:
The guitar came nicely setup; straight neck, good intonation and low (but not too low) action. No fret buzz anywhere. 9s are my gauge of choice so just needed to tune up. It sounded great with my Vox headphone amp. Later I plugged it into my Boss Katana 50 and it sounded good there too. The pickups are bright and clear and all of the controls worked properly, ie volume, tone, pickup selector and push/pull coil split. The neck p/u and bridge p/u have a lot of personality by themselves. The middle position with the pickups blended sounds kind of meh, but that's true on my other SE CU24 with HFS pickups too. I switched back and forth between the guitars so I could hear the differences. If I had to choose I'd probably go with the new 85/15s but the HFS don't sound that different to my ears. The coil split sound on both guitars doesn't do anything for me, but that's true for every guitar I've had with split humbuckers. If you're looking for a Strat sound you probably still need a Strat IMHO.

Regarding the whale blue color it depends on the light. In a well lit room the blue is lighter and has a touch of green. In a darker setting the blue appears darker like the photo linked in the original post.

Regarding the trem, I used the whammy bar a bit and was pleasantly surprised that the guitar stayed in tune; that wasn't the case with my other SE CU24. I just wiggled it a bit here and there playing chords and it was fine. Normally I don't use it and leave the bar in the case, but with this guitar it would be an option.

Now here's the one downer: there are a couple of blemishes that I noticed immediately when I unpacked it. One is at the top of the fret board, right along the neck edge by the two dots that mark the 24th fret; it looks like it's missing some clear coat. The other is the joint where the neck sets into the body; it's unfinished along one edge. I had a close look at my other SE CU24 and the finish is perfect at those points (and everywhere else). For this reason I'm planning to return it and get another. Great guitar over all though.

 

[Madak]

Hey everyone, wish I had stumbled upon this earlier, but this is OP from the original Reddit post. Let me know if you guys want any more pictures or info.