S2 Ver 2024

PRS' S2 lineup has undergone a -mindful revision, so to speak, this 2024. The instruments now feature the American 58/15 LT pickups. The other electronic components are equally American, ditto the bridge. So the S2 is truly an American guitar this year.

My perspective: Even before this overhaul, the S2 prices had increased by so much, it's no longer worth considering getting one. This is compounded by the fact that the SE version of the Core / S2 lineup are up there when it comes to value-for-money options. The Indonesian craftsmanship plus export electronics simply get the job done. In view of the aforementioned price hikes, PRS did a smart thing by American-izing the S2 so that buyers would not feel short-changed when they pay exponentially more for the latest iteration because it's American through & through.

Pic: PRS

Price watch (63)

The PRS S2 Standard 24 is now listing for $2,249. If you see any of these guitars going for less than $2K, those are from the previous shipment. That's right folks, guitars are not getting any cheaper. First, Fender, now PRS - prices are going up quite unreasonably, I would say. There are no design revisions for the current Standard 24 models so why the steep price increase? 

Pic: PRS

S2 10th

PRS' S2 Series celebrates its 10th Anniversary this year (yes, it's a decade already), these two models are commemorative iterations. The one you see above is the Custom 24.

This here is the McCarty 594. I didn't see any significant difference from the non-anniversary version less the American made pickups. There will only be 1,000 units made for each model. Expect limited quantities to come by but since there are two PRS dealers here, there's a good chance you could get one if you are keen.

Pics: PRS

Selling: PRS McCarty S2 Singlecut (SOLD)

Tough decision but had to let this go - treatment bills due next month, unemployed. I hope you understand that my price is final & I believe I have been fair in pricing my gear (if you know me well enough). I'm saying this because there's this idiot who offered 1/2 price for this instrument & acting like he's doing me a big favour. Reality check - the price of this guitar will cover my treatment bill for a single sitting & medication with some left over for maybe my transportation home. That's the reason why I'm selling this away as opposed to other guitars that would be listed for much lesser.

No mods for this guitar less the pickup mounting screws which I have swapped out to the chrome version. I wonder why PRS chose the black version to begin with when the hardware for the rest of the instrument are clearly not black. Thanks for reading & understanding. Appreciate if you can spread the word round.

• PRS McCarty 594 Singlecut (S2 Series)
• Bag included
• Condition: 9/10
• No reservations / trades
• Queries welcomed - email
• Self-collect: CCK / Yew Tee mrt station
• Price: $1,800 (final)

2(HH)(2)

Indoor Sunday. Rained & everyone here is a little under the weather (forgive the pun). I just got my booster vaccine yesterday so the body is a little weak. Everyone had their reasons to stay indoors. Played another pair of HH guitars:

• PRS S2 Mira
• Ibanez Q52

Miss Mira there will also be a joy to play. It's equipped with a pair of Seymour Duncan Pearly Gates, very JB-ish in the bridge but has that spongey midrange that I like. The hollow nature adds to some top end zing but the PG has a strong bottom end response so it's perfect for aggressive music.

The Q52 has factory default Quantum pickups but they meet my expectations. These will stay put till I hear a reason to swap them out. I don't know if it's down to the metal covers there but I also find the Quantums below par in other guitars, namely the S-Series. Here they sound above average but I might raise the bridge pickup in time to come. 

Both guitars are light weight, the Q52 being slightly lighter between the two. 

Single Mc

I can't play leads with this. Ok, let me re-phrase that - I'm not inspired to play leads with this one. The bottom heavy, dense bass notes are too tasty too ignore.  This guitar screams Dissection through & through so it's riffing madness with this one. It's also one of those guitars with default pickups that make me happy. These 58/15 S humbuckers sound like 59s in terms of cleans & drive response; very close in deed. I'm just not too into the bird inlays, wasn't a fan at the start, won't become one any time soon. I bought this guitar for the tone & playability, colour / finish was the last consideration. I missed out on the green / blue versions & glad I grabbed one before price hikes & COVID setting in, making purchases a waiting game more than anything else. A lot of how this guitar sounds like is down to its scale length - 24.594" a very 'relaxed' tension when it comes to the wound strings. I have 10s in there.

Review quickie: PRS Standard 22 / 24 (Satin)

S2 Standard 24 Satin

S2 Standard 22 Satin

Overview

·     

• S2 Series are PRS’ affordable American models
• Electronics are not American, that’s one of the reasons why these are more affordable
• The Satin version of the Standard 22 / 24 has no final lacquer overcoat. The manufacturer describes this as a nitro layer. It’s a very thin top coat protecting the wood, you can feel the mahogany grain.
• Push / pull coil split option (tone control) for both models

Construction / features

LIKES

• Well made, top notch QC
• Not a heavy guitar at all, resonant
• Very comfortable lacquer-free neck feel, C-profile
• Smooth / responsive tuners

DISLIKES

• Pickup selector located quite away from the bridge making quick access via pinky stretch a little tricky
• Pickguard makes these guitars look entry-level

Playability / Tone

LIKES

• Non-lacquered neck supplements quick movements
• Good upper fret access despite blocky neck heel
• Pickups – impressive cleans, impressive jazz tones in the neck, adapts to drive / distortion well. One of the best midrange & coil split manifestation
• Responsive / smooth vibrato bridge

DISLIKES

• Pickups not made for metal / intense distortion, lacks clarity under such applications

Last say

There’s so much to like about this guitar at this price point. The feel is amazing & should spur players of any background to be more engaging during play, be it purposeful bending, slower, feel-inclined phrasing or all-out shred, these guitars are up to it. Many of us would dismiss these as merely the lacquer-less version of the Standard 22 / 24 but having played both models, I have to say it’s not merely a difference in feel. Due to the lighter nature, the treble response here is more organic. There’s a tad more warmth to the midrange as well. Personally, I note that the neck humbuckers of these Satin version do not mud-out easily under restrained volume applications. However, these pickups are definitely not the choice reference for metalheads; they don’t do bass notes chugging well under intense distortion / drive / gain. Coil split tones are a pleasant surprise. Not an exact replication but hold its own, impressive to say the least. Between the 22 & 24, the former has a deeper bass response, not much, just a tad. It’s almost unnoticeable unless you spend more time peddling bass notes.

Rating: 90%

Availability

• S2 Standard 24 Satin - Swee Lee / Davis (bag included)
• S2 Standard 22 Satin - Davis (bag included)

Sale: Swee Lee Peninsula

This was just announced today - Swee Lee is having a clear out at its Peninsula branch. Stuff are going for 35% off, some go for lesser & the rest are not on sale. Most of these items are B-stock stuff but include out-of-the-box instruments as at Saturday, 2/10/2021. Please don't ask if they can bring in another one of the same model because most are just one-offs / the final unsold unit. 

Please take note of the sale rules, it's mostly appealing to your senses. It's still COVID times so only 2 customers are allowed at any one time in the store. There's a designated queue space outside the store, please observe safe distancing as well. Most importantly, only one Swee Lee staff will be overseeing sale proceedings, his name is Mr. Fahmy. He's the one entertaining your queries, packing your stuff, finalizing payments & managing the sale queue, among others. Please be nice to him.

Moving on to some worthy recommendations, I have two in the mean time. This Ibanez AZES31 is definitely a steal because it's a new release & it's on sale. Meaning, if you wish to acquire something that's next to brand new for good money, this is the most unmolested guitar in store. 

The next worthy consideration is this PRS S2 McCarty Singlecut. Sweet all round tone, great playability. OK, I better not talk too much, I have no money. Bye.

Pics: PRS / Ibanez / Swee Lee FB

Bridging

Got that midweek itch to play a PRS so out came the S2 Standard.

 Managed to replace the default hard tail bridge with the adjustable version. The only reason for doing this - I have plans to have thicker gauged strings in this guitar & de-tuning. This is to complement the 57/08 humbuckers on board for its sonic potential. These pickups sound great for heavy stuff despite whatever vintage expectations PRS embedded into its profile. Add to that, some great clarity for single note definition. The immediate effect here is that palm muting feels more immediate. Maybe it's a psychological by-product of owning a new contraption coupled with high hopes of it transforming some playing aspects to become 'better'.

This is the final time a set of 9.5s are in this guitar, going forward, strings will get thicker.

Guard & gates

Was restless, decided to give this one a makeover:

1. Mint pickguard. Added contrast, together with the burst body, it now has a Strat vibe. Wasn't going for that but it happened.
2. New pickups: Seymour Duncan Pearly Gates set. Had second thoughts initially knowing how bright the PG could be & my Mira here isn't a full solid instrument so it might go into treble overkill but it didn't happen. The PG has good clarity with a rather spongey overall tone, close to what a Custom Custom has to offer.

Fresh strings while I'm at it.

But this is my main highlight for now; the guitar is F-spaced / Trembucker-spaced. We assume guitars with fixed bridge, tune-o-matic, hard tail & other iterations that don't whammy, to manifest standard spacing instead but this proves otherwise. There shouldn't be convenient assumptions any more, measure & know your instrument's features, it doesn't take much effort.