With the annual winter NAMM show fast-approaching, big-name and boutique brands alike have been announcing and unveiling brand-new product lines for 2019. Today, Paul Reed Smith added to its first round of release announcements with the debut of a trio of brand-new SE signature guitars that will be released in the next few months.
The three models include the SE Paul's Guitar (shipping in February), the SE Schizoid (shipping in March), and the SE Santana Singlecut Trem, which will see a release date later on in the spring. Modeled after higher-end signatures and custom models from PRS, these new guitars give players an opportunity to capture the same spirit at a much more wallet-friendly price.
SE Paul's Guitar
The SE Paul's Guitar is the first of the trio to see a release date and boasts pure, vintage sound courtesy of its TCI "S" treble and bass pickups. Users can use the two mini toggle switches (located between the volume and tone knobs) to flip either or both pickups into true single-coil mode for vintage clarity in both single-coil and humbucking positions—the first model outside of the Private Stock and Core lines to feature this kind of electronics. The SE Paul's Guitar is available in three vibrant finishes—Amber, Aqua, or Fire Red.
SE Schizoid
The next model is the SE Schizoid, which is expected to start shipping in March. This model has the most elaborate finish of the bunch, featuring the "Schizoid Man" artwork from King Crimson's 1969 release, The Court of the Crimson King. The release celebrates the band's 50th anniversary and pays homage to Jakko Jakszyk's similarly adorned PRS Custom 24 Piezo, the guitar on which it's based. This model is also the most limited of the bunch, with production capped to a 1,000.
SE Santana Singlecut Trem
Lastly, the SE Santana Singlecut Trem is modeled after Santana's one-off gold leaf Private Stock PRS that he plays on stage. It features that model's same 24.5-inch scale length, with 24 frets and the special tremolo bridge that provides two full octaves, despite maintaining the shorter scale. The SE Santana Singlecut Trem is also packed with the TCI "S" pickups, born of Santana's request for the 2018 Paul's Guitar TCI pickups without the coil taps.
