£859 for a PRS SE......?

SimpleSimon

rivercider said:

Old thread apologies, but I notice the production run Chris Robertson SE is now out there, however it would seem thay've dropped the US made pickup in favour of one that's 'modelled after the US made ...' and given it an 'S' suffix.  It's not at all clear that this pickup isn't the same American made one on the earlier runs, so I think this is misleading on the part of PRS and a bit sneaky. Anyone else still interested in this model? I thought the price would maybe have come down a little more than 50 quid if they're fitting a Korean made pickup although by renaming it so subtly perhaps they're hoping most people won't notice?  Of course I am happy to be put right on this if it is indeed US made, but after a fair bit of Googling I don't think it is, although you wouldn't know it from the PRS website, or most other places advertising it.  

Well spotted, alot of the shops like Andertons etc last week had the old spec listed for the new guitar, it is indeed a foreign pickup, most likely Korean made and no longer a USA 57/08. Plus whats the Fire red colour all about, why not stuck to the black stone cherry colour of the original?

rivercider

Yeah the new red isn't as nice imo

abw1989

I was all geared up and ready to pay £799 for the 2017 Zach Myers SE. That was until I stumbled upon a used 2015 S2 Singlecut Semi-Hollow for £800. I picked up the latter in a heartbeat. Granted I had only played the Myers at shop testing volumes, but cranked at rehearsal volumes the S2 is much superior instrument for the price.

Used American built PRS bargains are out there to be had! 

rivercider

I tried the Chris Robertson earlier in the year, but like you, I discovered that the S2 (Vela in my case, but tried other S2s and found the same) was simply a level or two above any SE. I had a couple of Bernie Marsdens too, they were very nice, but my S2 is beyond that. 

thegummy

Why do people care what country a pickup is made in?

chrishill901

abw1989 said:

I was all geared up and ready to pay £799 for the 2017 Zach Myers SE. That was until I stumbled upon a used 2015 S2 Singlecut Semi-Hollow for £800. I picked up the latter in a heartbeat. Granted I had only played the Myers at shop testing volumes, but cranked at rehearsal volumes the S2 is much superior instrument for the price.

Used American built PRS bargains are out there to be had! 

I certainly agree with you to a point there; I was in gear4music trying £799 PRS SE Tremontis and Custom 24s and then tried an S2 Standard for £899 - It was a better guitar (although not massively).

However, if you are willing to look at the used market then comparing new SEs to used S2s seems silly - a used SE Tremonti or Custom 24 can be had for as little as £350. Suddenly a £350 used SE vs your used £800 S2 seems like a different consideration altogether. Was the S2 Standard I played £550 better than the Tremontis? Nope. I don't think I could drop £800 on an SE though - not because it isnt a good guitar but because that kind of money can get me a lot more on the used market. SEs are excellent guitars and in the current climate of rising prices, if you are only prepared to buy new than an SE is a great guitar for the money, but I'd rather pick one up for less on the used market.

Someone has to buy them new though else there wouldn't be a used market!

m_c

I think one of the issues with SEs now, is they cover quite a big price range, so the secondhand market isn't quite as clear cut.
Yes, you can get them for even less than £350 (I've seen some for around £250), but that's only going to get you a basic hardtail, which is comparable features wise to a Standard.
However, if you want to add a more interesting top and tremolo into what you want, you're not going to get that from a standard, so the higher spec SE's do become quite appealing in the overall PRS pricing scheme.

I've personally got a SE Tremonti Ltd with a quilted top, which I paid £500 secondhand for from a dealer last year. New the year before, the list price was about £7-800, and I would of paid that if I'd had the money when they were available, as I thought it was a stunning looking guitar (I love quilted tops, especially in blue!), so for me resale value wasn't really a concern.


Another thing to compare, is if you spend £7-800 on a new Fender/Gibson/Epiphone, how much would that be worth in a few months?
(I honestly don't have a clue, as I don't follow pricing, but I'm going to guess it's not going to be that much different to an SE)

Jalapeno

I like the look of the SE Chris Robertson, there, I said it !

Three-ColourSunburst

thegummy said:

guitarfishbay said:

Koreans know how to make guitars too. This isn't even the most expensive guitar/bass coming out of Asia these days.

Especially the ones at that specific factory, they really know how to make guitars.

It amazes me that people are so convinced that there's something special about Americans that their factory workers are going to be inherently better at making guitars in a production line than workers from other countries.

But if you buy a US-made guitar, you get the warm fuzzy feeling of knowing that your guitar was probably made by a big fat bloke who drives a pick-up truck, 'hates fags', loves God and guns and voted for Trump!

m_c

Jalapeno said:

I like the look of the SE Chris Robertson, there, I said it !

I liked the look of it in photos, then I seen a couple in the flesh. The blue just looked wrong. The black seemed to dominate the body, and the burst just seemed too abrupt. The red looked better, but I'm not really a fan of red.

Jalapeno

Even though PRS Wide-Fat isn't particularly Wide or Fat, I don't like the feel of those necks.

rivercider

I bought my S2 Vela for 899 new, whereas I'd been looking at the SE Robertson for 849, if I recall correctly, so that particular matchup wasn't far off.

My Vela has Korean made pickups and they're great; my reason for mentioning the new PRS 'S' pickup that's been stealthily put into the latest incarnation of the Robertson sig is that many people will not realise it's not US made.  Fine if it sounds as good, but I'm not keen on the sneaky practice they've used here, as they were especially keen to market the first two runs of this guitar as being supplied with the 'US built' 5708 pickup, of which they are obviously very proud. 
If the price drop to the new model was greater, fair enough, but there's not much difference and people may still think they're getting the more expensive pickup. That's wrong and a tad misleading, at a time when we all seem to be paying more and getting less for stuff....

Funkfingers

I like the PRS SE series guitars but not enough to pay full price for one.

Two of mine were pre-owned. The third had taken a knock in the shop and lacked the official gig bag. All three have been upgraded with American pickups that I already possessed, plus pots, selector switch and machine heads as appropriate.

Some of the 2017 model range have spectacular looking tops but, even before inspecting closely, you know it is only a veneer. To my mind, it makes far greater sense to use plain-looking woods and apply opaque finishes.

Jalapeno

Ok stop now, I'm trying not to look at pictures of S2 Vela Reclaimed models ...

Adam_MD

Three-ColourSunburst said:

thegummy said:

guitarfishbay said:

Koreans know how to make guitars too. This isn't even the most expensive guitar/bass coming out of Asia these days.

Especially the ones at that specific factory, they really know how to make guitars.

It amazes me that people are so convinced that there's something special about Americans that their factory workers are going to be inherently better at making guitars in a production line than workers from other countries.

But if you buy a US-made guitar, you get the warm fuzzy feeling of knowing that your guitar was probably made by a big fat bloke who drives a pick-up truck, 'hates fags', loves God and guns and voted for Trump!

Only if it’s a Gibson.  Clinton won California and Maryland.

Bridgehouse

Jalapeno said:

Ok stop now, I'm trying not to look at pictures of S2 Vela Reclaimed models ...

Stop visiting PRSHub.com then

Funkfingers

Jalapeno said:

I'm trying not to look at pictures of S2 Vela Reclaimed models ...

Since April, looking at pictures is as close as any of us has managed to get!

amarok1971

I recently got a used core for £800..
 Just sayin..

SimpleSimon

thegummy said:

Why do people care what country a pickup is made in?

I dont care where something is made, the point was the big box shifters were raving about the new model having USA pickups when it doesnt.

grungebob

I know own 2 S2 models, a standard satin 24 and a Vela. Both really great guitars and both bought new for £799. 
I can’t complain at all, immensely playable and give me the sounds I want. I can’t see me paying the same money for an SE now I know these (S2’s)can be had for even cheaper.