PRS - tell me more..

jeztone2

Do what I did, I went used & got a 10 top CU 22 then I had it refretted by Mr Feline, its a great guitar & beautifully made. I did chance upon a McCarty with a scruffy finish many years ago in a dealer. But otherwise every guitar Ive played at every Price point has been flawless. Watch out for heavy bodies though if you go used. I had @BlueMonsts McCarty goldtop off him & it was like strapping on a car.

Philly_Q

jeztone2 said:

Do what I did, I went used & got a 10 top CU 22 then I had it refretted by Mr Feline, its a great guitar & beautifully made. I did chance upon a McCarty with a scruffy finish many years ago in a dealer. But otherwise every guitar Ive played at every Price point has been flawless. Watch out for heavy bodies though if you go used. I had @BlueMonsts McCarty goldtop off him & it was like strapping on a car.

Interesting - I've found PRS' mahogany generally seems to be noticeably lighter than Gibson's.  The only ones which are on the heavy side more often than not are Singlecuts.

RaymondLin

Philly_Q said:

jeztone2 said:

Do what I did, I went used & got a 10 top CU 22 then I had it refretted by Mr Feline, its a great guitar & beautifully made. I did chance upon a McCarty with a scruffy finish many years ago in a dealer. But otherwise every guitar Ive played at every Price point has been flawless. Watch out for heavy bodies though if you go used. I had @BlueMonsts McCarty goldtop off him & it was like strapping on a car.

Interesting - I've found PRS' mahogany generally seems to be noticeably lighter than Gibson's.  The only ones which are on the heavy side more often than not are Singlecuts.

My single cut weights 8.5lbs, most of the les paul i've seen are around 10lbs.

OP, one thing about PRS is that they dry their wood, they make a big deal out of it, about crystalising it before it is made into guitars.  Gibson used to make a big deal out of only using wood that is aged (and dried) over 10 years, this is back in the golden era.  They don't do that anymore.

I suggest you watch how a PRS is put together, pay attention to how many times it is polished, how many times it is checked (and signed by the person who checked it before moving it on to the next stage) and how many times they check it !

Then watch Gibson and Fender.  Pay attention to how many times Gibson checks their guitar.

Then draw your own conclusions.

Philly_Q

Yeah, I only meant the Singlecuts are relatively heavy.  I've owned about a dozen PRS guitars and the only one which was (slightly) over 8lbs was a Singlecut Trem.

RaymondLin

Don't disagree there, the CU22/24 are very easy on the shoulders. 

wayneirie

With 2k? An es335

jeztone2

My CU22 is about 8lbs. It was heavier than the Les Paul I sold on recently. Maybe I just had 2 heavy ones. My brothers McCarty is pretty light though.

p90fool

RaymondLin;389327" said:

Philly_Q said:



jeztone2 said:

Do what I did, I went used & got a 10 top CU 22 then I had it refretted by Mr Feline, its a great guitar & beautifully made.



I did chance upon a McCarty with a scruffy finish many years ago in a dealer. But otherwise every guitar Ive played at every Price point has been flawless.



Watch out for heavy bodies though if you go used. I had @BlueMonsts McCarty goldtop off him & it was like strapping on a car.





Interesting - I've found PRS' mahogany generally seems to be noticeably lighter than Gibson's.  The only ones which are on the heavy side more often than not are Singlecuts.










My single cut weights 8.5lbs, most of the les paul i've seen are around 10lbs.

OP, one thing about PRS is that they dry their wood, they make a big deal out of it, about crystalising it before it is made into guitars.  Gibson used to make a big deal out of only using wood that is aged (and dried) over 10 years, this is back in the golden era.  They don't do that anymore.

I suggest you watch how a PRS is put together, pay attention to how many times it is polished, how many times it is checked (and signed by the person who checked it before moving it on to the next stage) and how many times they check it !

Then watch Gibson and Fender.  Pay attention to how many times Gibson checks their guitar.

Then draw your own conclusions.

Then listen to the result.

richardhomer

I have a 2011 Headline Limited Run McCarty and its pretty much the perfect 2 HB solid body guitar for me.

It's light, has the superbly comfortable 'Pattern Profile' neck (a revised version of the older 'Wide Fat'), brilliant ergonomics and a big, fat sound (with highly usable coil-taps).

The guitar in my Avatar is my '64 ES335. The McCarty is every bit as good - and is the instrument which gets the most playing time.

As I've mentioned before, I have met Paul Reed Smith and was completely won over by the guy. He has an encyclopaedic knowledge of guitar history, can explain in great detail how (and why) PRS do things the way they do and is full of passion and energy.

Compared to Custom Shop Fenders and Gibsons, I don't think their guitars are expensive for what you get. Things that really matter, like stability, fret work, nut work - the stuff that really affects how a guitar will play - are always spot on. My McCarty is the only electric I have ever owned where I have never had to adjust the trussrod.

That kind of reliability is worth paying for.

RaymondLin

p90fool said:

RaymondLin;389327" said:

OP, one thing about PRS is that they dry their wood, they make a big deal out of it, about crystalising it before it is made into guitars.  Gibson used to make a big deal out of only using wood that is aged (and dried) over 10 years, this is back in the golden era.  They don't do that anymore.

I suggest you watch how a PRS is put together, pay attention to how many times it is polished, how many times it is checked (and signed by the person who checked it before moving it on to the next stage) and how many times they check it !

Then watch Gibson and Fender.  Pay attention to how many times Gibson checks their guitar.

Then draw your own conclusions.

Then listen to the result.

Ok, 5 Les Paul, which one sounds the best? (Can't take credit for the playing though) 

p90fool

RaymondLin;389351" said:

Ok, 5 Les Paul, which one sounds the best? (Can't take credit for the playing though) 

I have literally no idea, in fact I haven't even listened to it. There could be a 335, a Firebird and even a Telecaster in that mix and I wouldn't be able to tell unless I was playing them myself.

I have nothing but respect for PRS guitars, and one day I'll pick up a battered one and fall in love with it.

I love classic tones though, primarily the way Teles and Les Pauls do their separate things, and my ear has never craved a PRS "sound" if there even is one.
I'm well aware that there's a PRS which sounds "close" to whichever guitar you want, but there's probably also a Yamaha, Squier or Epiphone which does too.

My needs are specific though, and if the sounds in my head were more amp or pedal based I wouldn't hesitate, but for my weird surf/rockabilly/western swing mashup requirements PRS will always be the No Cigar Guitar.

RaymondLin

Well, you said "listen" so why not give it a listen?

p90fool

Because I'm on my phone

RaymondLin

Then do it when you can.

p90fool

RaymondLin;389383" said:

Then do it when you can.

I will, but there's never much value in these things for me tbh. My love of Les Pauls stems from the way they respond under your fingers, specifically the naturally smoothed attack of higher notes especially, so listening to someone else playing them is meaningless to me.

Even the pickups are relatively unimportant to me, they can be pretty well any flavour of humbucker, P90 or whatever, but put a Les Paul in my hands and I can pretty reliably tell you whether it's chambered or not by whether it sings or plinks. Someone else playing it? No chance, it could be anything.

p90fool

But we digress lol

EDIT
I listened, they all sound like electric guitars with an amp setting and a playing style which mean nothing to me. Yes, they're different from one another (at least a couple are, some sounded very similar) and at least one has a much lighter bottom end than the others.

Is there a big reveal? Is No.3 really a PRS? Is No.1 a backwards-recorded bass kazoo?

equalsql

blueskunk said:

They dont make telecasters.

Which is of course they're complete undoing 
)

RaymondLin

p90fool said:

But we digress lol

EDIT
I listened, they all sound like electric guitars with an amp setting and a playing style which mean nothing to me. Yes, they're different from one another (at least a couple are, some sounded very similar) and at least one has a much lighter bottom end than the others.

Is there a big reveal? Is No.3 really a PRS? Is No.1 a backwards-recorded bass kazoo?

Have a read

Look at the numbers

http://www.thegearpage.net/board/showthread.php?t=950610&highlight=poll

grungebob

My experience with PRS guitars is that they are all built superbly, have fantastic fret work and are some of the best intonated instruments I've ever come across, really just a very musical instrument across the entire fretboard.
Not all though have sounded great,but you get that with any manufacturer. I would without hesitation buy a new PRS and be sure I'd receive a great playing guitar without playing it and I couldn't say that about any other brand.

Forget the aesthetics,forget that it doesn't sound like a strat or a les Paul, but judge them on the merits that they are almost entirely a new entity in the guitar world that has been designed and constructed properly with care and attention to detail and you may find that you need one too just like me.

However you may be a curmudgeon and anti anything post fender/Gibsons haydays and decide that they're shit but that's your choice.

dindude

I don't really mind the "Audi" image of PRS, not enough to put me off anyhow (although Audi's can definitely F-off). They are beautifully made and play very nicely. I don't like them seated though, they slip off my lap like a used bar of soap. I also don't go for the dipped in glass look. But the biggest miss for me is the narrow focused, almost nasally tone that everyone I've tried has had to some degree.

But it's all horses for courses. I had the same limited run McCarty as @richardhomer and it didn't compete with my Midtown (tone-wise that is, build wise it was in a different league) let a lone a '64 335!