While I do not own this specific guitar, I have a Paul Reed Smith Santana SE model. In comparison to the Fender Stratocaster, the PRS has a set neck compared to a bolt on Neck for the strat. I do not know if a technical argument can be made for the set neck being better per se, but it sure seems superior to me. The overall quality of the Paul Reed Smith guitar is well beyond that of any similarly priced Fender models I have experienced. I cannot say enough nice things about the brand in general, and I would buy another one in a heartbeat. All of the PRS SE models seem pretty similar at least in terms of build quality and basic features in my experience.