Ben Morgan-Brown tries another of PRS’s highly praised SE models
Earlier this year, Acoustic Review reviewed one of PRS’s well received new(ish) electro-acoustics, the SE T50. It was good – very good, especially so for the money. Word in the guitar business is that PRS has decided to make a redoubled bid for the affordable mid-market acoustic scene and the result, this new generation Korean built SEs launched for 2018 bears that out. Certainly, both the earlier T50 we reviewed and the SEA40e we were sent for our second recently bear witness to that – this was also another very well built and set-up instrument.
With a solid spruce top and ovangkol backs and sides, the PRS is a handsome guitar, quite modern looking and benefiting from the familiar PRS birds inlays as well as some nicely applied binding and purfling. An ebony fingerboard sits atop a mahogany neck and helps cement the overall impression everyone in the studio had when Ben took it from the case – this is a very classy looking guitar.
Fortunately, the SE40 doesn’t only look classy. As you would expect from a PRS, it plays beautifully. and when you listen to Ben’s video you hear what is a very clean, detailed sound with an excellent tone which he felt suited fingerstyle players extremely well without lacking any appeal for strummers.
The only weakness, Ben felt, was with the piezo Fishman G1. As you can hear on our soundtrack it suffers from the usual mid-market piezo quackiness. It’s by no means unusable and it’s a very fair choice for a sub-£700 guitar (particularly for one that also includes a decent quality hard case!) but it can’t really live up to the PRS’s natural acoustic tone. You could certainly use this guitar amplified on stage with it but at some point you might want to invest in something that does more justice to the guitar’s natural tonal quality.
Judging from the two PRS SE models Ben has looked at so far, the company has certainly pulled out all the stops with its acoustics. Watch the video and hear for yourself what must be one of the best guitars you can currently get for this sort of money.
PRS SEA40E £689
AR Reviews are recorded in a top quality studio with the finest equipment. To get the best from our reviews and really hear the instruments perform make sure you listen on good quality speakers or headphones!
Specifications
Top Wood: Solid Sitka Spruce
Middle Wood: Ovangkol
Back Wood: Ovangkol
Body Shape: Angelus Cutaway
Body Depth at Neck Block: 3 19/32”
Body Depth at Tail Block: 4 3/8”
Bracing: PRS Hybrid “X”/Classical Bracing
Body Purfling: Tiger Acrylic
Body Binding: Cream
Rosette: Tiger Acrylic, Cream/Black
Number of Frets: 20
Scale Length: 25.3”
Neck Wood: Mahogany
Neck Shape: Wide Fat
String Spacing: 2 7/32”
Fretboard Wood: Ebony
Fretboard Inlay: Birds
Fretboard Radius: 11.81″
Strength/Truss Rod: Adjustable
Neck Depth At The Nut: 7/8”
Width of Fretboard at the Body: 2 9/32″
Width of Fretboard at the Nut: 1 11/16″
Nut: Bone
Bridge Wood: Ebony
Tuners: PRS-Designed
Acoustic Saddle: Bone
Strings: 12-53
Included Accessories: PRS Hardshell Case
Fishman: GT1 pickup/pre-amp
