10 Top PRS....or not?

spark240

Further to my question about Rosewood or Ebony fretboards.....the PRS Im looking at has a 10 Top in Charcoal Burst ( with Ebony FB) ...the almost identical guitar with Rosewood and no 10 Top ...I assume standard top is some £400 cheaper..

So...is 10 Top worth it ?

ICBM

No.

The wood costs exactly the same - they don't even know if they're going to be "10"s until the guitar is finished... many of them have "Poss 10" - crossed out if it didn't make the grade - written in the pickup cavity. The grade is defined by the *evenness* of the grain pattern too, not whether it's especially pretty.

Personally, I don't like them - I prefer more uneven and interesting tops. If you like the particular top, buy it. If you don't, buy one you do - assuming you can afford it, if it's the more expensive one. Don't buy according to whether it passed some irrelevant test, graded by someone else.

prlgmnr

ICBM said:

 The grade is defined by the *evenness* of the grain pattern too, not whether it's especially pretty.

ohhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh

now I understand all the times I've gone "eh, what makes that a ten top?"

merciful-evans

No.

Certainly not to me anyway. Some of those tops look great but generally, I am so bored with stripey flame or crumpled quilt. Its over-bling! Much prefer plain old linear grain, or even just a solid colour paint job.

guitars4you

A 10 Top is the equivalent of alloy wheels and colour coded bumper + wing mirrors - Adds nothing to the performance but looks nice 

Rocker

If you like it, buy it.  Why should the opinions of others affect your buying choices?  

Haych

A ten top is largely arbitrary and somewhat variable.  IMHO the criteria has softened over time.  A friend of mine has an '88 CU24 with a top that didn't make the grade but would certainly be a 10 top if it was made today.

Stands to reason, if they can charge more because it's a 10 top then lowering the grade for a ten top suddenly makes your inventory more valuable.

Collings

This is the official definition of a 10 top from PRS:

"A very small percent of the maple trees cut in North America are actually figured. To make “10-Top” status, a PRS top must have clearly defined figure across its entire top with no “dead” spots. A guitar designated as a 10-Top will usually have a small “10” written or stamped on the back of the headstock in the upper right corner."

spark240

Rocker said:

If you like it, buy it.  Why should the opinions of others affect your buying choices?  

Ok...so thats good point..but in this instance Im trying to broaden my knowledge from those maybe more experienced so I can make a more informed purchase at least.   

Funkfingers

Somewhere in a magazine or book interview, Smith explained that the "10" is just the top ten percent of what was produced over a given time period. Thus, it is possible to get an unremarkable top awarded the 10 or a stunning top that goes unremarked upon. 

BOTTOM LINE #1 - Visually attractive wood grain is no indicator of how the finished instrument will sound. 

BOTTOM LINE #2 - Just as some buyers of used prestige cars expect to get all of the optional extras, some buyers of pre-owned PRS guitars will be swayed by the fancier tops. Thus, a 10 top may help with reselling at a slight premium over other examples of the identical model.

Dominic

It's just a bit of book-matched joinery
like joinery workshops do every day as a matter of course when making any furniture
A sheet of veneer laid on board 1.2 m wide by 2.4 m long costs £130 to £180 depending on the wood and cut (that's a lot of guitar tops ie a unit price of about £10 each )
Selling hamburgers and calling it steak here I think but it looks nicer in a "woody" way

Funkfingers

PRS SE series fancy tops are veneer. S2, Core and Private Stock are solid. The exception amongst US models was the flat-topped EG II series.

DrJazzTap

As an owner of a 10 top, I say no. You pay over the odds and it makes me feel like a bit of a bellend pulling out a flashy flame maple topped guitar.

ICBM

DrJazzTap said:

As an owner of a 10 top, I say no. You pay over the odds and it makes me feel like a bit of a bellend pulling out a flashy flame maple topped guitar.

The “9 and a half top” (Poss 10 crossed out ) I had was plenty flashy enough... although that was partly because it was pink. I only ever used it at big gigs, where it looked less bellendish than it would have in a little bar .

bacchanalian

10 top owner here and I say no unless there is something else about that guitar you prefer.  Better weight, nicer neck or sounds better.  I have mine because the neck and fingerboard are nice.

As for looking like a bellend, once that sweet music leaves your fingertips to poke the audience in the earholes, they will not care what your guitar looks like.

Haych

bacchanalian said:

10 top owner here and I say no unless there is something else about that guitar you prefer.  Better weight, nicer neck or sounds better.  I have mine because the neck and fingerboard are nice.

As for looking like a bellend, once that sweet music leaves your fingertips to poke the audience in the earholes, they will not care what your guitar looks like.

C'mon, the only audience members who care about what your guitar looks like are other guitarists!

Whitecat

10-tops are the second worst grade of figured top available from PRS...

RaymondLin

Whitecat said:

10-tops are the second worst grade of figured top available from PRS...

Private stock, Wood library, Artist Pack, 10 top, regular.

did I miss one?

Whitecat

RaymondLin said:

Whitecat said:

10-tops are the second worst grade of figured top available from PRS...

Private stock, Wood library, Artist Pack, 10 top, regular.

did I miss one?

Wood Library isn’t a grade unto itself but that’s otherwise about right. There are “opaque” graded tops too below the “regular” level but as the name implies those are only used for opaque colours. 

bacchanalian

RaymondLin said:

Whitecat said:

10-tops are the second worst grade of figured top available from PRS...

Private stock, Wood library, Artist Pack, 10 top, regular.

did I miss one?

Wood Library does not refer to the grade of wood, it is the conbination of woods that are different from the normal core line. 
My 10 top is on a Wood Library guitar which has a maple neck rather than the usual mahogany.
Only four grades as far as I am aware. 

WildWayz

Funkfingers said:

PRS SE series fancy tops are veneer. S2, Core and Private Stock are solid. The exception amongst US models was the flat-topped EG II series.

Better yet - they usually are a high quality veneer on top of a chunk of maple... which is then on mahogany etc
Whether it is a solid flame maple top or a veneer on a solid maple top, it'll sound the same.

This is my FGN with a veneer ontop of a solid chunk of maple: