PRS SE Paul's Guitar Charcoal

As a guitar dabbling keyboard player I have taken some considerable time to finalise my sole electric guitar purchase. The PRS SE Paul's Guitar looks fine, handles superbly, and sounds great. It's flexible and is an absolute pleasure to play. I chose well and chose correctly for my needs. It deserves to be listened to and in anyone's list of potential purchases if not actual purchases!

I am going to keep this brief....Before ordering this guitar online I watched countless videos as well as read any review I could find. I was amazed by the sound of the pickups as well as the switching system. The ONLY negative comment everyone agreed the tuners will need to be replaced.I went ahead and ordered the Fire Red model and got it 2 days later. After unboxing I was impressed with the included gigbag which is one of the nicest I have ever seen. Unfortunately this is where I stopped. Unzipping the top of the gigbag there was a glop on glue where the nut is attached to the fretboard. As I zipped down the bag and pulling the guitar out of the bag I saw more white foggy spots on the fretboard. In addition the masking on the binding was bad and had ... MoreI am going to keep this brief....Before ordering this guitar online I watched countless videos as well as read any review I could find. I was amazed by the sound of the pickups as well as the switching system. The ONLY negative comment everyone agreed the tuners will need to be replaced.I went ahead and ordered the Fire Red model and got it 2 days later. After unboxing I was impressed with the included gigbag which is one of the nicest I have ever seen. Unfortunately this is where I stopped. Unzipping the top of the gigbag there was a glop on glue where the nut is attached to the fretboard. As I zipped down the bag and pulling the guitar out of the bag I saw more white foggy spots on the fretboard. In addition the masking on the binding was bad and had bleedthrough. The top looks super fake like its a photo finish. The only nice thing I can say is the bridge is good but the rest of the guitar feels very cheap. This guitar was so bad I didnt even plug in it and called for a return authorization the same day it arrived.In summary...Ive been playing guitar for almost 30 years and Ive played American PRS as well as import SEs but this thing really is bad. I have player the less expense SEs that looked better than this model.Bottom line is this guitar would be amazing at $499.99. (Without glue all over the fingerboard) buy $1000 is absolutely insane. PRS would actually be ashamed if he saw this guitar. Maybe I just got a lemon that got pass QC but overall at this price point even an Asian guitar should be flawless

Below standard

I was told that PRS is meticulous about inspecting each guitar and assuring it leaves as a quality product. My experience is: this is an amazing looking guitar with tons of flaws. Not worth the $1000 price tag. It's more of a $499. Painting has flaws especially on mine where it seemed as the veneer joint glue had leaked and wasnt properly sanded so you can see about a 4-6 inch discoloration and you can also see some discrepancies under the clear coating. My pickups arrived with some white tag barely sticking out, dirty and the pick up almost hugging the strings which is wayyyyyyyyyyy above what they say according to the PRS website should be. To me that's lack of quality control. The sound is so muddy, theres tons of low hum even in humbucker mode and the volume ... MoreI was told that PRS is meticulous about inspecting each guitar and assuring it leaves as a quality product. My experience is: this is an amazing looking guitar with tons of flaws. Not worth the $1000 price tag. It's more of a $499. Painting has flaws especially on mine where it seemed as the veneer joint glue had leaked and wasnt properly sanded so you can see about a 4-6 inch discoloration and you can also see some discrepancies under the clear coating. My pickups arrived with some white tag barely sticking out, dirty and the pick up almost hugging the strings which is wayyyyyyyyyyy above what they say according to the PRS website should be. To me that's lack of quality control. The sound is so muddy, theres tons of low hum even in humbucker mode and the volume difference when switching the tone knob is immense, literally.. like I need to really put down the volume when switching my knobs. Never had that experience with any other guitar company. Fret board looks okay, when switching my tuners out I noticed it had a chip in the paint on the 6th string peg hole. Overall the sound itself is muffled and I wouldn't purchase this model or reccomend PRS to anyone. I reached to PRS about my issues and I have to say they where very rude and even said that the pain t color being different qualifies as something normal. They never said anything about the knobs and huge volume difference in other words they ignored that and after emailing back and forth I was told rudely that I should take this up with who ever sold me the guitar. I'm sure because I have added new tuners where the peg hole is a bit larger than original I cant return my guitar. Unfortunately the color thing started occurring after a few weeks of having the guitar and I have been to busy as a frontline worker to reach out to Proaudio star. I will await until stores open and send the guitar to be evaluated and have th issues fixed through the warranty. Sidenote, I purchased a cordoba GK studio guitar and reached out the cordoba when one of the tuners damaged and I swear they where so friendly and offered great customer service, they replaced the part that had an issue within a week and werent rude like PRS. I guess #PRS needs to learn how to treat customers. Btw, I'm a medical professional and don't buy cheap items, prs you've lost a customer due to your lack of professionalism and misleading YouTube documentaries station g how you inspect and ensure quality control in all your products regardless of price range. Now I see why Gibson guitars go up in blue while PRS devaluates.

Every attention to detai is there

I bought an SE 24-08 and it had a switch issue so I went back to the store and the SE Paul's Guitar in black gold sunburst had just came in. I fell in love with the look right away and decided to upgrade. This guitar punches so far above its $1000 price. The neck feels amazing, the TCI pickups with the single coil tap switches are money. The classic tuners do very well this thing stays in tune great. The bridge, which is from the Core/Private stock line I believe, is beautiful and sturdy and the copper inserts really show this is a top shelf instrument. Even though this comes from the Cor-Tek Indonesia factory it's hard to tell that this is not a US model. It's obvious they put the same level of effort into making these guitars. The finish on the frets is teardrop ... MoreI bought an SE 24-08 and it had a switch issue so I went back to the store and the SE Paul's Guitar in black gold sunburst had just came in. I fell in love with the look right away and decided to upgrade. This guitar punches so far above its $1000 price. The neck feels amazing, the TCI pickups with the single coil tap switches are money. The classic tuners do very well this thing stays in tune great. The bridge, which is from the Core/Private stock line I believe, is beautiful and sturdy and the copper inserts really show this is a top shelf instrument. Even though this comes from the Cor-Tek Indonesia factory it's hard to tell that this is not a US model. It's obvious they put the same level of effort into making these guitars. The finish on the frets is teardrop perfect and the fretboard is smooth. It sounds great unplugged even. So happy with this purchase

Kind of Cool Features

Lots of hype before these arrived, deservedly as the have some different features.In photo you can see the red guitar in front of my PRS S2, its obviously got a very nice top, carve is somewhat more subtle, getting close to a Maryland carve but not quite. Weight is average 7lbs 5 oz. Neck feels a bit fat front to back but maybe its the gloss finish. Bridge is perhaps more maswiver than typical SE fixed. Tuners have plastic winders, not inspiring confidence but im sure will be fine. Seems to stay in tune ok, actually arrived fully in tune, and setup was ok but a slight bit high. Gig bag: padded but ugly SE brown bag.Regarding pickups: each has its own HB to single mini switch. The switches are small and close together so easy to throw them both at same time when in ... MoreLots of hype before these arrived, deservedly as the have some different features.In photo you can see the red guitar in front of my PRS S2, its obviously got a very nice top, carve is somewhat more subtle, getting close to a Maryland carve but not quite. Weight is average 7lbs 5 oz. Neck feels a bit fat front to back but maybe its the gloss finish. Bridge is perhaps more maswiver than typical SE fixed. Tuners have plastic winders, not inspiring confidence but im sure will be fine. Seems to stay in tune ok, actually arrived fully in tune, and setup was ok but a slight bit high. Gig bag: padded but ugly SE brown bag.Regarding pickups: each has its own HB to single mini switch. The switches are small and close together so easy to throw them both at same time when in the middle pu selector. Not a classic rocking sound, this axe sound more rounded and "heavy" in general; typical PRS less character than a Fender, more "hifi" to my ears; the HB sound is a loud and rounded (higher output than a PAF?). With pickup split, we hear something between a single coii and a P90 sound. Def not hum cancelling but pretty quiet. In both cases, the high end is hifi articulate; it almost sounds like active filtering is going on (but these a passive, no battery). I might tend to want an eq pedal for when i want to cut some low end when using some effects. Not "revolutionary" but somewhat evolutionary, these pickups/electronics are different and worth checking out; you might find its nothing special for you but for some this will definitely check some boxes.

Love for this guitar beyond the looks

I want to start by saying I did not get it from GC. I got it from another site where they had a charcoal option. This is a review on the guitar and not the supplier.They say a good guitar isn't necessary how it looks. I also read a lot about "a PRS sounds somewhere between a Les Paul and a Strat." For some reason people hold these sounds as the "gold standard" for musical guitar tone. Now I don't know about that either. What I can tell you is that what makes this a good guitar is how inspiring it is and how creative it's making me play. I don't know how to describe it- maybe a more experience person can weigh in (I've been playing on and off for a few years) but I seem so much more creative in my playing when I'm jamming with this as compared to my Gibson SG ... MoreI want to start by saying I did not get it from GC. I got it from another site where they had a charcoal option. This is a review on the guitar and not the supplier.They say a good guitar isn't necessary how it looks. I also read a lot about "a PRS sounds somewhere between a Les Paul and a Strat." For some reason people hold these sounds as the "gold standard" for musical guitar tone. Now I don't know about that either. What I can tell you is that what makes this a good guitar is how inspiring it is and how creative it's making me play. I don't know how to describe it- maybe a more experience person can weigh in (I've been playing on and off for a few years) but I seem so much more creative in my playing when I'm jamming with this as compared to my Gibson SG standard or Fender Player. At the end of the day, you want a guitar that not only sounds great (which this absolutely does) but also feels great and inspires you to play out of your norm.It does not have as much rock power when distorted when compared to my SG, so if you're looking for a rock heavy guitar, I don't know if this is for you. But it sounds incredible clean (which is how I mostly play). My Player sounds great clean too, but I love the wider and thicker neck profile it has compared to my strat (I got big gorilla hands so I like a chunkier neck). I've only had this for 2 weeks but it's become my grab guitar.

My favorite Guitar Yet

I have been playing guitar for more than 14 years. This is by far my favorite guitar I have ever played. With an affordable price tag, you will definitely get your moneys worth. I have spent days researching PRS SE guitars and practically spent days looking at youtube videos of all the different kinds and I was very nervous as the PRS guitar is such a wide array of different kinds. I settled on the PRS Paul Reed Smith guitar, because at the heart of it, I wanted a guitar that Paul, with his years of knowledge and experience, thought a guitar should sound/look like. The look of the guitar is gorgeous and for an SE is one of the most amazing bodies I have ever felt. The electronics on the SE blows me away. The action is spot on. the 22nd fret ringssss and sustains on ... MoreI have been playing guitar for more than 14 years. This is by far my favorite guitar I have ever played. With an affordable price tag, you will definitely get your moneys worth. I have spent days researching PRS SE guitars and practically spent days looking at youtube videos of all the different kinds and I was very nervous as the PRS guitar is such a wide array of different kinds. I settled on the PRS Paul Reed Smith guitar, because at the heart of it, I wanted a guitar that Paul, with his years of knowledge and experience, thought a guitar should sound/look like. The look of the guitar is gorgeous and for an SE is one of the most amazing bodies I have ever felt. The electronics on the SE blows me away. The action is spot on. the 22nd fret ringssss and sustains on all the strings. I have never had an Epiphone or Strat that could do it well enough. The amount of sounds/tones you can get out of this one guitar blows me away. Also, this guitar sounds amazing on a Line 6 AMP. If you hear anyone say PRS guitars don't have their own identity, don't listen to them. This guitar screams on distortion and rocks on crunch and plays the blues like no other strat or epiphone I have ever played.I hope to save people time in their research. If you are looking for a high priced budget guitar that is still affordable and you don't need to take out an equity line of credit out of your house and you want what a PRS sounds/feels like - GET THIS GUITAR.

One of the best guitars money can buy

Nothing oin this price range comes close .This guitar ROCKS!! Looks fantastic (I have the red with the flame maple top and I couldn't be happier. This guitar is an absolute rocker. Second none in it's price range and beautiful looking to boot. If your in the one grand range you can't go wrong one of the vest guitars you will ever own. I absolutely love it. This is a purchase you will never regret.

This is a fantastic guitar with an amazing neck

Not only is the neck as smooth as silk but it is light enough to wear for several hours and sounds absolurely fabulous. One of the best guitars you will ever find in this price range. Worth every penny although I bought mine when they first came our and got and flame maple in red and the attention to detail is second to none. This guitar is nothing but fun to play and the sound it will give you is amazing, you will NOT be dissapointed. I have a hard time putting it down, I think you will too !! Did I mention GREAT pickups?

You'll never find a better guitar for the price

One of the best guitars you will ever own. Has a voice unique to any electric guitar. This is a tremendous guitar that you will be truly grateful for buying. Has a voice all it's own and I enjoy 7 very high guality guitars and this is the first one I pick up every time I want to play, one of if not the best guitar you will ever find at this price it's a steal for the money and one you will never be sorry you bought it it is a high class high quality guitar you will never be sorry you bought It will quickly be glad you own it