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Comments
I need to check the serial numbers on my SE guitars to confirm their dates of manufacture.
Modern ones I've not played, but my friend had an excellent original Tremonti sig (no trem, white singlecut) and it was well built but the tuners were those horrid winged tuners prs liked, and the pickups were dogshit. Apparently newer ones have very good pickups.
The bridge and tuners were the worst but I’m sure the frets also suffered too.
The guitar itself is pretty good and well made, but I replaced everything apart from the neck/body, scratchplate and bridge.
As the range has expanded they've gone upmarket, but I've never tried any of the cheaper SE Standards, I don't know how they compare with the old models.
Cost was about £540 back then , nearly double that of the SE Custom , I only paid £280 new as it was on offer as the last one on sale anywhere , I love the neck so, I changed the pickups turning it into a rock beast, the quality is as good as anything else I've had , its a Korean one , I can't speak for the newer ones though.
I've also got an SE Custom 22 that I think is from 2009 or maybe earlier (Edit have checked, definitely 2009 at WMI). Can't look at the headstock right this second. It's a very nice guitar. Has moons instead of bird inlays. I guess it's a bit boring really, completely flat top. Doesn't quite feel as premium as my SE 245 but it's still a well made instrument.
I had a Santana special (p90s) a few years ago, must have been a 2012 or so model. Incredible for the price. Pickups were still a bit meh but it rang really nicely and the neck/fretwork were fantastic for a £300 guitar.
I purchased a 2017 custom 24 a few months ago, after trying out a couple of more recent ones (both Korean and Indonesian made). Now we're talking. Impeccable fretwork, pretty much flawless fit and finish, very decent pickups. I sold it to fund a core model, but kinda regret letting it go. Sure, it doesn't quite ring like a us model, but it's about 80% of the way there in terms of playability and sound.
So I would say there has definitely been a step up (in line with a price increase, it has to be said). But given that the older ones can be scored for about £350 used, that's also a lot of guitar for the money.