“Everything about the tone screams”
Disclaimer: I adore and loathe PRS guitars. There, I said it! I know it’s unfair to say, but they’re just too perfect for my taste. I get toothache hearing their sweet tone. Whoever reads this may be thinking, ‘They’re just too much machine for you to handle,’ and maybe they’re right. Then again, my taste is more Robert Johnson than Eric Johnson. More ‘Woodstock’ Santana than ‘smooth’ Santana. I just can’t get the grit I want from them, but that’s just crusty old me and I know many guitarists rightly swear by theirs.
PRS guitars are revered for their amazing build quality and impeccably smooth tone. They are musical tools that won’t hold you back. As displayed here on the very popular PRS Tremonti SE, a lower cost version of the Creed and Alter Bridge guitarist Mark Tremonti’s signature model, those qualities do permeate down to their lower price bracket.
Anatomy
The Tremonti is in essence PRS’s take on a Les Paul-style design – twin humbuckers (PRS designed SE Treble and Bass pickups), single cut-away mahogany body and a 22-fret neck. But unlike a Les Paul it has comfort contours on the back and cut-away, a longer 25” scale length, and weighs very little. It also sports a wraparound bridge as well as bird fret inlays.
Playability
PRS invented air guitar. Playing one is effortless. The Tremonti’s light weight, neck shape and ergonomic body contours make playing a breeze. It simply relays your finger movements to the amp, almost like playing nothing at all. The neck shape is incredibly comfortable, feeling narrower than it actually is.
Manufacturers often cut corners with their tuners but these PRS designed tuners, along with graphite nut, stay in tune after wild string bends and drop tuning.
A notable flaw, in my opinion, is the counter-intuitive placement of the volume controls. They are next to one another above the tone knobs. This puts the bridge pickup volume below and behind the bridge, making one reach further for volume adjustments.
Also, this guitar has a tremendous amount of fret buzz, which does hinder the smoothness of the tone and makes it slightly brittle. A little note in the included gig bag mentions that this may be due to the neck bowing during shipping. It goes into detail about how to correct this by adjusting the double truss rod, which I thought was nice of them.
Sounds
Unplugged the Tremonti resonates brightly and audibly from every part of neck and body yet doesn’t announce itself as aggressively as a Les Paul.
Plugging into a clean tube amp with bridge pickup selected and strumming open chords reveals a bright, open tone. Every note rings with considerable clarity. It sounds more defined and sparkly than thick and syrupy. It even has a slight twang, likely due to the longer scale neck. The middle and neck pickup positions are well balanced too, with no sudden jumps in bass response. All this makes for great versatility.
With increased gain the attack stays smooth yet crisp. Notes swell and decay evenly, making finger vibrato bloom. Note definition is retained exceptionally well at extreme gain settings, making fast lead runs and complex chords sing with clarity. It simply refuses to get ‘dirty’. It’s always sweet.
Everything about the tone screams ‘luxury’ and while it seems to give you a bit of everything it does so with some restraint, seemingly waiting for your input to take it somewhere. I have no problem imagining this guitar being used in a big budget recording session, where a glossy sound is needed.
Conclusion
Its absolute effortless playability and smooth, defined tone (bar the slight tone hindering fret buzz) make this an excellent instrument. While I do like my guitars to put up a bit of a fight, I am very impressed with the sheer luxurious quality this workhorse delivers on all levels.
Supplied by: Rockit Distribution | 021-511 1800
Suggested retail prices: R 5,995.00
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