Guitar fans, you know how it is with PRS' Singlecut model when it was first introduced at the turn of the century; it was deemed a violation of an established design. Since then, PRS' Singecuts have withstood the legal test & production is now running stronger than ever. The S2 here isn't the standard affair PRS has to offer because it's really a mid-priced instrument, sitting between the affordable SE & 'core' models (PRS calls it the 'core' range instead of the over-used 'standard'). It's a little ironic the S2 was conceived after these two 'extreme' offerings were in place but as it is, it's making commercial sense & it's a win-win situation.
The S2 replicated majority of the SE features while delivering core-like quality in terms of fitting & finishing. Yes, much of the electronics & hardware are non-American, the instrument in whole, was finalized in Maryland, USA. Together with a non-curved body top, the SC250 managed to list for 50% off the core range prices. Now that's a whopping $1.5K 'discount' so to speak. Despite such cost cutting, the SC250 is virtually faultless in terms of craftsmanship. In anyone's hands, the guitar would undeniably invoke a feel of satisfaction in terms of worth. All this despite that rather uninspiring maple top with very little hint of flame. In fact, PRS states it to be, for the record, 'figured' maple. All in all, the feel of this instrument does not quite represent its other core range siblings but 'cheap' isn't the tag for it. Most certainly not.
Moving on to tone, what do you expect form a PRS Singlecut model? A low-&-behold bottom end generator? That would be a negative due to the instrument's weight- it's light. Light guitars do not manifest a firm response in this frequency range. Unplugged, the SC250 sounds bright but organic. Once plugged in, the #7 humbuckers sound intriguing clean. All manner of warmth comes from both the #7 pickups & would certainly please the jazz camp. It's quite a different story in dirt mode; the pickups give a hint of being drive receptive but they won't bow down to extremity. Putting it simply- the #7s are more vintage sounding as opposed to being tools for all out distortion. Be informed that the instrument include a pair of push-pull coil split switch but they have been wired to tap one of the humbucker coils instead of muting it completely. This is the reason why, upon removal of its control cavity, you'd see a pair of mini capacitors wired to the push-pull switch. In addition to some convincing single coil voicings, you'd hear less hum as well so this is an added bonus.
Alrighty! Let's conclude what the S2 Singlecut is all about. Categorically, this guitar is a member of the mid-price family, nothing excessive & certainly nothing too cheap as well. From the 'PRS' label, we expect a lot in terms of quality expectations & the SC250 certainly didn't let us down in this department. Some of us would question if that maple top is a deserving inclusion in this instrument but many of us are simply happy that it's not downright ugly. Tone-wise, the S2 is one from the contemporary camp. I wouldn't imagine any prog players being too happy with this guitar but the blues-rock dude would find plenty of nice tones on board. Distortion mongers need to re-think their options if they wish to leave those #7 humbuckers in tact. As far as I'm concerned- & I know I have a rather high standard when it comes to acceptable distortion threshold- the #7s are not that accommodating in this department.
Rating: 75%
Availability: Davis GMC
Price: $1,650 (bag included)
*PS: Thanks, Janet & company for letting me have a go at this guitar :-)
Moving on to tone, what do you expect form a PRS Singlecut model? A low-&-behold bottom end generator? That would be a negative due to the instrument's weight- it's light. Light guitars do not manifest a firm response in this frequency range. Unplugged, the SC250 sounds bright but organic. Once plugged in, the #7 humbuckers sound intriguing clean. All manner of warmth comes from both the #7 pickups & would certainly please the jazz camp. It's quite a different story in dirt mode; the pickups give a hint of being drive receptive but they won't bow down to extremity. Putting it simply- the #7s are more vintage sounding as opposed to being tools for all out distortion. Be informed that the instrument include a pair of push-pull coil split switch but they have been wired to tap one of the humbucker coils instead of muting it completely. This is the reason why, upon removal of its control cavity, you'd see a pair of mini capacitors wired to the push-pull switch. In addition to some convincing single coil voicings, you'd hear less hum as well so this is an added bonus.
Alrighty! Let's conclude what the S2 Singlecut is all about. Categorically, this guitar is a member of the mid-price family, nothing excessive & certainly nothing too cheap as well. From the 'PRS' label, we expect a lot in terms of quality expectations & the SC250 certainly didn't let us down in this department. Some of us would question if that maple top is a deserving inclusion in this instrument but many of us are simply happy that it's not downright ugly. Tone-wise, the S2 is one from the contemporary camp. I wouldn't imagine any prog players being too happy with this guitar but the blues-rock dude would find plenty of nice tones on board. Distortion mongers need to re-think their options if they wish to leave those #7 humbuckers in tact. As far as I'm concerned- & I know I have a rather high standard when it comes to acceptable distortion threshold- the #7s are not that accommodating in this department.
Rating: 75%
Availability: Davis GMC
Price: $1,650 (bag included)
*PS: Thanks, Janet & company for letting me have a go at this guitar :-)
3 comments:
Check the "Fame Forum" made by Mayones for "Musistore.de" and the "GRECO EW" made in Japan, in my experience this two are better guitars than this S2 line, and with better prices!.
on some days to come, someone out there will say: Screw all these PRS, Mayones & whatever you have, my ____________ (enter your revered guitar brand name) is way better than all these hyped brands. so there you have it, an endless guitar reverence proclamation. i'm not dissing all you out there who discovered something awesome in terms of QC & price. in fact, the more you share, the more we gain as buyers.
my objective in product appraisal is always to give fellow enthusiasts a heads up in terms of product evaluation. i will never sway anyone to embrace any brand names because what works for you may not be a gem for others :-)
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