Guitarist September 2018

With blazing August melting everyone’s minds like a lollypop, it’s hard to think forward to the cooler climes of autumn but everyone at Guitarist and our sister mags Guitar Techniques and Total Guitar are doing just that as we gear up for hosting the UK Guitar Show in London on 29-30 September (see page 28). There’s some top-drawer attractions planned for the show, including an exhibition of Rory Gallagher’s guitars, a pantheon of big-name guitar makers from Fender to PRS all showing off their latest goodies, plus live performances from stellar players including Martin Simpson, Misha Mansoor, Simon McBride and many more besides. For us mere mortals here at the mags, it means a return to the rehearsal rooms as Nev Martin, editor of Guitar Techniques, Mick Taylor of That…

Flying Saucer It’s about time the psychedelic guitar sounds of early Floyd got a live outing once again – and who better to lead the band than drummer Nick Mason? p74 Anna Calvi Crackling with creative energy, you really should check out Anna’s Tele-toned music if you haven’t already. She tells Rod Brakes all about it on p50 Plain Lazy Highly rated amp-maker Jesse Hoff is celebrating 10 years of Tweed-inspired Lazy J amps this year. David Mead takes a look round his workshop on p120…

The term ‘Standard’ might be applied to the most coveted glued-neck guitar there is but in traditional PRS lexicography, ‘Standard’ means without a maple top to differentiate it from the Custom. Today, while there are no Standards in the USA Core lineup, they form a major part of the more rock ’n’ roll S2 line where these all-mahogany guitars are also ID’d by classic dot inlays rather than the trademark PRS birds. As we move further down the price scale the offshore-made SE line has a trio of Standards (245, Standard 24, and Standard 24 Multi-Foil) plus two new signature models, the 2018 Santana and Tremonti Standards we see here. And with the exception of that Multi-Foil model, the big difference is the price, having been made in Indonesia, as…

The first wave of all-mahogany Indonesian-made SE Standards launched back in late 2014 and included a Standard 24 and 22, Singlecut Standard and Tremonti Standard, with the Santana Standard and P-90 equipped Santana Standard Special appearing slightly later into 2015. “They were originally developed for the third world markets,” explains PRS Europe’s MD, Gavin Mortimer, but a range that kicked off, back then, at £399 (including a gigbag) soon found its way into the USA and European markets. Instead of using their long-time partner for the SE line, World Music in Korea, the Standards came from Indonesia’s PT Wildwood facility that, certainly around the time of their launch, was also building for Yamaha, Schecter, Fender and ESP among others. As of 2018, however, SEs heading to the USA are now…

PRICE: £545 ORIGIN: Indonesia TYPE: Double-cutaway solidbody electric BODY: Mahogany NECK: Mahogany, wide fat profile, glued-in SCALE LENGTH: 622mm (24.5”) NUT/WIDTH: Friction reducing/42.43mm FINGERBOARD: Bound rosewood, pearloid bird inlays, 254mm (10”) radius FRETS: 22, medium HARDWARE: PRS patented vibrato (cast), PRS designed tuners–nickel-plated STRING SPACING, BRIDGE: 52.5mm ELECTRICS: PRS Santana ‘S’Treble and Bass humbuckers, three-way toggle pickup selector switch, master volume and tone WEIGHT (KG/LB): 3.5/7.7 OPTIONS: None. PRS SE gigbag adds £69 RANGE OPTIONS: The 24-fret SE Santana costs £849, including gigbag LEFT-HANDERS: No FINISHES: Vintage Cherry only (as reviewed) PRS Europe 01223 874301 www.prsguitars.com PROS: Price, build quality, girthsome sounds, excellent playability and modding potential CONS: Aside from colour choice and you’ll need a gigbag, nothing…

PRICE: £545 ORIGIN: Indonesia TYPE: Single-cutaway solidbody electric BODY: Mahogany NECK: Mahogany, wide thin profile, glued-in SCALE LENGTH: 635mm (25”) NUT/WIDTH: Friction reducing/42.7mm FINGERBOARD: Bound rosewood, pearloid bird inlays, 254mm (10”) radius FRETS: 22, medium HARDWARE: PRS patented vibrato (cast) with up-route, PRS designed tuners– nickel-plated STRING SPACING, BRIDGE: 52.5mm ELECTRICS: PRS Tremonti ‘S’Treble and Bass humbuckers, three-way toggle pickup selector switch, individual pickup volume and tone controls WEIGHT (KG/LB): 4.41/9.7 OPTIONS: None. PRS SE gigbag adds £69 RANGE OPTIONS: The SE Tremonti Custom costs £849, including gigbag LEFT-HANDERS: No FINISHES: Black only (as reviewed) PROS: Ditto the Santana Standard CONS: The weight of our sample is excessive, again there’s only one colour and you’ll pay more for a gigbag…