PRS SE A20E - Overview and Best Prices

PRS SE A20E Review
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  • 3 Prices - New from $582.27 >
  • From PRS's 2022 SE series
  • Made in China
  • 6 strings
  • 25.3"'' scale
  • 11.81" Fretboard Radius
  • Solid Mahogany top
  • Mahogany top
  • Mahogany back
  • Mahogany sides
  • Mahogany neck
  • Ebony fretboard
  • Bridge pickup: PRS-Voiced Fishman Presys VT with Soundhole-Mounted Volume and Tone Controls (Preamp/Passive)
  • Ebony bridge
  • Acoustic Wide Fat Set neck
  • 20 Medium Jumbo frets
  • PRS-Designed tuners
  • Side-By-Side Comparison
Show Specs
PRS SE A20E Specifications
PRS SE A20E
General
Brand: PRS
Year: 2022
Configuration: HH
Strings: 6
Made in: China
Series: SE
Colors: Black
Left-Handed Version: No
Body
Top: Solid Mahogany
Type: Hollowbody
Body Material: Mahogany
Sides Material: Mahogany
Back Material: Mahogany
Bridge: Ebony
Neck
Neck Joint: Set
Tuners: PRS-Designed
Fretboard: Ebony
Neck Material: Mahogany
Decoration: Birds
Scale Size: 25.3"
Shape: Acoustic Wide Fat
Frets: 20 Medium Jumbo
Fretboard Radius: 11.81"
Nut: Bone
Nut Width: 42.9mm (1.688'')
Electronics
Pickups: PRS-Voiced Fishman Presys VT with Soundhole-Mounted Volume and Tone Controls (Preamp / Passive)
Hardware
Strap Lock: No
Hardware Color: Chrome

Our Scores and Tone Evaluation

Playability 72
Sound 79
Build quality 70
Value for money 79
Overall Score 74
Tone Evaluation
  • Heavy Metal
  • Hard Rock
  • Jazz
  • Blues
  • Funk
  • Country
Strengths & Weaknesses
PRS SE A20E
  • Expensive Wood
  • Bone Nut
  • Top Brand Pickups
  • Electronics
  • Bone Saddle
  • Cheap Fret Wire (NS)
  • No Locking Tuners
  • Made in China
  • Laminated Top Wood
  • Laminated Side Wood
  • Laminated Back Wood
  • No Compound Radius Fretboard
  • No 21:1 Tuner Ratio
  • No Strap Lock

Price Overview

Its average competitor's price is $440, which means that the PRS SE A20E costs around 35% more than the competition. It might be due to it having additional features, but know that you can find cheaper similar alternatives. This takes into account all instruments of the same category in our database with 6 strings and Fixed bridge that are made in China.

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User Reviews & Feedback

Not all instruments are created equally. That's why it's important to have different opinions. Here's what our users who have played this instrument say. If you've played it before, help others by voting below!

Weight

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Tuning stability

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Neck speed (thickness)

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Neck access to high frets

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Neck profile shape

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Fret edges

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Pickups noise

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Pickups power

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Hand Size Comfortability

After taking into account the neck profile, scale size, fretboard radius, and nut width, we can conclude that the PRS SE A20E's construction favors people with relatively small hands.

Nevertheless, this comes down in the end to personal preference. Make sure you test this guitar—or another one with similar characteristics—before buying.

Big Hands
Small Hands

Beginner Friendliness

The PRS SE A20E meets 4 out of our 8 criteria items for beginner friendliness, which means that it's not bad for beginners, but it could be better. This takes into account the type of frets, scale length, nut width, bridge type, fretboard radius, and neck profile to determine the easiest combination for new players to get used to.

New Player Friendliness

PRS SE A20E
  • Comfortable shape
  • Easy-to-use bridge
  • Tall frets
  • Comfortable neck
  • Comfortable fretboard
  • Narrow nut
  • Short scale
  • Soft Strings
  • Locking tuners

Videos

The SE A20E | Demo | PRS Guitars
No Talking...Just Tones | PRS SE A20E w/Pickup - Black
The SE Angelus - Black Gloss, All Mahogany AE20E from PRS Guitars!
Fingerstyle Acoustic on The SE A20E | Guitarist Ben Smith | PRS Guitars Europe
PRS SE A20E Angelus Cutaway Acoustic-Electric Boasts Versatility and Affordability
Fingerstyle Acoustic on the SE A20E | PRS Guitars Europe
SE // A20E (Demo Review) - PRS Guitars México
SE//A20E Black top (Guitarra Electroacústica) - PRS Guitars México
𝗣𝗥𝗦 - SE A20E - DEMO junto a Austin Slack 🎸
กีตาร์โปร่ง PRS SE A20E Black Top สวยดุ ภาคไฟฟ้าแจ่ม

Playability

Scale Length

Scale length is the distance the strings will span between the bridge and the nut. It can tell you a lot about the overall playability and tone of the instrument. A longer scale length means longer distance between frets, brighter tone and more string tension—which means lower action, but more difficult bending of the strings.

Here's the PRS SE A20E's 25.3" scale length compared to other common sizes:

PRS SE A20E Scale Length Comparison
PRS SE A20E's scale length (at the top) compared to other popular sizes

This is considered a long scale, but slightly shorter than what's commonly found in acoustic guitars.

Since the distance between bridge and nut is relatively long, strings will feel stiff and more difficult to bend, but the tone will feel brighter. It will also be less likely to produce fret buzzing and rattling when strumming hard.

More with the same scale length:

Neck Profile

PRS SE A20E Neck Profile
PRS SE A20E's neck profile

The neck profile tells you the thickness (neck depth) and shape in cross section. Every difference will completely change the feeling and comfortability of the neck. This is a highly subjective thing, but most players indeed prefer certain types of necks (like Cs and Ds) because they feel nice in most hands.

It has a C type neck. C-shaped necks like this have been the most popular for the last years. The reason is that they feel good in most hands. It's generally a thin neck that doesn't get in your way when playing fast, but that also has enough mass to give your hands a comfortable grip for chords if they aren't too big.

Thin necks like this make it easier to move your hand across the neck and it helps when playing fast solos, especially if you like to leave your thumb free while playing high on the fretboard. However, thinner necks are also weaker and will need adjustment more often than a thicker neck.

Fretboard Radius

When it comes to fingerboard radius, personal preference will dictate which one is better for you. However, most people seem to agree that a more curved (lower) radius will make it easier to play chords while a less curved (higher) radius is better for soloing and bending.

The PRS SE A20E has a 11.81" fingerboard radius.

Here's an image comparing this fretboard radius to other popular choices:

PRS SE A20E Fretboard Radius Comparison with Fender Stratocaster and Gibson Les Paul
PRS SE A20E's fretboard radius compared to others

The main advantage of an 11.81-inches fretboard radius guitar is that it provides more room for the fingers to move around on the fretboard. This can be especially helpful for players with large hands or who want to use wide vibrato techniques. Additionally, the increased radius can make string bends easier to execute.

A disadvantage of this type of guitar is that it can be more difficult to control when playing at high speeds; some players may find that their hands “slide off” the fretboard more easily. Additionally, guitars with a larger radius may require higher action (the distance between the strings and the fretboard) in order to avoid buzzing sounds when fretted notes are played.

Compound radius fingerboards give the best of both worlds. Unfortunately, the PRS SE A20E has the same radius across the board.

More with the same fretboard radius:

Playability compared to main competitors

PRS SE A20E
This model
25.3'' Scale Length
C Neck Profile
1.688'' Nut Width
11.81'' Fretboard Radius
25.3'' Scale Length
C Neck Profile
1.688'' Nut Width
11.81'' Fretboard Radius
25.3'' Scale Length
C Neck Profile
1.688'' Nut Width
11.81'' Fretboard Radius
25.3'' Scale Length
C Neck Profile
1.688'' Nut Width
11.81'' Fretboard Radius

Nut Width

PRS SE A20E Nut Width
PRS SE A20E Nut Width

The PRS SE A20E has a nut width of 42.9mm (1.688''). This is within the most common range of nut widths for a 6-string guitar. It offers a good balance of string separation at the nut. It's the size that most guitarists prefer as it gives them just enough space to play open chords without muting the strings, but without spreading the strings too wide and making bar chords difficult to perform.

Frets

It comes with nickel silver frets, so they won't last as long as stainless steel frets. If you use your instrument a lot, you might need to replace the frets after a few years. But this is unlikely as most people change instruments before this happens.

Fret Size

PRS SE A20E Fret Size Comparison
PRS SE A20E's fret size (in orange) compared to other popular sizes

Finally, let's talk about fret size. Some people prefer tall frets because it's easier to press the strings and perform bends since there's less friction against the fretboard. On the other hand, some people like shorter frets because they like to touch the fretboard when playing, or because they got heavy hands and tend to press too much on the string and alter the of the note pitch accidently.

The PRS SE A20E's frets are Medium Jumbo size. These sit somewhere between a Jumbo and a Medium fret. They're not quite as tall as a full Jumbo, so you'll still feel the fretboard, but you won't feel it as much as with medium frets. This is a good size if you want to make it easy to press the strings but would also like a little bit of ''feedback'' to know when to stop pressing so the notes don't go out of pitch.

Playability Score

Bending & Vibrato Ease 70
Chord Playability 70
Solo Playability 75
Playability 72

Tone

The type of wood and even the shape of the body will have a lot of influence in the final tone of an acoustic guitar. Here's we'll talk about what kind of tone you can expect from its specs.

Wood

Mahogany wood pattern used for guitar building
Mahogany Top, Back, Sides, Neck
Ebony wood pattern used for guitar building
Ebony Fretboard

Mahogany Top, Back, Sides and Neck: This is the type of wood found in many top-of-the-line guitars, so that's a positive point for the build quality. This red-looking wood Mahogany is found in Africa and Central America and has great sustain and a warm tone due to its high density. The downside about this type of wood is that it's relatively heavy.

Ebony Fretboard: This is one of the most expensive woods there is, which is why it's mostly used for fretboards. It is dense, heavy, highly resistant and comes in a really dark color that gives any guitar a classy touch. Tone wise, it helps the high side of the spectrum and provides good sustain.

More made with the same wood:

Pickups

This guitar comes with pickups from one of the top brands: Fishman. So you can expect well built pickups with great sound that shouldn't need an upgrade anytime soon.

Sound Score

Sustain 65
Versatility 80
Tuning Stability 70
Sound 79

Build Quality

Country of Origin

Knowing where the instrument is produced is a good way to know how well it's built. Some manufacturing countries are known for having higher quality standards. For example, most expensive instruments are made in the US or Japan, but there are some exceptionally great countries—like South Korea—that are building a good reputation.

The PRS SE A20E is made in China. So you can expect lower build quality when compared to others made in Korea, Japan or the United States. Guitars made in this country are meant for mass production, which translates into less attention to detail and quality control. This doesn't mean the product is made poorly at all. Chinese products have a bad reputation since long ago, but they've definitely improved a lot the last few years.

Bridge

Ebony: The advantage of fixed bridges is that they don't require any kind of set-up. This makes it extremely easy when changing strings because you don't need to adjust anything besides tuning the guitar. Also, the fact that the bridge is directly attached to the body will help to increase sustain. The disadvantage is the lack of versatility since you can't create the same vibrato effects as with tremolo bridges.

Nut Material

Another important thing to analyze is the nut material, as it's one of the most important aspects that can affect the sound and playability of your guitar. A well-cut nut will make sure it stays in tune and will make it more comfortable to play.

In this case, the PRS SE A20E has a Bone nut. This material is one of the highest quality you can get. It provides excellent sustain and tune stability if cut well. The only disadvantage is that it's an organic material, so it's not consistent. Two different bone nuts, even if made from the same bone, will probably sound slightly different. However, bear in mind that this is only relevant when playing open strings.

Build Quality Score

Quality of materials 65
Features 85
Quality Control 60
Build Quality 70