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Ok, I've always seen the difference between the SE's and the US models. Was never going to kid myself and think that the SE's were just as good. But I gotta say this is the closest to a Core that an SE will ever be. Makes sense in that Paul would never put his "Pauls Guitar" moniker on anything of less quality and just sheer playability. The pickups are amazing and the twin switches for the coil taps are the best system for that feature that I've used.The tones from this guitar are off the charts.I got the limited edition Trampas green version and it is stunning! The top is beautiful and the back and headstock in the more natural color are just amazing!Don't let anyone fool you that you need to change the tuners, lockers would have been great but these beauties work just fine, hold tune forever and are smooth as glass! I won't be changing them for a long time if ever.This just became my goto stage guitar in front of several S2s and Core models. And all for under a Grand.Hell, it came out of the box perfectly in tune and set up no better than I could do myself and I am VERY picky.Insane!

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My search for my 'perfect electric' has stopped at the PRS SE Paul's Guitar. While it's almost impossible to find the 'perfect' guitar, this is as close to my personal preferences as I'm going to find, and feel lucky I did so! And didn't have to make an exception on the color, as this Amber/yellow is what I wanted (looks great at gigs against a black shirt), and couldn't believe I found it with this PRS! So I got the color I wanted, now what about the important stuff? I'm a bar cover band lead guitar player in Indiana, which means I play everything from country to classic rock, this guitar gives me the meaty Les Paul sound (but incredibly LIGHT weight - good for older players, another important factor for me) with the humbuckers, but the taps that give you actual single coil instead of 'tapped' (you'll have to search for more on that concept) for that country twang if needed. You can get tele, strat, or les paul sounds with easy flip of the switches, which are in the right place and out of the way of playing, but reachable.The neck play is also very Les Paul-like. It's fat, and easy to play ZZ Top type dirty riffs, but also very smooth for finger-picking. It REALLY is a great neck. I think it arrived with the action a bit high, but I was planning to get it setup, fretboard cleaned, etc anyway. But until that happens in the next couple days, I've been playing it all day and even with the slightly high action, I can't put it down. It actually shouldn't be that hard to adjust the action myself since the bridge is just one piece with two screws, but at this price, I'm having it done properly so no questions regarding truss rod, etc. Jumbo frets are awesome, and feel like they've been filed and smoothed, not jagged edges and hand slides up and down the side of the neck with no scraping on frets. Makes moving up the neck very efficient.ONE NEGATIVE, and reason for 4 1/2 stars: Yeah, I didn't think when I read about the tuners that it would even be a consideration to me, but it is odd that they seem a little cheap. Even on a couple of the guitars I returned because they didn't fit my feel test (fender tele custom, and a couple others) had awesome smooth tuners. The tuners on this feel cheap enough that I'm thinking of having them replaced, mainly due to the fact that I plan to make this my last high end guitar purchase (hoping it is my main guitar until old age prevents me from playing live) might as well upgrade those just because.But those tuners are NO reason to pass on this - it's just an absolutely beautiful guitar that you want to look at as much as play. And being a shallow person, the look and fact that it say PRS is a 'proud' feeling to me, which is why I tried a few other 'name brand' guitars first, but feel has to be there regardless of name, so I feel lucky and satisfied that I can not only enjoy playing this gem for years to come, but I can be proud to be seen playing it by other musicians (don't act like you don't know what I'm talking about!)Buy it!

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This guitar is awesome! It took me a while to pull the trigger, as a lot of the reviews were of the previous generation with the different pickups. I am happy to say this guitar was worth every penny! I own a PRS SE with 85/15s pickups, and I have this which has the TCI S pickups. The two sound similar, but the TCI pickups are a much cleaner sound, and sound amazing with the gain and tone dialed in. The ability to switch from dual to true single coil is awesome, it has a great array of sounds you can get between the single coils. The neck pick up is by far my favorite, it is a warm and clean sound, and the beveled edges on the pickups is awesome. The fret feels smooth as butter, and the guitar has no problem putting out powerful sound even at 70% volume. If you are learning, gigging, playing live, this would be great. Between all the different distinct tones you can get out of this guitar, pretty much any style is going to sound awesome! The only thing I wish it had was a tremolo setup and then we would have the ultimate set up! Another thing to note is that the stop tail bridge is the same one they use on the Core guitars, and it feels and looks like a million dollars. If you took the SE logo off of it, you would be hard pressed to tell the difference between it and its more expensive brother, other than the more significant carve on the nicer guitar. The last thing is the most common thing I have seen in reviews of this guitar are the tuners. They are honestly perfectly fine. The do feel a little cheap even compared to my Floyd Rose SE 24 which has the generic all metal PRS tuners. I would imagine it would be quite the process to swap them over to locking tuners, because the tuners on this guitar has two screws on either side, vs the one on the locking tuners.

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Could never have believed 9ubtil I played it_ what an absolute gold mine of a guitar I ha in a gorgeous red flame maple. This is the finest guitar I have ever owned and I;ve been playing for over 26 years. Went through tons of Strats, Teles, Reverends (the most over priced guitats on the planet.....Var none in my opinion I have had plenty pf Les Pauls and avout every huitat I have ever played but nyhing has had this fine a best sounds better than anything I have ever played (including the S2 ) I will never sell trade for anything. This guitar gives you everything you want and way more. I would have liked a case but I had one for it because it even the $1800 S2;s come in a gig bag. But the guitar makes up for it with the best feel and action you'll ever see come out of a box. I can.t compare it to anything, in my book it is in a league all it;s own and I absolutely believe it is the best buy you will ever make, I have never been more please, excited and delighted buy any other guitar. The neck is a masterpiece and like nother PRS you can but, dimply wonderful. In all the time I've been playing ever the $300 guitars get put to shame. IMO the best guitar money cab buy. Check iy out and see if you cab put it down. I couldn't and that Red "The Paul" is a life time purchase I will never regret.I LOVE that guitar ot has the most amazing neck, balance Sound and playability and after playing it for the last few months It outplays and sounds better than the 50+guitars I have sold, traded or sent back tjhs is by far the winner hands down. What a steal for $999. You'll never find better IMO.

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Just got my new prs and I must say it is everything that the folks at prs said it would be. Worlds of tone with the TCI pickups beautiful finish and dont let the se worry you it is 1st class in every way Ive had core models and other se guitars this will stand right beside any of them there dosent seem to be any type of music it cant handle. Love it. zZounds is the best

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I’ll start this review off by saying that this is one beautiful guitar. The attention to detail, quality of materials and workmanship speak to you early on. I have two other electric guitars, a 2019 Gibson Les Paul Studio Tribute, and a Fender Strat American Deluxe Plus, and when I first took my PRS SE Paul’s Guitar out of the box and started playing it, my first impression was that it isn’t as nice as either one of my other guitars, both from a materials and playability point of view. It also is lighter, has a lot more gloss to it, and has a different feel to it. But the more I played it, and tried out all the different settings available to change the sound, I started thinking that it is a very good purchase and fits in well with the Gibson and the Fender for the very reason that it is different, with a lot of flexibility and many sound options. And even though initially I felt that it was a “cheaper” feeling than the electrics I already have, but after a while it started growing on me the more I played it, and the PRS kept growing on me to the point that I didn’t want to put it down, I just wanted to keep looking at it and playing it. Pre-purchase I was was also a little concerned about the term “wide fat” neck as I have hands that are a little on the smaller side for an average size guy, but immediately after picking it up, it was apparent that concern wasn’t warranted. I measured the neck at the nut and it measured 43.2 mm using digital calipers; my Gibson measures 43.5 and the Fender measures 42.9, so from a measurement standpoint the PRS SE Paul’s Guitar falls right in the middle between my other two, which are both very comfortable to play, and so is the PRS. One more observation on my PRS: as I mentioned, I have watched many videos and have seen many pictures on the PRS, and noticed that on a lot of them the lines on the two separate halves of the top piece do not all line up on, but on mine someone has gone to a lot of trouble to make the entire top have the look of a piece of art, so I feel I can truthfully say that the PRS SE Paul’s Guitar that I received from Zzounds is truly the “Creme de la Creme.” And thank you zZounds for getting this wonderful guitar to me so quickly!

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Got this guitar a few days ago and I’ve been playing it quite a bit. The set up out of the box was very good. Other reviewers have mentioned the tuners as cheap and not good. They feel a little on the cheap side but seem to work well so far and the guitar holds tune very well. So far I’m extremely satisfied. I love the coil tap switches over the push pull pots. There doesn’t seem to be any volume drop off when switching. The guitar has a great sound both clean and with some drive. The neck is smooth and feels extremely comfortable playing. Overall, I’m extremely happy with this guitar, especially for the price. I got mine for a discount because it’s supposedly blemished, but I can’t find anything wrong with it.

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Having sold my 2 core Custom 22's several years ago while thinning the herd, I've been PRS-less. But I've still had the desire for one but not spend a ton. This guitar fits the bill- honestly it's one of the best sounding guitars I've ever had, and I've had a lot!The guitar arrived on time, zZounds was great. Unboxing it, the guitar arrived in excellent shape and satisfied my expections on the look of the guitar. It looks just like the one on the PRS website.Plugging it in, I was shocked at how good it sounds. It sustains forever, and the TCI-s pickups are some of the clearest humbuckers I've ever tried. What really surprised me was how good the pickups sounded when the coil splits were engaged. The videos are true- you get authentic single coil sound out of these humbuckers.The action need tweaking and the trussrod needed adjustment to play well out of the box, but that is to be expected. Once adjusted, the guitar plays great and the wide fat neck is very comfortable. But if you like thin necks, this is quite a change. I personally like a fatter neck profile.The only downside of this guitar, as mentioned other places, are the tuners. They are very stiff and touchy. I've already ordered locking replacements that I hope will fit with no drilling. PRS should spec better tuners to make this guitar flawless.With the 3 piece body and neck, and the veneer top, this guitar obviously isn't in the same class as the core models, but it costs 1/4 as much. Still, it looks great, plays and sounds great, and it scratches my PRS itch. It's very close in performance and sound to the core model.Get this guitar, it's a no-brainer if you're looking for a versatile guitar in the $1000 range.

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I've played on and off ever since I was in about 7th grade. I never was a serious guitar player as my main instrument was a saxophone. Over the years I've had a 70's Les Paul, Fender Strat, a few Epiphone Les Pauls, and a Martin Acoustic. Because I never played much, over time I sold off the guitars for mostly dumb reasons! I've held on to the Martin and a cheap Les Paul Special II just to pick up occasionally.Recently I've been itching to start playing again and actually pragmatically learning how to really play - vs just hacking around like I have always done.I was scouring YouTube for guitar reviews and came across a bunch of reviews of the PRS SE Paul's guitar. After much deliberation I decided to give it a go.Wow, the guitar is amazing. It's the best guitar that I've ever held and played. I don't really know how to describe it, but it just feels really great in the hands and the playability and sounds that you can get out of this are awesome! Right now I'm using a Monoprice Stage Right 15W tube amp (which is a super value also) as the main amp for this and between the amp and guitar am able to get a wonderful sound. Can't help but keep the grin off my face when I plug in and go. It's fantastic!The guitar shipped fast and came to me unscathed. The only issue I would note to zZsounds is that I wish they would have put some filler packing material in the larger box that the guitar was packed in. The guitar box inside was bouncing around in the outer box, and it was half open and the gig bag sticking out when I got it. Not too happy about that, but the guitar was fine inside the included gig bag. I just wish that this was more thoughtfully packed for shipment. FedEx did do a number on the outside box with some smash marks etc.However all in all I'm fairly happy with the experience and product!

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And it turned out even better than the first. There are lots of pics of this guitar all over the web and one online seller even has pics of the actual guitars they have in stock. They all looked fine, but for some reason my illogical subconscious was telling me to order from zZounds, sight unseen. I was happy with the guitar I got two weeks ago....why not again?It arrived yesterday and when I opened the box I was shocked. Absolutely the best looking one I had seen yet. Luck? Probably. But if zZounds is gonna be consistently lucky for me, why change? Nope....Wish I could add a pic of this beauty, but there is no option for that. Email me and I'll send you some pics. zZounds has my email address and they hereby have my permission to hand it out for this purpose.

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So, I used to own a PRS S2 Custom 24 USA, made in Maryland. I prefer the pickups on this guitar. I’d say, fit finish and feel are just as good. Pickups and pickup selection (with single coils that sound like decent P90’s) is insane at this price. Hands down, I rate this over my USA S2, and that’s incredible considering the price. Pickups are dynamic, great for blues and blues rock. Single coil switch, sounds like a decent P90, and allows for a handful of great configurations. Lots of guitars offer coil splitting humbuckers to single coils, but this is so much better to my ears. If I had to sum up this guitar, I’d say… imagine a great feeling, light guitar with great sustain and really good tone right out of the box, easily worth $800, plus a guitar with the same feel etc with a decent set of P90 single coils, easily worth $800… then it’s the same guitar with all the configuration options between those pickups. I could honestly see this guitar being a value at $1,600. I’d say this is a blues/blues rock guitarist’s dream come true for an intermediate priced guitar. Definitely worth the price tag.

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I just received my new SE Paul's Guitar in Trampas Green. I bought it as a "Blemished" version for $100 cheaper because it was the only one they had left in this color. I was expecting some rather obvious damage or wear, but can't find anything wrong with it at all. It looks perfect, and it is stunning. Love the way it plays, too. I was worried that the "Wide Fat" neck was going to feel too chunky for me (I usually prefer modern thin necks) but it feels very comfortable. I am still experimenting with the tones, but so far this thing sounds great, especially with the coils tapped - these tapped hum buckers sound better as single-coils than the stock single-coils on my Fender Strat! Overall, I am very pleased with this purchase, so far. It definitely hits well above its price point. Thanks zZounds, and thanks Paul Reed Smith.

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Played Strat since 1968, And now at retirement age I found a guitar with a exact replica of a ‘62 strat neck. Am switching over to PRS, the fit and finish is better than any fender I’ve ever played. Thanks PaulLyman

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The PRS SE Paul's guitar is the best SE I have ever played and I have owned several models. To add, PRS SE guitars will stand against other guitars costing well over $1500.00 to $2000.00. In my opinion and experience, there are no comparable guitars in their price range with PRS SE guitars.

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My second PRS in a year (after 40 years dotted with Strats & Les Pauls), and I’m continually impressed, as I am with my Egyptian gold Santana singlecut. The Paul’s guitar is about a full pound lighter than the Santana, which is in Les Paul territory at 8lbs 11oz - RARE for a PRS, but I selected it for its weight. That being said - the lighter Paul’s feels like a tactical weapon, which is what I was going for: quick neck & fretboard, under 8lbs, and tonal flexibility. My only nitpick for guitar at this price point (as others on YouTube comments point out as well) are the cheap feeling & operating tuners - they honestly feel like they’re going to disintegrate between your thumb & forefinger. I don’t care if they’re locking or not, but if Epiphone can employ the smooth Grovers on guitars half the price, well - you know what I’m saying. Gonna replace these ASAP with pearloid button Klusons. 7th guitar I think on zZounds PayToPlay, and should be plenty more to come!

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I would have purchased this guitar for looks alone. Set up was excellent, tuners really hold with 10's. I was comfortable with it in a few hours. Tone options are very distinct with the split coil function.

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AMAZING, WOW FACTOR IS BEAUTIFUL!!!!

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Due to several irrititating circumstances I was bound and determined to hate this guitar. (Useful background I've bought well over 20 guitars from zZounds, so not the first time). First, I decided to get this because they had a blem. ALWAYS get the blem. It's just a return or opened product. I've never found a single flaw with any of them. If there's a cosmetic damage they DO have a category called scratch and dent, so blem is not that. Well, for whatever reason I put in my cashapp card for the plan, which I use to make payments all the time. Well I was busy the next couple days and then went to check on my order tracking. Well all it said was that you can't use "prepaid" cards for the payment plan. First of all, I use it all the time, second of all, it's not prepaid, it comes out of the bank just like my debit, but that's not important, what's important was the blem had been sold so if I was going to get it, it was going to be another almost $200. Ok well I ordered it again. At this point it's important to know that a couple years back Fed Ex kept dropping my packages half a mile up the street on the other side of the stop light at an address of an abandoned business, and because of that, All my deliveries are signature required. WEll, I just missed the Fed ex guy, so I got on line and tried the feature to have them leave it at fed ex and I would just go pick it up, intended to be later that day. WEll, the day came and went and no change in the delivery status. Well next day, I hear the dogs and the fed ex guy is leaving. On my porch are the other smaller item parts of the order with different tracking. And they didn't leave the guitar. I get on line and notice it says up to 24 hours to register the delivery change request. WEll, guess they'll take it to the office today and I'll go get it. Nope. Now delayed until the NEXT day, which was Friday. But it gets worse, I get an alert that it's changed again, and now it will be next MONDAY. Of course I call. I explain to them that I could order this again right now and have it here Saturday. Tomorrow I could order it again and have it here again Sunday. Please just leave my package where it is NOW so I can go pick it up. ALl they do is read the status to me. No one will do anything. I have a busy weekend so I can't follow up anymore. Well monday morning I look up the status. Delayed again until Tuesday. I ask zZounds to intervene, nope. WEll wednesday I have to leave out of town for the rest of the week, so forget it. IT's going back to zZounds. I'm not even going to pick it up. I HATE it now. I hate Fed ex. I hate zZounds (not really baby I just needed some space right then). TUesday, yep, delayed again. I leave for 5 days. Following tuesday I'm back. I had lost and broken my phone on the trip, it was all bad. $250 deductible for that. I needed a win. Some good news. WEll I look at the tracking. Now it's ready for pickup at a Walgreen's about 20 miles away in another city. Whatever. I go to get it and take it home. I stare at the box. Can I really just send it back? Better have a look-see. Ok, well I take it to practice. I just like the look on their faces whenever I walk in with another new guitar (I have around 47 now after getting rid of some along the way). I play it, but I leave the tag on it. In fact, the tag is STILL on it right now and I've gigged with it. Anyway, let me tell you, I LOVE this guitar and it sounds MEAN as hell and soo good. I had the PRS Silver Sky in Red for a few weeks and never bonded with it or liked it. Sold it. I also have a 7 string PRS I got in a trade that I never play. But THIS PRS is fantastic. WEll in fact I got the Harley Benton version of this guitar and really liked that actually so that was part of the reason I pulled the trigger here. Anyway, it feels good, looks good, extremely versatile, and plays clean nicely and just absorbs growl. It's easily going to see time that I would normally devote to the Gibson SG, one of my go-to's, or my Schecter Solo CUstom II or ESP Eclipse, or EPI LP Custom. It's in that category basically, and looks great. Lots of compliments on this guitar. Anyway, get it. It's a fantastic guitar. Easily as good as my other USA guitars, Fender and SG. I don't really care about country of origin on any of these, Indonesia has been pumping out outstanding schecters and they stole me from Ibanez who I've been getting my whole life this past couple years. All very serious instruments. Even the Sun Valley Shredders are fantastic. WEll that's my story, enjoy your Paul's guitar. mine is the aqua.

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I ordered this guitar and when it arrived it was nothing like the picture! No recessed knobs, the neck was black not brown, the pickups were black, the inlays were different and all the hardware was different. Your not getting what you see!! Complete bait n switch! They said they can’t control what picture PRs gives them. The only thing the same was the color!! ***you will not get this guitar!!***