Reviewing

PRS SE Angelus Custom Review

The PRS Angelus acoustic guitar has been very well received and luckily for us its Korean made little brother, the student edition PRS SE Angelus Custom has inherited some really nice features.

The three things I like the best about the PRS SE Angelus are its looks, its playability and its sound.

Let me tell you a bit more about each of those features in this PRS SE Angelus Custom Review.

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Great Looks

The PRS SE Angelus has inherited the 15.5” shape and the cutaway from the US made model. After having played dreadnaught guitars exclusively for more than 20 years I am really liking the looks and the sound of the grand concert shape. The dark and glossy rosewood sides and back contrast nicely with the white body binding and so does the back ebony fingerboard with the white binding along the neck. The by now iconic bird inlays and the standard PRS headstock shape tie this guitar very recognisable to the PRS brand. The 3 part purfling, the dark sound hole rosette and the ebony bridge contrast nicely against the matte sitka spruce top and give is a classy look.

Great Playability

This guitar is definitely made for electric guitar players. The neck is almost 1mm thinner at the nut than a Taylor 214ce and more than 2mm than a Martin DCPA5K to mention two other guitars in the same price bracket. The neck feels similar to a PRS pattern neck. The neck feels similar to a PRS pattern neck in my hand and the 12” radius fingerboard with the rather thin, vintage style frets is also much more rounded than the Taylor (15”) or the Martin (16)”) reminding me of a Les Paul or my old and trusted Washburn D66-SW Prairie Song Custom which is by now more than 35 years old. The back of the neck has a high gloss finish in keeping with the PRS electric guitar or the vintage acoustic guitar theme. This is where I would prefer a matte option as it is offered by Taylor or Martin as the neck can become quite sticky when things get hotter.

Great Sound

Unplugged the PRS SE Angelus has a warm sound with a strong projection. I got the best results with Elixir Phosphor Bronze strings. The PRS branded preamp has a three band equaliser, a switch to bypass the EQ, a switch to load a predefined midrange sound setting and an anti feedback notch filter. All these controls allow me to get an amplified sound that is very close to the PRS SE Angelus’s natural sound.

Great Quality

As with most PRS SE guitars you get a feeling of robustness and quality when you hold the PRS SE Angelus in your hands. It not only looks good but it also plays and sounds great. I am glad that I bought this guitar and I enjoy playing it.

KEEP PLAYING!