The veneer thing. Many high end hollow body electrics use plywood for their bodies. Even the Gibson ES-335 is always several layers, which means they use veneers. Also they definitely use real abalone in these ones. Abalone can be farmed, so it’s actually not all that pricey. I really enjoy your takes on guitars, with the live testing and all that.
Thanks man. Yeah I've tried to approach my channel and reviews from the working musician's perspective. Too many times I've either been sent something or bought something that I initially liked at the house but when I got it on stage, things just took a turn for the worst for one reason or the other and a lot of other gear reviews just seem to be more of a quick sound test and reading some marketing bulletpoints and moving on to the next product. Most of this stuff that I'm reviewing from Zzounds, I've spent several weeks with it and taken it to one or more shows before getting in front of the camera so I really know what it can and can't do and it's usually long enough for the honeymoon phase to come and go.
Hey man! Thanks for the nice informative video. Have you ever tried the Michael Kelly hybrid? I am between the PRS and the Michael Kelly. Michael Kelly has an acoustic bridge, which maybe allow (maybe not) some percussive sounds (right over the bridge) and of course facilitates the acoustic playing style. However, it seems to have some grounding issues, which makes me reconsider the overall quality of the instrument. The PRS seems good quality but lacks the switch, as you greatly mentioned, in comparison with the Michael Kelly that has such a switch (piezo-humbuckers). At this moment, I am playing with a Martin grand performance size, which gives me enough bass for percussion, and the bass guitar sound I create by using an octaver. Which of those two guitars can produce the most full, bassy, acoustic guitar sound? Can the impulse response preamps assist to a better acoustic sound?
Yeah a good impulse response makes a HUGE difference to the sound. I’ve never played the Michael Kelly but I know about it. I would also consider checking out the Godin A6 models. They’re built very well in Canada and there are numerous models in that lineup and they will all give a better natural acoustic sound than a semi hollow electric with piezo pickups. The Godin multiac steel that I play also has a pickup mounted just behind the saddle but I never use it because it makes the impulse response sound weird and I prefer the sound of just the piezo and the impulse response more than using the inside mic. The best though would be the fishman rare earth blend sound hole pickup. I reviewed that with an entry level Taylor acoustic and they sounded great. I also reviewed the fishman loud box acoustic amp. I gigged with it along side the Taylor and fishman pickup. Overall a very excellent setup for live shows but the Godin is the king of no stage feedback and plays easier than the Taylor or my Martin but not as good as this PRS. There’s trade offs at every step.
I never used to be a fan of PRS, the decent ones were too expensive and the affordable ones I never gelled with. However the SE models are fantastic now. I'm starting to think I could cover all my tone needs with one of these hollowbodies to cure my 335 itch along with having a decent acoustic guitar live sound, a DGT SE to replace my Les Paul style guitars, as well as getting strat and tele sounds with their fantastic coil split switch (best I've ever used) along with having a silversky SE to cover strat needs and just selling all my other electric guitars! Would you think this would be a decent minimalist idea too?
I don't think the DGT will replace a LP. I know quite a few guys who have bought and sold numerous PRS's and then finally caved and got an actual Les Paul and the buying/selling ceased... well it at least ended them trying to get a LP tone from a PRS. Just won't happen. Nothing sounds like a les paul and honestly buying anything else (besides a Japan off-brand LP like I did with my Tokai) will leave you disappointed. Also, I've got the Dave Grohl 335 I'm reviewing and it sounds totally different than this PRS. This PRS is much more of a fluffy and soft and smooth tone vs the Grohl. Pickups may help but it's a pretty big gap in the sound. Honestly, I wouldn't try to leverage one instrument to try and get at mulitple iconic sounds. The PRS does the full hollowbody soft smooth sound really well and the Piezo is a huge deal if you are a gigging musician and need one instrument to cover a lot of ground. It's why this thing is such a hit with the praise and worship players. If you want strat/tele but something with a bit more grunt, that Fender Tele Deluxe I reviewed not long ago does that really well. The coil split is a bit help and although the full humbucking mode doesn't have the fatter sound of a real humbucker (these are a Z coil type humbucker), it does have a chunkier sound than any normal single coil tele/strat.
I helped my wife pick this one, as she wanted a smaller hollow body guitar. And we were impressed with the setup out of the box. The binding is gorgeous. There a couple things I didn’t love, but they were easily changed. The first was that I’d kinda love having the se locking tuners stock. I did end up buying those for her for her birthday though. And like you said, a switch would be nice, but I guess they needed to nerf if somehow compared to the core. The last thing was that I kinda can’t stand the look of those knobs. It just look so off on this model, to me personally. My wife agreed, so we changed them to the darker amber PRS style lampshade knobs. And now everything is right with the world 😊
@@Ari_Calamari Nice! Yeah locking tuners (especially at this price) should have been included. I can't imagine that the bean counters projected a volume of sales of this model to warrant cutting what I imagine is $20~30 in their cost from the price tag. Lehle make a switch called the Dual SGoS Amp Switcher and for those who want to do the same type switching I programmed into my FM3 but without using a modeler, that's the best option I've seen to cleanly cut and switch from one signal to another. The only trick is if you want to do an acoustic loop and then do lead work over that with electric pickups. I ended up changing my FM3 so that the acoustic output is always on. This way, I can play a rhythm part and get the loop going and then hit the switch to cut the acoustic INPUT, the loop keeps playing since the output is not cut off and now the electric pickups input and output are active. Really fun instrument to switch sounds like that.
@@FastRedPonyCar Cool thank you, I see a LGX for sale in my local area. Torn because I want to loop with nice clean/acoustic tones and have nice punchy electric lead over the top as a one man band. The acoustic needs to be convincing enough for songs where its only the acoustic then with no looping. I’ve yet to find a guitar versatile enough to actually do the job. Tried the Acoustasonic and hated it
I bought one from the first batch so 3 years ago if I'm correct and it seems the overall aesthetic has change... Mine has a very flamed top and back as well as all the binding, and the abalone birds inlays have way more coulours! I changed the pickups for Gibson 57+ and use the guitar with a simple Katana 100 as it have the acoustic setting... I find this guitar pretty cool but I don't have a real link with it. Since I bought it I must have played 10 hours max, it's new! So I think I agree mostly with your review👍
Nothing wrong with not having a link with an instrument. Sometimes you just need something to function as a utility instrument and I think this thing having the flexibility to cover several styles gives it that advantage but I think owners and potential owners of an instrument like this would be aware of the strengths as well as shortcomings before they decide to buy... kinda like how I knew my Godin multiac steel was not going to sound as good as my Martin but that it would be a lot more comfortable to play on stage sitting down, faster neck and less feedback problems and that this PRS wouldn't have a rich of an acoustic sound compared to the Godin but it would have a nice electric pickup sound for leads that the Godin doesn't.
@@FastRedPonyCar I felt an instant bond with each of the PRS I bought, Core or SE, but this one doesn't match with my playing. Of course it's versatile as hell, of course it's a beautifull guitar but I think I was kind of desappointed when I received it... And I really wanted this guitar! But even with good magnetic pickups I'm not in love with this guitar, which is not the case with the rest of my collection. That's why I insist on the fact it's definitly a matter of personnal taste and not a quality/conception problem! I repeat it: that's a very good guitar👍
I have this guitar and I’m not sure why but your piezo sound is not great. I just plug straight into my EV30M and it sounds so much better than what I’m hearing here.
The labor is cheaper sure but every PRS SE comes through the Stevensville Maryland factory for final setup and QC. Not many companies that build overseas have that extra layer of QC. Most of them rely on the stores or online retailers to do the final setup/inspection before it gets into our hands. This is why the PRS SE's are (in my experience) consistently better setup and free of defects compared to many other brands. Also, PRS use higher quality flame veneer tops for their SE's.
@@FastRedPonyCar i own a PRS but it was made in Korea! Great quality! I love it!intonation is on the money as well as the action..Its good to know quality control is still happening in the US. PRS does made quality guitars.
I have one coming soon. Have you heard anyone using a HX Stomp for seamless switching?
The veneer thing. Many high end hollow body electrics use plywood for their bodies. Even the Gibson ES-335 is always several layers, which means they use veneers.
Also they definitely use real abalone in these ones. Abalone can be farmed, so it’s actually not all that pricey.
I really enjoy your takes on guitars, with the live testing and all that.
Thanks man. Yeah I've tried to approach my channel and reviews from the working musician's perspective. Too many times I've either been sent something or bought something that I initially liked at the house but when I got it on stage, things just took a turn for the worst for one reason or the other and a lot of other gear reviews just seem to be more of a quick sound test and reading some marketing bulletpoints and moving on to the next product.
Most of this stuff that I'm reviewing from Zzounds, I've spent several weeks with it and taken it to one or more shows before getting in front of the camera so I really know what it can and can't do and it's usually long enough for the honeymoon phase to come and go.
Hey man! Thanks for the nice informative video. Have you ever tried the Michael Kelly hybrid? I am between the PRS and the Michael Kelly. Michael Kelly has an acoustic bridge, which maybe allow (maybe not) some percussive sounds (right over the bridge) and of course facilitates the acoustic playing style. However, it seems to have some grounding issues, which makes me reconsider the overall quality of the instrument. The PRS seems good quality but lacks the switch, as you greatly mentioned, in comparison with the Michael Kelly that has such a switch (piezo-humbuckers).
At this moment, I am playing with a Martin grand performance size, which gives me enough bass for percussion, and the bass guitar sound I create by using an octaver.
Which of those two guitars can produce the most full, bassy, acoustic guitar sound?
Can the impulse response preamps assist to a better acoustic sound?
Yeah a good impulse response makes a HUGE difference to the sound.
I’ve never played the Michael Kelly but I know about it. I would also consider checking out the Godin A6 models. They’re built very well in Canada and there are numerous models in that lineup and they will all give a better natural acoustic sound than a semi hollow electric with piezo pickups.
The Godin multiac steel that I play also has a pickup mounted just behind the saddle but I never use it because it makes the impulse response sound weird and I prefer the sound of just the piezo and the impulse response more than using the inside mic.
The best though would be the fishman rare earth blend sound hole pickup. I reviewed that with an entry level Taylor acoustic and they sounded great.
I also reviewed the fishman loud box acoustic amp. I gigged with it along side the Taylor and fishman pickup. Overall a very excellent setup for live shows but the Godin is the king of no stage feedback and plays easier than the Taylor or my Martin but not as good as this PRS.
There’s trade offs at every step.
I never used to be a fan of PRS, the decent ones were too expensive and the affordable ones I never gelled with. However the SE models are fantastic now. I'm starting to think I could cover all my tone needs with one of these hollowbodies to cure my 335 itch along with having a decent acoustic guitar live sound, a DGT SE to replace my Les Paul style guitars, as well as getting strat and tele sounds with their fantastic coil split switch (best I've ever used) along with having a silversky SE to cover strat needs and just selling all my other electric guitars! Would you think this would be a decent minimalist idea too?
I don't think the DGT will replace a LP. I know quite a few guys who have bought and sold numerous PRS's and then finally caved and got an actual Les Paul and the buying/selling ceased... well it at least ended them trying to get a LP tone from a PRS. Just won't happen. Nothing sounds like a les paul and honestly buying anything else (besides a Japan off-brand LP like I did with my Tokai) will leave you disappointed.
Also, I've got the Dave Grohl 335 I'm reviewing and it sounds totally different than this PRS. This PRS is much more of a fluffy and soft and smooth tone vs the Grohl. Pickups may help but it's a pretty big gap in the sound.
Honestly, I wouldn't try to leverage one instrument to try and get at mulitple iconic sounds. The PRS does the full hollowbody soft smooth sound really well and the Piezo is a huge deal if you are a gigging musician and need one instrument to cover a lot of ground. It's why this thing is such a hit with the praise and worship players.
If you want strat/tele but something with a bit more grunt, that Fender Tele Deluxe I reviewed not long ago does that really well. The coil split is a bit help and although the full humbucking mode doesn't have the fatter sound of a real humbucker (these are a Z coil type humbucker), it does have a chunkier sound than any normal single coil tele/strat.
I helped my wife pick this one, as she wanted a smaller hollow body guitar. And we were impressed with the setup out of the box. The binding is gorgeous.
There a couple things I didn’t love, but they were easily changed. The first was that I’d kinda love having the se locking tuners stock. I did end up buying those for her for her birthday though.
And like you said, a switch would be nice, but I guess they needed to nerf if somehow compared to the core.
The last thing was that I kinda can’t stand the look of those knobs. It just look so off on this model, to me personally. My wife agreed, so we changed them to the darker amber PRS style lampshade knobs. And now everything is right with the world 😊
@@Ari_Calamari Nice! Yeah locking tuners (especially at this price) should have been included. I can't imagine that the bean counters projected a volume of sales of this model to warrant cutting what I imagine is $20~30 in their cost from the price tag.
Lehle make a switch called the Dual SGoS Amp Switcher and for those who want to do the same type switching I programmed into my FM3 but without using a modeler, that's the best option I've seen to cleanly cut and switch from one signal to another. The only trick is if you want to do an acoustic loop and then do lead work over that with electric pickups.
I ended up changing my FM3 so that the acoustic output is always on. This way, I can play a rhythm part and get the loop going and then hit the switch to cut the acoustic INPUT, the loop keeps playing since the output is not cut off and now the electric pickups input and output are active.
Really fun instrument to switch sounds like that.
What Godin are you using?
It's their Multiac Steel model. Unfortunately not in production anymore but extremely similar to the A6 lineup in terms of tone and features.
@@FastRedPonyCar Cool thank you, I see a LGX for sale in my local area. Torn because I want to loop with nice clean/acoustic tones and have nice punchy electric lead over the top as a one man band. The acoustic needs to be convincing enough for songs where its only the acoustic then with no looping. I’ve yet to find a guitar versatile enough to actually do the job. Tried the Acoustasonic and hated it
I bought one from the first batch so 3 years ago if I'm correct and it seems the overall aesthetic has change... Mine has a very flamed top and back as well as all the binding, and the abalone birds inlays have way more coulours! I changed the pickups for Gibson 57+ and use the guitar with a simple Katana 100 as it have the acoustic setting... I find this guitar pretty cool but I don't have a real link with it. Since I bought it I must have played 10 hours max, it's new! So I think I agree mostly with your review👍
Nothing wrong with not having a link with an instrument. Sometimes you just need something to function as a utility instrument and I think this thing having the flexibility to cover several styles gives it that advantage but I think owners and potential owners of an instrument like this would be aware of the strengths as well as shortcomings before they decide to buy... kinda like how I knew my Godin multiac steel was not going to sound as good as my Martin but that it would be a lot more comfortable to play on stage sitting down, faster neck and less feedback problems and that this PRS wouldn't have a rich of an acoustic sound compared to the Godin but it would have a nice electric pickup sound for leads that the Godin doesn't.
@@FastRedPonyCar I felt an instant bond with each of the PRS I bought, Core or SE, but this one doesn't match with my playing. Of course it's versatile as hell, of course it's a beautifull guitar but I think I was kind of desappointed when I received it... And I really wanted this guitar! But even with good magnetic pickups I'm not in love with this guitar, which is not the case with the rest of my collection. That's why I insist on the fact it's definitly a matter of personnal taste and not a quality/conception problem! I repeat it: that's a very good guitar👍
I have this guitar and I’m not sure why but your piezo sound is not great. I just plug straight into my EV30M and it sounds so much better than what I’m hearing here.
Made in China!!! The greatest country on earth😂😂😂
The labor is cheaper sure but every PRS SE comes through the Stevensville Maryland factory for final setup and QC. Not many companies that build overseas have that extra layer of QC. Most of them rely on the stores or online retailers to do the final setup/inspection before it gets into our hands. This is why the PRS SE's are (in my experience) consistently better setup and free of defects compared to many other brands.
Also, PRS use higher quality flame veneer tops for their SE's.
@@FastRedPonyCar i own a PRS but it was made in Korea! Great quality! I love it!intonation is on the money as well as the action..Its good to know quality control is still happening in the US. PRS does made quality guitars.
@@Joejoe-nt3gc Korea is the new Japan. The Korean Schecters and LTD's are killer!