Your next guitar?

[hibidy]

Thoughts/opinions on Paul Reed Smith's S2 line? This is supposed to be the mid-range, American-made guitar that is more 'affordable'. At $1500+ it still seems a bit over-priced

$1,500 for an American-made set neck, properly finished guitar is pretty affordable. Gibson has/had some American-made set neck models for under $1K but those were slabs (no contours on the bodies) and only had stained finishes. Fender Highway One's were a similar concept, American-made but with cheap finishes and overseas parts. The finish is what requires the most man hours, I think PRS could get under $1K if they make an S2 line that is only stained.

If it's true that they cut corners, then 1600 becomes too much in my very humble opinion.

What are the reviews saying? I haven't heard too much talk at sevenstring.....there are always a bunch of junkies over there.

[Uncle E]

If it's true that they cut corners, then 1600 becomes too much in my very humble opinion.

Hehe, yeah, good point. There's always those of us who love to upgrade our guitars, then cheaping out on the pickups isn't such a big deal, but cheaping out on the bridge and tuners can be a pain.

[hibidy]

I know it sounds like a broken record, but you can get a really really well made Carvin that will likely knock your socks off for that money. I cannot stress to you the level of quality mine is. The finish, the product, the craftsmanship. Now I have 3 again, the fender (very nice) the ibby 1520 (very very nice) and the Carvin. I'm just waiting to get YET MORE dental out of the way and I'll likely order a Carvin. The last time it was like "eh, it'll be 8 weeks, no problem" and they finished it really early. I need to be TOTALLY prepared financially to cough that money up when finished before ordering.

Of course you are talking to the idiot who just returned a guitar that ended up with issue after issue (again) and don't seem to learn my lesson.

[Uncle E]

Of course you are talking to the idiot who just returned a guitar that ended up with issue after issue (again) and don't seem to learn my lesson.

That's why you give great advice. When I hear you say so many good things about Carvin, I really take it seriously.

[hibidy]

At the PRS in question, I tried doing a search over at SS and came up with bupkiss.

It's not right, as I know there have been threads on them. I'd ask but the mods have a tendency to move shit around so much over there, I don't know if it would generate any hits

[blueman]

Of course you are talking to the idiot who just returned a guitar that ended up with issue after issue (again) and don't seem to learn my lesson.

There are no "lessons" to be learned, only fun to be had Making mistakes is part of the journey

Interesting about Carvin: I have heard similar testimonials elsewhere, and coming from you--seeing how picky you are--the vote of confidence means a lot

The PRS S2, for me, would likely be a poor substitute for what I really want...

PRS David Grissom "DGT"

[macmurphy]

i had to scroll up to see the price of that

PRS David Grissom "DGT"

and was expecting a couple of thousand more..

[blueman]

i had to scroll up to see the price of that

PRS David Grissom "DGT"

and was expecting a couple of thousand more..

I know! Is the <$1k savings worth it

[Uncle E]

I know! Is the <$1k savings worth it

Well, the price is exactly double that of the S2 if you want a maple top. I've had a couple mahogany body PRS's and I don't recommend them.

Also, I was checking out the S2 hardware and they have nice bridges and tuners, with brass studs and posts, that look the same as the American models. They're certainly not the cheap bridges and tuners from the SE line. If those really are American parts, I wonder what are the Asian parts that people are talking about?

[Jim Roseberry]

I bought a PRS SE (Korean) Custom-27 w/Floyd Rose... a couple months after getting an American Custom-24.

The American Custom-24 is the best guitar I've ever owned/played.
You can tell that attention was given to every detail.
Finish, sound, and playability are stellar.

The SE has contours... but they're much more shallow/subtle than the American model.
This SE has locking tremolo... so the tuners aren't a major issue. They're not the locking tuners that come with the American models, but they're really not too bad. (Better than the tuners I've seen on many other sub $1000 guitars)
The pickups on the SE surprised me a little. They sound pretty decent. I was originally thinking I'd swap them out... but after playing/listening... I don't feel it's necessary. The pickups have plenty of detail... and sound great playing crunch.
The finish on the guitar is nice (if a bit "plain-jane")... but (of course) it's nowhere near the gorgeous Am models.
The flame maple top is veneer (not the thick cap you get on the American version).
The pots/switches/jack aren't as nice (but adequate)...
Overall, for ~$800 (I got 16% off that from GC), it's not a bad guitar by any means.

Based on this (positive) experience with the SE Custom-24, I bought a 7-string SE model.
That thing was a complete pile!
Tuners were coarse, it felt cheap, sounded cheap, and if you breathed on it... it would go out of tune.
The G string even had a kink in it (absolutely no attention to detail on this one).

Bottom line, I think you can find good value in the PRS SE range... but I'd recommend seeing/playing as QC isn't as tight.

[hibidy]

The SE that I sold was a nice guitar. I didn't really have any issues with it but the neck seemed really big (that's kinda why I got on the ibby kick) Bummer about the 7.

[hibidy]

Of course you are talking to the idiot who just returned a guitar that ended up with issue after issue (again) and don't seem to learn my lesson.

There are no "lessons" to be learned, only fun to be had Making mistakes is part of the journey

Interesting about Carvin: I have heard similar testimonials elsewhere, and coming from you--seeing how picky you are--the vote of confidence means a lot

The PRS S2, for me, would likely be a poor substitute for what I really want...

PRS David Grissom "DGT"

That's a lovely guitar. I tried a bunch of PRS's about a year ago at GC and they are really nice guitars. The neck and I just don't get on for some reason and if possible I'd like not to have a painted neck.

[hibidy]

I know! Is the <$1k savings worth it

Well, the price is exactly double that of the S2 if you want a maple top. I've had a couple mahogany body PRS's and I don't recommend them.

Also, I was checking out the S2 hardware and they have nice bridges and tuners, with brass studs and posts, that look the same as the American models. They're certainly not the cheap bridges and tuners from the SE line. If those really are American parts, I wonder what are the Asian parts that people are talking about?

Why wouldn't you recommend a mahogany PRS? Do they not have a maple top?

[hibidy]

Here's another example of something I'd really like. I'm sure it's not cheap with the visual extras (I'm guessing about 1800)

[Armadillosound]

Here's another example of something I'd really like. I'm sure it's not cheap with the visual extras (I'm guessing about 1800)

That's a really nice looking guitar
Not keen on the carpet though