La PRS SE Custom 24 Burled Ash Vintage Sunburst offre tutte le caratteristiche del modello di punta di successo di Paul Reed Smith ad un prezzo accessibile. Di conseguenza, la chitarra elettrica è caratterizzata da un corpo in mogano con un'elegante impiallacciatura in Burled Ash, mentre il manico in acero incollato offre una suonabilità senza ostacoli sulla tastiera in palissandro con il leggendario intarsio a forma di uccello grazie al profilo "Wide Thin". Due humbucker PRS 85/15 "S" forniscono all'amplificatore uno spettro sonoro moderno con una riproduzione bilanciata di bassi e alti, perfetto per il rock. Blues, Pop o Metal. Inoltre, grazie alla suddivisione della bobina tramite il potenziometro a toni push/pull, sono disponibili suoni autentici a bobina singola. Naturalmente, la PRS SE Custom 24 Burled Ash di PRS è equipaggiata con il Tremolo progettato da PRS e le precise testate delle macchine PRS.
This is my second PRS and it is the second SE (Student Edition) I have purchased. Although it is considered an entry-medium level guitar, at least in PRS consideration, it really does worth the purchasing. I am not a professional musician and it would be hard to me to evaluate an instrument, without the experience of a professional musician and the knowledge of the PRS higher level guitars. But I can guarantee that the guitar plays very well and I am convinced it is really a big deal.
First, the look. It is amazing. The top is marvellous flamed and curved, with a nice slight binding. I like the colour (whale blue) that is really impressive and nice. The finish is perfect, there’s not a single imperfection on the surface. My guitar is a B-stock and there were some very minor traces of usage in the back, but anything which can not be fixed with some polish paste and … I am not even sure I am going to fix it: it is almost unperceivable! Although I would prefer, as a matter of the look only, the pickups covered by nickel plates, the zebra aspect of them are giving the guitar a nice “Rocky” look. As for the knobs, I have to admit that they are not my favourites, because of the flat surface. I have changed them with a couple of cream fender-strat-style knobs, with no-coloured volume written on them. Now the look of the body is perfect … at least to me. As for the look of the neck it’s got “per se” the perfect PRS impact effect, thanks to the birds inlays. A binding would have not been a bad idea, but you know: it is a matter of money saving in the crafting of the instrument. Anyway, nothing else to say about the look. It is really fantastic: you’ll love it!
As for the sound, I had no doubt. I had already purchased a PRS with the same couple of humbuckers, which are lovely fat and creamy, rich of sustain and full of mid and bass tones. I love them as I do with the original PAF. Fantastic with the clean sound and perfect, really perfect with crunch (I use an EHX Hot Wax into a Marshall Origin 50). It is exactly the sound I wanted. No other needs!
The playability now: this is the point. This is exactly what would make you realise it does worth the purchasing. The neck profile is simply fantastic, very comfortable and fast. I had only to change the strings gauge (I prefer a 10-46 instead of 09-42) and to lower a bit the action, but the guitar was already perfect to play. Yes, it is true, my model is a B-stock, so it means it was somehow prepared by my predecessor, but I can guarantee the previous PRS I purchased (same model, different year and colour) was brand new and it arrived from the factor perfectly fitting my needs: a very low action with no buzzes, and even perfectly tuned!!!
So, finally evaluation. The look is astonishingly beautiful. The sound is fantastic. The playability is comfortably enough not to be tired to play it even after the famous 8-hour-a-day. This guitar can give you the pleasure to play an almost professional instrument at the price of an entry level guitar … regardless the genre you play. Trust me: it is a big deal!