PRS SE Soapbar I - Long term review

[Oscar67]

Around 2008 I was looking for a nice guitar with P90s. This was long before I got into jazz, btw. I went to a shop to check out both a Gibson SG Special and a Les Paul Special. The ear is subjective so I always A/B against something else. After much rummaging in the back, the shop owner came out with the only other P90 guitar he had at that moment: a dusty new old stock PRS Soapbar SE I. I compared it to the US-made Gibsons and it blew them straight out of the water in every aspect (Gibson now is much better than Gibson was around 2008). I bought it on the spot for €360. Best deal ever,



The serial number indicates that this is guitar was made in 2004, about four years after the start of the SE range. It’s light-weight, all-mahogany with a rosewood fingerboard and 25” scale length. Although the finish obscures the wood, I’m pretty sure it’s not a one-piece body, nor a one-piece neck. The neck profile is unusual in the sense that I’ve never seen another PRS with a similar neck, including other SE Soapbars. It’s a big, fat neck with a pronounced, rounded V shape and I’m sure it contributes to this guitar’s big, fat tone. Definitely not a shredder’s neck profile, but the sustain easily equals my core-line PRS guitars and feeling the guitar resonate against the body is addictive. This thing is alive.

The finish is a thick, synthetic affair that I’d shy away from if this guitar didn’t sound as good as it does. The colour is interesting: totally black in low-light situations yet a burgundy kind of sunburst in direct light. A nice touch is the matching headstock.





This guitar is like the rock of Gibraltar: it’s very stable, meaning excellent tuning stability, excellent intonation and resistance against weather changes. The stop tailpiece is meant for a plain G, so you’ll have to change it if you need a wound G. The guitar is very comfortable to play standing up and sitting down due to its dimensions, shape and light weight. The tuners are super-smooth with large pegs and I actually prefer these over most core-line tuners. The controls are not low-friction but work well and have a nice, usable sweep and treble is maintained when rolling back the volume, which cleans up the tone really well. The fretwork was decent but not to my personal standards, so I had them levelled and crowned by an expert and it’s played like a dream ever since.

The P90s are ballsy, with more output than the typical PAF. They have the gritty midrange complexity and top-end chime characteristic of these pickups and they’re awesome for blues, rock and pop. The dual-pickup setting is a thing of beauty: airy, articulate and with lots of snap. For jazz purposes, the neck pickup can be a little dark depending on amp settings but it excels at Kenny Burrell-like tones with just a little bit of hair on it.

I’ve been playing mine a lot since I got it and it will always stay with me. When there were kids to raise, this was my only guitar and I felt fortunate to have it, Still do.

This model was followed by the Soapbar II and both the I and II have been out of production for a long time. They can be found used, usually for very little money. I doubt that anyone who snags one and pays some more for a really good setup will be disappointed.

[Herbie]

Thanks for the thorough review! I have always wondered how these play and sound. They look so minimalistic, no-nonsense guitars that fascinates my imagination. They have all I like in an electric solid body guitar: LP shape and P90 pickups. (Except the headstock… but I guess one would get used to it!) The description of these P90s sounds interesting too. Hmm!

[Oscar67]

There’s a recent vid around of a 2004 Soapbar (like mine):

And this is an older vid but quite nice:

[Herbie]

There’s a recent vid around of a 2004 Soapbar (like mine):

And this is an older vid but quite nice:

Thanks, very informative!

That Greg really has the tone in his fingers, all his guitar demos sound great!

[Oscar67]

I could get a good deal on a set of Lollar P90s and put them in. Guess what? I can’t say they sound better than the stock soapbars. The Lollars sound great but the stock pickups give me about 95% of that. But the Lollars are noisier and not hum-cancelling in the middle position. I’ll probably put the old ones back in and sell the Lollars.