SE 245 VS Vintage Burst : Unbeatable Quality

The first thing you notice with this guitar is the built quality. I tend to be very picky with even the smallest of details but this time it was impossible to find any flaws. The fretwork is on point and there are no sharp edges or tooling marks on the very smooth rosewood fingerboard. The nut on this one was cut perfectly (I hear this is a concern with SE models) and there's no real need to upgrade it. The finish is impeccable and the maple veneer has a distinctive flame to it. The tuners get the job done for recreational use but they would be the first and only part I would upgrade.

Feel-wise this guitar is quite chunky - the body is quite thick, which makes it heavier than the average ST or Tele. The advantage to this is that is does not neck-dive at all. The neck is also a handful, suitable for old-school bluesy playing and the shorter 24.5 in. scale and 10 in. radius make bending effortless.

Sound-wise it does what you would expect from a mahogany-bodied singlecut model - rich warm tones that overdrive nicely. The pickups deliver a full sound and can get quite snappy with the right setting. No need to upgrade them in my opinion.

Overall this is an outstanding guitar for the price. I cannot put into words how impressed I am with the quality of PRS overseas guitars. I'm guessing it would be quite difficult to tell the difference between the SE and S2 line in a blindfold test. This one's a keeper!