PRS SE Bernie Marsden

Fantastic guitar, the Bernie SE still seems to be one of the must get SE's PRS have ever produced!

• No scratches or blemish.
• Perfect action
• Frets are in excellent condition

SPECS

• Number of Frets: 22
• Scale Length: 24.5"
• Neck Wood: Mahogany
• Fretboard Wood: Rosewood with Creme Binding
• Neck Shape: Wide Fat
• Fretboard Inlays: Birds

HARDWARE/ELECTRONICS
• Bridge: PRS Designed Stoptail
• Tuners: Vintage Grommet Style
• Truss Rod Cover: PRS
• Hardware Type: Nickel
• Treble Pickup: SE 245 Treble
• Bass Pickup: SE 245 Bass
• Pickup Switching: Two Volume and One Tone Control with 3-Way Toggle Pickup Selector

Here too the guitar has evolved from the initial Mark Tremonti SE Singlecut, with its thinner body and 635mm (25-inch) scale, to guitars such as the SE 245 with its more original Gibson-like 24.5-inch scale (hence its name) and body thickness that's a shave under the USA Singlecut's Les Paul-like girth.

Into this throng comes the latest SE Singlecut: the Bernie Marsden. Bernie is of course the ex-Whitesnake tonemeister and a relatively recent PRS convert (a big coup for the firm considering his original 1958 Gibson Les Paul, aka The Beast, is almost as well known as he is.

The guitar was originally a 1,000-only limited run, but quickly became a standard model due to large demand.

There are, of course, numerous actual differences aside from those more obvious ones. The SE's Wide Fat neck remains one of our favourites, big but not huge in the hand, but the re-jigged USA Pattern profile of the Stripped 58 has slightly more of a 'V' and just feels more boutique in the hand.

So why are we hearing a more classic vintage sound than we're used to from a standard SE 245? It's a small difference, but it's the kind that makes you choose one guitar over another. The neck pickup seems to have a bit more plumminess, the bridge has clarity with just a little less scratch.

Maybe those tuners, the different nut or heavier string gauge (the BM is shipped with 0.010s, the 245 with 0.009s) are playing their part, but the BM just has a little more roundness to it: it just sounds a little older.

We know PRS makes great guitars but the interesting thing about this test, especially using a 2001 Singlecut as a reference, is the progression over a 10-year period. A new SE 245 is frankly almost as good as that first Singlecut; the Bernie Marsden is quite possibly better.

Herscheid & the Headbangers

Will be shipped quickly. Packed safely and always insured. International shipping