How long has PRS been doing those S2's?

[Tortious]

Looking at this http://davesguitar.com/products/paul-reed-smith/s2-custom-24-14-3/

Back of the headstock says R&D Prototype. Is that possible/correct?

Nice looking. Better than some of the '10 Tops' they charge a lot extra for.

[crunchee]

DGS gets some interesting stuff from PRS on occasion. I think they've been a PRS dealer for ages. They've got 'Wood Library LTDs' advertised for pre-order from PRS too, I'd suspect those are fairly exclusive offers that not just any PRS dealer can do.

As far as S2 models go, I have no idea how long PRS has been doing them, as my experience with PRS is mostly from seeing what DGS has/gets. You could Google 'PRS S2', to find out when PRS did the first announcements/news releases about them, and see how long they've been out.

[Tortious]

You could Google 'PRS S2', to find out when PRS did the first announcements/news releases about them, and see how long they've been out.

As dumb as I may appear, I did consider that before posting. Then I decided that I'd sooner believe what I found here as a valid answer before I bothered with going down that road.

It just seemed odd, they have several of those S2's used for ok prices, but this is the only one I saw with that prototype designation.

I haven't played one of these, though they seem to get good reviews. I have 4 'real' PRS's so it's not like I have a severe need for this, and it likely wouldn't have a significant value increase until long after it would not matter to me. But it is kind of a looker.

I should just stop looking at that site.

[alantig]

2013 is when they started the S2 line.

[Sugartune]

That one does have a much nicer top than the production models.

[django49]

S2 = lower cost USA version of the "core" line.

SE = imports

Wood Library = limited runs done for specific dealers who have established sales success......They get to pick woods and other materials Like korina, rosewood necks, Brazilian boards, different pickups, etc that would otherwise only be available on the higher end Artist Package or Private Stock models.....At more (relatively) affordable prices than their upscale versions. Sort of "limited edition custom orders".

[bubs_42]

The ONLY minor complaint I have about the S2 line that i've played is the Finish. Not the finish its self but the final step, the paint was a little rough around the neck joint and inside the horn cutaways. Not on all of them but out of the 6 I played 2 where like that. They play and sound like a PRS and the one that has me itching is the Mira Semi-Hollow.

[scottcald]

I like the mira semi-hollow as well, though I've yet to try one. The only thing that bugs me about some of the PRS models is the neck heel that looks like they didn't push it all the way into the joint. Only the single cuts' heel looks right in my opinion.

[django49]

FWIW, I shared the concern about that neck heel for a longtime, even when the biggest complainer was Ed Roman(!)

The dude hisself concluded that the extended heel adds to stability and tone. And that seems logical, especially insofar as many of the PRS models are thinner than such as Les Pauls. (And there is some history with Gibsons having gone to an even thinner body and related strength issues with the SG---As in necks breaking off at the BODY!) With all the good things that PRSh has done for tone in recent years, I gave him the benefit of the doubt.....It is good to have folks constantly looking to make actual improvements as opposed to just dressing up the "same old thing" to keep filling the pipeline with MORE of them.

The PRS single cuts, at least generally, have thicker bodies PLUS the added strength of one less cutaway (more solid glue contact). (There are some certain shorter scale Private Stock SCs that are, arguably, on a par with original 'bursts, but that is another story).

I pretty much gave up my resistance to "that ugly heel" a while ago, concluding it (like the "shelf" on the Hamer Monacos) is pretty much a non-issue in practice (actually playing). OTOH, the increased access to the upper neck IS a good thing.

At this point, I believe PRS has sold about 4 times as many USA guitars as Hamer did in its entire history. Something other than pretty tops is working. (Lets face it, PRSh is a pretty damn good salesman/spokesman!) As always, it is too bad Hamer did not make a business model work as they were (IMO) putting out their best quality product ever in their later years. At least it is good to see a successor arise to pick up some of the pieces with the new Ultimate and more to come!

I like to play them, just prefer to not LOOK at the heel.

[django49]

PS......PRS is just rolling out some new guitars with some sort of "super graphite" rods in the neck......Supposed to increase sustain and stability, as well as tone. to the point where they will not require a truss rod adjustment mechanism. I am going to ASSUME this would allow for room to revisit that heel!

[bubs_42]

Who knows, all I know is that PRS is still tweaking they are not done. The biggest thing for me with PRS is the consistency. Go to the store pick one up, the weights are super close, they feel really close and yet with the pickup combinations and scale lengths they sound unique with a common thread.

Some companies reach back, some reach forward and some reach for Robot Tuners.

[alantig]

PS......PRS is just rolling out some new guitars with some sort of "super graphite" rods in the neck......Supposed to increase sustain and stability, as well as tone. to the point where they will not require a truss rod adjustment mechanism. I am going to ASSUME this would allow for room to revisit that heel!

What's kind of funny about that is that PRS did the graphite rods in the necks of their acoustics when they first started building them. They said it would keep the neck perfectly straight through its lifetime. People demanded truss rods. But the folks who got the graphite rods love them and say they've never had a need for an adjustment. I'd love to try one.

PRSh has said numerous times the hardest part about evolving guitars is that guitarists don't want to try anything new. At one Experience, he held up two neck blanks and tapped them. He asked people to pick which one rang better - and there was a clear difference. The dead one was rosewood, and the other was some kind of wood whose name I don't remember. He held that one up and said, "It's clearly better, right? You just said so yourselves - but you won't buy it because it's 'different'." He said the same thing about the Neil Schon models - the ones Neil plays have some bizarre combination of woods, but the production models are mahogany. PRSh said Neil specifically chose those woods, but he can't sell them as production models because as soon as he said what kind of wood it was, people tuned out.

[bubs_42]

Has the same effect in the amp world. Renewable woods and things like that can be made to sound good but no one will buy it.

[veatch]

With regard to the heel - i hated it as well, but it *absolutely* has an impact on tone. Ask anyone who has played a Triple Threat and has compared it to a stock Studio. That extra wood makes a big difference. I would prefer it to be in the form of a thicker neck rather than an odd extended heel, personally, but PRS has sold a lot more guitars than i have.

I just "sold" a 335 that i received payment in the form of a PRS. The heel hasn't bothered me yet, but only one 6 song mini-gig with it so far. Time will tell...

Edit to add - sorry for the hijack - i know nothing about the S2.

[Sugartune]

I've played a few of the semi-hollow Miras and did not enjoy the experience as much as I hoped. An Artist does it better but of course, they are different.

That said, I really liked the first run Miras, prior to the S2s. Especially the soapbar version. The S2 was good too, but no soapbars (yet).

[stonge]

Paul Reed Smith seems like one of those guys who is constantly tweaking his products to improve them. I have a 1990ish HG 70 PRS solid-state half-stack that sounds a lot like the PRS Dallas II that I picked up a couple of years back; he was doing an in-store in Manchester showcasing the new amps and we slipped the HG into his backline. He plugged in before the demo and blasted it, and it was voiced pretty close to the new stuff (we heard him mutter as he walked away 'well, that didn't suck' lol). Funny enough, both the HG 70 (solid-state) and the Dallas II (partial circuit board construction) don't meet the "traditional" cork-sniffing checklist, but they both sound pretty good to me. He signed my 89 Custom that day, and when I handed it to him he called one of his guys to come over and look at it, saying "see - that's what we used to do". It's cool to see someone evolving their products to play/sound/price better.

The S2 line looks pretty interesting, and I've heard good things about them. They do seem to fit a nice niche in between the SE and main USA line.

[cmatthes]

I've got a low number (one of the first 10) PRS HG-70 1/2 stack that Paul signed when I brought it by the factory one time. He told me that he was disappointed that those never took off, because it was such a great sounding and innovative amp for the time. He said that the fall of the Berlin Wall kind of killed his early amp aspirations once cheap(er) glass tubes flooded the market in the early '90s.

I am thinking about moving/trading that one now, since I just don't air it out as much as I should. Those 4x12 cabs are better than anything by Marshall that I've ever played through or owned.

[cmatthes]

I still have that promo VHS the dealer gave me back in 1990 or so for that!

That video (and Mike Ault's playing) is ultimately what sold me on getting the 1/2 stack. A longtime friend here in DC has also been gigging his steadily for over 20 years - he probably averages between 25-45 gigs a year between two bands. He recently switched to a boo-teek-ee PRS tube head as his primary, but keeps the HG-70 in the trunk as a backup, and still plays through the cab.

[django49]

Here is post swiped from another site that offers a lot more detail on the question of "lower priced" PRSi. The author is a person I have dealt with who is a HUGE PRS fan.

"The differences between the Core and S2s get down to details.

The Core models have V12 finish (though there are some special runs with nitro, and Private Stocks are often spec'd in nitro), and S2 are the older poly finish; Cores have a more highly carved body, with fancier tops for the most part; the inlays on Cores are different materials; the hardware on Cores is US PRS, on S2s it's made in Korea; the pickups/electronics on Cores are US PRS, on S2s the pickups/electronics are also made in Korea; the tuning machines on Core are the Phase III, very nicely made tuning machines, the S2 are nice but not quite as close tolerance, etc; the time spent on assembling and finishing Core is greater, so the attention to detail is greater. The latest tweaks are on the Core line.

However, the S2s are absolutely 100% killer guitars for the dough, and even though I have a few PS models, at some point I plan to rock an S2 Vela because they sound awesome.

It's always the case that you pay a lot more for those little details on any product that get you that last 5% of great. But after being down at the factory a couple of weeks ago and seeing and handling the S2s, I gotta say they're very fine guitars, and a step up from SE".

[alantig]

I know just who you're talking about - we spent a decent amount of time together at the recent PRS event.

He touches briefly on it here, but PRS (not PRSh) has said that one of the biggest cost-savers is the number of man-hours spent on the guitar. They average something like 18 man-hours on a core line, 8 on an S2. No contours means much less time spent sanding. The finish also doesn't get quite as much detail work on the S2.

The scarf joint on the neck also allows them to use thinner slabs for the neck blanks. That combined with the foreign-made hardware keeps the cost lower on the material side.

You can see and feel the differences between the S2 and core lines when they're side-by-side, and especially if you know what you're looking for. But the S2s are really good instruments.

[sonic1974]

I am thinking about moving/trading that one now, since I just don't air it out as much as I should. Those 4x12 cabs are better than anything by Marshall that I've ever played through or owned.

I've never seen those before. Just looked it up and found this on YouTube:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1z7b5CvsppE

If you decide to sell in the future, I'd love to drive up and check it out. Looks like a neat solid state for sure.

Amp sounds great in the video! Or maybe it's the player.