PRS SE Carlos Santana Guitar Review - Does it Carlos?

[@intheblues]

Thanks for watching. Thanks to Ben for the help with these right-handed guitar videos. This is the last one cued up while I am away. We'll do some stuff together at some point once I am home. Let us know what you think. Links & timestamps below. 🛒 Sweetwater - imp.i114863.net/P0dVWQ 🛒 Guitar Center - guitar-center.pxf.io/jW6yB0 🛒 Thomann - bit.ly/3Mh0Bt9 🛒 Sky Music - alnk.to/6bQmK4T 0:00 - About 0:11 - Jam Track 2:04 - Guitar Overview 3:33 - Clean Tones 5:46 - Dirty Tones 7:37 - Carlos Tones 8:45 - Review (affiliate links to store)

[@richardsherfield1175]

Love the PRS guitars. Playing them is a dream.

[@joguipo]

As Carlitos would say: 'Bless your soul for this heavenly review'. Nice one! Big love from Spain.

[@markdakel9253]

What’s not to love, the tone is amazing the finish is Impeccable, and a playing was excellent

[@jevonwhite5193]

This guitar sounds fantastic! And excellent demo too. I can't wait to get this guitar!

[@jamalabdul2009]

PRS is making great guitars with their SE line and this Santana model is a great example of one. Like the Silver Sky, this is a guitar I’d love to try, however no lefty option 😖. Come on Paul, make that move and offer these models left handed!!! Great tones Ben!! 😎🎸🎸🎸

[@shanewalton8888]

Paul is on record saying he hates making lefties, which is one reason PRS won't get my business.

[@jamalabdul2009]

@@shanewalton8888 They have been offering the SE in a lefty for the past five years. I don’t think it’s too unreasonable to have more models available left handed in the future.

[@michaelmetal71]

@@jamalabdul2009 i agree paul should offer at least one or two more models in left handed like a SE single cut and the sliver sky

[@michaelmetal71]

@@shanewalton8888 so did a left handed person hurt 😞 him when he was a kid 🧒 or something and that’s why he will only offer one left-handed model in his entire range!

[@PaulCooksStuff]

They were asked during the last launch livestream about left handed models. The recording is probably still up on the prs channel. The decision isn't about what Paul likes/dislikes. It was simple economics. He recounted the story of how the marketing men said they could achieve 10% lefty sales, that the market analysis and polling figures backed it up. So they started making lefties, they retooled the manufacturing process for lefties, they hired left handed QC inspectors to play the lefties. And after all that time, effort and expense they sold 2% lefty. It's low priority because it's not financially attractive to them. It's available on some models, but they had their fingers burned already to do it routinely on every model.

[@BrentAdams]

I think that the PRS SE Santana Model is so under rated. I just found a 3rd generation version (22 fret model with the old control layout...volume nearer the bridge pickup) which suited my preferences a little more than the newer 24 fret version. Great guitars!

[@kirkscobey3031]

I would be in if it just had a wraparound! Have to agree that the SE line has always been awesome.

[@GRBAquatics]

Awesome Demo/Review as always.That is one stunning guitar. Cheers

[@shanebrbich5698]

Mate! What a great sound! And cheap! I’ve messaged the guys at sky music for a price and availability! Great work to Ben 👍

[@MrSpeed-lt8gr]

PRS SE are such well made guitars. I finally got the Zach Myers one as I’ve wanting to get it since it first came out. Just amazing sound and playability.

[@leebrown6702]

I've one of these from '18. Korean made and with some modifications is almost perfect. I replaced the plastic nut that wasn't well cut and more recently fitted USA CTS pots along with the switch and jack (USA switchcraft). The original Alpha pots were okay but the switch had failed. I see that Epiphone are fitting USA components and graphtec nuts as standard now. IMO the PRS SE line would really benefit from doing the same. Cheap upgrades, but not everyone is happy to wield a soldering iron 😄

[@chopper4484]

Great looking & sounding guitar thanks Ben & Shane. PRS also has a Santana SE semi hollow wonder if there is much difference in feel & tone? Though Zach Myers blue semi-hollow also looks great.

[@Sainte305]

I have a 2014 model of this in red. While the guitar isn't great, I absolutely love the feel of the neck. It's a pretty good guitar, I got it super cheap from a guy who collected it as collateral on a coin deal gone bad. So for what I paid this thing IS a great guitar. :)

[@hiimawasteoftime8678]

What's wrong with the rest of the guitar

[@Sainte305]

@@hiimawasteoftime8678 Nothing is necessarily wrong with it, it's just not my cup of tea. I'm not a fan of the pickups, to be sure. Mainly though, I'm a single coil strat guy. The neck is phenomenal though.

[@hiimawasteoftime8678]

@@Sainte305 oh yeah okay

[@jevonwhite5193]

I have one from I believe the same older generation. The neck is actually maybe the best neck I've ever played. Downside to the guitar is the tone is muddy with no bite and especially the neck doesn't have enough clarity, even after I tried multiple pickup changes.

[@andresbelialblazicevic1297]

Just about to buy one! Love the bright tones and sustain this baby got, thanks for the nice review!

[@dmac3316]

Solid video! Thanks!! Definitely want to try one of these. Great Carlos tone demo also!

[@Mr.D34]

PRS and Santana, it doesn't get more iconic than that. I'm trying to restrain myself from buying another solid body guitar with humbuckers since i already own two, otherwise i would buy this in a heartbeat. It looks and sounds beautiful.

[@Mexxx65]

I own a made in korea PRS SE CS, 22 fret model, in Santana Yellow. Picked it up for 600 bucks mint! Its standard, other than adding PRS SE locking tuners and a brass saddle set. Tough to let this little one go! Nice review Ben!

[@scottreynolds6317]

Hey Shane! I did get the notification on this vid. Awesome playing and review!!! Great mix of the both of you! I still love my SE! They are fantastic guitars 🎸!!! BTW, just picked up my first Gretsch (made in Korea)🔥🔥🔥

[@jevonwhite5193]

How do you find the tone in terms of clarity? have a Santana SE from the earlier generation (22 fret) and no matter what pickups I've tried, and EQ settings, the guitar is muddy with no bite. Too bad because the playability is fantastic. Just wondering if yours is any different? In the video it sounds really nice, just wondering what you think in person.

[@Da_Porkchop_Xpress]

Great stuff Ben!

[@anthonyward8587]

Nice review Ben, sounded great to my ears.

[@NicholasANappiNick]

Looks and sounds like a winner good job nice guitar and playing

[@Editingcarrots]

nice tone! what amp are you using?

[@herbervalencia3401]

THE AMAZING TONE FROM THE 🎸 PRS SE SANTANA FOR ALL KIND OF MUSIC 🎼. KOREAN AND INDONESIA GUITARS ARE INCREDIBLE.

[@granthostheflatulent]

Ok - by 1 minute 9 seconds I'm hooked. I know I will never play like the man himself but that tone. OMG that tone. A PRS SE will finish my lineup of guitars (hey, at least I get paid to play - just not as often as I'd like)...

[@bb_lz9790]

Thank you for the quick comment comparing the older Korean made SE Santana to the new one! I have an old orange one and while I love nearly everything about it, I couldn't bond with the pickups so I put a AlNiCo 2 humbucker in the bridge and a humbucker-sized P90 in the neck. Thinking about putting the original bridge pickup back in for the heck of it.

[@jevonwhite5193]

I have an Indonesian one from around that same year. Sort of similar, I love the neck and playability but the tone is muddy unfortunately, even after trying bright trebly pickups. Especially the neck.

[@bb_lz9790]

@@jevonwhite5193 Bummer. I hope you get it sorted out. Are the pots 500K? I ended up putting covers on the original pickups for the heck of it. Didn't care for them that much and just installed a set of GFS Fat PATs in it. Seems to be going OK.

[@toddflowers8052]

Sounds Great ....nice job mates !!!

[@Sunspotting]

Such a shame that PRS doesn't make left-handed models for most of their product line.

[@shanebrbich5698]

Dude! WTF! I just messaged Sky about this 😔

[@SomeKindOfMadman]

Awesome demo guys, always very cool

[@daleduke1315]

To me has a glassy tone at times, not unlike early starts. Sustain, pinch harmonics very nice.

[@chrisr4740]

I thought it was going to be a lefty. Its the only PRS ill buy. Hope they make them left handed.

[@geoffedwards189]

That is close to my perfect guitar. 2 HBs with trem. I love that double cutaway style and just 2 pots, Thanks Ben and Shane (Shane who? ..lol..)

[@marquisdecarabas1312]

Would like to spend my money on something like a "PRS Santana SE premium" ...a santana SE with neckbindings...just for looks ❤

[@calbrockocat8728]

Like this one more than the Sky model mainly because it's humbuckers, baby!

[@michaelmetal71]

I think it’s ridiculous that Paul only offers like one left-handed SE model in his entire PRS guitar range, I know you can find some American made ones left-handed but they are ridiculously priced from around $3000-$5000, would it kill Paul to offer a left-handed SE SingleCut or a silver sky left-handed? that’s why I never bought one for my money I’ll stick to schector more lefty model options color options and the prices are very reasonable, you really need to review the nick Johnston or the new van nuys guitars on this channel they even have a cool dual humbucker tele they just came out with, great review though I’m a big fan of Carlos Santana myself 🤘🏼🎸

[@jmdyt3626]

I don’t know what it is but in terms of budget guitars Prs just have something special about them like for me a guitar have to have soul and with pretty much all guitars from China literally none have soul to me I’ve have a epiphone les Paul I’ve had strats but for me there is nothing like a Prs for me the look of a guitar is as important as the sound because if I don’t like the look I won’t want to play it and I feel a guitar shows your personality and I love the general flashiness of a Prs guitar the bird inlays are beautiful as well as when you have a matching headstock and obviously that beautiful finish aswell as also including a gig bag with every SE and it’s not just a gif bag they are very nice gig bags aswell like I just bought a Prsse Starla I paid £400 down from £600 and you get the same gif bag that you’d get for any high end se hopefully one day I can own this or the ddg se gold top

[@bobbychubb6913]

I bought one of these in 2017 Korean made and it is a versatile and reliable. Stays in tune even using the bar I've had two others custom 22 and custom 24 but I didn't bond with them.the 24 would not stay in tune and the 22 was metal only sounding but the Santana is awesome

[@jevonwhite5193]

I have an Indonesian one from around the same year. Playability is awesome, but the tone is not clear and lacks bite, no matter the pickups unfortunately. I'm wondering if the new version is better tone wise.

[@nordstrandmusicinternation9518]

Anyone know how the neck is on these bad boys ? incredibly close to pulling the trigger on one, but need to know if the necks thin enough for my baby hands !

[@Za7a7aZ]

Any idea how it plays compared to the non se Santana model ? That is what I would like to know

[@rudiyantohalim736]

What do you think about the limited edition "Abraxas"?

[@chrisboblitt6103]

What guitar pedal were you using?

[@efx245precor3]

I used to have this model. Loved it.

[@vividvulpe9842]

One of my favorite guitar shapes

[@rebanosagra]

I used to have the orange one, nice guitar but the G string was always out of tune. I tried everything I could but I ended up selling it

[@TomSJazzBass]

It's wild that Ben has the exact same diction as Shane. Good stuff. Now just do mirror videos lol

[@TomSJazzBass]

Oh that was just Shane's VO 😂😂😂😂 Still good stuff y'all

[@camilo1455]

I think they all talk that way down there -- always thought it came from hanging on to the planet upside down.

[@hutchfromba]

Sounds a lot like Carlos to me brother. Blues On....💙

[@michaelsemczuk1989]

Fantastisch, meine kommt nächsten Monat 😊

[@GGTinMobile66]

What is the song/jam in the intro?

[@intheblues]

A jam track we recorded before shooting the video.

[@To.Si.Ma.]

Everything is great about this guitar.

[@danstringer7610]

Thanks!

[@justincase4925]

Does it chugg for metal?

[@greekfreak1980]

For a straight up metal axe, I would rather get the SE Tremonti Custom or SE Mark Holcomb which comes stock with high output Duncans. The Santana model has low-medium output pickups, I mean it's designed for Carlos for his playing style. If you have a high-gain amp and some pedals, you could get some modern chugging metal tones out of it, but it's not really designed for that. For the same money, if you're looking for a straight up metal guitar, I would rather get a Schecter. Generally speaking, the Korean Schecters offer much more value for money, than the Indonesia PRS SE's. (Korean Schecters have all either active Fishmans or EMG's or Made in USA Schecter passive pickups, which are as good as any Duncan or Dimarzio.)

[@Theweeze100]

Great presentation as usual. So I have to take issue with the push pull split coil mode comment. You’re right it’s not very helpful unless you turn the bottom pick up around 180°. When you do you will end up with a Stratocaster-like quack tone in the middle position. I spend most of my time in that position playing rhythm and fills. It’s one of the only things that makes this guitar usable, because I have to have some sort of Stratocaster tone if I’m only using one guitar.

[@bobclarke8628]

What's going on with Shane? Haven't seen him in a couple of weeks, and here, we hear him, but don't see him. Are you okay?

[@sigjamafi]

so tasty playing!

[@paschalisantoniou974]

This one is on y sights fpr quite some time now.....

[@shanewalton8888]

Is it just me or does this guitar sound a bit shrill? I guess I am just not a PRS guy.

[@michaelogden5093]

High Gloss neck... ughhh. Sounds nice.

[@camilo1455]

When you find a great guitar, a high-gloss neck is easy to fix. Just try different grits. I used sandpaper (200, I think) on my 60s SG (in the early 90s, I think -- maybe late 80s). Steel wool on my '61 J-45, followed by 400 grit. Green scrubber on my Jackson shredder. I find that once you get it how you like it, they get even better the more they're played. And that gloss sure looks nice on the maple top. I would really like to play one. I think I'd do the whole back of the guitar in a satin finish, especially when it's mahogany.

[@mauromeglii493]

Great guitar for the money!!!

[@650thunderbird]

👍🏻👍🏻

[@theloniouscoltrane3778]

For the price? SE Santana is ok. But, if you save 5 times the SE's amount, the CORE US is worth the wait & every penny..and you'll realize, you wasted money on the SE. I have bought SE & CORE Santana.

[@carlosgutierrez6034]

It's not the guitar it's the person who plays it

[@manzaes]

No es el tono de Santana....

[@dboyer011]

PRS. I’m done with PRS and Guitar Center. They’ve gone WOKE. There are plenty of other options

[@mattmanley7118]

Ok Boomer

[@tonytooreal2433]

@@mattmanley7118 ok white guilt jones

[@prcc]

How has PRS gone woke? I haven't heard anything.

[@dboyer011]

@@prcc The post was from months ago when Guitar Center, as I recall, was advertising a PRS rainbow LBGTQ colored/honoring guitar. Your business to do what want. Mine as well.

[@prcc]

@@dboyer011 Gotcha. I hope that was Guitar Center that painted it, not PRS. There's nothing wrong with being gay but the Pride organization is absolutely despicable.

[@istvandejesus]

So basically Carlos tone is the “Woman Tone”.

[@biohazard8295]

What do you mean

[@istvandejesus]

@@biohazard8295 Clapton’s woman tone. Look for it on KZbin. It’s pretty similar

[@biohazard8295]

@@istvandejesus oh got it. At first i thought you meant he played like a woman lol

[@istvandejesus]

@@biohazard8295 🤦🏻‍♂️