People are so cynical. It’s says SE right under the clear coat. A fraudster can scrap the SE off just as they can factory name in the back. Good luck making it look original. Someone very skilled can do it but then it doesn’t become worth it.
@@carmineredd1198 not really. You could figure out SEs from body carves, pickups and even the tuners. Back then, the 2 piece body when the cores were one-piece, and the scarf joint before the CE's were dead giveaways of an SE PRS. Plus some territories laws require a stamp of where imported products was manufactured from.
Paul: *addresses how instruments are fundamental to man's expression through sound and how important quality and effort is in the creation of said instruments* Also Paul: 0:03
High respect for Paul's work ethics, and his praise for the craftspeople who produce these quality instruments. I recently had my SE backplate signed by Larkin Poe, so it's extra special to me now.
Interestingly enough, I feel like he's not immediately impressed by the current SE model... He likes the colour match, but I'm not sure he was thrilled by it.
2:30 Thank you Paul! As a proud owner of 28 World Music Instrument built guitars I can honestly say that this factory does a fantastic job building these instruments. I know their prices went up crazy and that's why the move to China/Indonesia was inevitable but I will forever be greatful for used WMI gear. They should be VERY proud of their work.
I bought one of these in 2002, and sold it some years later when I needed to make up some money on the rent. I have regretted that decision ever since. the build quality on them was superb, the neck feel was very comfortable and fast, and the fit and finish was just staggering, especially considering the price point. Insisting that the manufacturer should be printed on the headstock was, in my opinion, absolutely correct. World Music Intruments, working on conjunction with PRS, produced a guitar which was genuinely excellent value for money and wonderful to play, and the the builders working on these deserve that recognition.
@@ashwitmoro My Indonesian SE DGT is as good as I could ask for, though I still dislike that Cor-Tek got away with moving production to Indonesia to avoid the Korean laborers unionizing (and possibly an official investigation into the management).
Paul does seem genuinely appreciative of his employees and seems to have a relationship with them. You don't see that very often in the world. Most owners are greedy money hungry assholes.. I believe Paul understands that the employees are the ones that make his dreams possible so he appreciates them and from interviews i have seen that he listens to his employees and gives them room to improve and create... I have a 408 wood library and its a nice easy playing piece of art...
I bought mine as soon as I saw it in a catalog in 2001. Still have it and still play it just as much as any guitar I own. Haven't changed a thing. Recently bought an se custom 22 semi hollow. Great in an entirely different way. Not the last one I'll be getting, thanks PRS
I've always looked at SE's as getting your foot in the door to PRS guitars. Once you have an SE, you just need to know how good a core or S2 model is.. Because if an SE is this good.. The core models HAVE to be something special. Kudos to making fantastic guitars.
I went the other way around. My first PRS was a core model, then added an S2 and 3 SEs. Mainly because they're specific models that aren't made in the core line, but still...
Great video. I love that you acknowledged the talent at the Korea factory. A lot of great guitars come out of Korea, and they just haven't gotten the recognition they deserve. I believe sooner than later we'll talk about the 2000's era Korean guitars almost like we do late 70's/ early-mid 80's Japanese guitars.
A good friend of mine wanted his first electric guitar for his 50th birthday. He knew I knew a thing or two about guitars. I had picked up an SE Santana barely used at a great price the year before. I really wanted Steve to have a great guitar for his budget, so I sold my Santana SE to him for what I paid. Always pay it forward…
My only guitar that I have for now is an SE 245 and I love it to death. I wouldn't change it for nothin' , I do all my productions with it from metal to electronic. I gig with it, I rehearse with it, I write with it, it's my main axe since 2016. Never had an issue with it. I hope it will be by my side forever. Thank you PRS for caring about your customers and thank you for being so awesome.
I own a Indonesian SE Santana Standard, the lowest cost version made. FANTASTIC guitar. Super comfy neck. Nothing fancy. Mahogany body and rosewood fingerboard with two nicely voiced pickups and a tone control that works and has a good sweep. What more do you need? Only thing I've done to mine is block the tremolo. PRS is known for their fancy eye candy wood and such but if you don't really care about extra fluff like that the Indonesian Santana Standard will get you where you want to go. Don't let "crafted in Indonesia" put you off either. I've had mine several years and haven't had to touch anything, no truss rod adjustment, nothing. Other than the blocked trem and string changes it's exactly like when I pulled it out of the shipping box and gig bag when it was delivered from Sweetwater. I live in WNC where the humidity and weather swings are crazier than a jacked up methhead so the "no truss rod adjustment" is saying a lot. Lots of guitar necks turn into spaghetti noodles in this part of the country.
The SE line is hands down the best value per dollar in a guitar you could ever buy - I have the V2 Tim Mahoney SE Custom 24 that was one of the first to feature the top carve/bevel and it's such a stellar player. Of all my guitars, THAT one plays the nicest and sounds so consistent. I have tons of Fender gear that I love too, but that Mahoney SE is one of my true gems. I commend Paul and Co. for making beautiful, great-sounding instruments and that Korean factory is so high-quality.
The 245 is a great guitar! I think it would be cool if they made a 255. Seeing as the 245 is a 24½" scale length. They should make a 25½" scale single cut guitar. Would be cool to own one of those
I love, love, love the explanation of why the factory name was put on the headstock. The recognition that the gorgeous instrument I'm holding (or showing others), in my case a 2021 ZM, was proudly made in Indonesia blows me away every time. I also love that it started with Santana - Please keep the Archives videos coming.
Still have my 2001, it was grey black with the trem, but I hated how it looked purple under stage lights, sanded it down and refinished as a worn in brown finish. Threw coil cuts on it positioned like on a 408 model. Locking Grover tuners, graph tech saddles, put a modern eagle style decal on the headstock. Was my first PRS, and still one of my best players. The fretboard and neck on it have always felt like home. Have the first gen Tremonti SE as well, and just got a SE hollowbody II and love it. Nice to have 2 of the early SE models and one of the most recent to see how they started and where there at now. Playability is still the same. Great to see that.
Honestly I like these better than the present day SEs. They feel more like their own thing rather than the "cheap version" of the cores. The birds are always welcome though, love them!
@@carmineredd1198 Well, they didn’t go to Indonesia for higher-skilled craftsmanship - they went for cheaper labor. They still make the Hollowbody SE in Korea - that build requires more skill. A lot of the components on S2, Silver Sky, and some Core parts are made in Korea (Han Chang)
@@ericks.9936 That's so unfair for the people working in Indonesia, see the video about SE production there, it doesn't seems as a sweatshop by any means....
I had a 2005 SE Santana for a couple years, and the biggest intrigue for me was that specific diagonal inlay - it was a signature, something completely different, and less distracting than any larger inlay I’ve been near... it was a very fine instrument while I had it, and hopefully one day another would cross my path. 👍🏻👍🏻 🤘🏻
I've got still one of these red Santana SE within my collection but with a trem bar ....when I want to try a new set of pickups this is the guitar that takes the challenge :-)
We have two of these Santana 2001 models with tremelo - midnight blue and emerald green. I love the simplicity and solid build, just a great guitar that has stood the test of time in my hands.
Paul you're definitely the man very proud man every single guitar I ever picked up that has your name on it has been absolutely perfect my hands and my eyes nice job
I bought an SE Santana as my first PRS, and it may be the easiest buttery playing guitar ever. It reminds me of a vintage Mosrite, with incredibly low action, and very stable, but it is just what it is meant to be, a really high quality entry level guitar. I also have a one of a kind Santana, made for one of the NAMM shows, and it's just out of this world cool, and you have to be a bad ass to play it, because it's a heavy beast, and with 24 frets, a real monster!
I bought a Vintage Cherry Santana SE with trem in 2001because it was a PRS I could actually afford. I recently gave it to my wife who's about a year into her guitar journey. I've since added a Clint Lowery SE and a Custom 24 SE. I love that these are quality instruments that are affordable
I am the proud owner of a 2023 PRS SE 245 however it was built by Cort in Indonesia rather than by WMI in Korea. Cort also makes great guitars for the money and I freaking love my SE! Looks gorgeous, plays like butter and sounds like a dream! Thank you Carlos Santana for requesting this and PRS and Cort for making a guitar of this quality for under 1,000.00.
2021 PRS SE Custom 24 was my first guitar, couldn't have asked for a better instrument to start learning on. Beautiful, so so playable, Thanks Paul for making an a top quality guitar that the masses can afford PRS player for life !!!!!
I have that same model from a few years earlier. I went into guitar center specifically looking for a Les Paul. After over an hour of playing every Les Paul in my price range I turned around, saw the SE Custom 24 played it once and said, Well, we’re done here. Fantastic guitar you’ll play for the rest of your life.
Bought the Tremonti SE back in 2002, I was young and poor back then so it was amazing to be able to afford my first PRS guitar. Been i love ever since and fully commited to the brand and couldn't imagine myself playing anything else.
I see Marc lost the battle of the ring and off it came! It was pretty funny watching the dialogue between the two about Marc dinging up guitars with his ring
I really love my 3 SEs - SE Custom 22 (trem) in tobbaco sunburst, SE Singlecut trem in black, SE EG (trem) in white with tortoise pickguard, with Everything Axe Seymour Duncan set! None with bird inlays thou...
About 12 years ago I traded a guitar with someone and got an old and battered PRS SE Santana P90. I couldn't believe how easy it played and how well it was finished. I ended up trading it for aomething else because I wasn't looking for a P90 guitar, but I never forgot how great the guitar was. Now I just bought the DGT SE Goldtop, which again is an absolute killer instrument. After owning about 40 or 50 guitars in 25 years, I'm switching completely to PRS. The endgoal here is a Core DGT, or a 24.
A friend of my brother in law brought his SE McCarty Hollowbody by for me to check out, I was blown away by how good it was. Thinking I’d really like to have one of those one day. That SE Santana would be a most welcome addition to my herd as well.
Bought my trem Santana SE serial number C00351 at the beginning of the century. Love at first sight. Still play it most days, usually without an amp. I can hear it but nobody else has to suffer! A few years ago I bought an SE Santana to replace it. A beautiful blond with bird inlays. But i couldn't love it the same way, the balance was all wrong, too tail heavy. Seemed like it wanted to fall on the floor all the time. So I sold it. If my old one wears out, I'll try find another, or have it repaired.
I have a 2003 se Santana trem, looks almost the same as this one, colour and woodgrain wise. It will be up for sale in a short while since I have a ce 24 20th anniversary. Still a great working mans guitar.
Met him. First talked 2 him on the phone thanks 2 his late brother, Jim, who did sound at our church. FIRST thing Paul said 2 me was "What can I do FOR YOU?" with utter and complete sincerity. Talked me (compassionately) out of wanting 2 work at his factory, so that 👁️ could b the full time musician and music teacher 👁️ am, now. STAND UP guy!
Was at Bizarre Guitar in Reno/Sparks, Nevada on the day when they received their first PRS Santana SE guitars. Man-o-man, they were gorgeous, especially the black and the red ones! Since it was getting late on a Friday evening they couldn't do a setup that evening, but promised that they would have one assembled by noon the following day. Needless to say, I was there at noon the next day, and they had a black one ready to demo, and man, how that guitar got played. It was simply phenomenal! Didn't take long before a waiting line formed, and that guitar went from hand to hand, never seeing a stand until closing time. After my turn there was no question. I had to have one
My second guitar was a Tremonti SE, got it just before the Gibson lawsuit stopped them for a while, and I almost think of it as my first guitar as I learned so much more after getting it because I just wanted to play it all the time. Got a second hand US-made McCarty a few years later which is still my pride, but I'll never get rid of that SE
I have three US-made Custom 22s and two WMI (ROK) SEs. All five guitars are superb. And Paul is such a guitar nerd! Nothing wrong with that at all; it leads to better guitars for everyone.
Of course these MIK were good, South Korea is where they build Duesenberg and Reverend and other pretty top shelf stuff. And it’s no bad thing they’re making these SE series in Indonesia now.
I am a Fender and Gibson follower for the most part.... I am just beginning to learn about PRS. It’s impressive the mindset of Paul as to find a way to bring high end quality in a budget for most of guitar players. PRS is in my radar now....
A friend of mine sold me PRS soapbar 2 Ce for $100. I couldn't believe how smooth and easy it was to play. I now own a beautiful Santana custom semi-hollow and am looking for my third PRS guitar. I was pro drummer for 30 years!
I just picked up my first SEs this year - a Mark Holcomb and a discontinued Chris Robertson. They are fantastic and have shattered my expectations. I enjoy playing them just as much as my ESPs, and the quality is really nothing to scoff at for imports. They blow away any Epiphone and Squier I've owned, and have a certain level of detail and design that can't be replicated by just throwing high end specs and parts to an import model (like LTDs...although those are still fantastic as well)
IMHO, the PRS SE line of guitars is one of (if not) the best "bang for the buck" guitar out there. I personally own two SE models (35th Anniversary and a gold top 245) that are very nice instruments. The only issue I have with them is that the pickups can somewhat disappointing. However, if you replace them with a good aftermarket pick up, you've got an EXTREMELY high quality, very good sounding guitar for not a lot of money.
My first Se is a 2010 Semi Hollow. Since then I have changed every single piece on that guitar that could be changed and it plays and feels as good as my core p24. The build quality that came out of Korea is on par with anything out there.
I like the explanation of recognizing where the SEs are made. I’ve always wondered why US made prs don’t say made in USA or Maryland - why not the same recognition for the workers who do such a fine job there, and pride of ownership for those who buy them?
My first PRS was an SE Custom 24 in Trampas Green. I have since bought several more SEs as well as a dozen core guitars and two Private Stocks. Carlos might have been on to something. :)
Fun listening to history of Prs. I have a 2001 Santana Se identical to red one in video.Bought new,Probably 100 guitars came and went. Still playing it in 22. Great instrument for the money back in the day all i could afford. I feel Prs shpuld have more variety of guitars with stop tails on them. Great video
The PRS SE Santana was the first PRS I acquired back in 2015 and the one that began my SE collection, that now counts 5, from different models. The Santana I acquired almost 7 years ago is still one of my best, and the softest guitar I ever played, since it came with 09-42 strings ( all the others are 10-46 ). Though I like much more the Se Custom 24 and Standard 24 due to the great advantage of the split coil mode ( mine are 2015-2016 models ), the unique sound and softness of the Santana remains awesome. The last year I acquired the SE 'Paul's Guitar' Aqua, but I'm still getting acquainted to it, since it's considerably different and strings are a little bit harder ( or 'less soft' ) when compared to all the others I have. Best regards from Rio de Janeiro.