Sounds

It’s light and very nimble feeling in hand: a convincing semi with plenty of spring in its step. Even with a mild overdrive tone you can really hear the extra resonance of the chamber coming through. In any setting the Custom Semi-Hollow’s SE Treble bridge pickup has an open, expressive tone that begs for dynamic chords that meet with ringing sustain.

The neck SE Bass ’bucker, by comparison, is juicy and ideal for bluesy soloing. For those with jazzier tastes, the middle pickup position provides an almost acoustic, articulate and delicate tone that feels touch sensitive even with minimal gain. It can be edged into feedback at loud volumes and with more overdrive, but it’s easy to control and highly usable in certain rock-fuelled scenarios.

Bridge pickup:

Both pickups:

Neck pickup:

Pros: Great build; semihollow tones; posh-rock looks.
Cons: Very little. RRP is high, but check street prices.

Buy: PRS SE Custom Semi-Hollow is currently available from Thomann

4 Stars

Verdict: Another cool model from PRS’s SE range that delivers boutique tone, feel and build quality for a snip under £700.

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