I am actually planning to get myself a PRS Tremonti SE but I've come across this Paul Allender model and now I'm re-thinking my decision. What do you guys think?
My advice is try both guitars and see which suits you better..
That said, you have to ask yourself why you chose the Tremonti SE in the 1st place. You like the looks, or functions, or the the guitarist himself whose signature is on the guitar. Both are different beasts.
The difference between both that makes a REAL difference:
1) wood construction
- the Allender has a maple neck, and mahogany body capped with maple
- the Tremonti has a mahogany neck and body
- these difference affects the tone of the guitar
2) neck construction/wood
- like mentioned earlier one is maple, the other is mahogany
- tonewise, maple gives a brighter tone while mahogany is supposedly warmer
- Allender have a wide thin neck, while Tremonti has a wide fat neck
- the feel of both neck is definitely going to be different
- plus more wood in the fat Tremonti neck is definitely going to affect the sustain/tone
3) no of frets
- 24 on the Allender vs 22 on the Tremonti
- extra no of frets
- the placement of the neck pickups also affects the tone in that position
4) the bridge
- Allender comes with a trem that floats, though not in Floyd Rose variety
- Tremonti, stop tailpiece
5) tone controls
- both pickups shares the same tone and volume controls in the Allender
- individual pickups have own set of tone and volume controls in the Tremonti
I've had my Allender SE for about 2 yrs now and i still find joy playing it. Of course, its the the ONLY guitar i own!! I can get good tones out of this guitar, and playing with the vol and tone controls give me more.. The only mod done to it is switching the the tuning pegs to the Spertzel locking ones. No pick-up upgrades or anything. The frets are badly worn in LOTS of places and there's dead spots all over the neck. But its still a JOY to play!!
I'm thinking of buying a 2nd guitar with a stop tailpiece and the Tremonti did come to mind because of the marked difference between the Allender and the Tremonti. I wouldn't want to have 2 guitars that's similar!!
Again, check out both guitars. Hold them in your hands and definitely have a feel of both necks. Then make the your decision.. :mrgreen: