PRS SE 245 (Tobacco Sunburst) Reviews

4.5/5.0 based on 5 customer reviews

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Customer Reviews

Steve Matheson
from Villa Rica, GA
April 3, 2013

Great guitar value

I've owned for USA PRS guitars and love them all, so on a whim, I bit the bullet and tried this SE model and I couldn't be more impressed with the quality and attention to detail. The action is great and I played it for an hour right out of the box and couldn't put it down. All of the hardware is quality material and installed well. The flamed maple top is deeply figured and the finish is flawless even at the neck joint. The fingerboard is nicely planed and the fret work is good. The only thing that could be better is the filing of the frets on the edges, but that takes time and time costs money. It doesn't take away from the playability. The pickups are rich and throaty. I could dial in jazz tones and grit with the tone and volume controls. There is no noise in the pots or the 3 way selector; all are quiet and responsive. Unlike similar guitars in this range, the pickups are not overly hot to compensate for poor wood or construction. They are very good and very articulate. I used it through two different Vox tube amps and Fender tube amp; it purred. I'm going to cut the .09's off and go with some heavier gauge DRs, but it can only get better. The gig bag is of good quality as well. You can spend more a get a lot less, but this guitar is a great great value and I'm already shopping for my next one.

Barrett Brown
from Belleview, FL
February 18, 2013Music Background:
Hobbyist & Student

Rockin out da Blues now!

I am so glad to have taken this "leap of faith" on Sweetwater's Guitar Gallery & have nothing to complain about...my mouth is still open in disbelief at the craftsmanship & pure beauty of my new instrument! I got a good vibe over the phone with Gilbert J. & I felt reassured of the buying/shipping excellence experienced by other satisfied customers as well. Unzipping the extremely well padded Gig bag for the first time & seeing this gem, felt like a 'Christmas of old' for me. Thank you Gilbert & M.V.; (who did the 55 pt. evaluation)...I think I'll go play now!! :)

Michael Haskins
from Florence, KY USA
August 28, 2012Music Background:
Hobbyist

Couldn't be happier!

I can't say enough about how impressed I am with this guitar! Fantastic fit, finish and playability. It sees NO time in the gig bag that came with it.
I WANT MORE,

Fifthstone
from Hartford, CT
January 25, 2013Music Background:
Hobbyist and Occasional Gigger

Unbelievable Value

Being primarily a Fender guy, I had been on the fence about picking up a PRS for a long time. A friend of mine has an American Custom. I had tried it and was not overly impressed. Auditioned an SE One once and likewise. Recently I was in a GC and tried out an SE Santana and was very impressed. Solid maple cap, nice figured veneer, and great playability with the 24.5" scale neck. I took the plunge and ordered an SE 245 from Andy at Sweetwater. I picked one from the gallery that had the figuring pattern I liked. As usual, the order was processed efficiently and I received the guitar in a couple of days. Outstanding service.

This SE 245 came perfectly set up with a very nice gig bag. Not a cosmetic flaw to be found. The carved top/volute and natural binding are beautiful in person. Playability is excellent, with nice low action, no buzzes, and tuners that hold very well. Solid hardware and a quality feel all around, though it will take me while to adjust from the Fender scale length to which I'm used to playing.

Tonewise, the stock pickups are very nice, though not the best I've heard. They sound a bit stiff (for lack of a better word) and don't have any real "bloom" to them. Again, perfectly fine but I will likely replace with better pickups after giving these a year to grow on me. The only other negative are the pots. Physically they are tough to grip in the heat of the moment and are not as responsive in their taper as some of my other guitars. I will likely swap these for full-size CTS pots, etc, probably when I do the pickups. But they are perfectly good for now.

Having stated my two minor nits above, it is unbelievable how much value and quality this guitar offers for so little money. It's given me a great opportunity to try out a PRS and its unique scale neck and control layout, without forking over around $3K for an American-made PRS. Apart from a pick up and hardware upgrade, I see no reason to get an American PRS for the moment, though it has given me an appreciation for what they bring to the table. So all in all, the SE 245 is a gig-worthy, instrument with amazing cosmetics, great playability and solid tone. Highly recommended.

Jeff
from IL
March 1, 2013Music Background:
Professional Sound Engineer/Hobby Musician

Solid Foundation...

This guitar goes out of tune very easily - plan on getting a new nut and tuners. The pickups are okay - they have a decent crunch to them. The neck pickup is very weak for distorted tones. While this is an okay guitar, it seems you are really just paying for the wood, the inlays, the prs name, and the neck scale. I'd highly recommend saving up an extra couple hundred bucks and buying something with nicer tuners and pickups.