Got a new PRS SE Custom Floyd- Some thoughts

[chameleon2112]

Some observations I would like to make.

The good: Seems to be built very well, is a beautiful guitar.
Plays very good for a Korean made guitar.
Sounds really good through my 5153 50 watt.


The bad: Pickup selector is in about the worst place it could be for wanting to change pups while playing. Floyd blocks access to selector.
Floyd also affects using the volume knob as is basically sitting right next to knob.
Lastly, I've always played Ibanez or other superstrats. They always had the area where i rest my forearm bevelled, SE does not and gets very uncomfortable after playing awhile.

All in all a nice guitar, especially since I got for $650.Will play some more and see if the negative will go away with getting to know the guitar more.

 

[dallasb]

Fret wear is bad on every SE I have owned. Good guitars for the money, but damn if they won't need fretwork often. A newer SeSC245 I bought on Black Friday last year has got some serious fret wear already. I use it for about 10 songs in our sets every weekend. Same issues with my Santana and Tremonti Se's.

I bought a USA PRS SC and it has held up for a good while. Something about the SE's. You get what you pay for. This new SeSC245 I will have leveled like I did others. My Tremonti SE was beyond leveling and recrown so I bought the newer SeSC245. Great guitar for shit hole bars, but Fuu my life on the fret wear!

 

[sahlomonic]

Fret wear is a consistent complaint I read about on the forums regarding the SE line. I have 3 SE's and fret wear is something I haven't experienced . . . . yet. My biggest complaint is the cheap hardware and electronics. Pickups are playable, but the pots on all my SE's get scratchy after only a few months. Switches seem to blow out about the same time, too. So, the latest SE I bought, I just bought a new wiring kit and new pots right off the bat.

 

[richardt4520]

What I've noticed about the fretwear is that they used soft nickel for the frets and stainless steel strings will eat those things up fast. Using PRS pure nickel strings, which the SEs come with, I have pretty much no fretwear and I play 2-4 hours a day right now. That's not gonna work for a lot of metal guys who want that crisp attack but it does save the frets.

 

[thiswaythatway]

What I've noticed about the fretwear is that they used soft nickel for the frets and stainless steel strings will eat those things up fast. Using PRS pure nickel strings, which the SEs come with, I have pretty much no fretwear and I play 2-4 hours a day right now. That's not gonna work for a lot of metal guys who want that crisp attack but it does save the frets.

You know I've wondered about all these new strings that came out, the Cobalts. M-Steel, Titanium. I wonder how much faster those strings can wear out frets. I've used PRS guitars for years and never had any fret wear issues, but I use regular Ernie Ball SLinky or Elixers.

 

[dallasb]

Fret wear is a consistent complaint I read about on the forums regarding the SE line. I have 3 SE's and fret wear is something I haven't experienced . . . . yet. My biggest complaint is the cheap hardware and electronics. Pickups are playable, but the pots on all my SE's get scratchy after only a few months. Switches seem to blow out about the same time, too. So, the latest SE I bought, I just bought a new wiring kit and new pots right off the bat.

Totally agree!!

I changed pots, tuners. The rest seem ok. Fret wear is another thing. I use the standard XL120's and have for years. Fret wear is just really bad on these guitars. More than any other guitar I have played.

Even some cheap RG's I banged on for years at least an hr a day, plus weekend gigs never had this kind of fret wear, and those guitars were really cheap.

As much as I love these PRS Se's, I am not thrilled as to fret wear issues. When I called PRS about it, they said fret wear is normal on guitars you frequently play. I said 5 months in? Really? There is a 1 yr warr but it does not cover fret wear. Not that I expected it to, but this is the third PRS Se model that the frets just get badly flat wear spots in only a few weeks of heavy playing. My son has a Jay Tursor LP he jams on every day and the frets are fine. Go figure.

 

[chameleon2112]

Hmm, wish I would have heard from you guys before getting. Never heard the fret wire problems, or anything about switches blowing out. Honestly it sounds pretty good through my amp, plus it plays very nice.I run Elixirs so that might lessen the wearing down of the frets. again my only complaint is the placement of the Floyd
blocking access to the pu switcher.and somewhat to the volume knob.

All the reviews I read and saw on youtube were pretty much glowing.