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Hey all, New member. First post. I'd been wanting a Custom 24 since high school in the 80's when they first hit the scene and when the 35th anniversary editions came out with the individual coil split toggles as is on the Paul's guitar I got really interested. Particularly since the SE version came in Black Gold which is the finish I always wanted. I figured that was the SE for me. But even at $1000, that was more than I've personally spent on a guitar. I'm a bedroom guitarist with a nice collection of $500-$750 guitars. That's my comfort zone. Reverb, being the dangerous place that it is, showed me a 35th anniversary edition Core, 10 top, in Black Gold. It was "used" in that I wouldn't be the first player, but from a seller that was just a buyer, seller, trader. For all intents and purposes, it was new, and it had a used price. A too good to believe price, but the seller had hundreds of positive ratings. I told my wife, "I'm about to do something stupid." She just said, "do it!" So I did it. That's the guitar on the right and I couldn't be more pleased with the outcome. He even shipped it in the original box that it was shipped in from PRS to the dealer and had all the case candy, amazing. I finally had one of my no compromise bucket list guitars! A few weeks later my Reverb feed shows me a used SE in "very good" condition for $650. I had difficulty finding an SE originally because many of the retailers weren't showing the actual guitars and, at the time, Sweetwater didn't have any. I noticed that for many that I was seeing there were dead spots in the figuring of the veneer. Doesn't affect the tone but you want a pretty top, right? This one was the actual one being sold, again for a reasonable price for a current model so I bought it. I don't intend for the Core model to live in its case, but I am super nervous handling it because, well, it's the most expensive guitar I've ever owned and it's a work of art. I figured the SE could be a daily driver and I'll pull out the Core on weekends. I wanted to share my experience because I know that there have been some questions about PRS moving to Cort in Indonesia. I was worried too. The World Music SE's that I've seen and played were all quality instruments with great fit and finish. This is the first Cort SE that I've personally played so take that for what it is. Maybe this one is just a bad copy. But then again, it's not. Issues with the Core: None. From a fit and finish perspective it's the most flawless guitar I've ever purchased. If I was really wanting to nitpick the output jack is just the tiniest bit off square with the body. Other than that it's incredible. That's it. Looks perfect. Plays great. Sounds amazing. You get what you pay for and this guitar was worth every penny. Issues with the SE: If I had been the original purchaser and I had paid full price for this guitar, I would've been pissed. I'd read that the black gold finish is more of a tobacco sunburst. Comparing them side by side, I have to concur. It's just not the same finish. But it's not an ugly finish, just not what they said it would be. The tuners are sticky, one so bad I'm guessing that the shaft is bent, making it difficult to get to pitch because it alternates from extremely stiff to smooth. A look at the back of the headstock and they didn't even take the time to put the tuners on level (something PRS even has a youtube video showing you how to do). Seriously, it only takes a couple of extra minutes, if that. The pickups are inexplicably mounted at a slight angle. Guessing, if there is a template or a jig that they are using it was off. Then to top it off there's a pretty blatant flaw in the veneer. This is a clear tear in the veneer. There's no escaping it and there's literally no way that the guys working the factory or the final QC in Stevenville MD didn't see it. They all made a call because, as I understand it, these were behind schedule for delivery. This guitar should've been sent back, sold as B stock, or maybe just sanded down and re-veneered, but every step in the QC process failed. Yeah, if I'd been the first purchaser and paid $1000 for this guitar I would've been pissed. One other issue is the nut was sticking and clearly filed down wrong (see pics) I have to believe that this wasn't done at the factory. It's mangled. I posted pics comparing the SE vs. the Core nuts. It's night and day. I've ordered some SE locking tuners and a new nut. I've adjusted the trem as best I can and it is returning to zero for the most part. I'm pretty sure the culprit is the nut. Once I get the nut and the tuners replaced I think the tuning issues will be fine. The good: The neck is great. The fret ends are dressed well and nicely rounded to give it that lived in feel. Intonation was spot on. Here's the thing about this SE. It's crazy resonant. It sustains for days and effortlessly slips into those sweet feedback induced infinite notes. It's super harmonically active. This is a nice playing and sounding guitar. Part of me wonders if part of the QC process is checking for that x factor that some guitars have and if they have it just ignoring the flaws and running with it. I can live with the finish flaw. I'm not going to straighten the pickups because, yeah, it bugs me, but maybe that's part of what's making this guitar sounds the way it does. I am going to fix the nut. I can change out the tuners and straighten them out. Everything about the Cort built SE tells me it was rushed and that is upsetting. I definitely wouldn't recommend buying one unless you can put your hands on it and give it a thorough inspection. When you buy a $300-$500 Indonesian guitar you expect to see some of this stuff, once you hit that $1,000 price mark, import or not, you expect the factory to take the time it needs to build the guitar right. I feel like I lucked out with this one because it plays and sounds great but can't help but be a little indignant about the fact that the Jackson Soloist I have (An SL2Q), which is also made in Indonesia and in the same price range as this SE was flawless. I understand why PRS moved to an Indonesian facility. That's fine but they need to hold Cort's feet to the fire to raise their QC standards. They also need it to be okay for their QC folks in Stevensville to kick guitars back to Cort if they don't meet PRS's standards. So many people dropped the ball in this process. I hope you fellow GAS sufferers find this info helpful. Like I said, the SE will be great. It plays and sounds awesome. But I'm not buying another SE unless I can touch it. Cheers!

Tuesday May 1st, 2018 Topic: Ask Your Guitar Questions PLUS John Mayer's New PRS! 7pm Central Time US You can watch the lesson HERE. Don't let anything stop your learning. What has you stumped? Ask your questions in the thread below and I'll answer as many as I can tonight. PLUS Desi Serna (Guitar Theory for Dummies) will be stopping by to show us John Mayer's new PRS Silver Sky guitar - the guitar that broke the internet! Lots of Music, laughs, giveaways and more! Watch on our Guitar Gathering YouTube Channel HERE - Steve

I have been looking for something really light for some time. After talking to a couple of the PRS owners on here, and talking with a few on other forums, I had decided that a PRS Hollowbody I or II was the guitar. I was already a huge believer in PRS guitars. I had looked at a couple on Reverb, at Chicago Music Exchange and elsewhere and made a couple offers but never ending up owning one. Last week my wife and I were in a local guitar shop and this one was hanging on the wall. Way up high where the nice ones are! The owner had to get it down! He handed it to me and my wife immediately said, "That is really pretty!" I played it and fell in love both with the way it played and the tone. My wife actually told me to make on offer on it but I didn't. I don't know why! I told her wanted to think on it. It has driven me crazy all week and I went back and brought it home tonight! It is feather light and has this gorgeous hollowbody tone. It has McCarty Humbucker Pickups. There is just no doubt at this point that this is going to be my "go to" guitar.