PRS - tell me more..

spark240

So, I fancy owning one of these someday.

Whats the quality / pricing structure like, I see them from low hundreds to high thousands, custom, SE, Pre this, Post that?

Lets say I have 1k - best option?

2k - Best option?

ta.  

HarrySeven

Well, you know what I think of them! :P

Elwood

1k at the moment you can get a PRS CE22 or CE24 with £200-350 change. There have been a number of PRS SC245 & SC250 local to London for around the 1k mark.

ThorpyFX

spark240 said:

So, I fancy owning one of these someday.

Whats the quality / pricing structure like, I see them from low hundreds to high thousands, custom, SE, Pre this, Post that?

Lets say I have 1k - best option?

2k - Best option?

ta.  

I think they've got a guitar fro every price. I've owned two of the S2 range, the mira and the starla. both were really fantastic (had to sell them to raise funds) both were available for under £1k new. I have a single cut which is lovely and i paid £1650 for it new from a shop, best les paul style guitar I've played (save for a feline Lion i had). I also have a PRS Pauls Guitar, this cost £2999 on a deal. truly the most versatile guitar around, perfect hum bucker tones and credible (very) single coil/split tones) all of the PRS I've owned are resonant, tuneful and easy to play. some might not like the bling but for me its nice to look at. 

TTony

Depending on why you buying one .... 

If it's to play, really play, lookout for a s/h one with a couple of dings.  That knocks plenty off the value / price.

For £1k s/h and dinged, you'll find a wide range of options.  With just a little extra, you'd find a DGT, which are pretty well loved.  Decide on your neck profile preference, whether you want birds or moons, body style and then just watch the classifieds with the money getting hotter and hotter in your pocket.

uncledick

Excellent quality throughout the range.  The SE (Korean) range benefit from better pick-ups and pots - some say tuners - but they're just brilliant value for money.  At £1k you're into secondhand McCarty/C22 territory and if you go up from there, you get into Artist Pack / Rosewood necks etc. etc..  There's a seemingly endless choice of models and you really have to go out and try some.  2 tips:

1, They drop a lot in value in the first two minutes of their life - more than Gibson/Fender etc., so always buy used.  Some good dealers on here and Facebook.

2, If you want a Strat or a Les Paul, buy one.  These are different animals with their own character.

FWIW I have an early Santana SE with Bareknuckle Mules and CTS pots, as well as a McCarty Std Soapbar with a rosewood neck.  Probably the nicest PRS I've ever played was a Modern Eagle 1.  Now they ARE holding their value...

Fuzzdog

As stated above, if you don't mind a few dings, you can get amazing bargains on PRSeseseses - most people who buy them want them to look perfect and shiny, and the market for 'relic' PRS guitars is... well, not very good.  I picked up a well-gigged USA Custom 22 which looked like it had been used as a cricket bat for £400 a few years back - played and sounded absolutely amazing, but had plenty of dings and scrapes which knocked it into the bargain bin.  The same wear and damage on a Strat or Les Paul would have probably just have been looked at as 'character'.  Took me absolutely ages to sell it on, even though I priced it stupidly low!

monquixote

As others have said there are big bargains to be hand if you don't mind a SH PRS with a couple of knocks. 

If you like light and resonant the Mira is a really nice guitar and very versatile. The CE22 is a huge SH bargain and you could get a very nice one for £700-800 SH. 

Personally I wouldn't bother with an SE unless your budget is very low. They are good for what they are, but the US ones are something else.

I have a DGT and it's about as close to perfect as I can imagine a guitar being.

Fuzzdog

monquixote said:

If you like light and resonant the Mira is a really nice guitar and very versatile. 

The most resonant guitar I have ever played (including plenty of exotic vintage stuff) was a Mira X - didn't like the pickups, but the guitar itself was absolutely incredible.  I just sat there strumming it unplugged for ages in awe of how a bit of wood could vibrate that much.

I've seen the X go for as little as £350 used in good condition - madness.

blueskunk

They dont make telecasters.

Philly_Q

Fuzzdog said:
monquixote said:
If you like light and resonant the Mira is a really nice guitar and very versatile. 

The most resonant guitar I have ever played (including plenty of exotic vintage stuff) was a Mira X - didn't like the pickups, but the guitar itself was absolutely incredible.  I just sat there strumming it unplugged for ages in awe of how a bit of wood could vibrate that much.

I've seen the X go for as little as £350 used in good condition - madness.


This is true.  A great guitar if, like me, you're the sort of person who sits around playing electrics unplugged most of the time!  It's really, really lightweight too, mine only weighs 5 pounds (actually a bit too light on a strap).

I still think they never got the Mira quite right - a combination of features from the original Mira, Mira X and S2 Mira could've been perfect but it's too late now.

Evilmags

Better made at every price point than Gibson or Fender. Newer pickups a lot better than earlier ones on the whole. Very good gigging guitars due to balance and design. Easy to set up, stable and nice sounding. That is all the objective stuff. I loved mine and would buy it again.

Loobs

Evilmags;389130" said:

Better made at every price point than Gibson or Fender. Newer pickups a lot better than earlier ones on the whole. Very good gigging guitars due to balance and design. Easy to set up, stable and nice sounding. That is all the objective stuff. I loved mine and would buy it again.

Define better made.

Fuzzdog

Loobs said:

Define better made.

I certainly don't recall ever seeing a USA PRS with construction flaws, and even the SEs I've played have been as well made as the price point would allow, with corners only cut on easily rectified things like nuts and wiring - I'd be here all night typing the list of Gibsons and Fenders I've seen at similar price points which made me wonder if they actually do employ anyone in the quality control department, or just leave it down to luck.  To be fair to the big two, they do make a hell of a lot more guitars than most companies, so a few clangers are bound to slip out.

Love them or hate them, PRS do know how to put a guitar together better than pretty much any other 'mass market' company.  I'm sure the odd one does slip through the net, but I've not seen one personally, and I've played a lot of PRSeseseseses over the years.

koss59

What makes you want one if you've never played one or don't know what they're about? As others have said, very well made regardless of price point but I reckon I'd make a bigger impression on a mex tele at a gig tonally. They're far too dark and lifeless for me but play great.

Evilmags

Loobs;389137" said:

[quote="Evilmags;389130"]Better made at every price point than Gibson or Fender. Newer pickups a lot better than earlier ones on the whole. Very good gigging guitars due to balance and design. Easy to set up, stable and nice sounding. That is all the objective stuff. I loved mine and would buy it again.

Define better made.[/quote]

Pretty much everything outwith the domain of the subjective. Notably straighter grain and higher grade mahogany. More resonant feel when playing. Consistently perfect fret work and neck angle. Consistently perfect neck joins. Flawless finishing.

Compared to inconsistent neck joins and angles from Gibson, poor finishes and bad fretwork. Fender I've got less bad things to say about at PRS pricepoints but they should be a lot cheaper to make.

As for Mojo, Buddy Guy does not loose his when he plays a PRS. All that stuff is not objective and down to the individual.

Loobs

Fuzzdog;389176" said:

Loobs said:

Define better made.







I certainly don't recall ever seeing a USA PRS with construction flaws, and even the SEs I've played have been as well made as the price point would allow, with corners only cut on easily rectified things like nuts and wiring - I'd be here all night typing the list of Gibsons and Fenders I've seen at similar price points which made me wonder if they actually do employ anyone in the quality control department, or just leave it down to luck.  To be fair to the big two, they do make a hell of a lot more guitars than most companies, so a few clangers are bound to slip out.

Love them or hate them, PRS do know how to put a guitar together better than pretty much any other 'mass market' company.  I'm sure the odd one does slip through the net, but I've not seen one personally, and I've played a lot of PRSeseseseses over the years.

I briefly owned a PRS Custom 22 that was without doubt the dullest, most dead sounding guitar I've ever owned.

I've not played an expensive Fender with any noticeable construction flaws.

meltedbuzzbox

This is not mine but I have to share

PRS guitars are contoured over a lengthy shaping session using the bare buttocks of children decended from Segovia (age of child denotes the sanding grade)... and then glued up facing magnetic north to ensure that the glue molecules are aligned correctly, then painted using pigments extracted from endangered species of Orchids from the Patagonian rain forests, and sprayed using air harvested in 1959 (for the tone).

spark240

koss59 said:

What makes you want one if you've never played one or don't know what they're about? As others have said, very well made regardless of price point but I reckon I'd make a bigger impression on a mex tele at a gig tonally. They're far too dark and lifeless for me but play great.

Well....this is part of my research..so far its been quite interesting and given me some things to consider.  

Loobs

You think they look good and that's why you're interested. Not rocket science. That's why most people pick up any guitar.

FelineGuitars

Might be worth looking what @hubobulous is selling at present . He had some stunning PRS guitars & he was "thinning the herd" recently....