Paul Reed Smith SE Santana SE DOES IT...CARLOS SANTANA & PRS


Mexican born guitarist is one of a small but select group of professional significant guitarists whose early support for the young Paul Reed Smith helped the Maryland born luthier to gain a credible foothold as a guitar maker. Santana began using a uniquely spec’d PRS guitar


that Paul Reed Smith made for him in the early 1980s and since then the guitarist has been a fine ambassador for the brand, helping PRS become one of the world’s premier guitar manufacturers.


he would have to come up with new features and sounds that added a contemporary edge. To that end it could be successfully


argued that PRS practically invented the concept of passive High Definition guitar pickups without realising it. PRS pickups are among the most powerful and distinctive found on any guitar and the SE Santana delivers power by the bucket load. In a word ‘aggression’ is something that instantly characterises the PRS sound more than anything else and plugging in the SE, you are immediately confronted by a ferocious growl with a


changed. The 10-inch fingerboard radius feels very comfortable, it’s not as billiard table flat as the typical Gibson 12-inch profile but the SE offers a perfect compromise between a comfortably low action that still allows wide string bends with no danger of the strings choking.


Hardware & Parts The SE comes equipped with a PRS designed vibrato bridge that works on the same principal as a Fender vintage vibrato, balancing on six screws that form a knife edge fulcrum. Six heavy-duty bridge saddles sit on a base plate whose raised sides help to prevent any lateral movement from the saddles whilst also proving extra mass to allow the strings to resonate, enhancing this guitar’s already prodigious sustain. The push-in vibrato arm sits snugly in its drilled hole, with plastic bushings preventing the whammy bar from flapping about when the player isn’t


dive bombing to oblivion or generally giving everything a good old wobble. The overall tuning stability is very impressive, the tuning machines feel very responsive – their tight ratio definitely feels superior to some of PRS’ earlier SE models – and the well-cut low friction top nut does a grand job of helping the guitar to stay in tune. A pair of high output open coil zebra SE 245 humbuckers with cream surrounds form a perfect foil with the guitar’s deep transparent orange finish, nothing looks incongruous or out of place. Visually, the SE Santana is a triumph but we were naturally curious to see if its sounds match the promise of its appearance.


Sounds


When Paul Reed Smith set out to invest his guitars with the soul inherited from the best electric guitar building tradition, he also didn’t overlook the fact that to avoid being labelled as a copyist


demonstratively bright high end. Of course, countless PRS users including Carlos Santana have proved that there is more to the PRS sound than just blind aggression and with some adjustment there is a wealth of very warm tones to be had beyond pure eye gouging aggro!.There are no coil taps, the three-way toggle switch simply offers a choice of either pickup


unit’s equally punchy but much more rounded voice. Both pickups conspire to deliver a nice open chime when the switch is set to the middle position. The SE245 humbuckers score well on their clarity, lack of projection is not an issue, and once you get over the initial fright caused by the SE’s natural shoutiness you soon find that this is a far more forgiving and dynamic sounding guitar than first impressions convey. The bridge pickup actually has an impressive depth and range, it punches well above its weight when you want to rock out but backing the volume off a tad feels like lifting the lid off an undiscovered seam of plump midrange and tight-sounding bass. The neck pickup is warm but not too mushy, with little evidence of the overblown bloated tone that you can sometimes get with powerful neck pickups. It sounds equally effective for singing overdriven solos and crisp rhythmic playing. This is definitely NOT a typical Gibson


The SE’s attention to detail is worthy of the PRS name.


on its own or both simultaneously. The well judged contrast between the neck and bridge pickups individual voices means that the SE enables a workable balance between the bridge pickup’s piercing attack and the neck


humbucking sound, there is way too much edge for that, but whereas some guitars sound too dark, and others too bright the SE seems to nail a pretty fair balance despite possessing an above average output. PM


SHOULD I BUY ONE?


Signature guitars are usually deliberately pitched to appeal to either diehard fans of the particular artist, or at least followers of the same general musical genre. While this may be great for the fan who aspires to own a guitar that at least looks identical to the same one played by their hero, on the other hand those outside the loop may find little to engage their interest. The SE Santana immediately sidesteps any potential pigeonholing problem by virtue of its undeniably classic appearance and a feel that – whilst obviously reflecting Carlos Santana’s personal taste - isn’t so idiosyncratic that it threatens to alienate all but the most diehard fan. Is the SE Santana an everyman’s guitar then? We’d suggest it definitely should enjoy a wide appeal and can see no reason why this guitar won’t be a big hit, even with guitarists who don’t count Carlos Santana as a major influence.


The SE’s double cutaway body and shorter 24.5-inch scale should broaden its appeal beyond PRS purists.


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