Whilst I've always admired how pretty PRS are...

[dvorak]

Congrats Philly! That is incredibly beautiful

[Philly Q]

Thanks dvorak!  This thread seems a long time ago already. 

(I've still got it, Andy)

[AndyR]

[blue]

I somehow missed this!  That PRS is very nice indeed, Philly.  It's like a 70's guitar, only done right, if you know what I mean :)

[Philly Q]

Cheers blue!   

That's exactly what I think, the '70s thing.  Especially in this sunburst colour, there's a hint of the Tele Custom and Tele Deluxe, maybe a nod to the Gibson Sonex and Marauder.... but more than anything else it reminds me of those wacky Ovation solidbodies, the Breadwinner, Deacon, Preacher and Viper.

Lots of people like PRS, lots of people hate them, but hardly anyone thinks they're cool, they're just too perfect.  But these slightly cheaper, slightly quirkier models.... I think they could be the first cool PRS guitars!  I might be on my own there  .  It's just a shame they don't have nitro finishes so they'd age in a funky manner.

[dvorak]

Are you still using the #7 pickups?

I played a SC semi hollow S2 some time ago. I liked it a lot. It was hard to find a difference feelwise to a regular US model. The S2s are a win!

[Philly Q]

No pickup changes as yet, I'm getting ever-lazier about things like modding guitars.... the stock pickups aren't bad at all, they work OK with the coil splits.... as usual my personal preference is for a bigger contrast between the neck and bridge sounds so maybe I'll change at some point.

The initial reaction to the S2 models was quite negative, but I get the feeling people are coming round to them.  Of course I don't know how well they're actually selling - and like all PRS models at the moment they don't seem to have a good secondhand value - but PRS themselves seem to be behind the S2s and they keep expanding the range (almost too fast, as usual).

[Slartibartfarst42]

The S2 guitars are a strange one for me. When I first heard about them I thought they'd be ideal but the more I looked into the specs and the price, the less inclined I was to buy one. Even now, it still seems like too much extra money for very little extra guitar. Part of the problem I guess is that the SE range is just so good. I've owned three SE guitars now and all three have been excellent, though I confess that one didn't really 'speak' to me in the way the other two have. Nevertheless, I recently bought a brand new SE Custom 24 in quilted purple with a Floyd and it cost me less than £600. The guitar is superb and try as I might, I just can't justify pretty much double the money for an S2. From what I can remember, the S2 is mostly SE parts and wood (not entirely of course) but made in America and I'm just not that fussed on having an American made instrument. My Gibson was made in America and cost more than my PRS but is it better? No, absolutely not and from what I can gather, my Gibson is one of the good ones! When I recently tried a Gibson SG 60s Tribute (also made in the USA) it was a similar price to my PRS but a million miles away from it in terms of quality, though I hasten to add that I've never found that to be the case with the S2 guitars I've tried. They're certainly a step up from the SE range but twice as good? I just don't see it. Now if they'd made the S2 guitars out of American components but assembled in Korea to arrive at a similar price I'd have been more inclined to pay the extra but I accept I may be in the minority. Actually, I accept I'm certainly in the minority  That said, your guitar does look beautiful Philly 

[Philly Q]

From what I can remember, the S2 is mostly SE parts and wood (not entirely of course) but made in America

It's more a mixture of USA and SE components - the tuners, pickups and tremolo bridges are made in Korea but the hardtail bridges and (FWIW) the jack and jackplate assembly are the same as the USA models.  I'm not sure about the electronics - although the knobs look like USA knobs, I suspect the pots and switches are non-US, but I haven't taken an S2 apart yet to confirm.

As for the wood, I'm not sure where it originates but it's much closer to the US models than SEs.  The bodies are good-quality one-piece mahogany like the "core" models, the only cost-cutting is on the neck where they use a spliced heel and a scarf-jointed headstock.

As for pricing, I don't know - looking at it from the top down, I think the S2s are reasonably priced compared with the "core" PRS models.  And comparing with other manufacturers, they're every bit as good as other guitars in the £1,000 - £1,300 range.  But you're right, they're very expensive compared with SEs.  Perhaps the SEs are the real bargains. 

[Slartibartfarst42]

From what I recall on the PRS forum a while back, the woods are sourced from the same place as the SE woods, though probably of a slightly higher quality and roughly cut in Korea but finished in America. I may be wrong in this as it's been a while but that's what I seem to remember.

Of course you're right that they are very well priced compared to the core PRS models and do stand up well to other guitars priced in the £1000-£1300 bracket but I suppose they're also guitars I wouldn't consider. The only time I've ever spent over £1000 on a guitar it was for a Japanese Jackson and while it was a beautiful guitar, it wasn't in any way substantially better than my PRS SE except for the pickups, which I still changed for Bare Knuckles so I was effectively paying for nothing. Guitars are like many other things in life, such as cars - the further you go up the range, the more you have to pay for relatively little. The vast majority of what you're paying for is actually just bottom line for the manufacturer and the core PRS range is a fine example. In the same way I'm saying the S2 range isn't worth twice the cost of an SE, it could equally be argued that the core PRS range certainly isn't worth 2-3 times the cost of an S2. Of course, if you have that sort of disposable income, I don't suppose you worry too much about it. Sadly I've never been in that position  I like guitars in the £500-£1000 bracket because you seem to hit that sweet spot between cheap and cheerful at one end and very high quality but ludicrously expensive at the other. The PRS SE range is an excellent example, as is the Yamaha Pacifica range or the Jackson Pro series.

NB: If I suddenly win the lottery I reserve the right to dismiss what I've just said as complete rubbish and spend a fortune on some ridiculously expensive guitars 

[Philly Q]

NB: If I suddenly win the lottery I reserve the right to dismiss what I've just said as complete rubbish and spend a fortune on some ridiculously expensive guitars 

 

[blue]

It's that pesky law of diminishing returns.  Twice the price does not mean twice as good, you can get a great guitar for £600, but the little improvements and extra cost that brings it up to £1200 don't make it twice as good. And then the better woods, more hand crafting and better electronics and hardware that bring it up to £2400 make even smaller apparent improvements in the actual guitar! 
one of the best (in my opinion) Les Pauls I ever played was a £600 satin finished "faded brown" studio, it just came alive in my hands and played and sounded beautiful.  The £3000 R8 I played beside it felt and sounded like a lump of dead wood in comparison.  At any price, the right pieces of wood and hardware can come together to make a perfect guitar. 

[viking]

Cheers blue!   

That's exactly what I think, the '70s thing.  Especially in this sunburst colour, there's a hint of the Tele Custom and Tele Deluxe, maybe a nod to the Gibson Sonex and Marauder.... but more than anything else it reminds me of those wacky Ovation solidbodies, the Breadwinner, Deacon, Preacher and Viper.

Wow,i'm surprised!
 When i saw your PRS pictures, it instantly reminded me of my Ovation Preacher  !
I didn't keep it a very long time,though.It was a stereo model with a nice Ebony fingerboard and the exact same sunburst colour.
I got it by trade and i traded it again for a mint Gibson LP De Luxe Cherry Sunburst (early 70's).
The guy told me he needed a wider neck  ! What can you say...
It was my first LP ever...

[Philly Q]

I really like those Ovation models, I often have a look for them on eBay.   

I've never played one, I don't know if they're actually any good, but I think Ovation were really trying hard to do something modern (for the time) and unique (with some familiar elements, of course).  A little bit like Ernie Ball/Music Man nowadays - they make sort-of-Strats and sort-of-Teles, but they don't copy the body shapes, they don't use the same generic parts as everyone else and they try to do something original with the electronics.

[hunter]

Love this guitar. Would love even more with a P90 in the neck.