PRS SE Swamp Ash Special

[J.R. Rogers]

Back in the 90's when PRS came out with the Swamp Ash Special, I was lucky to get one of the first 250 that they made. Fast forward to 2023 and the Swamp Ash Special has come and gone as one of their core models but is now available to a wider audience via their SE line.



The new SE Swamp Ash special caught my attention with the beautiful Iri Blue finish (also available in Charcoal and Vintage Sunburst) and all of the guitars that I have seen have had just incredibly nice grain patterns. The abalone birds look beautiful with the blue/green finish and the guitar matches my eyes!



The SE Swamp Ash Special sports two classic PRS designed pickups - the 85/15 S as well as a new PRS designed single coil that is wired to give some really amazing and beautiful tones. The lack of a maple cap mellows the 85/15 S pickups quite a bit and I found myself really enjoying and using the bridge pickup which I rarely do on the clean channel. When you pull the tone control, you activate the middle pickup which produces some out-of-phase single-coil-esque tones. They are always blended with the humbuckers, however - there is no selection for just the single coil pickup alone. A total of six tones, all with such a great clean tone that you will find yourself playing for hours.



Straight out of the box this guitar was in tune even after being shipped across the country and being delivered in a box with a huge gash. The setup on this guitar is top notch. The fretwork is excellent and all the edges look hand-rolled. Feels great. It also came with quality strings (9's) and initially I was going to swap them out for 10's but I don't think I will bother at the moment. The stock setup is really very good and I don't want to mess with that. I played this guitar for about two hours and only made some minor tuning adjustments by ear as the guitar acclimated, so I don't think it needs locking tuners either.

For the acoustic player I can recommend this guitar as a good break from the stiffer action of the acoustic. You can play this guitar for a longer period of time and pickup positions 2 and 3 with the single coil activated (tone control pulled up) actually gives you quite a nice acoustic-like clean tone. Just sitting and stumming out some chords on this guitar for a long time was so nice.

Very pleased with this guitar overall and I think it's cool that PRS is releasing some of their classic designs as SE models. I would take it a step further and instead of shipping a bunch of signature guitars from people I've never heard of and probably won't listen to, why not make special editions of your very own in-house celebrities - the Private Stock line?

JR

[Rolph]

Nice review. I had a '97 Whale blue SAS from '99-2011. It had some of the most beautiful figuring on the neck I've seen, was always sorry I sold it. I got the new blue one, it's completely outstanding altho a few of the frets are sharp. The pup's are a vast improvement and far more versatile than the earlier model. Mine came with an excellent set up and I've always admired Paul's tremolo units.

[29er]

Congrats! I think this model is going to be a smash hit for PRS. I chose the Iri Blue color also because I love how it matches the color of the bird inlays. Play it in good health!

[BoneDigger]

That's an absolutely beautiful guitar! I'm glad to hear that you are enjoying it. I have to admit that PRS is just nailing it with the SE line these days.

[DavidE]

My DGT SE is arriving today. I hope it's a light weight one...

I have been gigging my "core" SAS for many years. One piece swamp ash body. Middle pickup replaced with a Fralin (don't remember the model) and with a 5709 at the bridge. Just amazing! And really light weight!

[GoPappy]

I'll be interested in your thoughts on the DGT SE once you've had a chance to settle in with it. That's the PRS SE model that interests me the most. Oh, by the way, congrats!

[Glennwillow]

Beautiful guitar, JR! Holy Cow! I love the looks. I have listened to some demos of this guitar and it really does sound good!

Congratulations!

- Glenn

[J.R. Rogers]

Thank you, everyone!

Glenn, thanks! Yeah and I’ve had several more hours with it now and come away thinking the same thing - what a great guitar. So much fun… and guitars should be fun.

DavidE - sounds nice! Which finish does your guitar have? Swamp Ash varies in weight quite a bit and some dealers don’t list the weight. I’ve seen them from the low 7’s to the high 9’s. What does yours weigh?

JR

[JackB1]

I just picked up one of these in the Iri Blue color. Mine came in spot on at 8 pounds, which was lighter than most of these I've seen for sale. Really tough to find any under 8 pounds. Most seem to be 8.5-9. Had to immediately send it back to PRS due to one of the pickups not working properly. It's been fixed and on its way back to me.

Anyone know if this maple neck is finished or unfinished and what do I use to clean it? This is my first maple neck guitar and I've heard they can get dorty very fast.

[29er]

Originally Posted by JackB1

I just picked up one of these in the Iri Blue color. Mine came in spot on at 8 pounds, which was lighter than most of these I've seen for sale. Really tough to find any under 8 pounds. Most seem to be 8.5-9. Had to immediately send it back to PRS due to one of the pickups not working properly. It's been fixed and on its way back to me.

Anyone know if this maple neck is finished or unfinished and what do I use to clean it? This is my first maple neck guitar and I've heard they can get dorty very fast.

Although the neck is satin and feels like it's unfinished, I'd be surprised if there isn't some kind of finish/sealer. BTW, my SE SAS is just under 9 pounds, not a lightweight. It's a great guitar but I do wish it were a little lighter.

[Dru Edwards]

Congrats J.R.! I've seen some great reviews on the SE Swamp Ash Special. I'm sure it's going to be a great seller. Some beautiful grain.

Enjoy.

[KevWind]

A really good looking guitar and I'll have to check out the tone reviews
My only concern is that at my age there are too many switch positions to remember

And I am curious about what the unit is that the guitar is leaning on in the close up photo, is that an Amp ?

[Rolph]

Originally Posted by DavidE

My DGT SE is arriving today. I hope it's a light weight one...

I have been gigging my "core" SAS for many years. One piece swamp ash body. Middle pickup replaced with a Fralin (don't remember the model) and with a 5709 at the bridge. Just amazing! And really light weight!

Did you know if you shop at Sweetwater, they'll give you several guitar choices and list the weights with photos. Some of the new SAS's are a bit heavy. Good luck.

[J.R. Rogers]

Thanks, Dru! Great to hear from you! I don’t know. I kind of doubt they will offer it for very long. They seem to discontinue their cool stuff as fast as they put it out. A few that come to mind.. the multifoil, the gorgeous black swamp ash ones with the colored pore fill… the Santana Egyptian Gold… all gone. That’s why I jumped on the Swamp Ash when I saw it. The blue ones are currently sold out in the channel.

Kev, thank you. That is a Fender Woody Pro Jr., solid wood cabinet - one of my favorite amps. I’m hoping to get one of the Woody Blues Junior amps someday to match!

[Dru Edwards]

Originally Posted by J.R. Rogers

Thanks, Dru! Great to hear from you! I don’t know. I kind of doubt they will offer it for very long. They seem to discontinue their cool stuff as fast as they put it out. A few that come to mind.. the multifoil, the gorgeous black swamp ash ones with the colored pore fill… the Santana Egyptian Gold… all gone. That’s why I jumped on the Swamp Ash when I saw it. The blue ones are currently sold out in the channel.

Kev, thank you. That is a Fender Woody Pro Jr., solid wood cabinet - one of my favorite amps. I’m hoping to get one of the Woody Blues Junior amps someday to match!

You're probably right, J.R. It'll may very well be discontinued and then do very well on the used market, assuming you can find one. Have fun with yours!