I have no experience with the SE Santana Standard. Very little PRS experience, actually. I believe the knobs are in a different place between the two models, yes? With the neck length being different. there must be something else different about the body?
But, I was on a short road trip, out of my normal travel circles and decided to stop in a guitar shop I'd never been in. They are a PRS dealer and the majority of guitars hanging on the walls were PRS. The SE Santana caught my attention... It's one of the few PRS I've been interested in. I can't justify a Core model these days, and am not familiar enough with PRS to know much about any of them.... But, I like the double cut body shape and it looked good hanging amongst the other PRS guitars on the wall.
For a long time, the only PRS I had tried, I really didn't care for the necks, sharp edges, too skinny of profiles, etc. Maybe I just hadn't played the correct ones? But, I know the wide fat neck on that Santana was a really good feeling neck. The action was a little high and the strings were downright nasty. But, the guitar felt pretty good. It sounded pretty good too.
I decided to be good and go home and do some research.
Discovered there was a Standard and a not Standard model. I also discovered I could find a used one for half the price of new. So, I took a chance on a used one from GC. At 4 bills, that's a steal! It needed a bit of a set up, again nasty strings needed changing. But, I expect that on any new-to-me guitar. But, the two different guitars, new and used, felt extremely consistent! They really were identical in feel.
I've gigged it twice now and played it a good bit. I like it a lot!
The knob placement is a little strange and takes a downward glance to find... since nothing else I have is even close to this. But, it works. not so much for volume swells, mind you. The Standard might have a slight edge there? But, I have used the 24th fret, only because I knew it was there and it would be fun to go there! Not my usual territory, but I like gimmicks from time to time.
I am not 100% sold on the pickups yet. They are good sounding, but not exciting. I may play with the height a good bit before writing them off. I might also replace the nut and tuners (locking). The strings are buried pretty deeply into the nut... Might just trim off the top? But, I think the A string slot might be a hair low. Those are my only complaints with this guitar. I cannot believe how good it is for the 400 bucks I paid. I just can't get over that.
I love, love, love the neck carve. It could always be a bit bigger, but I like huge necks. However, the carve is a nice, even handful without being too big for most folks. The thin body, and cutaways make the SE so comfortable. It does sit in with my body nicely. It hangs well, no neck dive or funky hand placement (like with an SG where the nut is so far out to the left!).
I like the Santana Yellow, the flame veneer (and it seems there's a nice variation in figure) and the natural, unstained back and headstock of the Santana model. I love the fact that they have gone with the Core Santana shape and neck carve. I like the new headstock logo. I love the way the guitar feels.
Not a fan of red guitars, for whatever reason. I know it's a classic color, that whole dark cherry stain. But, it just doesn't do it for me.
I know the Standards are cheaper... I don't know what the differences are other than color and # of frets. I DO know they seem to be very consistently good quality. So ordering one somewhere that has a 30 day return would be a no-gamble deal.
Good luck with your decision!
