Don't Buy the New PRS SE Hollowbody II Piezo Guitar.
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- Опубліковано 20 сер 2024
- The PRS SE Hollowbody II Piezo is the latest in PRS' offerings to wrangle the acoustic and electric player in what seems to be a convenient package. But you should you buy one? Here are some reasons why I think it's not worth the money.
Three years later.... wanna see me give a hands-on review? • Is The PRS SE Hollowbo...
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Hey PRS simp boys, you guys wanna see the response to this video three years later?
Hint: (I bought one)
ua-cam.com/video/-9lgx1H-SJQ/v-deo.html
Sorry buddy you’ve dropped no knowledge here on this occasion. The acoustisonics from fender and and piezo equipped PRS are quite different animals meant for quite different players.
Sorry buddy , you’re wrong.
At 3:40 he explains the Piezoelectric effect . That’s called “ dropping some knowledge “. You’re a very ignorant person . I think there’s a word petiole used to use to describe ignorant people . Hmmm . I wonder what word that is that perfectly describes you .
No shit! He sounds like he doesn’t know what he’s talking about!
I tend to agree Mark. I have gotten to demo both and they are vastly different. The fully hollow idea like the PRS is a very old concept in fact they made up most of the original electric guitars. They don’t play the same they don’t also sound the same. The acoustisonic is a rather new idea but they aren’t the same in the least
They are very different guitars because the acoustasonic guitars are modeling different guitars and pickups, whereas the hollowbody II piezo isn’t modeling anything, it’s just using two different kind of pickups.
I couldn't even finish this video with such empty comparisons!
This guy has convinced more people to buy PRS than anyone else.
Exactly the thought I had
I really can't understand where the cost of PRS high ends comes from. For $6,000, I'd expect the voice of god himself to be coming from my amp every time I plucked a string.
A top-of-the-line Ibanez RG Prestige costs $2,100. It absolutely slaps beyond belief. What is anyone getting 3x of when they buy a high-end PRS?
I've seen the Custom 24-08s cost like $5,000, supposedly because they have so many pickup/"tone" options. But considering the amount of tone that actually comes from the pickups (versus the amp and speakers), that kind of versatility is wasted at the guitar link of the signal chain.
Anyone who wants tone versatility should just invest in a good PC, good speakers and a robust virtual amp program.
Yeah he is pretty bad and terrible video
So maybe people like the way they sound and play, no? OTOH, I do not like this guy's voice or his delivery. The 58/15 LTs are some of the best PRS has to offer - so much that I bought a pair ($500) to mount on my SE DGT. I thought the SE Hollowbody II Piezo has a remarkably beautiful tone. On review down the list says i would have to be his Desert Island Guitar - and I might just be inclined to be that way too.
@@pickledparsleyparty I might be inclined to agree with you, as I don't know any working guitarists who would take a guitar worth over 2-3 thousand bucks to a gig. (But I'm sure there are some, but most of these $6000 guitars are at home on display.) One thing that bothered me about this guy's argument is that all of the sudden we are talking about $6000 guitars - not $1200 -$1500 guitars. In my school of debate, this is fallacious reasoning.
Making a review without having the guitar? Please just stop it!
Reviewing a guitar without having it is absurd. Click bait
Yeah once he said PRS is not a good guitar or people using I lost attention. This guy is just a hater
I bought this Guitar, And I Love it ! Best sounding Guitar I have ever played ! Plays and sounds better than My Gibson Les Paul Supreme that cost twice as much used....... Opinions are like a, ah, you know how that goes, at least I played it before giving an opinion..........
The HB II isn’t an “acoustic-electric.” It’s a fully hollow electric instrument and sounds very much unlike anything else in the PRS line. I have a Maryland built 10 top version and it’s hands down my favorite guitar I’ve ever played, and in the 30+ years I’ve been playing - professionally for 15, then as a hobby after I changed careers - if you had told me 20 years ago that one day I’d swear by a hollow electric, I never would have believed you. I have the piezo version, nope. Doesn’t sound like an acoustic at all, but it does sound like every other piezo pickup out there, and a good translation of the piezo sound IMHO. I’m not going to start butchering peoples last names but the cat who plays for Phish has been touring with a hollow bodied electric for Christ knows how long, the guitar player from Incubus was touring with the PRS HBII in the late 90’s when I saw them live... there’s people who use them for sure. It’s a particular sound and not for everyone, but if it’s your thing, honest to god, I’ve never found a better example of this kind of instrument from PRS’s offering. I’d buy the SE version of my core HBII Piezo in a second if I had the expendable dough. Truthfully. I’ve played them, I dig them - are they the same as my Maryland version, no, but despite being made by Cort in China - yep - it’s as close to my personal favorite guitar as I’m ever going to find, and at a price point that I don’t mind at all throwing in the back of a camera truck in a fight case for a location shoot I’m going to be on for a month or more. Someone steals it? That sucks. I’ve lost a great Chinese copy of my favorite guitar, but I didn’t lose a $6k+ instrument so worse things could happen. I honestly don’t think you understand the nature of what PRS is trying to offer the cork sniffing, well heeled, middle aged guitar nerds they’re targeting with the core model of the guitar, and that they’re offering a very passable, and honestly good, version of it to a wider audience at a decent price point, is a good thing.
It took 10 minutes of playing this guitar in a GC this past weekend to decide to take it home. Within 5 min I had the Piezo dialed in and blended into the clean sound and it was amazing. Totally easy to play, and sounds remarkable. The last guitar I bought was 10yrs ago and it was the Alex Lifeson signature LP w/ piezos, it too sounds amazing, and I'm so glad they didn't try to put a microphone in that one! I'm over 50, so I'm sure I don't "get it," but wth? The PRS SE is worth every penny!
You knew going in that you wanted it. 🤷♂️
@@IkeGuitar And he experienced nothing that told him he shouldn’t buy it. And then he got it home and he knew he made the right choice.
This is nothing like the acustasonic. You have missed the point of this guitar (and every piezo equipped electric for that matter) completely.
Agreed, an electric with a piezo is a different concept from a hybrid electric-acoustic like the acoustasonic or the Taylor T5
I play mostly rhythm, acoustic and electric. For me, this is perfect. I have the option of using only one guitar for the entire gig. I dig it. Yes, it is a bit expensive, but, I think is kind of expected.
I respectfully and completely disagree. I'm fortunate enough to have a collection of about a dozen quality electric and acoustic guitars I've built up over the years. I've wanted a true do it all guitar forever. I owned a Taylor T5. It was a beautiful guitar but both the electric and acoustic sounds were lacking. I owned a really nice Variax. It's a great parlor trick and in a way, no compromise, but the sounds were close, but not quite right (to me) and I don't want the complexity of a computer in my guitar. I tried a Godin combo - the acoustic was pretty good, but the elect aspect was very lacking, etc...
This thing is the real deal. It's quality built and beautiful. It's a truly great sounding and playing electric that can stand on it's own with any of my Gibsons or Fenders. The acoustic piezo sounds are beautiful. There's a blind test on UA-cam everyone should check out. It is so close to sounding like a quality Taylor, you have to strain to tell the difference. To top it off, you can blend the two and get amazing tones that are unique and unlike any other guitar on my wall. It's an absolutely amazing and quality guitar. My snob knob doesn't like that it's made in China, but that doesn't take away the quality of the build, beauty, playability, and sounds that come from this wonderful and unique guitar. You could also definitely play a gig with this as your only guitar and it could do it with no compromises - in any way. Nothing but this and the CORE model can say that. Nothing. I've owned and tried the rest. You are not getting how special this guitar is - I suggest you try one before you make such a statement and think about what I am saying. Thank you.
The only part your comment that is disagree with is about being respectful. It's a click bait trick to say don't buy "X" when all the other lagit reviewers are raving about "X". He got several things wrong about the PRS 2020 SE Hollowbody II Piezo. He should be embarrassed.
Have you played the guitar? How can you give this kind of opinion without having played it?
@Paul crumbly MIC Drop! My Hollowbodt ii is my work horse... love it!
This review is useless exactly for this reason. The guy is talking precisely out of his ass.
I have the guitar, and it’s fabulous.
@@JIAbbot I love my Hollowbody II and it does everything I need and so much more.
Everyone in this comment thread is giving off sunk cost bias energy lol
I fell for the crap click bait but while i'm here..I think you've missed the point by an absolute mile.... there's tonal flexibilty and value for money here especially if you split the pick ups to different amps...or even better to an amp and PA so you get full range on the piezo. Its not meant to be an acoustasonic so thats just a daft comparison. In fact the sound samples on youtube of the piezo blew me away with how close it got to an acoustic..I wasnt expecting that. So this is basically a $6k instrument for $1500...and you think thats a bad thing?? Good grief. So it differs from the core guitar... it has a laminated top construction (oh hang on just like a $3.5k ES335) and also comes with double bound body, neck, headstock and f holes in flame curly maple. Set neck (unlike the CE which is bolt on and maple which some love but doesnt have a piezo so why the comparison?) This is the first SE to come with a proper hardcase... maybe you have never made a guitar and so dont know the ins and outs but I do, having made more than a few in my time....the process of adding that binding alone and the finishing involved is time consuming. This also comes with real abalone inserts ...and they are fitted really well...see the close ups on DBG channel...and of course your not going to get nitro at this price point .... it takes ages for nitro to cure compared to poly and adds huge ammounts to the cost ..I can pretty much spray ..flat and polish a poly guitar in a day... nitro takes a week. How many fenders or gibsons can you buy new with nitro finish for under $2k? Stainless frets also divide opinion..and also sound completely different to nickel...which is probably more of a consideration than the cost..your not being done out of quality because they are not stainless. When you actually break down what your getting here, what it shows is simply how ridiculously expensive is it to manufacture stuff in the US compared to China... (which I believe is where these are being made ) and the quality is nearly comparable. I reckon if this was made in the US it would have had an RRP north of 3-3.5k. I am not a PRS fan (the man not the brand) but I take my hat off to him...this is a bold move and has me way more interested in buying an SE than ever before. Like others have said ..you really should have titled this "why I am not going to buy this guitar" I cant see a valid arguement in your video why anyone else shouldn't buy one.
1. Fender’s Road Worn series 50s and 60s are all nitro and you can buy them for less than $1,000. And they play great.
2. I’m not buying a $1,500 Chinese-made instrument. And I’d never encourage anyone to do so.
Thank you for your thoughts. Agree to disagree.
@@IkeGuitar Roadworn is now discontinued in favour of vintera which doesnt come with Nitro as standard hence the sub 1k price point. Roadworn Fenders in the UK are about £750-1000 Used so a little bit cheaper ..but no hard case...no humbuckers ..no piezo...no hollowbody...no binding....no abalone inlays....the Roadworn are great guitars but you wouldnt be looking at them if you were considering a hollowbody. Issue for this guitar are guitars like epiphone dot...casino....thats a different discussion.
I wouldnt be too quick to dismiss Chinese built... hows your iphone...samsung. ...holding up..ride a carbon road/ race bike? Most 4-5k roadbikes have carbon frames made in China... the list goes on and on...They can, and do, manufacture to really high leveIs...not all Chinese products are cheap knock off stuff. On the flip side I have a Rickenbacker 4003.... big sticker on the front claiming proudly made in the USA....worst quailty bass I own by a mile... sharp nasty edges on pick up covers...never ending issues with colour bleed in the laquor... its a bloody disgrace considering how much it cost me. Inflated prices in the US due to high labour costs and brand badging makes US models out of the reach of many. I do agree that on the face of it £1300.00 will be pushing it for a Chinese guitar but this isn't you run of the mill Chinese guitar. Also Fender make guitars in China and badge them Fender...starcaster and modern series..(not sure if the modern range is still in production)
Who knows these may well increase in value... look at japanese Fenders..I bought a JV P bass in 84...It cost me £175 things are worth over £1k now. And now Japanese fenders are considered to be on par or better than a lot of their US counterparts. This is a way of PRS getting the feature set of a £6k guitar into the hands of real world players..makes it an interesting proposition.
@@IkeGuitar every fender I've owned has been more inconsistent when it comes to quality, they also dont sound as good imo and they don't play as good imo, and the prs's I own are Indonesian made prs's I own a few and they are great guitars as you should know where it's made dosent really matter much these days it's more about the price you pay
Personally I own an acoustasonic tele and a PRS SE 22 custom semi-hollow; both are great guitars. And now I've ordered the PRS SE hollowbody ii with piezo, the piezo addition making the guitar so attractive. I have always wished the Custom 22 semi had a way to capture some of the acoustic tones
bassmandudge agree. See my comment and, though I’ve played many gigs in my over 50 years as a musician, taught since age 12, I’m not what I would consider a true professional. Still.... I know my stuff. I bought the Peacock one yesterday. You made some great points.
Assails a guitar he’s never even played. Sounds legit.
So I totally tried this guitar specifically because this video. After playing it for 30 mins I bought it. Good price and I love the hollow 2 now I don’t have to spend 4000 plus on one and piezo pickups can give some killer tone if you know how to dial in your sound. Nice rant you should play this thing through a helix it absolutely sings
I concur. Do your own research, smart move.
I respect everyone is entitled to their opinion. I have a this SE Hollowbody II Piezo, for about a year now. I Love it ! I play a variety of music live, from Blues, Rock and Jazz Standards. I use this guitar for all. It have a convincing Jazz tone when I blend the Piezo ever so slightly with the Neck pickup. Love the tones I get with this guitar. The light weight and Neck feel are just additional reason to love this guitar
Kept waiting for him to play as I thought that that was part of an actual review. Never happened. Wow.
First off, did you notice the “Charcoal”, isn’t a “Piezo”? That’s why it’s 300$ less. Second, the “Piezo”, is great if you want that acoustic sound for say, an intro, or inside a song live, without having an actual acoustic. And they sound great! Also, you can only get the “SE” version in 2 colors. Blue& Black/Gold. They’re actually great instruments at the 1600$ price point! Try playing one
I'm a rythm player in a couple bands. While on stage in need to he able to go from electric to acoustic very quickly to keep the set going. This guitar allows me to do that.
Wow....you are so wrong on the piezo and how it does what it does that your review is hard to take seriously. Piezos are used by electroacoustic guitars with a preamp and no double outputs because the signal is taken care of by the preamp.
I respect your opinion, but I’m going to have to disagree. I bought one of the Hollow body PRS SEs to try, expecting I would return it and stick with my Gretsch instead. But the PRS SE blew my Gretsch out of the water.
The 58/15s pickups sound far better than the filtertrons in my Gretsch. But the biggest selling point by far was that the PRS SE has separate output jacks for the piezo and humbuckers. The Fender and Gretsch hollow body offerings don’t do that. So if you want to have some drive on the humbuckers, but send the piezo through a separate clean amp, you can do that. And it sounds like two different guitars at the same time. But on almost every other similar hollow body I’ve tried, there is only one output, so the piezo signal gets distorted if you use any gain on the humbuckers. This PRS SE hollow body is far more useful for that reason alone, even without the awesome sounding 58/15s humbuckers.
So now I’m considering selling my Gretsch and keeping the SE. A Gretsch Electromatic is almost $1,000 also, so the PRS SE is not that much more anyway, and is far cheaper than a Fender or Gibson version and sounds better. (In my opinion)
Alex Lifeson, John Mayer, Mark Tremonti, Myles Kennedy, Mike Einzinger, Dave Navarro, Carlos Santana, Orianthi, Neal Schon, David Grissom, Howard Leese, Chris Robertson, John McLaughlin, Zach Meyers, Dustie Waring, Mark Holcomb, Clint Lowery, Vernon Reid, Tim Mahoney, Larry LaLonde, Al DiMeola..... Those are only a few I can think of off the top of my head that have taken PRS guitars out on tour with them. However, I guess that none of them are serious musicians....
What I don't get is you haven't played the guitar, yet you have immediately dismissed it because of, "hype", and the fact that it's made in China. You nitpick things like the finish and the fact that it does not have stainless steel frets......really??? Maybe I could take you seriously if you had actually played one and could then comment on the workmanship, quality of materials used, tone of the guitar..... Perhaps compare it to similar guitars that it's competing with. Heck, even compare it to the core PRS Hollowbody II. But.....you didn't.
Oh, and by the way, thanks for mansplaining what a piezo is. Also, PIE-ZO!!!
It's not "pie-zo"
Right On 👍🏾..... I really must wonder if this guy was being paid to try and sabotage PRS ....
Jim Matheos of Fates Warning...'nuf said...jimmatheos.com/gear/current-guitars/. This guy is a clown.
+1 for (sort of) correctly pronouncing piezo
-580 for flawed analysis, poorly articulated views, constant straw man arguments and nonexistent research.
One more thing, why is nobody discussing the real elephant in the room with this guitar? The upper horn is the ‘wrong’ shape. Really- look at a core PRS Hollowbody vs the SEs and tell me they haven’t totally butchered the shape!
The SE has a larger body than the core. The core has a carved body to achieve those contours.
Well, I got this guitar in the mail a few days ago. I have to say that while I own some ES 335 style guitars, a full archtop, along with a Taylor Tz5 classic hybrid and an acoustic 514ce, I really love the feel, sound, and appearance of this guitar. The ergonomics of this guitar are outstanding (6.2 lbs) in that it is more comfortable to play and lighter than my semi-hollows, and much thinner than my archtop. The piezo pickup gives it a unique tone that I just love that comes out well in my Blues Cube Artist and my Fender Blues Deluxe Reissue. I would not call it a "hybrid", the Tz5 is much more hybrid-like unplugged as well as plugged in. This is its own thing in that it isn't going to replace your ES335 or your archtop, but you wouldn't compare a Strat to those either.
Far more useful than this cork-sniffer's opinion. Thanks!
@@earthspiritsong don't you mean, glue sniffer?
@@earthspiritsong I concur. Except while I agree that he is a sniffer I'm not convinced it's cork he's sniffing. Perhaps brown noser might be more accurate.
Paul Reed Smith once said “every guitarist on the internet has 25 years of experience”it annoys me that its youtube vids like this that piss people like Paul off and other manufacturers. It would have been better if you had called this video ‘should you buy the new PRS SE Hollowbody 2 piezo’ and based the video around intelligently challenging the product through thorough research and valid experience.When you straight up call the video “don’t buy” you better have an Arsenal of rock solid thought proving and well researched points and opinions. Otherwise you get this....a thorough arse kicking from the guitar community.
Sounds like you like it!
this guitar is amazing, it's sound great and it's very inspiring guitar, it's always a pleasure to play, intonation and neck is perfect and the look and finish is classic and top notch , in real life composing,playing,performing this guitar deliver a lot of pleasure, this is the best guitar ever in all the guitar i played in my life since the last 40 years , so get one and enjoy !
I concur. Do your own research, smart move.
One of those guitars that, once you start playing it, it's hard to put back in it's case!
I disagree with just about everything you said. Have you ever played one? They feel great, they sound great and you can get some very interesting tones mixing the awesome regular pick ups with the piezo. It’s got a really wide tone palette. I’m very fortunate in that I own a number of guitar’s including a Les Paul, Telecaster, Strat and ES 335. I can’t afford the Core model, so for less than $2000 (with tax and adding locking tuners) it’s an amazing instrument that does things my other guitars can’t do. It’s your channel, but dismissing a unique, well-built and versatile guitar out of hand while saying “I only play guitars with stainless steel frets that famous artists also play“ makes me really question the quality of your other content.
Why would someone even attempt to review a guitar they have never, in fact, even played?! And why did you jump to the non-piezo Hollowbody II SE? I own a Hollowbody II SE and it's one of the nicest instruments I have ever owned in 35 years of playing. I never thought I would own a Chinese-made guitar let alone love it. Also, you said "There's a reason Martin only made acoustic guitars". The Martin E-18 was a solidbody electric...
So the jump to the non-Piezo was a mistake. The Sweetwater link for the original Peacock-Blue color had options for the Hollowbody II SE within the page. I'll make a note of that and pin it to the comments.
I don't doubt your Hollowbody II SE plays well. I've never met a PRS that didn't play well. But I did try out one of the Piezos and I wasn't a fan at all. It feels fine but it still would never be a guitar I purchase for the pricepoint. Especially now that it isn't going to be the $1149 HollowBody SE price.
@@IkeGuitar My fault for assuming you hadn't played one before. I did so because you never once mentioned how it played or sounded in your review. I do agree that a $400 increase in price for piezo pickups is ridiculous!
But hey at least you get two piezos? 🤷♂️😂
@@robdavis807 because apparently you should get an Acoustasonic AND a hollowbody because $400 for the LR Baggs Piezo electronics and 6 preinstalled pickups isn't worth it when you google it 🤣
👍🏾
I have had mine for 6 months, and I am still loving it.
Click bait 100% Honestly man, you don’t know what are you talking about. And you are not really providing any valuable input. How many guitars with piezo you had before? How did you use them? Did you make records with it? Did you ever try a parker fly connected to two amps? For example? Of course its not for everybody. Not everybody will spend 6k or 1.5k on it but you are not being practical, just biased.
👍🏾
Ok Karen. 😂
🙄
So your suggestion for people interested in this guitar is to buy an amp instead? Seems like a strange recommendation.
My biggest gripe with this video? You didn't even play one...
My two cents worth?... It's light, it's easy to play, the mag pickups work very well, it has a passable acoustic sound and it's a serious tool for ANY gigging musician! (NObody is fooling themselves by thinking it's gonna sound like a Taylor paired with a Les Paul) I have top line Taylors, G&L's, a vintage Ricky, vintage SG, and have owned many others in over 50+ years of playing... This PRS is fun to play! I have a blast with it. With a couple pedals and a looper, it can sound like a dozen different guitars. I plan to put my Roland hex pickup on it and run through my synth, too. The only other worthy "hybrid" out there is Kiesel/Carvin's SH575, but, it's nearly twice the price.
I bought the fender and sent in back. You are absolutely full of it about this guitar. This is a great guitar love mine.
The grey one he was showing isn't even the Piezo. That was the HB2. Great guitar.
I play rythm in a couple different bands. I need to be able to go from electric to acoustic and back rather quickly to keep the set time on track and the audience listening rather than waiting for me to switch guitars back and forth. This guitar allows me to do that.
Nice! That seems really complicated but I’m glad this tool helps you.
@@IkeGuitarYou are the only "tool" here...
I have two acoustasonics. They are my main gigging guitars. I use both acoustic and electric sounds, loop, leads, etc. I can see how this guitar would be beneficial. Electric guitar feel with "acoustic" sound option is pretty cool. Reminds me of the Godin.
Opeth uses custom 24 with piezo. That's enough for me.
Why did I give this guy watch minutes....
“ALL Your Subscribers” Bro!?
You think you’re going to blast a genius like Paul and have ANYone take you seriously!?
They brought this guitar into the SE price point because actual real PRS players kept asking for it at every clinic!
I’m a life long Strat Player so I know more than most that Fender hasn’t innovated anything in decades and are still making money off Stevies Tone!
I’ve had a KxK 7 string semi-hollow equipped with a Fishman piezo for years and it’s one of the best sounding electric/acoustic guitars out there. It’s hand made and designed for jazz/fusion, and Rob K. nailed it. The piezo sounds identical to 3 types of acoustic guitars. So if it’s done right, it’s a great tone.
One of the most ridiculous reviews I've ever heard. Nobody plays hollow body electrics? Seriously? Buying an SE will devalue CE models? Show me this model being played out in the wild? Um, it's a brand new model. Overpriced? Um, the 6,000 core model is what's overpriced. All I can contribute is that I picked up a SE Hollowbody II about a year ago and it quickly became my go to stage guitar. This is over all the Gibsons I own and have been playing for years. This new model is not meant to replace acoustic guitars either. The piezo model purpose is so that you don't have to switch to an acoustic in the middle of a show for certain songs. That's like saying why do they make doublenecks, when there's a reason why they make separate 6 string guitars and 12 string guitars. While maybe not for everyone, they serve a purpose and functionality.
I don't think you understand. The reason for the excitement is that lots of PRS fans have been hoping to get this guitar in a SE model for a very long time. Many of us cannot afford the core model Hollowbody with Piezo but CAN afford a SE version. I myself have been waiting for this guitar for a long time and here it is, I should have the funds within a week or two and I'll get one asap. Some of the things you are complaining about are industry standard. For example the most of the major guitar models do not come with stainless steel frets, Fender Strat, Tele, Jazzmaster, Jaguar, Gibson Les Paul and almost every other Gibson models, none of them have SS frets, very few PRS guitars outside of the Private Stock have them either. Another issue is, you are assuming that people buying this guitar want to save having an acoustic and an electric. This is a completely wrong assumption. These guitars give you sounds you cannot get out of a regular guitar. I have been playing a Crafter SA live for over 10 years in the same band. The reason I use this guitar is because I can blend the electric and piezo sounds together and it's a vital sound that is a big part of our band's overall feel. We literally could not be us without the sounds coming from my Crafter. The Hollowbody is a logical step up for me. I get some of your points, but you are looking at it with a very narrow view.
That makes sense. I appreciate your input. In my opinion, I don’t think anyone should pay $1500 for this kind of Chinese made guitar. We won’t agree on everything. But this wouldn’t be my first pick and I give those reasons. But we disagree and it’s okay.
@@IkeGuitar Indeed, we are going to agree on everything, and I certainly don't think that where the guitar is made is as important as the the overall quality. Every SE I've ever played has been extremely good value for the money. Seeing as the core HB with piezo is at least £4k plus here in the uk alone, something tells me PRS will sell a load of these.
Except for your take on nickel fret wire, I disagree with everything you said about this guitar. Especially the comparison to the acoustasonic. That is not the lane this guitar is even going for. It targeted more at the Gibson ES style hollowbody or the Epi casino buyer, both of which are commonly fitted with piezo. That is a very targeted market and not some catch all like your comparison implies. It's not a hybrid acoustic/electric. It's and electric guitar with a piezo. On the price, if you were to buy a casino for 800, add a piezo and a hardshell case like the HBII comes with, you're getting pretty close to the price, with a plastic nut and Pau ferro board. All that considered the PRS isn't a bad value.
Rick Mitarotonda of the band Goose plays a PRS Piezo ii. They tour constantly playing two to three hour long shows a night. He is often seen using it as his primary guitar. He uses other hollow body PRS’s too.
Mike Einziger used a prs hollow during the early incubus era. Check out the morning view sessions.
His tone in that performance with his PRS semi-hollow is godly.
Judging a guitar you have never put your hands on…awesome.
I just bought this guitar and I'm 10/10 excited. This guitar having dual outputs running into my Helix and running dual stereo outs from the Helix to the soundboard is going to be the best thing ever for me. The sound tech will be able to set my acoustic volume separate from my electric volume and I'll be able to seamlessly switch from acoustic tones to big electric tones with a stomp of a button. Ezpz
Have fun! Make a demo and link it here so I can listen!
There is a 1k option for piezzo hollow body too. You don't have to spend 6k on a museum piece. It's OK if you are a fender Homer but don't for a second think they don't have their warts too. For the price of an acoustasonic you could have a really nice electric and acoustic guitar. Just remember, just because you aren't willing to get your checkbook out doesn't mean you are the authority on what's over priced. It's OK for you to not like prs but you are obviously biased so there's that.
Based on your video I decided not to get the SE HB2, I bought the Core instead. I've got a strat and a LP. The PRS is noticeably better quality and sound. It's not a hybrid guitar, it's a hollowbody like a 335 or a Casino.
The conclusions in this review are WAY off.
I own four PRS 'core' models AND a newly acquired SE Hollowbody and frankly I'm amazed at how good this guitar is.
As for "Who would want this guitar?" - speaking as a touring professional I can say that it's built for somebody who just needs decent acoustic tones in a few songs but doesn't want to ship an acoustic guitar all over the country just for three songs in the repertoire. I use it direct into an IR loader and it sounds fantastic.
Note: maybe I just got suckered into posting by the author so he could get more comments and help the algorithm.
After watching this video till the end, I still don't understand what were your arguments backing your position. Except "it's trendy".Well, yes, it's new so PRS is pushing their new model. So what?
There're many musicians making a nice living playing the beach bars in Florida. Where it's nice to have one guitar that works for almost any cover song you might play in a 3-4 hour set. Like having two guitars in one for under $2K. They sound great too. Great value, affordable, versatile, convenient, beautiful...So I'm not sure what the problem is.
Thanks, but I'll stick to listening to people who actually know what they're talking about. I don't doubt you have music experience, but in this particular field sir... well, it certainly could've been more well-researched.
What you're telling is that you really liked my video. I'll take it. 😂
I don't know why you're hating on a guitar you haven't even put your hands on. PRS are only 'cork sniffer' guitars if you think it's not worth the money, I've had a few and they are always superior to anything from Fender or Gibson that I've laid my hands on and I've had some expensive custom shop guitars. I sold two custom shop guitars and bought a nice PRS and it's really all the guitar you would ever need and super light.
Hollow guitars are significantly more difficult and expensive to build than solid bodies. Hence the price. Also steel frets are more difficult and expensive to make than nickel. So nickel is a way to keep the price within a target range.
I don’t think anybody is pretending this guitar is a substitute for a real acoustic when unplugged. It’s for getting acoustic-like sounds when plugged in and amplified on stage. And it excels in that context. In fact, a big “real” acoustic body is a hindrance on stage because it’s more prone to feedback. So the PRS could actually be a better choice if you need to get loud.
The real reasons to back away from this guitar are, (1) if you need a loud unplugged acoustic, (2) you need an electric with maximum liquid sustain as hollow bodies absorb string energy and lessen sustain. They also feedback more easily than solid bodies.
It needs to be said that this guitar will do what an electric guitar can do because it has 2 hum buckers that work independently from the piezo. Basically you are getting a prs hollowbody that Paul reed smith put out especially for the musicians on a budget without sacrificing quality and I for one applaud PRs for doing that for the fans. But anyway you get this great guitar at a bargain and for just 300 bucks more you get a piezo that sounds fantastic and absolutely works for worship cuz it’s all in one guitar.
I'm probably going to get one of these thanks to this video. Didn't know they had the SE model of the hollowbody ii until now. Thanks dude! 👍
I'm glad my little review made you aware
You’re a consumer . You’ll be anything anyone tells you to buy . Sheep .
@@Inertiatherockband the world needs you, your genius is next level 🤦🏼
I just got one to review on my channel and it's a GREAT instrument. Our band does a lot of 90's and 2000's rock covers at our acoustic shows and I've got my pedalboard setup to be able to run the piezo output into my Fishman Aura Spectrum DI box then into one input of my fractal FM3 and then the electric output goes to another input of the FM3. I have it setup so I can toggle with a footswitch between the two and go from a really nice acoustic sound to an overdriven guitar using a Friedman amp model for lead work.
This is the second import PRS SE I've gotten to review and it's 100% befitting of the price tag IMO. My old band's singer traded in his Taylor T5 when he played the SE hollow Piezo at a local music store.
I watched this before my SE Hollowbody II arrived. I laughed then and corrected you on a few things. Now I’m simply going to say you are being a snob. Play the damn thing young man. Touch it... hold it... listen to it. FEEL IT! I’ll place my new guitar up against any Gibson made in the last 20 years.
I've got a 1990 LP Studio that would kick the pants off of this. Sadly, any other Gibson probably wouldn't do as good. 😂
Thankfully I didn't see this video before I bought mine. It's a great guitar
Zach Myers uses Hollowbody ii's. Has for years. Butch Walker has a custom Hollowbody ii with a Buck Owens paint job that he used with The Marvelous 3 and his own stuff. Just 2 artists that use them.
I ABSOLUTELY LOVE THIS GUITAR. It plays amazing, sounds amazing. EVERYONE I’ve let play it LOVE IT!
I bought one and it's fackin sweet. If you need acoustic and electric tones at the same time, it's actually one of the cheaper options, along with the Schecter C-1 E/A (which is $1250 after adding on a case, which the PRS comes with) and the Michael Kelly Hybrid 55 (another $1200 purchase once you add on a case). Everything else is so much more money.
You realize that charcoal burst version doesn't have have a piezo, right? That's why it's cheaper... If going you're to hate on something you've never touched or played, at least know what you're talking about. Or at least bring up the fact that there's piezo and non-piezo versions. I just discovered this guitar today and seem to know more than you...
Also, stainless frets aren't super common. Fender, Gibson, Ibanez (typically), etc, etc do not use stainless -- even in higher end models. It's all nickel or some sort of nickel alloy.
mxwx51 look at the pinned comment bruh 🙄
It's not actually pinned (at least not on my screen), but I did find the comment... Thanks for clarifying that much at least.
@@mxwx51 My fault. I thought I had pinned it yesterday but the mobile app may have been wonky. It is officially pinned.
Seems like the perfect gigging guitar to me. Sure, I'd use my ES-175, LP, or Martin to record, but I wouldn't dare bring $10K worth of guitars to a gig! The fact that it looks like a $6K guitar is a BONUS!!!
If you get one you have to let me know how much you like it!
Exactly. You don’t see many 6k guitars “in the wild”. I have two core models that rarely leave my house. That doesn’t mean they’re not as good as others I take out. It means I don’t want them to get beat up - I love them that much
Oh man, I LOVE mine. Mine plays like melted butter. I run the piezo into the PA and mags into my board into an amp and this thing is incredible. I’m sure you’ve got your reasons for negativity but hopefully you’ve played one since making this.
I mean I’ve played one but melted butter? Semi-firm at the most.
Did you just review a guitar you've never played and then beg PRS to send you one? Did that really happen? Then you posted it acting like you knew what you were talking about! Nice work!!!!!!!!!!!!
With respect, I think this misses the point a little. I doubt there is a single person out there saying "Cool, if I get this PRS I don't need an acoustic." I think the far more likely scenario is someone saying "I can set up my live rig to double my electric parts with an approximation of an acoustic and that is one less guitar that I have to take and risk being stolen." Saying this isn't worth getting because it doesn't sound as rich as a perfectly miked acoustic is like saying my dog isn't worth having because he can't solve quadratic equations. I'm not even saying I want this guitar, but I can see a good reason to have one.
That’s fair. To each his own in the end.
I don't get it. I think your review is way off. The hype on this isn't the piezo. I mean that's a cool "icing on the top" thing... but...the hype is that its a very well priced fully hollowbody (basically a McCartey 594 hollowbody II) made by PRS that HAPPENS TO HAVE a piezo, allowing you to do some interesting tonal blending for like 1/4 the price. But even without the piezo, a $1500 full hollowbody SE vs. a >$5000 core McCartey 594 hollowbody II, with the main difference being laminate top (like a ES-335 - still TWICE THE PRICE and is even a semi-hollow)... its a no brainer IMO that this is really amazing value for the $. I'm thinking of actually selling my '04 custom-22 core model and buying this SE version and pocketing the $500 difference. I'll wind up with an even better guitar that... who gives a crap... is made in asia...
Also - why would you spend over $1000 on a guitar and not get SS frets? I'll tell you why... because they're hard as hell on tooling. They're really costly to install, even at scale. So you show me guitars in the sub $2000 range that have SS frets. Very few and if you find that its because they skimped on just about everything else.
Opeth uses PRS Piezo
Wait really? Opeth? Geez
Indeed they do, granted they use the 5k+ models. But I feel like at the 15k pricepoint its still probably the most comfortable guitar with a decent piezo for the everyman. I own a 900 dollar Custom 24 SE Floyd and it outclasses most guitars in its price range. I'm considering ditching the heavy body and floyd and moving to one of these for an Opeth inspired project I'm working on.
I use PRS Piezo
@@IkeGuitar oopsie
Dude,
I bought, the SE Hollowbody Ii Piezo today and you have no idea what you're talking about. At $1,500 it's like magic. I runs circles around my Gibson Les Paul & my G&L ASAT Tele. Did you even play it before you trashed it?
Jimmy Page, Carlos Santana, AlDimeola, Alex Lifeson, Paul doesn't need "influencers" to sell a guitar, what bigger name players could you be waiting for to play his guitars? Like them or don't, but your reasons for suggesting people not buy this guitar are nonsense, piezo equipped electric guitars are made for live performance when you need electric and acoustic sounds in the same set or song and don't want to be encumbered by switching between actual acoustic and electric guitars. Don't count on PRS valuing your opinion anytime soon.
I love my PRS SE Hollowbody II Piezo 🙂 I play the guitar 39 years, and never had a guitar like this. Sorry man, you do´nt really know what you are talking about.
Good points, thanks for the insight. I do think there is a use for these and it's a use I'm particularly interested in. I'm a big fan of looping. The idea that you could create an acoustic rhythm and then play electric lead over top of it without having to deal with switching guitars and using an A/B switcher is appealing. With that said I have played both the Fender Acoustisonic as well as Taylor's T5 and didn't care for them. I'd love to try out this PRS or the Schecter's C-1 E/A.
Glad it was helpful! If you get one I'd love to know what you think!
Both this guitar and the Schecter are great sounding electrics first, with the piezo electric tone an additional tool to use if you wish. The acoutisonic starts with the piezo then essentially becomes a modeling acoustic guitar, a very different beast.
youare wrong
i play a custom 24 wirh piezo and i lead woship
i have two acoustic players one playa a 7 series taylor and the other martin
neither sound as good as my prs
I've seen something like this used by a guitarist named mark lee, he uses a few prs guitars with piezo so he can do acoustic parts without a acoustic stand or anything. One being a solid body, and it sounds great but that's the only time I've seen it.
Ha! Good strategy bro! You got a bunch of views knowing that everybody loves the guitar and they finally found a review that said not LMAO! Good job on your part bro, 👏 Hope you got a lot of views. In my opinion I just bought this guitar (the SE hollow body ii piezo), and I absolutely love it! So many different tones, so many different ways, I mean in a different ways and you could really just have a fun time checking one out, I'm sure you'll have fun!
I am guessing that you don't have a PRS endorsement... LOL. You do bring up some good points. Thanks!
Probably will never get one at this rate lol
Let me do a 12 minute review on you having not met you in person before too lol.
In this comment guitars = humans
Martin Taylor played on a hollow body guitar with a piezo pickup and sounded fantastic in my opinion. He played on an AEX1500 by Yamaha for a few years. He has since moved to another guitar and but still mics the guitar and blends it with the pickups. The model was discontinued but still a fantastic guitar with a beautiful tone. I would love to get my hands on that guitar or one similar and appreciate companies experimenting outside of just changing body shape, pickups, tuners, inlays etc.
I love my SE Piezo. I've played many high end guitars in my time.
This guitar is my go to for almost any style of playing.
I just got one that was 20% off.
Best guitar for the price.
I think it's pound for pound the best guitar I've ever owned.
Just one man's opinion.
The PRS Hollowbody has nothing in common with the acoustasonic. It’s absolutely not an acoustic hybrid. It’s a hollowbody.
For a critique video, I would hope you would’ve at least done your homework and not filled the video with inaccuracy after inaccuracy
Dean De Leo of Stone Temple Pilots used a hollow body PRS with a piezo for creep when I saw them live in 2010 and Stone Gossard from Pearl Jam uses piezo equipped guitars for several songs in Pearl Jam’s live set.
If you like it, buy it ! Prs makes great guitars
i agree that it's too expensive, but i would love to have a hollow electric guitar with a piezo, i might even build my own if i can't find one at a reasonable price, after all piezos are dirt cheap.
one thing that you don't seem to understand is that piezos don't need to be squeezed to pick up sound. they are contact microphones and they will pick up the vibrations of whatever object they are mounted to. they don't put piezos in there because there is not enough space, but because they are the perfect solution.
So. in the spirit of transparency I'm going to come out and say that I only watched the first half of this video, so I don't know how the rest of it ended but I heard these types of criticism was before and I have a pretty good idea where it was going. I've had a chance to play a few of these SE hollow-body IIs, and was really impressed with them. So when I saw the title of this video I wanted to see it. I figured that you were going to start talking about issues with the design, or the construction method, or or something like that. basically that if you were looking for a semi-hollow or hollow body type guitar why you should stay away from this one, but it wasn't.
The video in its arguments really aren't bad, it's really the title or the beginning premise of it. If it was titled "why I'M (as in the one making the video) won't buy this guitar," the reasons you stated would be perfectly good ones. As it stands, the answer to "why you shouldn't buy this guitar" is that: you don't want/aren't in the market for a hollow or Semihollow guitar. It is comparable to "if you're looking for a Les Paul, why you shouldn't buy a Stratocaster," or that someone should only buy a guitar with humbuckers because singlecoils produce hum. You're falling into the mindset because something has or doesn't have features that you like or not is going to be universal. I have clients (many who play in a church environment) that all swear by Helix or modellers because they can run through a PA and can access a 100 amp simulations. I also have many (myself included) that prefer running into an actual tube amp and will only get the sounds that a Tweed or Blackface or a JMP,etc can produce with maybe a few pedals, and find the tone that comes from tubes being worth the trade-off.
I've been doing guitar repair and servicing for about a decade and a half, and while over the last several years I've moved more into building and working on amps, I still handle plenty of guitars. So I have to say that I don't know where the idea that there aren't many great guitarists, or guitarists in general don't play PRS, and I say that without any irony. In my experience I find myself wondering how is it so MANY players play PRS' considering the cost. There came a point in the early-mid 2000s where they seemed to have saturated the market. By the late 90s and early 00's they were so ubiquitous that for all intents and purpose, PRS' into Mess Boogies seemed to have replaced Les Paul into Marshall's.
Personally I was never a huge fan of PRS, though over the years I've owned several. My reasons seem to follow your reason pretty much. It wasn't because they weren't beautiful guitars that we damn near flawless in the build and design, I just wasn't really into them. I've owned a late 90s CE22 the longest that I originally bought because I wanted something for more modern rock tones, but didn't need or want another Gibson since pretty much every humbucker equipped guitar I owned or had owned were Gibson. I had owned a few Custom 24s: an SE and 2 Core models (both of which were to this day the most expensive guitars I've owned, both came to me through trades for a couple amps I had built and guitars I had). One I sold in less than 2 weeks, the other a couple months. For me, I just don't like 24 fret guitars, any 24 fret guitars, I just do not like how the neck pickup tone is affected. So I'm certainly not a PRS fanboy.
However over the last couple years they've been making several models that I've fallen for. I think the S2 line is phenomenal, and it was about time that they decided to put out some affordable American line guitars. The new McCarty 594 are awesome, and some of the stuff that they've been putting out in the SE line; if you were to tell me I'd be GAS'ing over something from their import line id say you were crazy. The hollow body line it come out in the SE line are unbelievably nice, especially for the price. I do agree that the Hollow-body II piezo are expensive, but only if you're comparing them to the model without the piezo. At a $400 higher price, you need to REALLY want one with a piezo, or that's just a whole lot of money for a pickup you won't use too much.. But $1150 for the regular Hollow-body II SE, from what I've seen with guitars over the years is IMO insanely well priced and worth that and more.
Hey Tim! Thanks for commenting. So let me preface by saying that I know people play PRS guitars. The statement I made is getting lost with people. But my statement was that I don't see any major artists playing specifically these Piezo Acoustic/Hybrid thingies. I know many artists play PRS guitars. I LOVE the McCarty's, and I LOVE the new John Mayer model. Heck, I think the S2s and the CEs are awesome. But I'm just not a fan of these new fan dangled hybrids.
I like PRS guitars. But I'm failing to see how this guitar is what I should be buying. And I can see the use for a full hollowbody electric. But trying to blend the acoustic world is a hard sell I'm not convinced on. I make those analyses in the back half of the video.
And maybe down the road my tastes will change and maybe I'll think more fondly of this kind of instrument. But right now I'm gonna leave my acoustic to do the acousticking and the electric to the electricking.
Cheers!
@@IkeGuitar The title to your video is "You shouldn't buy this guitar." You don't see many major artists playing any of the SE line, just like you don't see them playing Epiphones, or Squires and the like because by the point they're major artists, they can afford the Custom Shop. I don't see a lot of players using really high-end guitars made by small independent luthiers, but it's not because there's something wrong with them. You don't see many players using Dumbles or Trainwreck amps either. You'll see a player here and there with a Dumble, and even fewer with Trainwrecks for the same reason.
@@IkeGuitar there have been hybrid PU (mag / P) for quite some time. Such as Parkers etc. . Also the hollow body can be considered a take on Gibson's semi-hollows and hollows(see ES 330) and the price point is great when taken into consideration. I don't own, nor have ever owned a PRS so I have no brand bias. With that said, I found this to be contrarian for just the sake of it and a way to get clicks and views riding piggyback on a trending topic... so with that I will say nice job LOL
I've bought a Schector C1 e/a for little under a grand and simply love it and play in stereo
Love mine! There are a lot of uses for the piezo and blending.
Alex Lifeson, one of the first major pro's using PRS, and combining with the piezo as well.
Carlos Santana and David Grissom too, and they have signature models. Of course, John Mayer is now the prime focus, lol.
A lot of guitar over 1000 dollars have Nikel frets
These guitars are great guitars .
You make some good observations, so thanks for that. I own several Core PRS guitars and I'm certainly no cork sniffer. I do, on the other hand, appreciate awesome quality that is pretty much a given when you open ANY PRS case. Not so with some of the other builders out there. Enjoyed your video though, keep up the good work!
“Even” the custom 24 guitars? That’s like *the* flagship PRS model, dude hahaha
Neal schon, the guys from porcupine tree definitely were playing semi hollow prs piezos. The lads from opeth.
I thought akerfeldts guitar was solid though. Is it not?
@@joshuaevensen7647 there’s a few vids of them talking about piezos and I’ve seen them use semi
The prs hollowbody ii se piezo is actually really badass.
Personally I'm interested in it simply because I'm looking for a Hollow body electric and this is absolutely beautiful and the price is crazy. I still want to look at 335s and the offering from heritage, but for the price this guitar offers a lot.
Guy. There aren't many guitars in the 1000 price range with SS frets. Do you even buy guitars?
The funny thing about this video is that the PRS Hollowbody II Piezo you showed was (literally) MY guitar ... serial number and all. I'm definitely saving this. Really, how often is your personal guitar featured in a UA-cam video, pictures and all, particularly with a title of "Don't Buy ...". Precious. I know you were talking about the SE, but still, PRECIOUS.
By the way, I happen to love the guitar. Then again, I'm definitely a "cork-sniffer", so my thoughts probably don't count much. ;-)
In all seriousness, thanks for putting it all out there and sharing your thoughts.
No worries man. That’s really funny. Thanks for not bashing it ha 😂
Fender’s approach is artificial tones courtesy of Fishman, PRS tones are all natural through the normal pickups. Secondly, the new Fenders are more like furniture than a crafted instrument.
Yeah that’s why I won’t buy a Fender that’s more than $600.... yet 😂