At about 15:02, he said that the USA Paul Reed Smith is a Paul Reed Smith while the Korean PRS SE is not a Paul Reed Smith but a PRS... or something to that effect.
Thoughts?
When this video was made, SE guitars only said PRS and not the full signature of Paul Reed Smith. What this video was trying to say though was that you are not buying a 'Paul Reed Smith' built by Paul Reed Smith staff in the Paul Reed Smith factory but built by the same staff that make guitars for company's like Chapman, Schecter, Ibanez etc. It was insinuating that 'PRS' was like Squire or Epiphone in that 'PRS' is to Paul Reed Smith as Squire is to Fender or Epiphone is to Gibson - a cheap entry 'brand' that's 'different' from the brand they are made to resemble and play like.
Nowadays, the 'SE' is less prominent on the headstock and it now has the full signature too. It didn't make sense to me as 'Paul Reed Smith' guitars have always been 'PRS'. A PRS Custom 24, for example, could be the Core Custom 24 because people still abbreviate the name to PRS, or it could be the 'SE' so it didn't make sense. Whether that 'matters', either before or after the change, depends on the person, their values and opinion. Technically, these are built under licence on behalf of PRS so its not a 'Paul Reed Smith' in the sense that its made by the employees of PRS. They are contracted to make these guitars at a price and volume that the PRS factory cannot do. Also, SE's are being made in Indonesia now - not sure if that's every SE or some of the range.
Personally, I couldn't care less myself. At the Price Range, SE's are very competitive with other brands at their price point. If the 'SE' is within your price range. whether its made in Korea, Indonesia or the US, its still a great guitar and competitive with the other options you can buy at that price point. If people want to separate the guitars based on who makes them, whether they are made
by PRS or
for PRS, that's up to them but as you can see on this forum, there is no 'snobbery', that the 'SE' line and those that own one are just as welcome here as those that own US built. It doesn't matter here at all.
Like I said, this video was made at a time when the SE line only had 'PRS' on the headstock and not 'Paul Reed Smith' and insinuating that you are buying a Paul Reed Smith guitar if you bought a US made guitar or 'just' a PRS if you bought an imported guitar made for 'Paul Reed Smith'
