THE LINEUP
Our pick of the month’s most delectable and wallet-bothering new gear
PRS S2 2024 Series £1,925 to £2,675
CONTACT PRS Europe PHONE 01223 874301 WEB www.prsguitars.com
JARGON CRUNCHING
Scarf-jointed necks PRS saves on production costs and waste material with the S2s by using a scarf joint (a join of two pieces) to attach the headstock to the neck, rather than making the whole lot out of one piece.
The S2 series has been around for a while, hasn’t it?
It has. In fact, the S2 series celebrated its 10th birthday in 2023, having been introduced in 2013 to offer a lower-priced, USA-made range of PRS electrics. So (in a nutshell and ignoring some of PRS’s upgrades and subcategories) we have Private Stock at the very top of the production tree, followed closely by the Core and Bolt-On models, then S2, and finally the entry-level SE series.
But if these are made in the US, why would we buy a Core model?
That comes down to a couple of things: options and price. The S2 range stands for Stevensville 2. They’re made in the Stevensville, Maryland factory, but in order to keep the price down PRS adapted some of its manufacturing processes. As well as this, the range features familiar PRS shapes such as the Custom and the McCarty Singlecut, but it’s also the exclusive home to the Vela models.
S2 LINE-UP: There are 13 designs in the 2024 S2 range, with four Standards, four Vela models, three McCarty guitars and a pair of Custom 24s. For 2024, PRS has upgraded the S2’s electronics, with 85/15, 58/15 LT, Narrowfield or TCI pickups, depending on your guitar choice. There are loads of finish options, ranging from four Satin and five gloss finishes for the Standards, while the Custom and McCarty models come in a choice of six trans glosses. They’re nitro on every model
Right, so they’re put together with cheaper wood alternatives and stuff?
Not exactly, no. At the heart of the S2 range is the meat-and-potatoes stew of mahogany bodies, mahogany necks, maple tops and rosewood for the fingerboards. We even get the bird inlays! There’s the carving we’re used to seeing, too. Obviously, PRS is going to reserve its fancier top options for the more expensive models, but these are 100 per cent PRS guitars in materials, concept and design. A quick glance at the model pictures opposite serves as the proof.
Okay, so how can they be cheaper?
Abig part of it comes down to the use of materials. A scarfed neck/headstock joint reduces the amount of raw materials needed, and the fingerboards are preradius’d and pre-fretted, cutting down the time it takes to make an S2 neck. At the body end, features such as loaded scratchplates on cer
