PRS SE Bernie Marsden Reviews

4.8/5.0 based on 9 customer reviews

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Customer Reviews

Mitchell
from United States
May 18, 2013Music Background:
Musician

This is one amazing guitar!

This guitar is amazing. The quality is just PERFECT! The tones from this guitar are right on as well. You will not be disappointed in this purchase. I hardly ever write a review on a product, but I just had to for this guitar. I have played other models and PRS went above and beyond with this one!!!

David Segrest
from Low Country Blues, SC
April 8, 2013Music Background:
Pro Hobbyist & Guitar Collector

Thanks Joe! BM PRS SE 53/10 pickups!

Thank you Joe for the Bernie Marsden PRS recommendation. This is by far one of the finest playing and sounding guitars I have played.
Unfortunately Sweetwater did not offer the Bernie Marsden PRS SE with the 53/10 coil tap pickups. I am very pleased with this guitar. The 245 pickups are very good too. I would recommend this guitar to anyone. I have & had LP's Strats, Telle's, ESP's and Jackson's. Out of the box this is one of the finest guitars. "About the price$". This guitar rivals any MIA that may cost $$$$. Thanks again Joe and Sweetwater for the advise on the BM PRS SE. PS! Don't just read this review. Preview the guitar for yourself.
It will be a pleasant suprise. Call Joe @ Sweetwater. You guys are the best.

Dan
from Denver, CO
February 28, 2013Music Background:
Music lover, aspiring guitarist

Great guitar for the money!

I purchased this PRS SE after months of trying out many PRN guitars, strats, teles, Les Pauls (Epi and Gibson), and a few Ibanez and Schecters. The Bernie Marsden is just plain fun to play. Versatile sound, great action - I am very happy.
My experience with Sweetwater was nothing short of brilliant. The guitar was ready to go out of the case. I received email and phone communication from Sweetwater while my order was being processed which was a nice personal touch. Very satisfied with the service and product - I would recommend Sweetwater in the future without hesitation.

Jared
from Raymond, NH
November 16, 2012Music Background:
Hobbyist

Outstanding Guitar!!

Unable to try one in a local store I took a chance and ordered this guitar sight unseen. I am VERY glad I did. True to my research the SE line is not only well built but a wonderful value. The fit and finish are outstanding, the playability is wonderful, and it is a beatiful combination of sleek modern PRS with a nod to the vintage guitars of years gone by...Just a great guitar. You won't be dissapointed.

Rachel Higgins
from Alexandria, VA USA
May 19, 2012Music Background:
hobbyist

PRS SE Bernie Marsden

This axe is dynamite! It is beautifuly finished, has a great neck and the pickups have that tone you expect from a PRS. The fretwork is really good and it plays easily. The intonation is spot on all the way up the fingerboard and the tuners are first class. Way to go PRS! And another good deal from Sweetwater!

Songw51
from New York, USA
March 20, 2012Music Background:
Hobbyist & Musician for 50 years

This is a great value and with no sacrifice at all.

This is a wonderful guitar in every way. I wanted to have a second Les Paul guitar that I can travel with and not worry about. Well this one has been an adventure. I had read a review in a well known British Guitar Magazine and it ran a comparison of two les pauls and a new PRS Bernie Marsden.
I read it because I am fascinated by the older Les Paul's and one LP was the 1959 Les Paul Standard known as the "Beast" owned these many years by Bernie Marsden an incredible guitarist with Whitesnake for many years. As a result of the article that raved about the PRS Bernie I decided to look further in to it. Doing so I was more and more impressed. What really sold me was the YouTube video where Bernie introduces the new signature guitar and explains different reasons different things were done.
As he explains you can feel and see the Pride he has in his new guitar and of course you can instantly recognize the sincerity and involvement that he has obviously put into the development of the PRS Bernie.
So the long and short of it is I bought the PRS and it has proven to be everything I hoped it would be.It plays wonderfully and sounds as good if not better than most Les Paul's. Sorry it's a fact and an incredible bargain for the money.
So this is my first experience in the world of PRS guitars but it won't be my last. I would like to thank the Guitar Magazine for the article that led to my purchase and of course Bernie Marsden for his dedication in turning out an instrument that I am thrilled to play and own. I am really surprised by the quality of the build and the looks. And I am totally blown away by the sound.
Thank you Bernie!

Frank Patrono
from United States
March 12, 2012Music Background:
40 year musician

A Great Guitar!

I received this guitar 2 weeks ago with high expectations. There are a lot of reviews online with most of them very positive. When I opened the case my jaw dropped. The finish was perfect. The frets were smooth. The intonation was spot on. All I had to do was to change the strings to Dadario 10's( it comes with Dadario 9's) and lowered the action to my liking. (No string buzz) The sound is great, especially the neck pickup. The middle position is out of phase and gives you a Telecaster like sound. The bridge pickup has more output but in my opinion not as musical as the neck PU. Overall you cannot go wrong with this guitar. For me anyway it is on par with guitars costing 2x as much. If the top was not a veneer, I would say 3x as much. God bless.

Rick M
from Savannah, Georgia
November 30, 2012Music Background:
40 yrs of experience, weekend warrior gigging musician

PRS Bernie Marsden

I bought this guitar after initially planning on getting a Les Paul Studio. After reading some of the glowing reviews and having always wanted a PRS I decided to pull the trigger on the Bernie Marsden. The guitar came completely checked out by Sweetwater and in excellent condition. Right out of the box the guitar played very well. The action was comfortable but not too high. It comes with 009 strings which I changed to 010's. Sound wise, the neck pickup is great, nice and full. I thought the bridge pickup sounded a little thin but after raising it up a bit it sounds better. The one major weak point pointed out by many already is the nut. It was cut really deep and only wide enough for the 009s it came with. Adding 010s requires some filing. The day after I received the guitar I tried it out for 1 set at a gig and while playing some open chords near the top of the neck I actually thought I might have cut my hand on a sharp edge of the nut! Turns out it was just a poke but the nut is really bad. I replaced it with a bone nut and its whole new guitar. Tuning stability seems pretty good so far. That’s another item I may replace down the road but so far they are holding pretty good. I've now had it for about two months now and have played at 3 or 4 shows with it. Over all it's a great guitar needing a few minor tweaks. For the money it's hard to beat. If it had a decent nut, at least Tusq or similar quality, I would have given it a 5.

from Edmonton Ky
August 5, 2012Music Background:
working musician

killer

Great guitar for the money compares very well against my 04 lp standard the pickups were a bit week for my taste so i dumped in some duncans and viola im in blues rock heaven thanx to sweetwater and prs keep em coming