NGD - PRS SE Santana Special

Alnico

cbilly22 said:

Congrats on the new arrival @Alnico. How is the balance on a strap? I have quite a nasty itch for the same one in cherry.

Only tried it with a suede strap and i wear this one quite low but there's no neck heavy feel to it at all.
It's really well balanced and feels like it's on you, not hanging off you.
(I will try my slippery padded leather strap today and report back !)

What's not immediately obvious if you haven't seen one up close is the top of the body isn't flat, it's subtly carved and there's a small belly cut too. It's stupidly comfortable to hold and play.

It's the guitar in my head in many ways. Looks, sound, feel. 
That's the biggest surprise about it is that it just fits what my head says it's going to be, no compromises and no 'Living with that thing', it just does exactly what my brain thinks that type of guitar should.

For £350 i feel like i've stolen it.

Alnico

Played the PRS for a few hours today and it's got a lot more to it than it looks like.
The pickups have a good range of sounds in them but the switch is like shifting planets, i mean the difference between each position is really profound. Instead of the middle position being just mud, it's really clear and you can actually hear both pickups working alongside each other. Neck is very good and rounded without being dull but it's a leap into bass and the bridge is an equal measure towards treble which is quite sharp if you're not ready for it but a dose of treble cut on the tone and it's not as harsh. When you want harsh and naughty, it certainly gives it to you though and it's not to be mocked, it's a great pickup.
The Volume works very well indeed and it doesn't take much to roll off gain.
I've found this to be quite interesting. My Jackson has EMG's and i run them at Vol 7, turning up to 10 for a gain boost but doing that doesn't affect the actual volume.
If i turn this one down to 7 i've lost a fair amount of volume so to roll off gain without doing that i'm only going down to around 8 1/2 - 8 3/4. It means it's more of a hair trigger but it's not un manageable, just different.
Would a CTS pot have a different taper?
The pot works very well indeed and doesn't feel cheap so it's not getting changed quickly, just curious about the taper?
One thing it does do very well is violining / swells.
The tone control is equally lovely and works just great - no complaints at all.

So it's put together extremely well in fact there isn't a single flaw anywhere on the guitar, i mean anywhere. No paint flaws, the frets are perfect and look like they've been dressed by a tech and all of the hardware inc all electronics are brilliant and sound like high quality parts.

The wrap around bridge is a work of art and set at an angle like that, just looks so traditional it's one of my favourite parts of the guitar.
The sustain is incredible from this and when you play hard it screams. Play softly and it sings sweetly and the bass out of these p90's is astonishing but never seems to get in the way.

It difficult to put my finger on this but there's something about this guitar.

It's the guitar in my head.
When you say Double cut LP type, i get an image and an idea in my head of what that type of guitar should feel like and sound like, Gibson or otherwise.
This guitar nails that and it just IS that guitar in my head in every way.

I would have been happy at £600. 
For £350 it's stupidly good

.cbilly22 said:

Congrats on the new arrival @Alnico. How is the balance on a strap? I have quite a nasty itch for the same one in cherry.

I checked it with the padded leather DSL strap i have which is slippery as hell, usually used on the Jackson so i *can* move it around over my shoulder.

Holding it up at 45 degrees and letting go of it completely it fell to horizontal and stayed there, no further. It's actually balanced to sit straight, i couldn't get it to dive even jumping up and down and that strap gives no resistance at all.

Heistercamp here we come !

cbilly22

Great review, you sound dead chuffed with it, good man.
Interesting titbit about the balance too. I've forgotten how many really nice guitars I have got rid of because they were neck heavy, it's the one deal breaker for me, my guitars have to hang just right. 
Glad you are loving the new guitar, enjoy.

Alnico

cbilly22 said:

Great review, you sound dead chuffed with it, good man.
Interesting titbit about the balance too. I've forgotten how many really nice guitars I have got rid of because they were neck heavy, it's the one deal breaker for me, my guitars have to hang just right. 
Glad you are loving the new guitar, enjoy.

Thanks

I've just played another while longer on it and it's not easy to put down at all.

I might even get to trying out a video on my ancient phone and see how that comes out soon.
(My version of soon isn't industry standard !)

thomasross20

Clips!?

Alnico

thomasross20 said:

Clips!?

Just said i will get round to it this week if i can.
iPhone 4s and not great health + untidy flat means it's not easy but i will give it a go.
I have another video i've promised someone i will shoot and I wanted to do a clip of my amp too so i will do my best.

thomasross20

D'oh sorry, I did see that as I wrote it but got hauled onto something else.

Alnico

thomasross20 said:

D'oh sorry, I did see that as I wrote it but got hauled onto something else.

No worries.
Also i have been having health problems and being all unnecessary for the last couple of months so i'm all out of practice again. I've been playing for a few hours each day since Friday so another week or so and i should be ok enough to embarrass myself here.

Skipped

I like the look of that and I like the look of the other colours at Reidys.

I used to have a faded Tortoise and it was exactly the colour in the picture.

I am wondering if I need a sofa guitar, always to hand, and if this is the best £350 guitar around.

thomasross20

Alnico said:

thomasross20 said:

D'oh sorry, I did see that as I wrote it but got hauled onto something else.

No worries.
Also i have been having health problems and being all unnecessary for the last couple of months so i'm all out of practice again. I've been playing for a few hours each day since Friday so another week or so and i should be ok enough to embarrass myself here.

Nah don't worry about it. Sounds like you've been playing more than I have! 

JookyChap

Great to see you getting that man, really made-up for you  

 P90s and that DeVille must scream - wicked..

robgilmo

Alnico said:

robgilmo said:

That's lovely, a white anything can be hard to pull off but that suits it well. What kind of amp is that?

It's a Fender Deville ML 212
I just got it last week.

That's really nice, how are you finding it?

robgilmo

Alnico said:

robgilmo said:

That's lovely, a white anything can be hard to pull off but that suits it well. What kind of amp is that?

It's a Fender Deville ML 212
I just got it last week.

That's really nice, how are you finding it?

Alnico

Only just seen this, sorry.

The PRS has gone to spend Christmas with @Adam_MD while it waits to be taken to Leicester to see Howard.

Yes it does go very well through the deville, but the deville is not what you might expect.

There's an on board boost and it's glorious but there's no drive channel, it's just pure clean thump.
Put a decent drive pedal in front of it and it lights up but still retains the thump and clarity, no matter how much gain i use (To a point).

It's very simple but simply stunning and the two volume /channel thing is useful for solo's without changing the tone.
Switchcraft jacks everywhere and decent speakers finish it off to be an amazing amp.
So much so i'm getting another one in March / April to run them in stereo.

Back on topic though,

The PRS is one of those guitars that shouldn't be as good as it is for what it cost.
You either like the shape or you don't, it puts me in mind of Joan Jett and the Blackhearts and for that alone, it's a keeper.

It's just pure rock n roll and where the other two Strat variants are more focussed, this is unashamed and unrefined but looks stunning.

It's a Scouse Bird with strings on it !

gilby

Just thought I'd drop in (been lurking again) and mention that I've just ordered one of these in cherry on the strength of your review

Alnico

gilby said:

Just thought I'd drop in (been lurking again) and mention that I've just ordered one of these in cherry on the strength of your review

Wow that's great !
Let me know what you think of it and how it feels to you man ?

Adam_MD

gilby said:

Just thought I'd drop in (been lurking again) and mention that I've just ordered one of these in cherry on the strength of your review

I lusted after a cherry one at the guitar show last year when they were launched.

Alnico

One of the best features i've found with it is the control positions.
Whether sat down or standing, my little finger finds those controls intuitively and effortlessly. Even the forwards / backwards switch orientation makes sense.
The pots and switch are really good quality and the pickups sound like concord taking off through my Mesa Flux Five into the Deville.

Hope you enjoy yours when it arrives @gilby ;

Adam_MD

Alnico said:

One of the best features i've found with it is the control positions.
Whether sat down or standing, my little finger finds those controls intuitively and effortlessly. 

I do like prs control placement.  It looks a little weird until you try it then you realise how intuitive it is.

57Deluxe

PRS SE Santa Special pics please...!