patdavidmusic
New Member
Hey everyone,
After purchasing a PRS SE 7 a month ago I have been hooked on PRS and used the first morning I had off to head into the city and check out an S2 and a PRS Custom 22.
The S2 I played was a custom 22 semi hollow, not this one in particular but you get the idea:
Just a quick bit of back ground history on the guitars I have owned, American Deluxe FMT strat, Chapman ML1, ML2, ML3RC, Ibanez 1976 strat and a custom made rosewood top DC.
The only reason I included that information was to show that I have spent years of time with instruments of various prices and quality. My experience doesn't solely come from my newly acquired and much loved PRS SE 7.
Back to the main point at hand, the PRS S2 Semi Hollow in and as shown in grey elephant.
Before plugging in I gave it a quick strum through whilst the amp was warming up (Fender Super Sonic). The guitar was quite light and very very resonant. This was my first semi hollow play through, already I knew this guitar would sound huge.
The S2 played so nicely imo a big step up from my SE guitar. The guitar was effortless to play, as smooth as butter. The pickups were louder and clearer than the SE but that was to be expected. The S2 had the same issue my SE did though the Volume pot seems of much better quality to the tone, possible due to the coil spilt maybe.
The tone of this S2 was clear and full, when using the spilt the clarity was terrific and when putting the Super Sonic through it's paces controllable feedback was achievable -instant smile. Fretwork was excellent clean and rolled, nut was correctly cut and fit. Sadly I didn't get a chance to test the tremolo -definitely next time.
Certainly not putting down SE owners (hell I am one!), but this guitar felt like a step up in my books. Everything from feel, tuning stability and overall fit and finish. Sadly I cannot compare the tone of the SE because there isn't a SE custom22 semi hollow that I'm aware of.
Price range: Living in Australia with the wage high, that means the cost of everything is crazy expensive. These prices do change with the rise and fall of the aussie dollar.
Was the PRS S2 Semi Hollow worth twice the price? To me it was, to me it seemed like a much more solid instrument in every way.
Having said that my main gripes were why not put a five blade and slightly nicer birds. It seems like the same birds from the SE range, that seems crazy it's a different range of guitars, surely that would mean a different set of birds.
The final thing I have to say about the S2 is the bevel around the edges. In photos it can sometimes look a little strange and off putting imho, but as soon as I sat down with it I forgot it wasn't a carve top instantly. If you were worried about this being an issue, for me it made zero difference to me taking the guitar through it's paces.
-On the short hand, loved the guitar, felt like it was a big step up from the SE range, almost bought one.
Next on the list was this beast a PRS Custom 22
Sadly the didn't have a semi hollow PRS for me to compare the S2, but this sure was one nice guitar.
Upon first acoustic play through the notes seemed very snappy and the guitar although slightly heavier than the semi hollow, still had a great resonance just not as loud.
Plugging it in BOOM!!!!! Huge tones the pickups were much hotter than the S2's, the clean channel instantly broke up, which didnt happen with the same settings on the amp with the S2.
The neck played extremely well, it was a smidge thicker (sorry i didn't write down the different neck types), and to me it felt like a good neck on an acoustic, very well crafted indeed.
The pickups had so much bite, attack, sustain and clarity it was definitely another step up.
Fit and finish was another step up the coating on the guitar was thick and the whole package aesthetically was extremely pleasing to behold.
I had a blast today I'll head into another store next week and check out a PRS custom 22 vs SE Custom 22. But other than that the whole message of the day was that the S2 was indeed better than an SE, if the price was a little lower in price it would be a great deal. IMHO just a tad too expensive, however I'd still buy one at it's current price.
To me the PRS Custom 22 was a beautifully built guitar. The quality control was the best I had seen and the tones matched the how amazing it looked and felt. A full fledged PRS is one hell of a guitar, there is no doubt.
That's just me, later in life I definitely foresee a fully fledged PRS but for me that's a couple of decades away.
Hope you enjoyed my ramblings, next up PRS S2 VS SE,
Pat
After purchasing a PRS SE 7 a month ago I have been hooked on PRS and used the first morning I had off to head into the city and check out an S2 and a PRS Custom 22.
The S2 I played was a custom 22 semi hollow, not this one in particular but you get the idea:
Just a quick bit of back ground history on the guitars I have owned, American Deluxe FMT strat, Chapman ML1, ML2, ML3RC, Ibanez 1976 strat and a custom made rosewood top DC.
The only reason I included that information was to show that I have spent years of time with instruments of various prices and quality. My experience doesn't solely come from my newly acquired and much loved PRS SE 7.
Back to the main point at hand, the PRS S2 Semi Hollow in and as shown in grey elephant.
Before plugging in I gave it a quick strum through whilst the amp was warming up (Fender Super Sonic). The guitar was quite light and very very resonant. This was my first semi hollow play through, already I knew this guitar would sound huge.
The S2 played so nicely imo a big step up from my SE guitar. The guitar was effortless to play, as smooth as butter. The pickups were louder and clearer than the SE but that was to be expected. The S2 had the same issue my SE did though the Volume pot seems of much better quality to the tone, possible due to the coil spilt maybe.
The tone of this S2 was clear and full, when using the spilt the clarity was terrific and when putting the Super Sonic through it's paces controllable feedback was achievable -instant smile. Fretwork was excellent clean and rolled, nut was correctly cut and fit. Sadly I didn't get a chance to test the tremolo -definitely next time.
Certainly not putting down SE owners (hell I am one!), but this guitar felt like a step up in my books. Everything from feel, tuning stability and overall fit and finish. Sadly I cannot compare the tone of the SE because there isn't a SE custom22 semi hollow that I'm aware of.
Price range: Living in Australia with the wage high, that means the cost of everything is crazy expensive. These prices do change with the rise and fall of the aussie dollar.
Was the PRS S2 Semi Hollow worth twice the price? To me it was, to me it seemed like a much more solid instrument in every way.
Having said that my main gripes were why not put a five blade and slightly nicer birds. It seems like the same birds from the SE range, that seems crazy it's a different range of guitars, surely that would mean a different set of birds.
The final thing I have to say about the S2 is the bevel around the edges. In photos it can sometimes look a little strange and off putting imho, but as soon as I sat down with it I forgot it wasn't a carve top instantly. If you were worried about this being an issue, for me it made zero difference to me taking the guitar through it's paces.
-On the short hand, loved the guitar, felt like it was a big step up from the SE range, almost bought one.
Next on the list was this beast a PRS Custom 22
Sadly the didn't have a semi hollow PRS for me to compare the S2, but this sure was one nice guitar.
Upon first acoustic play through the notes seemed very snappy and the guitar although slightly heavier than the semi hollow, still had a great resonance just not as loud.
Plugging it in BOOM!!!!! Huge tones the pickups were much hotter than the S2's, the clean channel instantly broke up, which didnt happen with the same settings on the amp with the S2.
The neck played extremely well, it was a smidge thicker (sorry i didn't write down the different neck types), and to me it felt like a good neck on an acoustic, very well crafted indeed.
The pickups had so much bite, attack, sustain and clarity it was definitely another step up.
Fit and finish was another step up the coating on the guitar was thick and the whole package aesthetically was extremely pleasing to behold.
I had a blast today I'll head into another store next week and check out a PRS custom 22 vs SE Custom 22. But other than that the whole message of the day was that the S2 was indeed better than an SE, if the price was a little lower in price it would be a great deal. IMHO just a tad too expensive, however I'd still buy one at it's current price.
To me the PRS Custom 22 was a beautifully built guitar. The quality control was the best I had seen and the tones matched the how amazing it looked and felt. A full fledged PRS is one hell of a guitar, there is no doubt.
That's just me, later in life I definitely foresee a fully fledged PRS but for me that's a couple of decades away.
Hope you enjoyed my ramblings, next up PRS S2 VS SE,
Pat
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