PRS SE Paul's Guitar - Brutally Honest Review 

I can see where you're coming from and I mean no slight against the guitar or PRS - it's absolutely my go-to right now. The guitar is a joy to play. They don't mention on the website how many pieces the neck actually is (they just say 'Multi-Ply'). I think I should have mentioned in the video though that this aspect is great for protection against changing humidity and maintaining stability. Sadly I can't change it now, but if/when I do a future video on the guitar I will mention it as it definitely can be seen as positive. Bottom line, I highly highly recommend the guitar regardless of the number of wood pieces in the neck. The neck feels awesome.

@@appetiteforguitar it sure does feel awsome. I have an SE Custom 24 08. It has a clear finish over the maple neck and you can see the 3 pieces quite clearly. Its an absolutely beautiful guitar, and one of the best deals available for the money right now! PRS and Schecter have the "bang for the buck" category locked down good!

@@appetiteforguitar gibsons highest end les pauls often have 5 piece necks. Some of their 70s guitars like marauders had scarf joint necks as well. That said- great video!

In my experience, 4 SE with the same 3 pieces neck. I think si an election more than a solution.

@@stevenpipes1555 Agree with you on all points. I have the blue Paul’s guitar with the clear maple neck. You can see the joins but it’s fine. I love the guitar even though the neck is on the chunky side. Schecters are very good too. I got the Nick Johnstone Strat recently and have been very impressed by the tones and playability on another sub £1k guitar. I really do think it’s the case more than ever now that you pay so much more for very marginal quality improvement by going full fat USA made. If the 3 piece neck saves on the price I am very happy. It is a pity about the plastic tuning pegs though. They do feel cheap. And not easy to change as the Paul’s guitar has smaller hole size than other SE guitars as I understand. You can’t just throw in any PRS tuners into it. But tuning stability is fine. It’s just the plastic feel. Maybe they don’t want to make the SE line TOO good !

Glad you're enjoying it. It's a great guitar.

Thanks! The SE Custom 24 is really nice too! Really enjoying the PRS.

@@appetiteforguitar Great video also sounded amazing!

Thank you, that means a lot. I'm testing different sound set ups at the moment. Normally to get this sound quality would have taken me ages but I'm now using a more efficient set up. Really glad you liked it!

Great to hear!

Have fun!

Thank you!

Nice, it's a great guitar

Agreed! When I make another video on PRS I'll make that clear. It's a guitar that actually pretty hard to find any faults in. I play it all the time.

Thank you! Cheers!

Nice one, yes the pups in this guitar are awesome. They're really versatile and give a lovely rich tone. Keep rockin'

Awesome, thank you!

Well, I've been experimenting a lot with different amps, big and small, as well as software. The hunt for tone never stops! On this video I used a small amp that sounds not only really great in the room, but also comes across in videos... harder than it seems! It's a Joyo DC 15 with onboard FX. Nothing else for this video. Various manufacturers sell exactly the same amp with different branding on it, including Harley Benton. I posted a little comparison video a while back on the amp vs a couple of others: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-4lVjKN-noow.htmlsi=fPyzKVgZcahloRVf

For me, with the excellent split coil sounds, this was the one. The Zach Meyers is a great guitar too though. The ZM also has a slightly shorter scale length and so might feel a bit slinkier. Both are brilliant guitars. I'd be very happy with either, it's just the Paul's guitar's tonal versitility which pushed it slightly ahead for my purposes.

Hi DusterBuglas, I have the same problem now, I am between both Zach Myers and Paul's guitar.

I'm not sure of the exact year. I think PRS quite regularly update colors so there might be variations.

Thanks, much appreciated! You're right, it's a beauty in person.

Well I can say for sure, Paul's guitar is a fantastic guitar. The humbucker and split coil sounds are second to none vs any guitar I've played. It's extremely versatile. I also have a Fender Strat for reference, and a Gibson Les Paul (my GAS is bad!). The PRS can broadly cover both sounds... but it's not just about that I find. It's about how the guitar makes you feel when playing it too. I've got them set up so they're all easy to play. The main difference for me is that the PRS has the chunkiest neck. It's also the lightest of the Les Paul and Strat I own. So for standing up, it's great. I don't own a Silver Sky or DGT, but I played both on my way to getting Paul's guitar. Both of those have slimmer necks than Paul's guitar. They also both have a tremolo... which Paul's guitar does not. And of course, the Silver Sky is single coils, so depending on what you're playing that might have an influence. Having said that, I picked Paul's guitar mainly for the feel, the sound and the versatility vs the others. I love playing with the switches and sounds you can get out of it - they all sound great and I can lose hours just mucking about and enjoying the sounds. Truly, I don't think you can make a wrong choice here... they are all awesome guitars. Personally, if you like a light guitar with a chunky neck that can do Strat and Les Paul sounds, as well as have it's own character... my suggestion is Paul's guitar as long as you don't mind not having a tremolo. But then I'm a bit biased considering it's the one I chose. That's not to say I might not eventually get the others too... as mentioned my GAS is bad. Good luck in your choice. Keep rockin'... and let me know if you have any queries about it, I'll try to help.

@@appetiteforguitar thanks so much. The main problem is that there are no stores near my locality where I can go and try these guys out. I already have a Floyd Rose guitar so tremolo is not that important. My current guitar has two active pickups and I need a guitar which can do the other times which it can not. Like my guitar can't do the straty sound. I also want a guitar that looks good so it is kinda like a show off.

Ah... Paul's guitar definitely has the looks!

For this specific bridge in the video, just intonate the high E string and low E string. To do that tune up the strings to E as you would normally, then hold down the note at the 12th fret. Keep adjusting it until they match. The rest of the strings should then be pretty near if not perfect. If you mean a standard stoptail set up like on a Gibson, same process, but you have more individual string control and need to do each one. Regarding low action, that's a big topic. It's a combination of various factors including truss rod adjustment, bridge height, nut slots height, fret levelling etc... I did a video on basic guitar set ups which might help you get off the starting blocks: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-zC05L6AbJ0U.htmlsi=5DrKvUcvwV2cWq7e

@@appetiteforguitar sorry I did mean to say standard wraparound bridge, the exact one in the video, cheers man! I’ve terribly high action from the bridge as well & the bolts are already at the lowest point & can’t be further adjusted, I’ve tried everything nothing seems to work 👎 I’ll go to the link provided cheers really appreciate that! 💯

That's tough, difficult to say exactly where the problem is. Failing a bit of tinkering, it sounds like it might eventually be worth a luthier giving it a once over as it sounds like you have more than one problem going on. If your action is high, you might also be sending the strings out of tune as you need to press them harder, just another thought. I have recorded, but not yet edited another video on how I do a very quick fret level... but I wouldn't go that route unless a) you know what you're doing or b) it's a guitar you don't care about too much.

@@appetiteforguitar yeah man have brought it with me to several shops around Dublin & no one even has an in house tech 😂 It’s a self build Harley CST that mimics this guitar & I’ve had problems previously getting the neck to bridge the body of the guitar but solved that issue I’m thinking it could be something to do with that as well as the bridge not intonating as it should 👎 such a pain because the rest of the guitar is spot on

Ah, I see. I've thought about getting that kit a few times. The kit is cool, but needs the hard graft to make it really play well from what I've heard. Each PRS I've tried plays great, and the one in this video is no exception. But yeah, most kits will need the hard work and time to get them good. It can be a time sink. It depends on what you value, playing time or modding. I flip between the two extremes all the time.

The bridge is great. Never had any problems with it. Keep rockin'

Great point. Even more reason to go for this guitar... it's definitely my go-to right now. It's a very well built instrument.

Ya it’s a really nice material with a slight sand paper feel which I really like … I have plenty of nickel buttoned guitars and I don’t find the nickel a plus over these ,, les Paul’s are snot green plastic - have a few of those and know one ever screamed about the lp tuner buttons …

My Slash Les Paul was made in China, I need to remind myself what it looks like inside. This Indonesian made PRS is tidy enough. I guess the extra cable is useful for moving things around when modding etc if nothing else.

@@appetiteforguitarthe long cable makes it faster for them to wire up the guitar

No worries, really appreciate that you've watched the review and taken the time to comment, thanks. Re CTS vs alpha pots, yep agreed. These alpha pots are not top of the line, but they function fine. I was actually surprised that on my new Epiphone LP Studio, they do have CTS pots, so props to Epi for that. Re the binding, that's an interesting one. Without seeing them actually prove they're physically doing it in the factory, as a rough measure, I believe true binding can be felt when you brush your finger over it. My Epi LP Traditional from 2014 does seem to have true binding by that measure... there's a very distinct ridge. The PRS is very smooth. The neck join is a chunky thing whether it's more LP or SG-like, I actually like it. Not fussed about a cut away necessarily. I should have been clearer re Cort. I did say it was made by Cort, but I should have been clearer it's a partnership where they only make PRS guitars. I appreciate it's not the same as Epiphone literally having their own factory in China. Re 'Multi-ply' - that's what they quote it as on the website. They don't explicitly say how many pieces, but maybe I was a bit harsh with saying 'plywood'... I know that structurally it can be good against warping in weather changes, for example, and it's the balancing argument I could have said in the moment. Again, if I ever mention this in another video, I will mention the positives of the construction too, as it could be advantageous in a lot of ways. The nut is a chunky one and deep, yes. I've been looking at a few other PRS's since and it seems to be fairly common. It works fine, so no issues with it. The action I can get on the guitar is excellent, and the tuning stability is perfect. I hope it's clear from the review, but just in case - I rate this guitar very highly overall. It is a really fabulous piece of kit. Yes, it does have a few cost cutting measures in place to bring it below a Core or S2, but the feel and sound if it makes it a winner, for me at least. It's one I play a lot. The cost cutting measures are justified if it means more people can access these instruments without much compromise on the overall experience. If you like this kind of thing, a subscribe goes a long way to helping the channel :). Keep rockin'!

@@appetiteforguitar Subbed. Cheers!

They partner up with an Indonesian factory managed by Cort, from what I can understand they do exclusively only make PRS guitars there. It was once the case that they made a whole range of brands alongside PRS, but they moved to just doing PRS in this specific factory. Check out their video: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-LuEYe5HMyAM.htmlsi=e3kqLXaRJDHxfakw

excellent reply, thankyou@@appetiteforguitar

Research helps before you try to blast

Just to confirm that the SE Cort factory is exclusive PRS only guitars built there to increase built quality. There was a factory tour a couple of years ago, and the SE's are all quality checked in Maryland USA factory before being shipped to dealers last i heard. The SE's are probably the best overseas built guitar when you compare to what else is available in Indonesia and China in that price range.

I knew that, and if you understand what I said it is unchanged, all they did was move out the other brands being made and exclusively only build PRS in one corner of a very vast facility, a minor change@@daveg4236

Respect the opinion... PRS will always be divisive.