SE vs S2

[Sam_C19]

Its almost Christmas and i'm getting myself a PRS finally just don't know what to get. I don't know if I want to get a PRS SE and then latter put in better pick ups, or get a PRS S2 and not do any mods t it. I would like a guitar with a good looking finish ( i know its not all about the finish ) and I would like to have a decently thick neck.

 

[Brandon117]

I too am looking at getting an S2. I went to my local guitar center recently and tried out and SE custom 24. The neck pattern was wide thin. I have small hands and even I thought that neck was pretty thin. I haven't gotten my hands on an s2 yet but from what I can tell from by looking at the neck specs on the s2 model, it is not that much thicker than the SEs wide thin pattern.

 

[dogrocketp]

Gentlemen, Look at getting Singlecut SE's with the wide fat neck. I have 4 of them, all with different pickups and electronics. You can hot rod the crap out of them without losing value. They're very inexpensive used, and they scream when equipped with the pickups of your choice.

 

[AP515]

SE's are great guitars. Worth the money, and great to mod as said above. But they aren't S2's. If you can afford it, get it.

 

[]-[@n$0Ma☩!©]

SE's are much less than S2's and they don't have glued-on heels or scarph-joints on their headstocks (like the S2 guitars).

Both lines come with import hardware so I'd much rather have an SE and have a pile left over for trick mods (or a 2nd SE).

 

[Bowtiefanatc]

The only S2's that I really like are the Mira & Starla. The others aren't that impressive to me personally. But you can get some older core Mira's and Starla's for less than an S2 version if you look enough.

 

[sleary]

I have an se cu24 , s2 cu24 and a core cu 24 . Wide thin neck on the se.

All cant be compared to one another . Their all dirfferent breeds however the se compared to the s2 in feel is very much different. When I pickup my s2 ,it has a good weight to it compared to the se.

 

[MotorPro]

For the cost of an S2 get 2 differant style SE's and be way ahead.

 

[Whitecat]

Maple-topped SEs will have nicer looking figure on the wood than the S2s, but they only use paper-thin veneer on top of another piece of maple, so that might bother some. S2s will use a nice thick piece of maple, but at the cost of the quality of the flame or quilt. I've seen some SE tops that are easily on par with artist-grade, visually, from a few feet away. It's when you get up close and move the guitar around that because of the thinness of the actual figured piece of wood, there is very little or no "3D" effect where the grain changes with the light/angle. Just one thing to consider. If it's a solid colour you're after anyway (or an all-mahogany instrument) then this point is moot!

 

[andy474x]

I have both, and both are great. My S2 was fantastic right out of the box. I liked my SE's from the get-go too, but some new pickups and a few other mods took them to the next level. I would focus more on finding a model you like, rather than worrying about whether it's SE or S2. Find one you like and go for it!

 

[Sam_C19]

Thanks! I think ill go with a SE custom 24 with the more vintage sunburst finish. Any thoughts on the PRS SE custom 24 "floyd"?

 

[andy474x]

Well, the neck is going to be of the thinner variety on that guitar. But they're very cool, a great platform although I haven't played the Floyd model.

 

[radiomatts]

The only S2's that I really like are the Mira & Starla. The others aren't that impressive to me personally. But you can get some older core Mira's and Starla's for less than an S2 version if you look enough.

I've been fortunate enough to get TWO core guitars in the last month for LESS than the cost of the S2's. I got a Custom 22 for 975, and a McCarty for 900 used. I don't believe any S2 new could be had for less than that, and at least on Guitar Center's used site, many S2's are going for 1000 used.

I'd search far and wide for a used core before going S2. I have an SE Santana in the Santana shape, and I love that guitar a lot. If your choices are S2 or SE, go SE or used Core.

 

[gball]

I have an SE and S2. The S2 is better made, hands down, not even close. It's also a better playing and (subjectively) better sounding guitar. The SE is a great guitar for the money but it is almost essential to do upgrades on them IMO, whereas the S2 is pretty much perfect out of the box (and every other one I have played has been the same way). I will admit that I have changed the S2's pickups to something more to my liking but not because the originals were lacking in any way.

I know a lot of people will insist that you should buy a used "core" model instead of an S2, but I understand the appeal of buying new and they are really fantastic guitars for the money. I personally played a bunch of core models in the same price range before I bought mine and decided I preferred to buy a new S2 over a used guitar (they were that close in quality/playability/tone and I like the stripped-down aesthetic), so I say try them and decide for yourself.

 

[Mr.Koozie]

For the cost of an S2 get 2 differant style SE's and be way ahead.

This.

 

[Sam_C19]

How will the neck affect my playing?

 

[shinksma]

It doesn't matter what you get. If you get an SE now, you will eventually want to explore the S2 line, perhaps a Mira or a Starla. (Semi-hollow Mira is really tempting!)

If you get an S2 now, you will be curious about an inexpensive experiment via a used SE like a ZM, Akerfeldt, Orianthi or plain-old SE CU24.

And no matter what happens, you will find a way to save up and get a Core model - maybe a used one, but you'll find one.

But to start? Well, you said you want a nice finish. Check out the S2s on a site like Sweetwater, where you can see the actual serial number you will be buying. Some of the S2s have a pretty nice finish! If those don't quite do it for you, then look at the SEs: they have some stellar finishes, and the flame/quilt-maple veneer isn't really "paper-thin" (but it isn't solid like a core model). Looking at the spalted top of my SE ZM, I would say the veneer is about 1/32" thick. I would assume (bad idea?) that the veneer is similar on a non-spalted quilt/flame top SE.

Or, just go to GC or some other store that actually has PRSi in stock, and buy the one that sings to you!

 

[shinksma]

How will the neck affect my playing?

Well, that's something only you can answer, really.

In general, the wide-thin neck is deemed to be easier to play fast single note runs, like guitar solos in hard rock or metal or alternative or whatever, whereas the thicker necks are deemed possibly more comfortable for chords and also sustain a bit more.

But all of this is affected by your own hands and what you are used to. Myself, I "grew up" on guitars playing both Strats and LPs, and other stuff, so I was used to many styles of necks. I like the Wide Thin neck on my CU24, seems to help with really fast runs, but the Wide Fat neck on my HB, ZM, and Akerfeldt are all nice to play too, and I had no problem doing some fast runs on the HB last night. I have small hands. If I had bigger hands like some of my guitar-playing friends, the wide-fat neck might be the only one possible - I have heard the wide-thin neck can "cramp up" a big-handed player. Or maybe that was a bunch of bollocks.

So...as I said, only you can really decide this issue.

 

[Sam_C19]

Thanks, I go head over to Guitar Center and play a few. If I find one I like I will buy i from my Local music store conner music

 

[John Beef]

It wasn't that long ago that I was preaching the gospel of the SE. I went and tried several S2 custom 24s, not even the model I'm interested in, and they blew the old time religion right out of me. They are a huge upgrade.