![]() As lower-cost import lines go, PRS’ SE brand has always been a little different in that it has its own identify, instead of simply serving as a platform for entry-level versions of U.S.-made instruments. This guitar gets in tune and stays in tune. Intonation was outstanding, as was tuning stability. I was happy enough with it not to have a go with the truss rod (accessed near the headstock). Without the benefit of a post arrival setup, the action was just on the high side of low. And while the neck dimensions are just one factor in a guitar’s overall tone, chunkier necks are said to add resonance and improve sustain. But when well-executed, they can actually be easier because they offer more support for your hand. One of the myths about fat necks is that they’re harder to play. But with a fretboard radius of just under 12 inches, the neck doesn’t force you to stretch for chords and feels quite comfortable for both open and barre chords. Fretboard width is 1-11/16 inches at the bone nut and 2-9/23 at the body. The SE A40E’s neck is chunky and deep-something I personally like, even on electrics. ![]() Maybe it has just been the luck of the draw, but many of the cutaway acoustics I’ve tested lately have gone for a more electric neck profile-i.e., thin, and sometimes angular. While the headstock logo inlay and the fretboard’s creme binding add elegance, the visual highlight has to be the fretboard’s bird inlay pattern, which creates the impression of flight. The angled headstock carries the trademark PRS shape and PRS-designed closed-gear tuning machines. The mahogany neck is topped with a 20 fret, 25.3-inch scale ebony fretboard and joins the body at the 14th fret. According to the company, this design uses a traditional X at the soundhole “with classical fan bracing across the belly.” The goal is to let the top vibrate more freely for enhanced sound projection and a warmer tone. The SE AE40E’s top features PRS’ hybrid X/classical bracing. The traditional-style ebony bridge uses traditional pins to hold the strings, which rest on a compensated bone saddle. The body depth tapers from 3-19/32 inches at the neck block to 4-3/8 inches at the tail block. At first glance I thought the Angelus was smaller and shallower than it actually is. The flowing lines have the slimming effect of well-tailored threads. The binding-a combination of tiger acrylic (think faux tortoiseshell) and creme-ties the visual package together. The top is available in two gloss finishes: natural or with our test model’s lovely Tobacco Sunburst. The mid-sized Angelus’ rounded shoulders flow organically into the cutaway to create a cohesive and organic-looking silhouette from both front and back. Rock-Solid Constructionīuilt to PRS’ Angelus single-cutaway body specifications, the SE A40E features a solid Sitka spruce top with ovangkol for the back and sides. Yet from the neck profile to the bracing and even the visual aesthetic, it’s clear that a lot of thought and skill went into its design and execution. It doesn’t imitate any classic style, but it also doesn’t try to grab attention. In that way, the SE A40E Angelus is very PRS. Many of these refinements weren’t obvious to the naked eye from the pickup wiring and switching to the scale length and hardware, PRS was like a hot-rodder who kept his car’s true power hidden under the hood-more Sunbeam Tiger than Shelby Cobra. Instead of jumping on the metal-inspired super Strat bandwagon or merely imitating the more traditional brands, the Maryland-based company rethought and refined long-held ideas in a fresh way that solved practical problems for working players. Then again, if you’ve been around long enough to remember when PRS emerged as a new major electric guitar maker, you may recall how the company broke into the mainstream. Probably more than any instrument I’ve tested in years, the SE A40E revealed its true potential gradually. This may seem an odd statement about a guitar as nice looking as the SE A40E Angelus, especially from a brand with the bona fides of PRS Guitars, but it took me a week or so to realize that my generally favorable first impression of this Chinese-built acoustic-electric was actually giving it short shrift. This article is free to read, but it isn't free to produce! Make a pledge to support the site (and get special perks in return.)
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