SE vs. American? ..... umm..... SEs are probably among the best cheaper guitars around. Main difference is that they're not carved (the Singlecut has a very slight carve, but that's it) and hardware.
The good: body shape, which I find incredibly comfortable, and neck. The basic neck profiles are PRS, but they're not as heavily hand finished - probably more consistent. Neck carves are pretty varied throughout PRS. I don't have (or want) any standard carves. Wide-fat is similar in depth to a LP but quite a bit wider and strangely doesn't feel as thick. Wide-thin is closer to Jackson than anything else, not as thin as a Wizard neck but pretty comfortable. Overall finish quality on SEs is extremely good.
The bad: hardware - pups are stock and not all that powerful (the Paul Allender is an exception, the pups are pretty hot) but an overall well balanced sound, the nut is a bit tacky and could do with being changed out, jacks need to be tightened from day 1. Switching and pots are good though. Overall a great intro to PRS and a far cheaper way of getting used to them.
Glad you like the Swampy. I had a choice between this and a second hand (absolutely mint) artist package at the same price ...... couldn't resist the figuring on this one. It's a great guitar, plenty of variety in the switching options (5-way +
coil tapping throughout), excellent finish quality, big sound. More of a 'go to' guitar than anything else I've got.
