I’ve been looking at two brand new (factory sealed) SE Paul’s Guitars to purchase at a local store, and unfortunately both seem to have issues and of course, different tonal qualities. As I’m a hobbyist that doesn’t have prior experience with PRS, I thought I’d ask here for opinions.
One guitar is noticeably heavier than the other. I’ve been doing some reading, and most people seem to think heavier/denser guitars have a brighter sound, while the lighter ones are darker and more muddled. I’m hearing the opposite with these two. The lighter one sounding brighter and louder, but with less soundstage and some tone dampening on the notes – perhaps a bit harsher. The heavier one is quieter, but has a nicer soundstage and the notes tend to sound clearer with more resonance. I’m not sure if its too much resonance, because the chorus when plugged in is slightly annoying at times. The bass notes sound much better on the heavier, while the treble sounds better on the lighter. Sustain seems better on the lighter. On the heavier, the high B and E strings are very quiet, especially on higher frets, which is limiting. I’m not able to hear hammer-ons, for example. Not sure if this is setup, dead frets, or the tonal qualities of the guitar. Yet the lighter one can sound somewhat harsh here. I’m also hearing the same things I’ve mentioned acoustically as well as plugged in, so it’s the guitar and not the pickups. Of course, much of this could be the setup, although its been checked and otherwise seems fine according to my store. I’ve also noticed some balance issues. The heavier guitar seems to be balanced without tilting, while the lighter one is very neck-heavy and unbalanced.
There are other issues between the guitars. The lighter one has quite a leaning bridge – which I’ve contradictory read is bad and also that it doesn’t matter. Not sure of the effect this has on tone or if it would prove to be a problem down the road? Does anyone have thoughts on leaning bridges? The brass thread the bridge screws into is also raised up out of the surface of the guitar too on the side that’s leaning more. Also, as I’ve only owned Strats, is the stoptail bridge without a tune-o-matic a potential problem for correcting setup or intonation issues now or down the road? Obviously, less can be done to correct each string, but I’m not sure how much this could actually be an issue.
The heavier one has a very loose neck pickup, which can rattle and is pushed down on one side against the “bottom” – can hear and feel it “hit” if I rattle it. This can probably be tightened or a spring fixed, but for a new guitar, I have to say I’m concerned about the quality control here and whether it will just loosen again. I’ve also noticed many of these SE models having what looks like stripped screws around the humbuckers, which make you wonder what’s going on, and if the factory actually shipped guitars with visibly stripped screws. The photos on Sweetwater’s site of different SE guitars often show this too – are they trying to fix issues with the pickups, and doing this or are they shipping these like this? Makes you wonder, because there are a lot of them. There are other fit and finish issues too, like misaligned volume and tone knobs, but these don’t affect tone or playability so I’m not as concerned about them.
The lighter one has a lot of fret buzz, especially on the low strings – which my store checked out and they think it’s a high fret or the nut and not the string height – which again, is QC on a brand-new guitar. Strings on both guitars have been replaced with new PRS strings, so bad strings are not an issue.
Both of these guitars seem to have their issues, and I’m not sure a paid setup beyond what the store has already done would do that much to correct them, at least not without spending much more on labor to correct a factory QC issue (like high frets or replacing the nut). I’m a bit disappointed there seem to be such quality control issues on them, and not sure whether to go with one of these, look for another one, or go with a different guitar altogether.
Yes, this is my first post. I’ve wanted a PRS to go along with my Strat for a long time, and have been reading these forums for a while, but never had anything to say until now. I’m not a complete guitar newbie, but I’m also not an expert. I just wanted to ask the questions. Thanks for any thoughts.
One guitar is noticeably heavier than the other. I’ve been doing some reading, and most people seem to think heavier/denser guitars have a brighter sound, while the lighter ones are darker and more muddled. I’m hearing the opposite with these two. The lighter one sounding brighter and louder, but with less soundstage and some tone dampening on the notes – perhaps a bit harsher. The heavier one is quieter, but has a nicer soundstage and the notes tend to sound clearer with more resonance. I’m not sure if its too much resonance, because the chorus when plugged in is slightly annoying at times. The bass notes sound much better on the heavier, while the treble sounds better on the lighter. Sustain seems better on the lighter. On the heavier, the high B and E strings are very quiet, especially on higher frets, which is limiting. I’m not able to hear hammer-ons, for example. Not sure if this is setup, dead frets, or the tonal qualities of the guitar. Yet the lighter one can sound somewhat harsh here. I’m also hearing the same things I’ve mentioned acoustically as well as plugged in, so it’s the guitar and not the pickups. Of course, much of this could be the setup, although its been checked and otherwise seems fine according to my store. I’ve also noticed some balance issues. The heavier guitar seems to be balanced without tilting, while the lighter one is very neck-heavy and unbalanced.
There are other issues between the guitars. The lighter one has quite a leaning bridge – which I’ve contradictory read is bad and also that it doesn’t matter. Not sure of the effect this has on tone or if it would prove to be a problem down the road? Does anyone have thoughts on leaning bridges? The brass thread the bridge screws into is also raised up out of the surface of the guitar too on the side that’s leaning more. Also, as I’ve only owned Strats, is the stoptail bridge without a tune-o-matic a potential problem for correcting setup or intonation issues now or down the road? Obviously, less can be done to correct each string, but I’m not sure how much this could actually be an issue.
The heavier one has a very loose neck pickup, which can rattle and is pushed down on one side against the “bottom” – can hear and feel it “hit” if I rattle it. This can probably be tightened or a spring fixed, but for a new guitar, I have to say I’m concerned about the quality control here and whether it will just loosen again. I’ve also noticed many of these SE models having what looks like stripped screws around the humbuckers, which make you wonder what’s going on, and if the factory actually shipped guitars with visibly stripped screws. The photos on Sweetwater’s site of different SE guitars often show this too – are they trying to fix issues with the pickups, and doing this or are they shipping these like this? Makes you wonder, because there are a lot of them. There are other fit and finish issues too, like misaligned volume and tone knobs, but these don’t affect tone or playability so I’m not as concerned about them.
The lighter one has a lot of fret buzz, especially on the low strings – which my store checked out and they think it’s a high fret or the nut and not the string height – which again, is QC on a brand-new guitar. Strings on both guitars have been replaced with new PRS strings, so bad strings are not an issue.
Both of these guitars seem to have their issues, and I’m not sure a paid setup beyond what the store has already done would do that much to correct them, at least not without spending much more on labor to correct a factory QC issue (like high frets or replacing the nut). I’m a bit disappointed there seem to be such quality control issues on them, and not sure whether to go with one of these, look for another one, or go with a different guitar altogether.
Yes, this is my first post. I’ve wanted a PRS to go along with my Strat for a long time, and have been reading these forums for a while, but never had anything to say until now. I’m not a complete guitar newbie, but I’m also not an expert. I just wanted to ask the questions. Thanks for any thoughts.
