Paul Reed Smith SE Standard 24 Vintage Cherry

I played trumpet in grade school, not by choice and as a result gave up music. I have been a music geek my whole life, rock and blues. Avid concert attendee. Soon after giving up music had the desire to learn guitar, but life got in the way. Fast forward Covid-19. Decided to do it. Did a lot research, a lot. I am a lefty and started down that road, and saw a couple of vid's recommending fighting the urge and go right handed. The most convincing advise was "when you start you are going to suck either way, might as well suck right handed, you got more options". Turned out to be good advice, my brain figured it out straight away. After comparing the PRS Se Standard to the vast choices in the 500 and under class, I could not find a better feeling guitar. Just all around ... MoreI played trumpet in grade school, not by choice and as a result gave up music. I have been a music geek my whole life, rock and blues. Avid concert attendee. Soon after giving up music had the desire to learn guitar, but life got in the way. Fast forward Covid-19. Decided to do it. Did a lot research, a lot. I am a lefty and started down that road, and saw a couple of vid's recommending fighting the urge and go right handed. The most convincing advise was "when you start you are going to suck either way, might as well suck right handed, you got more options". Turned out to be good advice, my brain figured it out straight away. After comparing the PRS Se Standard to the vast choices in the 500 and under class, I could not find a better feeling guitar. Just all around fit and finish. It was less of a struggle to fret, it was easier to make a solid sound. Learning on it is a joy.

Fantastic guitar.

This is an overall outstanding guitar from PRS. I've had it for four/five months now and waited to write a review so it wouldn't be premature and i had some real experience playing it. I've had a Gibson SG standard, fender MIM strat, and Epi Les Paul, I think this is my favorite. Here are the reasons why: First - the neck, this is actually what won me over in the store, the neck is crazy comfortable, the 12" radius also makes playing and bending super easy. Ease of access to higher frets is another plus on the neck. Second: The weight and balance of the guitar. When I am playing this with a strap it's easily the most comfortable guitar i've had. Third: The pickups, the new 85/15 S pickups in this thing are outstanding. They are crisp, articulate, full of tone and ... MoreThis is an overall outstanding guitar from PRS. I've had it for four/five months now and waited to write a review so it wouldn't be premature and i had some real experience playing it. I've had a Gibson SG standard, fender MIM strat, and Epi Les Paul, I think this is my favorite. Here are the reasons why: First - the neck, this is actually what won me over in the store, the neck is crazy comfortable, the 12" radius also makes playing and bending super easy. Ease of access to higher frets is another plus on the neck. Second: The weight and balance of the guitar. When I am playing this with a strap it's easily the most comfortable guitar i've had. Third: The pickups, the new 85/15 S pickups in this thing are outstanding. They are crisp, articulate, full of tone and clarity but also dirty up nicely and can play super dirty while retaining tone and note clarity. They split extremely well and provide a very nice single coil tone. I played through my friend's Orange tube amp through which he normally plays a fender custom shop strat, he stated: "wow, that sound's amazing." Fourth: Resonance and tonal quality. I always play a guitar unplugged first to see how it resonates and sounds. This thing sounds GREAT and resonates amazingly unplugged. I did have it set up after purchase, (as i did with the other guitars, because every guitar needs to be to play how you want it to.) and seriously don't think there is a better guitar until you get to more than double the price of this. And truthfully i think this is the arc point in the law of diminishing return where if you are trying to find something nicer than this it can't be much nicer without paying exorbitantly more for a minor improvement. PRS - you should be proud of this product. It's sensational for it's price point. It's the type of instrument that I always want to pick up and just play. Shout out to Sam Ash Indianapolis for their help through the buying process/finding a case, etc. They were great.

Great bang for the buck

I've had mine for a couple of weeks now and I have to say it doesn't look, play or feel like a $500 guitar. I was immediately impressed by the quality and comfort of this instrument. I have a couple of Les Pauls and a G&L and this thing is at least a couple of pounds lighter than any of them. The body has an extremely compact feel and the cut and shape make it comfortable to play anywhere on the neck. The neck itself is comfortable and fast. The pickups have a warm, full tone with a nice amount of growl with a little overdrive. Many guitars in this price range have weak, tinny sounding pickups, but not this one. On the downside, it's a bit of a challenge to keep in tune. But, that's common of many guitars in this price range that don't come equipped with locking ... MoreI've had mine for a couple of weeks now and I have to say it doesn't look, play or feel like a $500 guitar. I was immediately impressed by the quality and comfort of this instrument. I have a couple of Les Pauls and a G&L and this thing is at least a couple of pounds lighter than any of them. The body has an extremely compact feel and the cut and shape make it comfortable to play anywhere on the neck. The neck itself is comfortable and fast. The pickups have a warm, full tone with a nice amount of growl with a little overdrive. Many guitars in this price range have weak, tinny sounding pickups, but not this one. On the downside, it's a bit of a challenge to keep in tune. But, that's common of many guitars in this price range that don't come equipped with locking nuts and trems. I'll change and stretch the strings and lubricate the nut and do all the normal things and we'll see how it comes out. Also, the neck seems to pick up a slight twist every couple of days and I've had to adjust the truss rod several times. Hopefully, I'll get it just right soon and this won't be an ongoing issue. I've never played a PRS before and this was an affordable way for me to dip my toe in that pool. I'm glad I did. For $500 you can't go wrong with this one.

It feels so good to play. It's easier than a lot of other expensive guitars that I have.

I love the neck and the 24 frets has always been something I wanted on all my guitars. PRS has done it this guitar sounds great as I have plugged it in directly into the PA mixer. I use compression a hair of delay and reverb before it gets there as well as a volume pedal. I have 18 electric guitars, all top of the line gear, Fender, Gibson, Gretsch, Rickenbacker, etc but this is what I am playing now. It feels very good in my hands. I would prefer a more satin neck finish or a down to the wood feel with no finish but ... Superb guitar!

Lots of bang for he buck

As a Tele/single coil/maple fretboard guy I decided it was time for something new - rosewood, humbucker, tremolo bar. I was long a distant admirer of PRS guitars. Distant due to the price tag. Then I discovered the SE Standard series and decided to pull the trigger. For $500 I could afford a misfire if it happened. It didn't. I LOVE this guitar. A wide variety of tonal possibilities with the three position switch and the push/pull switch from humbuckers to "single coil" (not really, but close) with the tone knob. Speaking of the tone knob, it is significant. From 10 to 0 on my squier tele is a difference, but from 10 to 7 not so much. This PRS gives the full range with changes evident at every point along the way. The playability is like butter, smooth and ... MoreAs a Tele/single coil/maple fretboard guy I decided it was time for something new - rosewood, humbucker, tremolo bar. I was long a distant admirer of PRS guitars. Distant due to the price tag. Then I discovered the SE Standard series and decided to pull the trigger. For $500 I could afford a misfire if it happened. It didn't. I LOVE this guitar. A wide variety of tonal possibilities with the three position switch and the push/pull switch from humbuckers to "single coil" (not really, but close) with the tone knob. Speaking of the tone knob, it is significant. From 10 to 0 on my squier tele is a difference, but from 10 to 7 not so much. This PRS gives the full range with changes evident at every point along the way. The playability is like butter, smooth and responsive. It holds its tuning well, and even with the tremolo bar in play heavily (I refuse to call them "whammy bars") it stays awfully close. I'd be shocked if there were another option this good in the $500 range. Only 2 complaints - the setup from SA left some fret buzz that needed adjusting, and when I emailed my rep to ask what kind of strings were sent on it I got no reply.

Lots of good but with one issue.

Just got a Transparent Blue one that was sold as a Condition 2 B-stock. The pickups and bridge are wonderful, same as they put in the S2 series. It sounds and feels great, so no upgrades necessary. Only reason I gave it four stars rather than five is the bridge is set just a mm or two to the right of where it should be, and the E string is subsequently pretty close to the edge of the fretboard and slips off sometimes if I'm using finger vibrato. I've got some tech experience though so I'm putting on a brass nut (should look cool) and I'll be using the new nut placement to move the string over a mm or so to get the string off the edge. Other than that it feels and sounds like a professional quality instrument. Holds tune really well. FYI, the color is very dark, ... MoreJust got a Transparent Blue one that was sold as a Condition 2 B-stock. The pickups and bridge are wonderful, same as they put in the S2 series. It sounds and feels great, so no upgrades necessary. Only reason I gave it four stars rather than five is the bridge is set just a mm or two to the right of where it should be, and the E string is subsequently pretty close to the edge of the fretboard and slips off sometimes if I'm using finger vibrato. I've got some tech experience though so I'm putting on a brass nut (should look cool) and I'll be using the new nut placement to move the string over a mm or so to get the string off the edge. Other than that it feels and sounds like a professional quality instrument. Holds tune really well. FYI, the color is very dark, looks black unless it's in very bright light.Haven't been able to put it down since I got it, and I've got some nice guitars.

PRS . . . . one of the nicest guitars ever.

I bought the PRS for the way the neck feels after playing one at a guitar store. I found a better deal online, so I went that route. It was nicely packed and came with a high quality gig bag. It's even more beautiful in person with the tobacco sunburst finish and the bird inlays on the neck. This is my 23rd guitar and now one of my top 3 favorites. Needless to say, I'm happy with the purchase.

Review of PRS SE Standard 24 Electric Guitar in Vintage Cherry

There is a strange echo noise that seems to originate in the springs at the rear of the guitar? I have put some wood under the metal plate which helps but any help would be useful. he guitar looks and sounds great, plenty of bright clear biting hum bucker tones. Well made and should give years of fun. A great buy and addition to my Strat.

The most affordable PRS guitar is all you need

I am thrilled with the product. So professionally set up, and ran through two quality checks, it was basically plug in and play.Visually stunning, you just want to pick it up again and again.Extremely playable, feels comfortable on the long run.Sound of the humbuckers is great, not a big fan of what comes out through the coil split, but a nice option for more versatility.I can see myself enjoying playing this guitar on a long run (I owned a Strat before).Thanks PRS for such a product, and Musicstore for the excellent buying experience.Ps. Must unfortunately add that the delivery experience was terrible. DPD in Austria is never a good thing. They started by copying wrongly the apartment number (2 instead of 20). I noticed that and I changed location to a nearby ... MoreI am thrilled with the product. So professionally set up, and ran through two quality checks, it was basically plug in and play.Visually stunning, you just want to pick it up again and again.Extremely playable, feels comfortable on the long run.Sound of the humbuckers is great, not a big fan of what comes out through the coil split, but a nice option for more versatility.I can see myself enjoying playing this guitar on a long run (I owned a Strat before).Thanks PRS for such a product, and Musicstore for the excellent buying experience.Ps. Must unfortunately add that the delivery experience was terrible. DPD in Austria is never a good thing. They started by copying wrongly the apartment number (2 instead of 20). I noticed that and I changed location to a nearby drop box. Three days, nothing happened. They finally delivered the package to apartment 2… could you believe that… “Deliver” is too generous to say, they actually left the package unattended in front of the wrong apartment at a wrong floor…Well, luckily I was expecting the worse so I found the package inside of the building itself, and now, after such good feeling from playing the guitar, that is just a “funny” memory.