PRS Santana SE, Need Info

[Erik2005]

Hello

I was looking at the PRS Guitars prices on the net' and noticed that you Can get a PRS Santana SE for about $500. I looked up the specs and this guitar seems to be alot like the McCarty. Does anyone have any experience with these? Do they sound alot like the PRS McCarty? If so this might be my better option than the Epiphone Les Paul because of my "liking" to the McCarty tone. I know there are going to be obvious things like the finish wont be as nice, but the specs are similiar,what do you guys think? Do you think you could change the pickups out to McCarty pickups and have it sounding almost identical to the McCarty? Thanks!

-Erik

[Erik2005]

Anyone? =)

[Led Zeppelin]

Theres a few Santana PRS models.

Id advise not getting it. Its a bit technical or a first guitar and you wouldnt get value for your money. Get a Squier Strat or an Epiphone Les Paul maybe. Bear in mind an amp will set you back another 100.

[Erik2005]

Led: Thanks for replying =). I see your point, but I would be willing to learn on it even though it might be harder if it sounds closer the the McCarty than the Les Paul. I like the idea of being in between the Les Paul's low end and a Strat's higher notes. I know its not the best value for the money but to me it is a McCarty (shares the same headstock. fretboard, neck, etc..) without all the extremely fancy finishes and extra hardware. Do you think it could sound almost identical to the McCarty with a set of McCarty pickups on it (i would do this later on down the road after I learned to play it)? What about the Les Pauls high end? It seems that I have only read that it is hard to get to the higher frets. What do you think? Another thing I like about this is its light.Thanks!

[Edited by Erik2005 on 10-18-2001 at 08:51 PM]

[PonyOne]

PRS guitars are a little overrated, says I. If you're paying 500 for something and you want some really good tone, look at used guitars.
I'm not familiar w/the McCarty, but if you got the epi and put the mccarty pickups in then yes, it'll sound pretty much the same, and I like the excess bulk of an LP more anyway.
Also look at the SG, I love my Epi SG (Duncan Distortion in the bridge, standard pickup i never use in the neck), Telecaster (best soulful tone you can get) and anything Parker. You can find a new or used P38 or Nitefly in the 500-600 range, and they kick ass.
My girlfriend's sister's husband plays in the band School of Assassins and uses a nitefly, if you find some mp3's somewhere you can get a good idea of what he does w/it.

Oh a few more companies to look at... Cort makes some great stuff nowadays, and i've had a nice exprience with my MusicYo.com Kramer Striker. I always switch pickups, though.

[Led Zeppelin]

As far as I know PRS's are handmade. They used to be anyway. Theres no point buying an expensive guitar if a cheaper one will do. I know a guy, a casual strumming acoustic player, who payed £6000 for a handmade acoustic just because it was worth £10000. I know its not the same but its the same principle.

Seeing as your a punk player the big Les Paul frets will be an advantage starting out anyway.

I know you really want the PRS but its pointless. Especialy as the PRS could hold your learning back. You might get it and then not like it and be stuck with it. One advantage with Gibson is they are very similar in shape to acoustics so they are easy to get used to and comfortable. And they look cool.

[PonyOne]

Not many of the PRS guitars are handmade anymore.; most of them go to guys like Santana or who are loaded. The rest are machine made. What's more, if you're a lefty like me, I'm pretty sure that you can't even get one that WORKS for you. And they don't make neck-throughs anymore. Basically, they're Gibsons with fatter pice tags that don't look as cool.
I'm pretty sure the imports are made by Samick....

[educatedfilm]

WOW!!! Another lefty... I dont think there are many of us around... I'm quite frankly getting sick of the lack of chioce of lefty guitars, I'm just gonna biuld my own damn guitars... The one guitar that i've really been looking for is Rickenbacker 12/ 360 (the semiacoustic 12 string one), and I've never seen a lefty version even in the catalouges...(and i'm not too keen on simply restringing it and playing it hendrix style)...

I do agree with led zeplin, if you have a nice amount of money to blow, spend on a guitar that sounds like it cost a nice lot of money as opposed to guitar that looks it, or usally has a big number on the price tag... Can i ask how much money you have to spend on a guitar and an amp?...

[Led Zeppelin]

Is that Johny Marr's 12 string? I knwo he plays a Ric 12 string. You could do worse than learning some Smiths stuf.

[educatedfilm]

I think so... but i dont know too much about the smiths...

The really odd thing is i couldn't stand the smiths before, (i still can stand some songs like "some girls are bigger than others"), but one song which changed my mind was one which had the line "to die by your side would be such a heavenly way to die", I dont know what it's called, pathetic eh?
I want a 12 string lefty, and the only one i've seen is a 12 string gibson marauder type thing (the kind the peter buck plays)... but i want something semiacoustic... oh well...

[PonyOne]

I've got a 1967 Aria 12-string that was a demo for Aria's first year in the states. Handmade in japan to the highest standards, etc. It got played by a whole ton of 60's artists when they were trying it out.
At some point it ended up getting sold to a guy who didn't seem to care much about it, and turned it into a huge experiment. Then it sat for 25 years.
When I got it for $100 a year ago, the pots were destroyed, the frets nearly bald, the neck bowed in a near mortal arc, and the wiring had been destroyed after he tied everything into a braid and soldered it together in an effort to make it work right.
I did some 'smithing myself as well as taking it into a shop and getting it rebuilt. I flipped the single coil pickups (P90 knockoffs) so when I played it restrung it'd sound right, and had the neck reset. it's really cool, even if it's flipped.

Rickenbacker does make 12-string lefty's; my uncle, also a lefty, has a purple on black one that he got factory direct, and once the Mars near me had one for about a grand. They can be obtained with a little legwork, if you call the company, they can send you in the right direction. Ed Roman probably has a couple (www.edromanguitars.com) laying around.

[educatedfilm]

Thanks man!... right... I've just got to get my hands on some money now...