Known historically for its set-neck guitars, PRS has produced a number of killer bolt-ons, like the CE and Silver Sky. A new version of its Swamp Ash Special is another.

First appearing in 1996 as a Fender-esque addition to the PRS stable, this time it’s an import SE. Let’s fire it up.

First, it’s hard to ignore the Swamp Ash Special’s maple neck and fretboard – touches usually found on pricier planks from the Maryland maker. The SE is built in Indonesia, but don’t let that fool you – its scarfed neck is beautifully set up, with low action, 22 nicely dressed frets, and their Wide Thin neck pattern that resembles a shallow D carve. Scale is 25″ with a 10″ radius and bird inlays. It’s neck is of surprising quality for the guitar’s price category.

The body is a slab of swamp ash, a broad name for North American ash trees found near waterways. Some 1950s Fenders were made of swamp ash and were desirable for their light weight, but our tester SE weighed 9.3 pounds – in the territory of a ’70s Les Paul. The top has PRS’ shallow-violin carve, along with a number of comfort cuts. Electronics are uncovered 85/15 S humbuckers and one AS-01 single-coil, the latter activated when you pull up the Tone knob. A three-way toggle offers six tonal combinations, with and without the middle pickup. For hardware, you’ll find a highly stable PRS vibrato and tuners, all finished in nickel.

Tested in a recording studio and rehearsal, the Swamp Ash Special SE defied expectations, delivering sumptuous humbucker and authentic single-coil tones. You can spend a lot of money to get such sounds from a solidbody, but this PRS delivered lively tone for a minimal investment, reminding us of the importance of good wood and precise construction. Recordings from the session confirmed that the combination of woods and pickups produced that desirable bolt-on “snap,” and its playability was outstanding.

If you’re conscious about the weight of your solidbodies, you may not feel up to shouldering a Swamp Ash Special SE all night long, but its stellar tone will have you thinking it belongs in the rotation. Once again, PRS has done an excellent job porting features from its high-end U.S. line to this groovy import.

This article originally appeared in VG’s January 2024 issue. All copyrights are by the author and Vintage Guitar magazine. Unauthorized replication or use is strictly prohibited.