Electric Guitars

[Grantus]

The SE line competes with Epiphone, low-end Fenders and other similarly priced guitars, not $2k PRSes.

[67mike]

Originally Posted by Grantus

The SE line competes with Epiphone, low-end Fenders and other similarly priced guitars, not $2k PRSes.

I disagree with you somewhat.

The Construction and materials of the PRS SE line are well above any cheap Fender. I also would say it is well above Epiphone.

The SE is EQUAL in my opinion....to the Epiphone Elitist line.

There is not a chinese, or mexican fender that I have played, that comes close to the SE 245 I own.

Folks bitching about the tuners........simply tighter the phillips-head screw on top of the tuner button...they are a bit loose from factory and hence slip easily.

The Pickups have grown on me, yes they are not as bright or articulate as my Gibson humbuckers, but they are still pretty decent sounding. If you doubt it....just look up the Bernie Marsden video where he is A/Bing his signature SE PRS against his 1950's Les Paul!!!!!!!!!!

[Norcal_GIT_r]

I say no.
The person who's looking for a 10 top with a rosewood neck is not going to change their mind for an SE.
And typically the person looking for an SE does not want a fancy ten top or rosewood neck.
No matter how you slice it if you end up with an SE you're getting a very nice guitar.

[noisebloom]

Agreeing with some of the earlier posts, I think the SE line is a very good introduction to PRS guitars. They have arguably the best "budget" guitar line in the industry. And as Bryan alludes to, they aren't a close substitute for anything, really, in the PRS stable. It's just a taste; if you like it and want more, then you can move up the line.

The only drawback that I can see about the SE line is all the variation. The design ideas vary widely. It's hard to point to one guitar that's the flagship of the SE line. The earlier SEs, like the original SE Custom, did a better job of establishing the line. Now it's gotten a little scattershot, I think.

[TunerAddict]

I've yet to play a PRS SE that I liked.

[Verne Andru]

There is a maxim in marketing circles that goes something like "cannibalize your market before your competition does." What this means is, if you perceive a threat from the competition due to undercutting/cloning, it's better for you to undercut your own products and sell into that market than leave it to others. From what I've seen most of the big players in the biz have drank this Koolaid along with PRS.

The bigger issue I see with PRS [in particular] is the channel stuffing that's happened as a consequence. These low-end offerings are coming out of off-shore factories like popcorn into a market glutted with low-end offerings. As a consequence I've read articles where PRS has forced shops to take on way more inventory than is healthy under the threat of losing the brand. While this sort of strong-arm tactics are not new to PRS, they do point to a sad trend the company is falling into.

Rickenbacker has survived servicing the high end of the market exclusively longer than Paul Smith has been alive. They don't move the volume the others do, but the company has always been profitable, always in a back-order situation and it is still the same basic company it was when it started. IMHO PRS would have been better following that model than Fender/Gibson as the future looks like a huge slow-down that is going to leave more than one company as proverbial road-kill.

[67mike]

Originally Posted by TunerAddict

I've yet to play a PRS SE that I liked.

I can say the same of epiphone (including Elitists) and any non USA Fender.

I would take any PRS SE, G&L tribute , or Fernandes....as all of the ones I have played/owned have been great!

[Alecto]

I'd say the opposite. The SE line has done a lot to convince players of PRS' quality at a price they're more willing to jump at. A lot of players dismissed PRS because they didn't sound like Fender or Gibson, the players that were associated with the brand or the AAA-grade maple tops. But the SE line has gotten players to realize that PRS' beauty is more than skin-deep and I think they're more likely to shell out the $$$ for a MIA PRS because they know they're getting a top-quality axe.

It also helps that PRS is out-Gibsoning Gibson with the Singlecut line. With Gibson lurching from crisis to crisis (questionable quality control, the Firebird X, Lacey Act violations), PRS is looking better and better.

[Virtual Pariah]

Probably not, But the CE's did for sure.
As much as I like them.

[Flatspotter]

I have both an SE and an American PRS. I'm not sorry I bought either.

[virtuzoso]

Originally Posted by nicholai

Only problem PRS has is all their guitars are a little weaksauce. No Mojo anymore, than again I should have known this in 1992 when my 16 year old friends were buying them.

What the hell does this even mean? What a bullshit nonsensical statement...

[nicholai]

Originally Posted by docjeffrey

Once the Custom 24 became required gear for the nu metal crowd in the mid-late 90's, I lost interest. Then I heard what Alex Lifeson was doing with the bolt on, no frills CE 24, I bought one. It's a tremendously versatile guitar with undeniable ergonomics and it absolutely rocks my new Boogie Mark V (which Lifeson has also adopted).

Once PRS won its court battle against Gibson, they went vintage with not only the single cuts, but their Cu 22 And 24's with 50's voiced pickups. The HFS is once again available as an option on the new Cu 24.

They are definitely an American success story and I think that they helped throw down the gauntlet for Gibson and Fender to rethink the quality of their products.

I can't disagree with any of this. Some mighty fine music has been made on them too. Just not the guitar for me really, what can you say, it's all about personal preference.