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How do PRS SE's compare with the USA made?


pinkvoid

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Seriously, how does the Singlecut, Custom and soapbar compare to the USA made? Is it really just as good/nice or more like a Gibson/Epiphone?

 

What are the real tonal/workmanship differences between the models if any?

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I have a Paul Allender SE. It SMOKES every Epi I have ever played, and is better than most except the Gibby's in the 2K range. They are crazy good for the money. Sam Ash was running the single cut with trem in a reddish for $499. Those are a steal. My main issue with he Allender are the PUPs. Super hot. Not being a metal/shred guy, I don't play it that much, but, it so nice, I doubt I will ever sell it. Great build quality, great neck, very good tuners, nice bridge. All of this is my subjective opinion, but very hard to beat if you like the looks.

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I had a pre - lawsuit Tremonti SE.

I now have a 20th anniversary std 24.

 

The SE was a lovely guitar. I did change the pups for SD 59 and a pearly gates but that was just me buggering around really, the original pups were pretty good. Playability and quality were excellent. No complaints.

However if the SE was an 8 mark the USA std 24 is a 10. Everything about it is a couple of notches up. And the note by note clarity is something I really like, although some people call this clarity 'sterile' .

 

At the end of the day I am a bedroom/home player and thruth be told the SE was more than I really ever needed. Also I have never shelled out for a high end amp to get the best out of the USA model. I just had the money at the time and decided to treat myself to the 20th anniv. and I am glad I did, I just like nice things.:thu:

P4050086.jpg

P1010105.jpg

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I dont have a lot of experience with anything else but the custom 22. Bought one two years ago after playing one at GC and bought it on the spot. The neck is a little wider than usual which suits me fine. Fit and finish is excellent. To me the stock neck pickup was a little warm for my taste and swapped it out for a Duncan as well as the tuners.

I should also mention that mine had a fret buzz issue on the 13 and 14th fret. Not a deal breaker but I ended up doing a fret level and it plays really nice now.

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I have a Tremonti SE and I've played my friend's older SE Custom. The guitars are excellent compared to a lot of others in its price range. But of course, in comparison to a USA PRS, you can tell the difference straight away. I believe that in comparison to Gibson/Epiphone, I find that quality is much more consistent and little else need replacing for a 'junior' version of the brand, although you might change pick ups if you prefer something else.

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I dont have a lot of experience with anything else but the custom 22. Bought one two years ago after playing one at GC and bout it on the spot. The neck is a little wider than usual which suites me fine. Fit and finish is excellent. To me the stock neck pickup was a little warm for my taste and swapped it out for a Duncan as well as the tuners.

I should also mention that mine had a fret buzz issue on the 13 and 14th fret. Not a deal breaker but I ended up doing a fret level and it plays really nice now.

 

 

Although PRS advertises their necks as "wide/fat" they are not wider than 43mm or 1 11/16ths, which is pretty standard for US made guitars. Their fattness isn't really that fat either, measuring approximately .845 at the 1st fret and .945 at the 12th fret, which is just slightly larger than medium. What contributes to the wider feel is the shoulders of the neck are rounded out slightly towards the fretboard. Great necks though regardless.

 

I have owned a few SE's and only one was a dud. (It didn't resonate well). I would say they are top of the line import, better than epi's for sure. From my experience, the better imports are PRS SE's, Schecter's and ESP LTD. All great value. I'm eyeing up a single cut SE at the moment.

 

One of the only things that has put me off the SE line in recent years was their flat tops, but they have rectified that this year.

 

Finally, in comparing them to US made PRS's, it would be similar to the epi/gibson ratio with a slight edge to the SE's, mainly because both SE's and PRS's have better quality control than Epi or Gibson.

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I have an opposite opinion. I still think Epi Les Pauls are among the best deals on the electric guitar market. Quality and quality control have improved tremendously. Every PRS SE model I've tried felt cheap and looked cheap, even if they sounded pretty good in some cases. But, you are clearly aware that you are holding a Pac Rim product in your hands. I haven't felt that way about the standard Epi line. The stock PRS SE pickups are at least on a par with the Epi models, no better and no worse. I should add that I am not a PRS fan in general. I just don't like their necks, but the USA models are sterling.

 

When you look around, the Epi Les Pauls and Fender MIM Strats and Teles are still the best deals out there, dollar for dollar.

 

Just my $.02

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I should also mention that mine had a fret buzz issue on the 13 and 14th fret. Not a deal breaker but I ended up doing a fret level and it plays really nice now.

 

 

Interesting, my Custom 22 has recently developed a fret buzz (big time) on the 14 fret, 3rd string. Everywhere else its fine. Just that one note. I've tried adjusting the truss rod and action but it won't go away. I am planning to take it in for my tech to look at.

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I had a pre - lawsuit Tremonti SE.

I now have a 20th anniversary std 24.


The SE was a lovely guitar. I did change the pups for SD 59 and a pearly gates but that was just me buggering around really, the original pups were pretty good. Playability and quality were excellent. No complaints.

However if the SE was an 8 mark the USA std 24 is a 10. Everything about it is a couple of notches up. And the note by note clarity is something I really like, although some people call this clarity 'sterile' .


At the end of the day I am a bedroom/home player and thruth be told the SE was more than I really ever needed. Also I have never shelled out for a high end amp to get the best out of the USA model. I just had the money at the time and decided to treat myself to the 20th anniv. and I am glad I did, I just like nice things.
:thu:

 

This pretty much sums up my feelings and situation. I have an SE Soapbar II and a 25th Anniversary Swamp Ash Special Narrowfield. I also replaced the pickups in my SE, not because they didn't sound good, but because they were noisy (being single coils). I replaced them with some Fralin noiseless P90s.

 

PRScouch1.jpg

 

PRSSASbody7.jpg

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This pretty much sums up my feelings and situation. I have an SE Soapbar II and a 25th Anniversary Swamp Ash Special Narrowfield. I also replaced the pickups in my SE, not because they didn't sound good, but because they were noisy (being single coils). I replaced them with some Fralin noiseless P90s.


PRScouch1.jpg

PRSSASbody7.jpg

 

The inlays on that Swamp Ash look stunning from that angle!

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The SE line is definitely the best bang for the buck that I've ever owned. I have a '91 Artist also, a beautiful guitar. The neck on my Singlecut SE is a bit chubbier than the Artist , chubby necks being what I favor these days. The stock PRS pups in the Artist are great but probably a tad moderrn sounding ( yeah I know '91....modern???). I put Lollar P-90s in the SE and those are really nice. The Artist is a fine, fine instrument, the SE is bare bones but in some ways more satisfying for my tastes these days.

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Although in my Guitar purge I sold all my SEs I think they are great guitars. Best Asian guitar out there. Waaaay better than Epiphone.

 

With so many Epis you have to have a tech to fix things, PRS SE very little to fix, they are generally great out of the box, action, intonation.

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My SE Singlecut Korina is pretty awesome with replaced pickups. As good at what it does as anything I own, or have owned, regardless of price. Nut's a little chunky, but reasonably well cut.

 

Regular PRS guitars don't appeal to me, so I couldn't tell you how they compare.

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I have an SE Custom 24, and it's great. I'd say it's better than most Epiphones. I don't like it better than any of my Gibsons, though. I have used my SE for many, many gigs in the past year or two, but I have since switched almost completely to my 339.

 

I'm sure they're not as good as the USA models, but I haven't played enough of them to give a good answer.

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I've got an SE Soapbar II and an SE EG.

 

Soapbar II is completely stock. The pups are a bit tame, but nice enough that I haven't prioritized swapping them (3-4 yrs in now).

 

EG's pups were high-output, harsh, one-dimensional - yuck. Replaced them with GFS Neovins, pretty happy with them.

 

Both are killer builds, super comfortable, resonant, great all around. Thinking of selling the EG (GASsing for a Jazzmaster), but I'd probably regret it immediately, so we'll see. Soapbar is staying put for sure.

 

The USA PRS models I've played (though never owned) are more sophisticated - everything's a bit nicer and more comfortable. I'm not a fan though, I like the simpler designs of the SEs and can't sink that much dough into gear. If you're really into a cush ride go USA, otherwise SE should get the job done well.

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They must be impressive...Fralin everything that I have ever tried has been.

 

 

They sound great; I really like them. I have a set of Kinman noiseless P90s in my Warmoth LPS. I like those even better, but the Fralins are quieter. The Fralins have one very big advantage over the Kinmans: they are the same depth as regular P90s, while the Kinmans are much deeper. I had to have Warmoth rout the pickup cavities an extra 1/4" deeper to fit them.

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They're kind of a cross between single coils and humbuckers. There's a great video on Youtube of Davy Knowles demoing it. Check it out.


I rewired the switch so the middle position is neck + bridge, and I replaced the tone control with a bass cut instead of the traditional treble cut. The bass cut gives the guitar even more of a Strat-like tone, especially in positions 2 and 4.




 

 

Thanks Flatspotter, I appreciate that. I like the sound of the wiring you did.

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