In 2013 PRS introduced the S2 line of guitars. Initially there was a bit of skepticism involved due to the massive price drop compared to the core line of PRS guitars. The truth is, the S2 models are built in the same factory in the USA as the core line! The price drop really comes from the stripped down features and wood/finish appointments.

Today we’ll be looking at the S2 Singlecut, a vintage-inspired tone-machine with a great look!

Let’s dive into it!

Features:

– Mahogany Body

– Rosewood Fretboard

– Maple Top

– Mahogany Neck

– 25″ Scale

– 22 Frets

– PRS Bird Inlays

– Pattern Regular Neck Profile

– PRS Stoptail Bridge

– PRS Locking Tuners

– Nickel Hardware

– PRS S2 #7 Treble/Bass Pickups

– 2xVol/2x Tone w Push/Pull/3-Way Toggle

The PRS S2 has a really vintage feel and playability. The Pattern Regular neck is a bit more modern than the classic PRS necks. Not on the baseball bat-thick side, but it’s certainly no Ibanez Wizard. It’s really nice for playing big chords and rhythm guitar because you have a little bit extra to hold on to.

Visually, you can get this guitar in a figured Maple top or just a solid color, the top looked fantastic on the one I played. It’s obviously not going to be PRS Custom 24 10-top level, but it’s nice to at least see a thicker top like this on a guitar in this price range.

The bevel around the edges isn’t something I think everyone would love, but I really liked it. I found this take on the single-cut to be quite a bit more comfortable than a Les Paul-style.

Tone:

The S2 definitely sits in the vintage Les Paul sort of tonal area. The 25″ scale makes for an extra, acoutic-like sound quality that you don’t normally see on longer scale lengths. Something here that takes it up a notch is the Coil-tappable pickups, two of them at that! You don’t see that on single-cuts very often!

The pickups themselves are a moderate output with a ton of headroom. The standout feature was the dynamic versatility. I found that the pickups could get as quiet as I ever wanted, but were able to get a ton of breakup when played harder. Tonally, the sweet spot was in the mids, as with most vintage sounding guitars.

These were able to craft a really well-rounded hard rock tone, with a ton of punch. They didn’t lose any clarity when I exposed them to moderately high gain, which was quite nice. They performed best under low-medium gain with a little bit of clean boost though. I was able to get some really awesome blues sounds out of them.

This guitar has a lot going on. Tons of great harmonics, warm vintage sounds, and the ability to get a bit heavier too. I don’t think I would use it for modern metal. The pickups do lack the tightness needed for fast and chuggy playing under extreme gain. Everything from cleans to jazz to rock would be executed really well by this one.

Build Quality:

Believe it or not, even at about half the price of a core-line PRS, the S2 series is built to the same standards of quality. They surely sport cheaper hardware, wood, pickups, and finishes, but the quality is there.

The only thing I could complain about was that the wiring on the inside was a little bit sloppy looking. This did not affect the guitar in any way and all of the pots and electronics sounded fine. It just looks like a headache if someone ever needed to get in there and fix something later.

With that being said, it definitely played better than any Gibson I’ve ever played and managed to hold tuning just about perfectly. Can’t really complain.

Final Verdict:

The PRS S2 Singlecut is definitely an under-the-radar gem. I had never played one before doing this review and don’t know anyone who owns one. So I’d say I was pleasantly surprised by this it.

If I were to purchase a nicer singlecut guitar, this would probably be it. Great looks, feels incredible, and the sounds you can get out of it are versatile, dynamic, and super sweet.

8-8-7

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This article was written by Zac Buras, our editor located in Louisiana.

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