The PRS SE A50E is an acoustic-electric guitar from PRS. It is part of the PRS Angelus series, which is known for quality craftsmanship at very reasonable prices. Although PRS is famous for their electric guitars, it’s clear that they put a lot of thought into the Angelus series. We feel that it can be a great choice for both beginners and experienced players alike. Read on for our playing impressions of the PRS SE A50E.
Design Highlights
The A50E, like all PRS instruments, is a great looking acoustic guitar, featuring the PRS Angelus Cutaway body shape. The shape was originally designed by the luthiers who make the PRS Private Stock acoustic guitars. The Angelus line is composed of models with back and sides constructed of different tonewoods. These include the A20E (Mahogany), A40E (Ovangkol), A50E (Maple), and A60E (Zircote) This review is for the maple-bodied A50E.
One of the standout features of the PRS SE A50E is its solid Sitka spruce top, which delivers a clear tone with excellent projection. One of the great benefits of a solid-top instrument is that it will improve with age as it is played in. In our opinion, every good acoustic guitar should have a solid top.
The PRS SE A50E also comes equipped with high-quality electronics, including a proprietary Fishman pickup system. PRS gave special attention to the voicing of the SE A50E’s pickup, which I’ll cover in more detail below.
Body
The Angelus body shape is unique to PRS, and quite attractive. The A50E is a medium sized guitar, with a lower bout of 15.5 inches. This gives it versatility in that it is both small enough to be comfortable, yet large enough to produce good volume.
The SE A50 has a cutaway design, which allows for easy access to the higher frets. The A50’s cutaway has a unique shape. To our eyes, the cutaway angle is a little sharper where it meets the body, and at the same time, the size of the lower bout is generous. It’s a cool look, for sure.
You can have any color, as long as it’s Natural with Black Gold Burst. It’s a good thing that the one finish offered is an awesome looking finish! More on that later. The A50E also comes with a Hardshell case.
Back and Sides
The back and sides of the guitar are made from laminated figured Maple. While maple is less commonly used on acoustic guitars than other tonewoods, Maple has a unique tonal flavor. The figured maple on our test guitar was very pretty, to say the least. In fact, in true PRS-style it was stunning in appearance, making this guitar look far more expensive than it is. The back was beautifully bookmatched and stained in a rich brown, separated by an abalone center seam. The gloss finish made the figured wood radiate, and highlighted the movement of the flame figure. PRS has a big win with the A50e on looks alone!
Top Wood and Bracing
The top of the A50E is made of solid Sitka spruce, which is a high-quality tonewood that is known for its clarity, projection, and versatility. Even if an acoustic guitar is intended to be amplified, the importance of a solid top cannot be overstated.
The body bracing is PRS “Hybrid X/Classical Bracing”, which is the same bracing that PRS uses on their Private Stock acoustic guitars. This consists of both an X-Brace, which is typically found on steel string guitars, and a Fan Brace, which is typically found on nylon string guitars. Combined with the Maple back and sides, the A50E is a guitar with midrange definition and an articulate top-end.
Finally, the guitar is trimmed with Abalone binding on the Rosette. There is matching Abalone binding on the front of the guitar.
Neck
The neck of the A50E is made of Mahogany, and boasts PRS’ Pattern Wide Fat shape. The guitar has a scale length of 25.35 inches, which is a bit shorter than the more typical 25.5 inches. The nut is made of bone, and the nut width is a comfortable 1 11/16″. The neck, like the body, is finished in a very smooth gloss, which looks great. The neck did not feel sticky at all.
Fretboard
The fretboard of the A50E is made of Ebony, and adorned with PRS’ signature Bird inlays. The fretboard has 20 frets and an 11.81″ radius. The end of the fretboard is nicely rounded-off where it meets the soundhole, a great aesthetic touch that compliments the Angelus body shape.
Hardware
Bridge and Tuners
The A50E comes with a high-quality ebony bridge and PRS tuning machines.
Electronics
The PRS SE A50E is equipped with proprietary PRS-Voiced Fishman GT1 electronics. In fact, PRS spent extra time dialing in the right sound for this guitar. The voicing for the pickup was EQ’d in Paul Reed Smith’s studio. Larry Fishman and his engineering team voiced the Fishman Sonitone Pickup to provide players with a warm, organic tone that allows the natural sound of the instrument to come through.
“The EQ in this pickup system sounds like you mic’d the guitar.”
—Paul Reed Smith
One of the standout features of the Fishman GT1 electronics is the soundhole-mounted controls. The volume and tone controls are discreetly located inside the soundhole, which allows for easy access without detracting from the guitar’s aesthetic appeal.
Finally, the input jack contains the battery for the preamp, which makes battery switches quick and easy. This is an example of thoughtful design from PRS that serves a real-world purpose.
Sound
Overall, the PRS SE A50 Angelus is a guitar that is designed to produce a warm but articulate tone that works for a variety of playing styles. Maple acoustic guitars are known for their “cut”, which allows them to be heard distinctly in a mix, and the Angelus is no exception. While a Maple guitar will not have the low-end response of Mahogany or Rosewood guitar, it instead offers up a lush, detailed treble. Acoustically, the A50 sounded balanced and controlled.
Plugged in, the Fishman pickup sound was remarkably natural. Maple guitars are often favored for stage guitars because of Maple’s sound characteristics, and the SE A50E demonstrated this with its balanced, natural tone.
“It’s very musical. Everyone here is pleased with the sound.”
—Paul Reed Smith
The A50E worked for both strumming and fingerpicking styles. It responded equally well to both delicate fingerpicking, as well as spirited strumming. When I dug in on single note lines with a pick, the A50E exhibited the slight bit of natural compression that I associate with Maple-bodied guitars. The intonation was excellent.
Check out some sound samples in this video from PRS:
Playability
This is where the PRS SE A50E Angelus really shined. This guitar offered flat-out awesome playability. In fact, it may be the most “electric” feeling acoustic guitar we’ve ever played. The Pattern Wide Fat shape has a pleasing chunkiness, but is fast and smooth nonetheless. The action was very low as well, and more than a few times I literally forgot I was playing an acoustic guitar. Combined with the comfortable body shape, the Angelus is an easy guitar to play for extended periods of time.
Conclusion
Overall, the PRS SE A50E is a versatile guitar that is designed with playability in mind. PRS guitars are known for superior workmanship and playability, and this guitar is no exception. The luxurious flamed Maple, gloss finish, Ebony fretboard, and Bird Inlays make this guitar look far more expensive than it is. The thoughtfully voiced Fishman preamp makes it sound more expensive, too.
The A50E is designed for versatility, and will work well for playing at home, and jamming with friends. We can also see the A50E working for an experienced player looking for a reliable, good sounding, and good looking stage guitar. Nice job from PRS at delivering a compelling acoustic-electric guitar that will appeal to both beginner and experienced players alike.
I have one and agree 100% with everything stated. Love my A50E, it is all the acoustic I need. Played with my partner tonight in his kitchen, smoothing out the set list for an acoustic gig that just got booked for this Saturday. My Angelus will be looking great and sounding pretty on stage again.