PRS SE Bernie Marsden LTD edition Andertons £549

Tenebrous

Just the normal sunburst. I'll put pics up when it comes

Grumpyrocker

As shall I when my 245 arrives tomorrow.

Grumpyrocker

My SE 245 has just arrived from Peach. It's gorgeous.

Tenebrous

God damn, dude. That's absolutely gorgeous.

Musicman20

Jees, that looks like a £1600 guitar. Gibson need to step up their lower line and FAST. 

thegummy

Musicman20 said:

Jees, that looks like a £1600 guitar. Gibson need to step up their lower line and FAST. 

Interested why you feel that.

I've got a couple of PRS SEs and they are good quality but I can't see what you can see from those photos that make it seem better than other guitars in its price range?

TTBZ

^looks great, nice guitar

Wish I liked the necks on the SE 245, just a bitb too wide and fat for me. The Bernie neck felt more manageable which I might have been imagining. They're great guitars, the 2 I played were so lively, big and resonant. Made a lot of LPs I've tried sound completely dead.

KrisGee

thegummy said:

Musicman20 said:

Jees, that looks like a £1600 guitar. Gibson need to step up their lower line and FAST. 

Interested why you feel that.

I've got a couple of PRS SEs and they are good quality but I can't see what you can see from those photos that make it seem better than other guitars in its price range?

I imagine that what @Musicman20 ; meant is that you can spot gibson's sloppy QC from a mile, whilst this 245 from a production line somewhere in Asia looks like a perfectly executed instrument with no build flaws.

Musicman20

KrisGee said:

thegummy said:

Musicman20 said:

Jees, that looks like a £1600 guitar. Gibson need to step up their lower line and FAST. 

Interested why you feel that.

I've got a couple of PRS SEs and they are good quality but I can't see what you can see from those photos that make it seem better than other guitars in its price range?

I imagine that what @Musicman20 ; meant is that you can spot gibson's sloppy QC from a mile, whilst this 245 from a production line somewhere in Asia looks like a perfectly executed instrument with no build flaws.

Exactly. From the photos it looks really well finished. Very slick. 

Grumpyrocker

Right now it's sat on the next stand to my 2009 Les Paul Traditional which cost £1700 brand new. Okay, those of us in the know can you the difference in cost between the pickups and a solid maple cap is better than a maple cap with a veneer on (it's important to pay for mm of wood you can't see!!!). Yet i think most folks looking at the pair would thing they were very much of a kind. This SE 245 reminds me very much of the LP Studio 60s Deluxe I foolishly sold last year, strikingly similar in fact.

thegummy

Grumpyrocker said:

Right now it's sat on the next stand to my 2009 Les Paul Traditional which cost £1700 brand new. Okay, those of us in the know can you the difference in cost between the pickups and a solid maple cap is better than a maple cap with a veneer on (it's important to pay for mm of wood you can't see!!!). Yet i think most folks looking at the pair would thing they were very much of a kind. This SE 245 reminds me very much of the LP Studio 60s Deluxe I foolishly sold last year, strikingly similar in fact.

I agree with that but I'd extend it to most guitars in that price range; I.e. Gibson having poor quality at high price is the unusual thing. I think most people wouldn't know if an Epiphone was different to a Gibson side by side.

Tenebrous

Mine arrived not long after you posted yours. I've been playing with it for the last two hours or so, and it's finish & playability are totally up there with the other mid-priced guitars I've had over the years. Thankfully, it doesn't encroach too much on the 611 & the RG, so it slots nicely into my little group. I suck at taking pictures compared to Grumpyrocker, but hey, let's turn this into a budget R8 thread

Grumpyrocker

That's lovely. Happy NGD.

Tenebrous

You too!

timmypix

Happy NGD to you both! They really are quality instruments, my Bernie certainly feels equal to my Gibson LP and not far behind my recently acquired core PRS. Certainly much better than my old Epi LP.

thegummy

timmypix said:

Happy NGD to you both! They really are quality instruments, my Bernie certainly feels equal to my Gibson LP and not far behind my recently acquired core PRS. Certainly much better than my old Epi LP.

When I compare the two, the PRS SE does seem higher quality due to it being glossy and having no flaws. The Gibson, though, seems more "hand made" or less like a modern machine made guitar. I think it's largely due to the particular model I have not having a glossy finish so not sure this would still ring true for a Gibson that had a glossy finish etc.

McToot

Well - my Bernie went to a good new home yesterday after a classic TfB 'meet a bloke in station deal'. This thread has stirred some seller remorse, it has to be said, but at the end of the day it was up against a £3k guitar in the Feline and as good as the SE was, it's not in that league.

I still have a PRS CU22 which is on long-term loan to  me from a relative and I've been playing it A LOT. At first I was blown away by the feel and sound, but bit by bit I'm cooling on it. I hope this isn't just me just succumbing to the hater bias but I'm increasingly of the opinion that it somehow lacks character: the neck especially is just so 'normal' - perfectly comfy, of course, but neither thick nor thin, U nor C. It's maybe a bit bland.

The trem is a joy and the pickups are lovely, though. Still when I pick up theFeline, it seems to stick its chest out and shout character.

I'm sure some of this is in my head but I'm trying to be as objective as possible. 

Fifty9

I just picked up @McToot's Bernie and its a lovely guitar for the money. Not on a par with the 2017 LP traditional that I owned @1k tho. I'd say the plastic birds really do look cheap imho and the only disappointing thing on it. The rest of the guitar is awesome tho - its perfectly finished, light and rings like a bell - and this seems identical in that respect. HNGD!

timmypix

Glad @McToot's Bernie has found a good home, looks like a cracking guitar! @Fifty9, how are you finding the Oil City pickups? I'm very tempted to pick up some OCPs given their popularity on this forum.

Fifty9

Not been able to plug it in yet and wont for a few weeks. Everything I've read/heard leads me to believe they'll be top drawer. @McToot is the man to ask about that.