PRS vs. PRS SE?

ZarK

Hi Guys

I went to test a few guitars today. I'm in the market for two new guitars to be used for alternate detuning. They had some PRS's on sale that I enjoyed, but to my surprise, the guitar I enjoyed the most by far was a PRS SE Mark Tremonti! I tend to only buy higher end guitars, but I still cannot believe how well this guitar played and sounded. The SE’s finish and build quality was also much better than expected.

The question: Why should I buy a PRS if I could buy three or four of these and still have money left to put high end pups in them? Obviously wood selection and quality of a PRS should be better, but I'm not looking for extravagant finishes this time round and I really couldn't fault the PRS SE's I played. I need the guitar to stay in tune, intonation has to be excellent when set and the guitar needs to be solid for detuning and heavy gauge strings -probably fixed bridge. That's about it.

What am I missing, because this seems to good too be true??? :-\

ezietsman

You're not missing anything. Those are good guitars. Don't let the price fool you (price != good sound). If it sounds good, it is good. You may or may not need 'high end' pickups, depends how well the stock ones work with the increased bass of the thicker detuned strings.

Ray

Well, isnt it just where the guitar is made sometimes that determines whether it is the high-end or student or budget or whatever?

AlanRatcliffe

Nothing wrong with the SE's - I was looking through the range at Marshall's yesterday. Excellent value for money. They are Korean, so the labour (by far the biggest expense in building most guitars) is lower, but the Koreans can build great guitars. They will often use lower grade (but not bad) woods and figured tops tend to be a veneer on top of plain woods rather than all figured, but that doesn't affect playability or tone.

Nothing wrong with the pickups either, although you can often do better, but your biggest reason for changing will likely be taste rather than quality.

DonovanB

What I was told about the SE's is that they use American specified parts but Korean Labour.

Apparently PRS searched hard for a specific factory and chose the current one for their quality. Then the guitars are shipped back to the USA for a setup.

but it could be a sales pitch. Either way it's a cool instrument

needleshy

nothin wrong wit them, ii have heard only good things from ppl who own them.

i'd get one and just replace the pickup to PRS pups. i got a the Tremonti treble and a DragonII bass in my PRS and they sound realy good together, i put the Other DragonII in my tele bridge and it sounds vry nice in a tele.

ZarK

Ray wrote: Well, isnt it just where the guitar is made sometimes that determines whether it is the high-end or student or budget or whatever?

This is the case with Ibanez imo. Their lower end guitars are difficult to compare with their higher end examples imo... With PRS and PRS SE they're much much closer imo. (Exotic wood selection aside.)

guitarboy2828

Buy one of each! ?

Een

I bought a Tremonti SE last year and swapped the pups out with Modern Eagle pups. The stock neck pup is OK, but the bridge pup is not great. I will never let go of this guitar. You'd be hard pressed to find a better, new guitar, at this price point. The fact that the natural finish Tremonti is such a hot blonde, doesnt hurt either 8)

I would also upgrade to locking tuners if I were you ZarK. The tuners on the Tremonti isn't the best.

Disappointing bridge pup and tuners aside, this guit is an absolute joy to play.

aja

guitarboy2828 wrote: Buy one of each! ?

when it comes to GAS you are the guy who offers an alcoholic a drink HAAHAHA! ?

ZarK

guitarboy2828 wrote: Buy one of each! ?

I recently purchased two Ibanez j-customs, so my cash for gas is on the low side taking into consideration that I'm also in the process of changing my amp and rig as well... The reason I started looking at some lower end guitars is 1. I need a few guitars for different tunings and 2. I'll be gigging with them, so I'm not too crazy about the idea of handling and worrying so much about my high end guitars getting damaged and road worn. (Just the brand new ones...)

I'm feeling a bit like a fool for only considering high end guitars after my experience with the PRS SE's... ???

guitarboy2828

ZarK wrote:
guitarboy2828 wrote: Buy one of each! ?
I recently purchased two Ibanez j-customs, so my cash for gas is on the low side taking into consideration that I'm also in the process of changing my amp and rig as well... The reason I started looking at some lower end guitars is 1. I need a few guitars for different tunings and 2. I'll be gigging with them, so I'm not too crazy about the idea of handling and worrying so much about my high end guitars getting damaged and road worn. (Just the brand new ones...)

I'm feeling a bit like a fool for only considering high end guitars after my experience with the PRS SE's... ???

Well, in that case, i have a starfire if you'd like? ?

DonovanB

guitarboy2828 wrote: Well, in that case, i have a starfire if you'd like? ?

I had that no-name strat that was surprisingly cool.

ZarK

Een wrote: I bought a Tremonti SE last year and swapped the pups out with Modern Eagle pups. The stock neck pup is OK, but the bridge pup is not great. I will never let go of this guitar. You'd be hard pressed to find a better, new guitar, at this price point. The fact that the natural finish Tremonti is such a hot blonde, doesnt hurt either 8)

I would also upgrade to locking tuners if I were you ZarK. The tuners on the Tremonti isn't the best.

Disappointing bridge pup and tuners aside, this guit is an absolute joy to play.

Congrats! I hope to be joining you soon! All my current guitars have floyds, so I would definately buy locking tuners. Standard tuners freak me out a bit after getting so used to a Floyd locking setup.

Which locking tuners should I consider?

I was considering replacing at least the bridge pup with a Dimarzio. All my guitars have Dimarzio's. Then again, maybe it wouldn't hurt looking wider for a change...

Een

ZarK wrote:Which locking tuners should I consider?

I'm a bedroom/hobbyist guitarist for now, so I havnt bothered with getting locking tuners yet. Sorry I cant help there.

tentop

It's a fact that the PRS "budget line" compares well with some manufacturers' top-of-the-line offerings. Certainly the best value for money out there IMO.

ZarK

tentop wrote: It's a fact that the PRS "budget line" compares well with some manufacturers' top-of-the-line offerings. Certainly the best value for money out there IMO.

I directly compared the PRS SE's to ESP LTD's and Ibanii in the same price range. The PRS's are lower in features but much more solid and well built as instruments imo. If I end up getting one (maybe two) of these I'd start by replacing the nuts with graphite quality stuff and some decent locking tuners. Then maybe bridge pups if necessary... Bottom line is I don't mind modding within reason if the chasis is solid! Obviously not worth over spending as my whole idea is to acquire decent player guitars at the lowest possible price....... (If modding pushes the price in the region of Ibanez Prestige guitars however, the decision will be much much harder to make...)

Malkav

I'd have to rate the best name in locking tuners is schaller - I believe the most sought after ones are the M8s but I could be mistaken ? I believe they're what music man use ? now as for this decision to look away from dimarzio that's just heresy especially seeing as dimarzio make the only pickups designed to drop tune ? THE D-SONIC ? I use em as bridge pickups for my six and seven string and they're incredible, the only bridge pickup I'd rate as fat sounding enough to solo with ? tried Duncan JBs and Dimarzio Tone Zones, Air Zones, Paf Pros and AT-1s and EMG 81s and 85s and I still rate the D-Sonic sound bigger in the top end ? and it was made with the intention of delivering more clarity when put into the bridge pickup position with the blade facing the bridge for drop tuning ?

BMU

The only PRS that looks interesting to me is the Tremonti. I noticed the SE but I tend to be a brand name snob a bit like ZarK is describing, so this is an interesting thread to me. I think I'll take the time to try one out based one what I'm reading here.

That Tremonti is a 25.5" I assume? Anything shorter is no-go to me, especially for downtuning. (I know I can look it up but I'm on painfully slow internet right now.)

ZarK

BMU wrote: The only PRS that looks interesting to me is the Tremonti. I noticed the SE but I tend to be a brand name snob a bit like ZarK is describing, so this is an interesting thread to me. I think I'll take the time to try one out based one what I'm reading here.

That Tremonti is a 25.5" I assume? Anything shorter is no-go to me, especially for downtuning. (I know I can look it up but I'm on painfully slow internet right now.)

The PRS's I tested where all 25". They're very comfortable and the 0,5" didn't effect me negatively. If Alter Bridge can use this scale length for their detuned songs, I'm sure it would be more than suitable........ The Tremonti SE has a fat neck compared to the Allander. Both are comfy, but the Allander feels faster to my Ibanez hands... I like both. Nothing wrong with loving a certain brand name and their high end instruments. I just don't like the idea of taking four expensive guitars to gigs. Too many instruments to look after.. It'd stress me out too much...