SE Custom Review

The Paul Reed SE Custom sounds alive from the day the rough blanks for the bodies and necks are cut. The entire instrument works as one to deliver an evenness of tonal color, amplitude and feel no matter where you are on the fingerboard. The Paul Reed Smith SE Custom features a solid mahogany body with a visually stunning flamed maple top, a glued-in mahogany neck, two PRS designed SE standard humbucking pickups with Zebra coils, and a PRS designed stoptail bridge.

Features:	8.5
Sound:	9.1
Action:	9.2
Reliability:	9.2
Impression:	9.3
Overall rating:	9.1
Users rating:	8.4
Comments:	80

overall: 9.2

Featured review by: UG Team, on october 13, 2006

Price paid: 0

Purchased from:

Features: The SE Custom is another affordable option in owning a PRS guitar. The 22-fret rosewood fret board and low action makes playing for hours easy and fun. The intonation on the SE Custom, even on the upper frets, was dead right! And none of the tuning problems you might normally associate with a guitar in this price range even existed. // 9

Sound: The SE Custom boasts such a wide range of quality tones that you may be inspired to learn a few new styles if you happen to pick one up. The SE Custom shreds, grooves, bops, spanks, rocks and funks with ease. The mahogany body and maple top give this beauty some uncompromised tone. This guitar works exceptionally well with a light distortion through a tube amp, creating excellent tones for classic rock or blues. What I really enjoyed about the guitar was its percussiveness. Funky rhythms and palm-muted riffs sound nothing but tight on the SE Custom. And if sustain is your ting, look out! The sustain on the SE Custom was particularly amazing. If you like holding notes for their actual length or perhaps you're a feedback junky who loves tastefully utilizing feedback to color your sonic landscape, this guitar is right up your alley. // 9

Action, Fit & Finish: Not only is this guitar a treat to listen to, it's also a dream to play. it's ultra-light design makes it comfortable to play in any scenario I could come up with; sitting, standing, one leg up on a chair, lying in bed watching nick-at-nite, you name it.

As with any PRS, the SE Custom is flawless in it's style and look. The craftsmanship and attention to detail easily make the guitar look & sound like it belongs in a price range well beyond it's actual list price of $758 (remember, that's list. it's quite cheaper in stores and musicians friend. currently selling for 549.99 from Musicians Friend) The guitar I had the pleasure of testing had a flame maple top and it's color was gray black with a natural maple edge. The paint and veneer was immaculate and quite hip. The moon inlays, chrome hardware and zebra pickups were all excellent as well. Cosmetically, this guitar goes to 11! // 10

Reliability & Durability: The PRS SE Custom proves that you don't have to be a rock star, a workaholic or a trust fund baby to own one damn fine quality guitar that will handle just about anything you can throw at it. The fine folks over at PRS have put their name behind a very strong axe with a very weak price to ensure that not every rocker teenager has to play a mexistrat or an Epiphone.

I would be remiss to end this article without including a brief mention of the beautiful cordura gig bag it comes with. The included gig bag looks great, it's easy to carry, has plenty of front pocket space for all your accessories and it's solid design and interior reinforcement will help protect your new baby. // 9

Impression: Maybe guitars like this will be the new trend. Maybe people will stop equating large sums of money with good equipment. Maybe weekend warriors can save a couple thousand dollars and still sound like they didn't. Maybe guitar mega stores will begin issuing lower interest rate credit cards this year. Who knows? But at least you'll know one thing... you can be the proud owner of a guitar with amazing quality, and you don't have to break the bank to get it! // 9

overall: 9.6

Reviewed by: ISuk@Guitar, on june 28, 2006

Price paid: 450

Purchased from: Guitar Center

Features: This guitar was made in Korea, in I think 2005. It has a 25" scale mahogany neck with a 22 fret rosewood fretboard. The body is solid mahogany with a flat maple top and flamed maple veneer and is the general PRS shape. It has passive electronics with one volume and one tone knob, and a three way selector switch to switch between the PRS designed treble and bass pickups. It has a PRS designed stoptail bridge. The tuners are PRS designed non-locking. // 9

Sound: This guitar fits my music style perfectly. I play basically any kind of rock and metal. I'm currently playing this through a DigiTech rp-200 to a Rocktron Silver Dragon distortion to my line6 spider II 112 amp. Even on the insane distortion setting on such a crappy amp with the gain up to 10, there is barely any noise, although the neck pickup does tend to be a little muddy. It also plays cleans nicely. The sound is very full and harmonics are rich. This guitar could play just about any genre except maybe shred, as the neck is very fat. // 9

Action, Fit & Finish: I got this guitar in the cherry sunburst finish and it is beautiful. I've searched every square inch of this guitar and have not found one flaw. The action was perfect, low, but not so low as to create a lot of fret buzz. in fact, there wasn't any fret buzz. I thought I might have to adjust the pickups, but they were also perfectly set up. // 10

Reliability & Durability: I have not gigged with this guitar yet, but I'm sure it could stand a live performance easily. I accidentally dropped it once onto a concrete floor and there were no scratches and no visible damage. The hardware should last, although the pickup selector switch is a little bit loose. I would definitely gig with it without a backup, unless I needed a different guitar for alternate tunings. I've had this guitar for a few months and I play about 6 hours a day. the finish is still as beautiful as the day I bought it. The strap buttons seem solid enough, but I'll probably get strap locks just to be safe. // 10

Impression: I've been playing for close to 2 years and this guitar is a perfect match for me. It fits the styles of music I play perfectly. I also own a Squier Strat which completely sucks and for a while I had an Ibanez RG321. this blows them both away ( course that isn't too hard to do). I compared this to a few Epiphone LP's and a few Schecters (C1 Classic, C1 Blackjack) and none of them came close to the sound of this axe. The schecters could match it distorted, but clean they had no chance. I love how it sounds amazing both distorted and clean. I really didn't hate anything about it. If it was stolen, I'd first hunt down the person who stole it, rip their soul out, eat it, and sell their vital organs on the black market. Then I'd get it back. If it was lost, I'd simply buy a new one. I do wish this guitar had a strap lock system and locking tuners, but I can do without those. // 10

overall: 8

Reviewed by: Cool Beans, on april 11, 2008

Price paid: 0

Purchased from: Guitar Center

Features: Made is 2006 in Korea. 22 fret, fairly thin neck. Flame maple top on a mahogany body. Very light guitar. Cherry sunburst finish, which looks awesome. Double cutaway with a contour in the lower cutaway. 3-way pickup switch, one master volume and one master tone for both of the PRS Designed zebra humbucking pickups. The tuners are also PRS designed non-locking tuners. // 8

Sound: This guitar sounds great if you like playing classic or hard rock, and it can even be pushed a little if you like metal. It's also fantastic for those who like jazz guitar, with a thick sounding neck pickup. I like alternative and Indie stuff like Death Cad for Cutie and The Shins, etc. This guitar is not very well suited for that style of music, with very defined sound with low gain or clean sounds. I use a Marshall MGX30DFX and no effects with it. On the clean channel, the guitar is a little dull sounding, unless you have bright sounding strings. On the gain channel, with the gain at about 1 or 2, you can go from a little breakup to good classic rock sounds. From about 3-5 is where things get heavier. Anything after 5 can sound a bit harsh and abrasive. If you are into bands that are a bit heavier sounding, whether it be new punk or even metal, this will suit you well. // 8

Action, Fit & Finish: The action on this guitar out of the box was good. It needed retuning, and couldn't hold much of a tune for the first few hours or days even. But after a while of playing it began break in and stay in tune. The pickups were set up correctly, but if it seemed a little muddy with the neck pickup, that could be easily changed. The flame maple top was beautiful and with the sunburst finish, look even better. My only complaint with this in terms of set up was that after about two months, the pickup selector became just a little bit loose. It turned out to be no problem. // 8

Reliability & Durability: I've only played this guitar Live once or twice, so as far as long term touring or gigging, I'm not sure how it will do. I've given it a decent beating in the year and a half I've had it, and it's had little to no problems. The guitar becomes out of tune quite easily, so locking tuners would be a good investment if it's a guitar you plan on owning for a long time. Other than that, it's a very reliable guitar. The finish is good and seems like it should last for a long time. // 8

Impression: With my taste in alternative and inde music, this is not exactly the best guitar to have. But if you have interest in classic, modern, hard, or punk rock (even metal) this is a good middle price import. Comparably it is better than most import guitars, and it's a good investment for a beginner or intermediate player. I've been playing for 4 or 5 years now and I have a Takamine acoustic as well as this and my Marshall. In retrospect, I would have liked to look around a bit more and searched for some other options, particularly the MIM Fenders. The problem with most PRS stuff is it's obscenely expensive, and so it's pretty lucky to find a good quality guitar like this from them at such a good price. I love that it's light and it looks better than most in it's price range, the finish being the best part about it. I do wish it had better voiced pickups (particularly the neck pickups which gets really muddy sounding) and volume and tone knobs for each pickup. // 8

overall: 7.8

Reviewed by: PhiPsi1648..., on december 21, 2007

Price paid: 500

Purchased from: Eddie's Guitars

Features: My PRS SE Custom was made in Korea in 2005. The neck features 22 medium frets on a Rosewood fingerboard. The fret markers are abalone half moons that look much better than more common mother-of-pearl Dot inlays. My guitar has a beautifully flamed maple top that really shines with the cherry sunburst finish. The body and neck are mahogany with the body being bound with natural maple. Standard PRS body style with the deep cut-out for easy access to the upper register. Features dual humbuckers that are PRS designed. Tremelo bridge ha function very well. Closed tuning machines by PRS. The cordura gig bag that comes with the guitar is the best "case" that you will get with a guitar that costs less than $1000. Includes tools to adjust double-acting truss rod and an extra spring for the tremelo. // 8

Sound: This guitar can cover a wide variety of sounds. I play a lot of blues and rock and it fairs pretty well. Particularly the bridge pickup for a nice, tight distorted sound.I'm using it with a Marshall 15 watt amp and a Crate GFX 120, both of which can provide adequate effects to achieve unique sounds. The pickups, although generally good compared the stock pickups in most guitars in the $500 range, lack the ability to really sing or provide clear, lasting sustain. // 7

Action, Fit & Finish: Action and neck were set up very well when I purchased this guitar. However, the store that I bought it from deals in mainly high-end gear and may have performed their own set-up techniques on it. The pups height is perfect. The top was exquisitely bookmatched, appearing to be much like a top seen on a much more expensive PRS. The input jack comes loose after many hours of playing but that is simple enough to re-tighten by fingers. // 8

Reliability & Durability: This guitar will definitely do Live gigs, I have jammed extensively with friends and saw nothing that would indicate problems should it be played at a real gig. Hardware is solid, replaced strap buttons with Dunlop Straploks because of personal preference, but the originals were OK. The bridge, trem bar, knobs, and selector Switch are perfect. My main beef with this guitar is that it loves to go out of tune, particularly the 3rd string, but I plan on replacing the stock tuning machines with Sperzel locking machines, and I'm sure that will make a massive improvement. The finish is high quality, showing no signs of wear after two and a half years of solid playing. // 8

Impression: I have, overall, been very pleased with this guitar, if it were lost, I would probably buy it again, but only if it had the same type of amazing top that mine has on it. My other guitars consist of a Martin acoustic, which I adore, and an Ibanez that hardly ever gets played. In summation, this guitar can make pretty much any sound that I, in my humble playing ability can muster, and provide the tone and feel to knock other guitars in this price range on their heads. Many people want to know about this compared to an Epiphone Les Paul, this PRS is much better, it's lighter, has better action, and if you're gonna get a Les Paul, c'mon get a Gibson. I've been playing for almost six years now and have found that this guitar is a perfectly good stepping stone from beginner guitar to one that costs upwards of $1300, I personally will continue to play mine and after I add the Sperzel locking tuning machines and a Seymour Duncan SH-2 Jazz Humbucker in the neck position and a Seymour Duncan SH-4 JB in the bridge position, this guitar will be able to conjure the screaming leads, thick rhythms, and clean or dirty blues tones that make any guitar player happy to be alive. // 8

overall: 8.8

Reviewed by: gomer529, on january 05, 2007

Price paid: 550

Purchased from: Musicians Friend

Features: This guitar was made in Korea (don't let that fool you) around 2006. The body is a mahogany back with a flat maple top and flame maple veneer. The finish I got on my guitar was the gray/black finish with a maple edge. The neck is 25" scale length mahogany. 22 frets with a rosewood fretboard and moon inlays. The neck has a wide fat carve but is pretty nice for any size hands. It has a PRS designed tremolo which resembles that of a Fender Vintage tremolo. The tremolo arm pushes in instead of screwing in which is quite nice. There are also PRS designed non-locking tuners. The pickups are stock PRS designed treble and bass humbucking pickups with zebra bobbins. There is a volume, tone control, and a 3-way toggle switch. Included accessories are a deluxe gigbag, cable, allen wrench, extra spring. // 8

Sound: This guitar is pretty diverse. You can crank some pretty good jazzy sounds out with a clean tone with the tone knob rolled back a bit. For me, this guitar fits the classic rock style. This bridge pickup has a nice bite to it and is punchy. The neck pickup has a smooth/creamy tone that is good for soloing but the bridge pickup is also good for soloing. You can control the tone easily with the volume pot. If you roll off a bit on the volume, you'll get a good rhythm tone on a distortion channel. Once you crank the volume up, you get full tone out of the humbuckers. The sustain is pretty good if you don't expect hours of sustain. Overall, this guitar has a bright and punchy tone to it. // 9

Action, Fit & Finish: The action was perfect when I received this guitar. The pickups were fine but I adjusted them for my needs. The bridge seems properly routed. The finish is that of the American made PRS' and Gibson's but its nice for the price. The finishes were smooth with no flaws or blemishes whatsoever. // 9

Reliability & Durability: I've played this guitar live a few times and it has held up pretty well. The hardware is holding up quite nicely. The strap buttons are very very solid. Haven't used my other guitars recently because this guitar is so reliable. The finish also seems that it will last forever. I've banged the guitar against desks and chairs and it hasn't been scratched. It was even hit by a fan blade pretty hard and there were no scratches. // 9

Impression: Well because I play classic, '80s, alternative, and all kinds of rock, this guitar fits my style quite nicely. I've been playing for about 5 years now and I own a Fender Standard Strat, a Takamine acoustic/electric, and a Vox AD100VT. The only thing I would have really done before I bought this guitar is played it first. I had played similar guitars and figured this one was the same and I got lucky. If it got stolen/lost, I'd probably buy this guitar again. I played and Epiphone Les Paul and the guitar felt cheaply made. The PRS SE Custom is a solid guitar compared to the Epi Les Paul. I do kind of wish it had a Original Floyd Rose for the heck of it. // 9

overall: 8.4

Reviewed by: Thranriel, on may 10, 2008

Price paid: 0

Purchased from: Andertons music shop

Features: Made in Korea, has 22 frets with cool crescent moon inlays. Made of mahogany wood and has a solid top. Body and neck both made from mahogany. Finish: grey/black. Love it. lol It has a PRS tremolo bridge and 1 volume and 1 tone knob. Also has a 3-way switch for pickups. Humbucking pickups designed by PRS. I got a rather nice gig bag with it. I was quite suprised with the quality of the bag. // 8

Sound: I play metal and sometimes rock. more into the progressive side of things. I love this guitar as it fits my style brilliantly. I play lots of Opeth songs and this guitar pulls them off (maybe not the acoustic side of things, I use my acoustic for that lol). No matter whether it's heavy riffs or the solo type passages it does it well. First thing I noticed was how deep the sound was. Both me and my friend were impressed. I played the metal Demon of the fall with it to the quiet Windowpane and it was brilliant. would sound better with an overdrive pedal though. The sound of the guitar would be perfect for rock or light distortion though. // 9

Action, Fit & Finish: Guitar came with a great action and even told you how to change it just incase the neck bended whislt shipping, which it hadn't. Pickups were fine. pretty much everything was fine and I checked quite hard after playing it for a bit. Finish looked brilliant and action was so much better than my Les Paul Special 2. But I expected nothing else stepping up from a hundred pound guitar to a four hundred. // 8

Reliability & Durability: So far it helds its own. Everything about the guitar seems solid. Strap buttons are perfect (one of the first things I noticed since my les paul's strap buttons are awful). also the input plug seemed really solid (again les paul's was bad). I would deffinatley play it Live and probably will. I would without a back up, however accidents do happen so it would be nice just to have one, or at least a few strings. It seems pretty hard waring. I bought this guitar to last, and it looks like it will. // 8

Impression: Brilliant guitar. Loved it from the moment I saw it. still loving it lol. I've been playing 4 years maybe 5 and I own a Les Paul Special II, Crafter electro-acoustic guitar, a Fender Champion 300 amp (I used a friends Marshall thoough for this guitar my Fender champion is dead ) and a Boss Distortion pedal. If there was anything I would have loved to ask is whether I could change the colour of my pickups. The black and cream stripe thing is ok but they would have been so much better in white I recon. If it was stolen I would try and retrieve it and if it failed get a new one. Of course if I had more money I'd get one of it's PRS bigger brothers but that wont happen for a long time so I would probably buy it again. I love the action. I love the finish, and I love the sound. tends to detune itself a lot, not so much without the tremolo bar out but still noticible. although it doesn't detune it so much you would play a song and then use the wammy and then continue playing the song with the strings all out. I have to tune this roughly after every 2 songs I do with the wammy on and with it off it we need a lot of songs, but since I tune my guitar before playing each time and I use different tunings a lot it would be hard to say. Anyway to sum up. This guitar is lovely. It was worth every pound I spent on it. Such a step up from my old Les Paul. Sounds great. If you need a new guitar and you have been playing for a while I would buy this. Deffinatley. Ask about the colour of pickups before you buy it though if you don't like cream! // 9

overall: 9.2

Reviewed by: T-Unit33, on april 08, 2008

Price paid: 0

Purchased from: Guitar Center

Features: Made in Korea in 2006 I would assume. 22 frets on a wide fat mahogany neck. solid mahogany and maple body. Gray black high gloss finish. it's a typical PRS design, kinda looks like a Strat. PRS tremelo and tuners. Volume and tone controls, 3-way switch. Non locking tuners, zebra style pickups. It didn't come with any accessories. // 8

Sound: It suits my music style very well. I do a lot of modern/alternative rock (Nickelback, Breaking Benjamin, Foo Fighters) and it seems to go very well with them. It has a very good distortion sound to it, and a very clear clean tone when not distorted. Not much of a fan of the neck pickup, but the bridge pickup has a great sound to it. I use a Kustom 65W combo amp, with a Boss distorion and a Wah. The pedal gives the guitar more of a crunch while the amp distortion makes it a little more fuzzy. Great sounding with the classic wah, but I think I'm going to try out a tremonti wah pedal cause it seems to go better with modern rock. Hardly and noise at all, even when turned up pretty loud (I played a show with the amp on 8 and the guitar on 10, and you didn't hear any buzzes or hums). The guitar has a very nice sound to it, which could easily be put up against a Gibson or Fender model. But that is to be expected with any PRS, they make very quality guitars. // 9

Action, Fit & Finish: I'm pretty sure it was set up normal in the factory, I haven't really done any changes to it, cause it really doesnt't need any. The pickups are adjusted well, but yet again, I really don't use to neck one that much. The electronics and everything were set up well, it was able to rock the second it got home no problem. Nothing seems to be wrong with it, it was a very well put together guitar. Great finish to it also, the black gray kinda changes colors, it looks gray sometimes, kind of a dark gunmetal at others, and even green every now and then. // 9

Reliability & Durability: very good at playing Live, I love playing this guitar. All of the stuff has lasted very well, the strap buttons have held and it's very depedable. I have already used it before without a backup Live, and it went very well. The finish rocks and it's held up very well, hardly shows scratches, and I enjoy it very much. // 10

Impression: I love this guitar! It's definately my primary guitar, and I love playing it. I've been playing for a couple of years, and it is definately worth every cent. It lives up to it's PRS name very well, and I enjoy this guitar thoroughly. It would definately get another one hands down, but I doubt that's happening anytime soon (not the cheapest guitars in the world). it's a great guitar, and a lot of my favotrite guitarists use this brand, so it must have some good qualities to it. The only thing I wish is that it could be one of the higher up models, but I don't have 2500 dollars to spend on one, so this makes up for it very well. Great guitar, go out and get one. // 10

overall: 9.8

Reviewed by: PRSweet, on april 04, 2008

Price paid: 0

Purchased from: The Rock Shop

Features: PRS SE Custom 2005 made in Korea. Although I hear that Paul Reed Smith hires there own luthiers to oversee production (this might be a rumor). 22 frets wide-fat neck. Flamed maple top (very attractive. Online photo's don't give it justice). Mahogany back and neck. Double cutaway body two PRS humbuckers and tremolo. 1 volume 1 tone knob and 3-way pickup selector. PRS tuners (non-locking). With an included deluxe gig bag. Probably the nicest gigbag I've ever seen. // 9

Sound: I have a very eclectic choice in music. So this guitar is playing everything from As I Lay Dying to John Mayer stuff. It does very well with all of them. There are hotter pickups out there so if you're wanting an all out nothing-but metal guitar try something else(the same goes with the John Mayer Strat sound), but if versatility is your bag (like it is mine) then this guitar is for you. I play a higher end Crate amp with a Boss OD-20 and it's sounds really good to me. It hums just like any other guitar will do at higher volumes. // 10

Action, Fit & Finish: There were absolutely no flaws at all with this guitar when I bought it, and three years later it's still amazing. Action is perfect. The tremolo is beginning to raise in a little bit, but I'm going to get it adjusted as well add some more springs to it. Finish was flawless (I've since scratched and dented it). It has aged very well. The intonation is still dead on all the way to the 20th fret. Thank you PRS. // 10

Reliability & Durability: I've never had any issues with this guitar so far. I don't play live, but the guitar has survived me lugging it around to all my friends houses and two years in a Dorm. There's been no shorting of any kind. The finish hasn't chipped even despite the aformentioned dents. The only complaint I can think of is that the input jack gets loose sometimes, but I've never had a guitar that didn't have the same problem. // 10

Impression: Like I said my styles of music are very different, and the PRS SE Custom keeps up very well. A friend of mine liked it just as much as he did his Gibson Studio Les Paul (He's now a proud PRS 24 owner). I would definiteley buy anoher PRS SE model if mine was stolen. I might try a single cut or the new hollowbody they have out just for the sake of playing something new. Overall this guitar is awesome. // 10

overall: 9.8

Reviewed by: unregistered, on august 14, 2007

Price paid: 0

Purchased from: Steve's Music (Toronto)

Features: Well, this guitar is made fairly well, it was made in Korea, with 22 frets. It has a Wide-Fat Neck which is made from Rosewood, I beleive. It's body Shape is a double Cut-away, flamed-top Finish with signture PRS non-locking Tuners, PRS Humbuckers, and a PRS Tremolo, or PRS Stoptail Bridge. It has a Volume, and Tone control, with a 3-way toggle selector. If you were to buy this sexy guitar from Steve's Music, they supply the PRS SE gig-bag, a new cable, and a hand-full of "Steve's Music" picks. It's got good features. One thing that is very impressive, is that if you have the volume full, the distrotion is up, but if you have it turned down low, the distortion is low. Only 1 thing I wish this guitar had, was Locking tuners. Other than that, this guitar's features are great. // 9

Sound: This guitar is probably the most versitile gem I have seen. I play a wide range of genres, including Metal (Iced Earth, and Blind Guardian), Classic Rock (Jimi Hendrix, AC/DC, and Led Zeppelin), Punk (Misfits, and Afi), and the great Santana. With every style of music, this guitar pulls through without any flaws. I use a Peavey Backstage Transtube Amp with a Korg AX5G pedal. I use very Heavey distortion, clean, wah, and somtimes a nice warm sound, and it's not noisy at all. This guitar has no flaws, when it comes to sound. This is almost a perfect sound, for any genre. // 10

Action, Fit & Finish: This guitar was perfect, I bought it new, so there were no rust marks, or scratches. I have mine in Grey Black, and it's simply beautiful. The Finish is undescribable, and it looks sexy. The Flamed top is great, and it looks almost exactly like the Paul Reed Smith Custom, I love it. // 10

Reliability & Durability: This guitar will definatly withstand Live playing, and I know that it will last. The Hardware (pickups, bridge, tuners, etc) will last a life-time. The finish is beautiful (because it's a Paul Reed Smith) and it will last a very long time. I would probably not use it at a gig without a backup, because it does go out of tune, with lots of bending, so that could cause problems, without a backup. It is, however, dependable. I've had it for a year, and it's still in almost mint condition. Simply wonderful. // 10

Impression: This guitar is a great alternative to an expensive Paul Reed Smith guitar. It sounds amazing, feels amazing, plays amazing, it's versitile, and reliable. I play almost everything, including metal, punk, latin rock, and classic rock. This guitar delivers with every genre I decide to play. I love everything about this beauty. I fthis guitar were stolen from me, I would definatly buy another one. When I was at Steve's Music, I had my choice numbered to 2 guitars, PRS SE Singlecut, and the PRS SE Custom. I played both on the same amp, and they both sounded amazzing, but there was somthing about this Custom, I still can't describe it, I just knew that it was it. You'll have to go and try all the guitars in your price range that you like out, and see for yourself, maybe you will have the same feelings towards it as I do. I would recomend this guitar to anyone Who plays any type of music. If you love Paul Reed Smith guitars, but are on a budget, this is as good as it gets, no lies, it is the best guitar I've played that's under $1000. It's only $750 guitar, but it sounds like a $1000 guitar. // 10

overall: 9.2

Reviewed by: DDoug, on april 01, 2008

Price paid: 0

Purchased from: Guitar Center

Features: The Paul Reed Smith SE Custom is a 25" scale electric guitar with a 22 fret, set mahogany neck; a flamed maple top and mahogany back; rosewood fretboard with moon inlays; tremelo or stop tailpiece; 2 passive zebra humbuckers, with 1 volume and 1 tone knob and a three-way Switch. // 9

Sound: I play a varying range of musical styles, from rock, metal, blues, classic rock, funk, to hard rock. This guitar is able to achieve these sounds with ease. I am using a Fender Frontman 15G with no effects, and I'm still able to get great sounds out of it. The guitar responds well to overdrive/distortion, and produces little noise even when the distortion on my amp is turned all the way up. When I use it to get a classic rock sound, it has a lot of warmth that I was amazed to find that I could get this kind of sound even when playing on an eighty dollar, solid state amp. This guitar creates a rich, yet at the same time bright sound on clean. This is great for pretty much any clean tone you can think of. I give this section a ten mainly because I have a cheap starter amp and this guitar still makes it sound amazing. // 10

Action, Fit & Finish: The guitar was put together very well. The action was good, the pickups were adjusted properly. Although, because I bought it at guitar center, some minor adjustments had to be made to get the action just where I wanted it. No electronics or other hardware was damaged, but the tremelo tailpiece did give me slight trouble while trying to tune, but this was easily overlooked. Overall, the guitar is very comfortable, and gives you easy access to all of the frets. // 9

Reliability & Durability: From the first time you put your hands on this guitar, you can tell that you and it will have quite the lasting relationship together. The entirety of the guitar feels very sturdy. There is nothing on the guitar that feels like it is going to break easily. This guitar would easily survive gigging. It has fallen off of its stand many a time and still works as well as the day I bought it. // 9

Impression: I play mostly metal and rock, but also play blues, classic rock, and funk; and this guitar gives me the ability to explore all these sounds and more. The fact that it was able to make my little amp sound much better than it should, amazes me. If this guitar were lost or stolen, I would buy it again in a heartbeat. This guitar has amazing tone for the price, and can give musicians the tonal inspiration they need. The one thing I had a problem with in this guitar was the trouble tuning, but I noticed that just keeping your hand off of the tremelo tailpiece you'll be fine. I rate this guitar based on the price, and is better than many guitars I have tried that are in a similar price range. // 9

overall: 9.8

Reviewed by: Majestic_Throne, on august 21, 2007

Price paid: 0

Purchased from: Steve's Music

Features: This guitar, well this beautiful work of ART by Paul Reed Smith was made in Korea, with a 25" scale, and 22 frets that sit on a wide-fat neck with "half moon" inlays. The neck is made of rosewood, and the double cutaway, flat top body is made from Mohagany, with a maple top, and a beautiful flame top veneer. The bridge, tuners and both treble and bass pickups are all Paul Reed Smith designed. The only feature that this guitar lacks, is locking Paul Reed Smith tuners, but you could easily replace the Standard tuners with the better, locking ones. This guitar has a volume contol, tone contol, and a 3-way toggle switch. This guitar comes with a very nice gig bag that has "SE" in big letters, with "Paul Reed Smith Guitars" below it. Very, very nice. // 9

Sound: Well this guitar is simply amazing! For the price, you can get so many different sounds, from one guitar, I play a very wide range of music. From metal (Iced Earth, Blind Guardian), classic rock (AC/DC, Jimi Hendrix) and the man that started my obsession with Paul Reed Smith Guitars, Carlos Santana. This guitar sounds simply amazing for every type of music I decide to play. I jam with my teacher, and friends, and this guitar delivers! I use a Korg AX5G Signal Modeling Prosessor for affects, and a Peavey Backstage Transtube amp. Without the Korg AX5G, and the amp's distortion turned up to max, it's basicly great for AC/DC, but add the AX5G, and it opens many, many windows. I could have this guitar are the most distorted setting I can find, and it still delivers nice clean crisp sounds, with no noise. // 10

Action, Fit & Finish: This guitar was absolutly perfect, and still is, from the day I picked it up at the store, the action was perfectly wher I wanted it, and there were absolutly no flaws, what so ever. The Pickups were perfect for what I'd be using them for and the flat top was what won me over. I had never played a flat top before, and I was comparing this guitar, to the Paul Reed Smith SE Singlecut, which has a slightly carved top. From the moment I set the SE Custom on my lap, I knew it was for me. // 10

Reliability & Durability: This guitar will No Doubt withstand playing Live. I have had this guitar for almost a year, and everything is stil in mint condition. The hardware will last a life time if treated right, and the strap buttons are like rocks, wonderful. I can definatly depend on this guitar for anything. I wouoldn't use it without a backup however (unless there is time between songs), for only one small reason, because there is non locking tuners, it will get out of tune in time with bending. But if you aren't bending much (like if your a rhythem guitarist) then go ahead take it out without a backup it won't disapoint! // 10

Impression: This guitar was my perfect match from the moment I set it on my lap. I have been playing for around 3 years, and I've had this guitar for not even a year yet. Other gear I own includes, a Slamer Hamer beginner guitar, a cheap acoustic guitar with no make on it. I own a Peavey Backstage Transtube amp, and a Korg AX5G. If this guitar were stolen, I would definatly get another one. I love everything about this guitar! The non locking tuners aren't that bad either, they don't go out of tune with any minor bend, so they are good enough for now. My favorite feature of this guitar is probably, how versitile it is. I had compared this guitar to B.C. Rich's, and other Paul Reed Smith SE's, but I am completly happy with this guitar. I chose this guitar because I love Paul Reed Smith guitar, but I don't have like $2000 to spend on a guitar, so I'd rather have an SE than anyother guitar. Like I've said, the only thing I wish this beauty had, was locking tuners, which I plan on getting in the future. excellent! So if you love Paul Reed Smith guitars, then check up on the many SE's they offer, I recommend either this SE Custom, or the SE Singlecut. // 10

Comments

[schwedengitarre]

nice guitar

[guitar_god22]

seems pretty cheap for a prs

[Canfudil666]

is very good for the price and the performance

[nehpets5555]

guitar_god22 wrote:

seems pretty cheap for a prs

its a PRS SE ..thats why its so cheap

[CustomCustom]

I cant decide between the SE Custom in see thru black with trem (and buy some sperzels) or an Epi Les Paul Classic quilt top. The Epi has half an alder body which sucks, both have thicker type set necks but looks like you can play up high on the PRS much easier. But I love the arched top of the Epi, just a preferance, so Im still deciding.

[Kutanmoogle]

Between those two, I'd say go for the PRS Se Custom because of the fret access.

An arched top isnt all that great.

[FireHawk]

I have this guitar and love it...for a few reasons....I'm cheap and it still sounds great

[Kevin67]

I just got one of these - grey black with stoptail - and it's f@#king sweet. Best value for that price i've ever seen. Sounds great playing everything from death metal to blues even at high volumes. Fast but not too slippery fretboard and great fret access. The only thing I see found wrong with it is the tuners, because, sadly, they are non locking and don't stay in tune for 3 weeks like my last guitar did.

CustomCustom:
Definately get this guitar. Much, much better value for your money, - I find les pauls way overpriced - better fret access and sounds way better than the epiphones.

[realic]

sounds way better than the epiphones.

nahhh....plus the new elitests are kickass

[EatsP1es]

I just ordered one of these in grey/black with trem

If it's anything like as nice as the SE Soapbar (which I tried recently) then I know it'll be awesome, and since it costs 150 quid more then it fricking better =P

[NiK-117]

how is the tremelo system, how much can you play with the whammy without it going badly out of tune

[anarchy_skater]

IM thinking of buying one of these, i play punk/alternative and rock/heavy rock
should i get one?
Its the SE Custom Cherry sunburst, stop tail peice and zebra humbuckers
should i?

[Strongbow]

Yeah like many others im thinking about getting this or an en epi lp custom, gibson sg special or a shecter s-1, any suggestions?

[EatsP1es]

get this over a LP every time!

I got mine in grey/black w/ trem and its awesome. the action is perfect, the finish is amazing, the tone, the neck, the weight are all amazing. it does go out of tune a fair bit but i'd guess that's down to being fitted with gauge 9's. I'm gonna up to 11 soon

[depth]

i own that exact guitar, it really good for its price

[Punk2Guitar]

I like those sound samples , sounds pretty nice :O

not expensive at all , wish more people would add sound samples to there reviews =)

[dunebuge6969]

I'm defiently getting a PRS SE but i dont know which one to get this or the singelcut

Checked.

[Tool_fan]

I think the best looking PRS guitars have the transparent ripples....man PRS guitars are sweet

[TJgreenwood]

My friend has this guitar but i prefer my strat - it feels much nicer.

[Dr. Metal Head]

Sounds almost better than my guitar and this one costs about $60 less than mine, not bad.

[Tremonti333]

I'm think about buying a PRS Singlecut... not SE. Is that worth it though, I mean, those are pretty damn expensive.

[Tremonti333]

thinking*

[suhp1987]

um just off the topic, do any of you guys notice the home page shows picture of Paparoach on music reviews for weeks now?!

[.fili.meister.]

EatsP1es wrote:

get this over a LP every time!

I got mine in grey/black w/ trem and its awesome. the action is perfect, the finish is amazing, the tone, the neck, the weight are all amazing. it does go out of tune a fair bit but i'd guess that's down to being fitted with gauge 9's. I'm gonna up to 11 soon

i second this

i love this guitar

[Killing Lights]

Strongbow :
Yeah like many others im thinking about getting this or an en epi lp custom, gibson sg special or a shecter s-1, any suggestions?

i suggest the schecter s-1 elite
although i dont know too much about the other 2 i have the s-1 elite and it is amazing
it is awesome for drop tunings (im almost always in drop C) and the coil tap is great
although peopl esay the duncan designed arent good pickups, i disagree. they suit my style (as i lay dying, a7x, afi, ranging from that to soft, sometimes blues)

[badguitarist13]

same here. could have said it better myself it only u hadnt said it before me

[gtr-boy]

PRS is probably the best brand of guitar around much better then Gibson or Epiphone

[TrentonD]

I have this guitar - love it so much. My dream is to get the PRS Singlecut

[wigers will die]

its nice, pretty good price too

[Panasonic3]

i would definatley say that this is one of the best guitars made. its features arent the best, but for its price this guitar is amazing. i play mostly death metal, it has a really hard bite to it but it still sounds chilled. the first time i played it through the clean channel i almost wet myself it was so beautiful.

i recommend this guitar to anyone who plays guitar.

ive gotta say, this is my second favorite guitar, the first being the PRS double necked dragon guitar.

CHecked.

[.N30C0N.]

FireHawk wrote:

I have this guitar and love it...for a few reasons....I'm cheap and it still sounds great

Haha,
Nice

[CustomCustom]

they did sound better than epi lp's thru an amp at the store.

[led_zep_00]

gtr-boy wrote:

PRS is probably the best brand of guitar around much better then Gibson or Epiphone

nahhhhh. I owm a ginson les paul studio ad it sounds quite better than the se custom.

[sexmeister]

i would say its not a bad guitar but i would prefer an ibanez s or sa series

[gwitersnamps]

That first review sounds fake. Was it posted by a PRS employee, perhaps?

[valdemar 17]

ummmmm, is it just me or does it seem like the first guy works for prs

[amzrock]

This guitar is to play hoobastank, lostprophets, papa roach, velvet revover...??thanks

[EatsP1es]

the first review was by the UG team... =P

but yeah, my only complaint about this guitar is that the rythm pickup is REALLY bassy, like overpoweringly so. (when on a clean tone or similar)

[Mahoru]

Well, as you won't spend too much money on the guitar, you could change the pickups. ^^

[ECwomantoneman]

If this had separate tone/volume controls and trapezoid mother of pearl inlays, it would easily be my dream guitar, over the SG and the Les Paul.

[ECwomantoneman]

^A modding job methinks.

[Kirfa]

I have own my SE custom for exactly a month. Off guitar Center, it did need setup, but I got the ax for $490.- so with setup, I still got street price and hey, I got snake oil strings on it. The sound of this guitar is absolutely killer. You have to have a VERY undiscerning eye to grab an Epiphone Les Paul over this one. Actually, this guitar is at par or better sound-wise compared to a LPS. I am impressed both with its pure, clear voice playing it clean, as well as it squealing, grunting sounds played in overdrive and a variety of pedals (I own a Marshall AVT50). It works incredibly well with the MXR dyna comp pedal and the big muff pie, oh and the cry baby. There is no end to all ther good things that I can say about this guitar. Let me just say than when I first got it a month ago, I could not afford a LPS. Last weekend I had the extra dough, so I went back to the store resolved to do the uopgrade but, after playing the LPS a bit more, I was convinced there was no turning point, I kept the SE custom. I poured the extra money on the dyna comp, the setup, getting a set of texas road house pickups for my strat, the setup for the SE, man, I still had change to go back home with roses for my old lady! Folks: you can overcome the Gibson fever, it's okay, a Gibson will not make you better, this is one of those few cases in life where half price is actually a better deal.

[Kirfa]

One more thing: the craftsmanship is amazing. I own a strat and an 52 reissue tele. Both are extremely nice guitars, but I had to put some dough to get them. The SE Custom is absolutely at par: perfect finish, attention to every detail, a very good quality nut. The only thing I may do with time is upgrade the tuning machines to the better PRS ones. The guitar tends to go out of tune, although that problem is almost entirely gone after setup. I would highly recommend that you take the guitar from the store to a reputable shop for setup. You will notice the difference. One last thing, the tremolo bridge is awesome, better than the one on my strat. Note bending is just awesome with the SE!

[mustangrobert13]

i played this in a store yesterday. im plan on getting it when i get some dough. the tremelo was very light. my current guitar has a floyd rose with a locking nut, but this guitars tremelo was so much easier to use.

[Vintage_Axe]

can someone tell me if you can get this guitar with the bird fret inlays or doe sit only come with the standard dot inlays? cheers

[Der Bomber]

I tink they only come with the dot inlays.

[Mandopickr]

I own a 60's strat cp,lp studio,a dp strat, and this PRS SE custom. All have great sounds, but different, and that goes for the SE custom. The SE has a very full sound, kind of a bluesie lp sound, certainly closer to the lp sound than a strat sound. And while I prefer the 60's maple fingerboard and neck, this neck is also a pleasure to play. It feels smaller than it is, and its very easy to bend notes.The sustain is better than even the lp (I have the tremolo tailpiece, though I don't use the tremolo) The tone control has a very wide range, the finish is blemish free, and its a fun guitar to play , especially knowing that it is sub $500. I'm not sure that this guitar would satisfy heavy metal players, or someone looking for the 50's rock sound, but anywhere in between and you're in for a treat.
By the way, I use a gator lp case, and this guitar fits
pretty well. It has a little room at the top, but the sides fit snug.

[Nightfyre]

Mandopickr wrote:

I own a 60's strat cp,lp studio,a dp strat, and this PRS SE custom. All have great sounds, but different, and that goes for the SE custom. The SE has a very full sound, kind of a bluesie lp sound, certainly closer to the lp sound than a strat sound. And while I prefer the 60's maple fingerboard and neck, this neck is also a pleasure to play. It feels smaller than it is, and its very easy to bend notes.The sustain is better than even the lp (I have the tremolo tailpiece, though I don't use the tremolo) The tone control has a very wide range, the finish is blemish free, and its a fun guitar to play , especially knowing that it is sub $500. I'm not sure that this guitar would satisfy heavy metal players, or someone looking for the 50's rock sound, but anywhere in between and you're in for a treat.
By the way, I use a gator lp case, and this guitar fits
pretty well. It has a little room at the top, but the sides fit snug.

oh, its plenty good for metal, imho. gimme this and a schecter damien 7 (love those bat inlays!!!) and i'm good to go. ya, i'm cheap, but i'm poor. and this and the damien are both great guitars, though i don't have the damien yet. this prs is one of the highest quality guitars i've played on, and even though i'm poor, i like to play the high end stuff at the stores every now and then. this guitar is so much better than most of them its insane.
anybody know anything about the semi-hollow version of this? i cant find any reviews...

[limefan913]

I played this in stores, and it's probably going to be my next guitar if I can't get a slightly higher end PRS. The only thing I don't like as much is the wide neck that most PRS guitars tend to have, but if I want to play some Vai, I'll pick up my Ibanez JS1200.

[im_bored]

i played this in the store and its awesome, i would have got it if i had the money

[Slash15]

I just recently bought this guitar after a year of just starin @ it nd cryin I didn't have the money. Nd its perfect to me, I have a ibanez rg350, a b c rich warlock, a mockingbird, and a washburn acoustic electric but out of all of ma guitars I think that this is the best I have (so far). I haven't used it live yet but the studio work sounds friggin awesome. Its worth more than what it sells for.

[ever dying]

Thats the only PRS from the SE series that I don't have.. Yet!

It playes great, and will be mine as soon as I got the money :P

[f0x_guitarist]

i have one of these, they are freakin sweet
Get them at Guitar Center, i got mine cheaper there than i could find any where else, including musiciansfriend

[Dano69]

Ha Ha I'm getting sponsored by PRS, and im getting a new 2008 model SE . . . and im getting the cradle of filth signature guitar! BALLS!
thats fine.

[kidcharlemagne7]

I just got my semi hollow version of this yesterday (finally) and I have to say that it's even better than the already great SE Custom. It has an unbelievable sound through a clean amp and also handles the funkier and jazzier stuff with ease. Also, it looks unbelievable in the natural finish. Another winner for PRS.

[Nightfyre]

led_zep_00 wrote:

gtr-boy wrote:

PRS is probably the best brand of guitar around much better then Gibson or Epiphone


nahhhhh. I owm a ginson les paul studio ad it sounds quite better than the se custom.

i'd hope so... it costs, what, 3 times more? dollar for dollar, though, se custom wins, especially for those of us who don't have deep pockets or parents willing to fund our guitar obsessions.

[kfong03]

i like

[Lamentation]

I'm little worried about that wide fat neck, is it much larger than a "normal" say strat neck?

[Nightfyre]

Lamentation wrote:

I'm little worried about that wide fat neck, is it much larger than a "normal" say strat neck?

it's not as big as it sounds like. at the nut it's about standard size i think, and it's a comfy kind of large. it shouldn't slow you down or anything. try it out and see for yourself though.

[Nightfyre]

kidcharlemagne7 wrote:

I just got my semi hollow version of this yesterday (finally) and I have to say that it's even better than the already great SE Custom. It has an unbelievable sound through a clean amp and also handles the funkier and jazzier stuff with ease. Also, it looks unbelievable in the natural finish. Another winner for PRS.

Lucky! I prefer the blue finish myself, I'm gonna get one in a couple months when I have enough cash.

[dahelunover]

I got the SE Custom two days back and it sounds awesome. The pick-ups respond very well, the neck is great for soloing, the sustain that you can get on this axe is amazing and most importantly it's way cheaper. I can't seem to bend notes to the extreme though, maybe it's me or the strings. I wish it had locking tuners, but that's not much of a problem as I'll replace the original ones soon.
I would recommend this to anyone, from beginner to professional, once you replace the non-locking tuners with locking ones!

[teeco]

CustomCustom wrote:

I cant decide between the SE Custom in see thru black with trem (and buy some sperzels) or an Epi Les Paul Classic quilt top. The Epi has half an alder body which sucks, both have thicker type set necks but looks like you can play up high on the PRS much easier. But I love the arched top of the Epi, just a preferance, so Im still deciding.

The epi are so damn heavy... this is a nice feather weight... w/o losing sustain

[PRSweet]

A pair of Dragon II's and a set of locking tuners and the PRS SE custom is officially better than any guitar under a thousand.

[JoelTheShredder]

isntt this guitar the poor mans version off the custom 22? how does it compare to that because i wasnt incredibly impressed when i played the custom 22?

[buttflaps]

u smell

[JoelTheShredder]

nicce

[elgranmapache]

This looks just like my ESP LTD EC-1000

[GuitarPlayer716]

It's quite different than the EC-1000, actually. The PRS has a double cutaway look, where the EC is a single cutaway. Personally, I think the EC-1000 is a better guitar, but that's just me.

[suggy88]

I wish PRS made bass' Their guitars are amazing. I dont have this one but i do have the SE Soapbar II and its amazing

[TastyMooglePie]

suggy88 wrote:

I wish PRS made bass' Their guitars are amazing. I dont have this one but i do have the SE Soapbar II and its amazing

They do, but they're expensive as hell.

[SANDERS1345]

this guitar is amazing. i own one and could not be happier with it.

[guitarist_with_]

Save up a bit more money and buy a decent PRS.

[markisouvlaki]

Hmm, I doubt the legitimacy of the featured review...

[mr. ...]

Strongbow wrote:

Yeah like many others im thinking about getting this or an en epi lp custom, gibson sg special or a shecter s-1, any suggestions?

shecter definatly

[CustomCustom]

These are nice but no locking tuners and flat top made me choose a swamp ash Laguna LE322 over it for $400 vs. $550 for the PRS. The Lagunas frets were bigger and neck slightly thinner also.

[jndietz]

just buy the real thing.

[GuitarPlayer716]

Does anyone other than me think the PRS are overrated guitars?

[G.Krizzel]

GuitarPlayer716 wrote:

Does anyone other than me think the PRS are overrated guitars?

Gibson and Fender are overrated