Is there a decline in the popularity of PRS guitars ?

thomasross20

Hahaah to that graph

hubobulous

Lew said:

Big pnw pedal boards are the new PRS

Only if they're terribly, terribly neat and look good in the dark with all their twinkly lights looking oh so bwight and impwessive ;-)

ToneControl

Bogwhoppit said:

I considered buying a PRS towards the end of last year, but other things got in the way.  I've recently noted that he majority of the ones I mulled over are still up for sale, despite several price reductions.

All expensive guitars and amps take time to sell. Most of the pricey stuff I have bought and sold takes 6 months or more to find a home. It took me nearly a year to sell a matchless independence head and cab. I would put that amp in the top 5% of best-ever sounding amps.

Supply and demand really, I think.

Residual value has always been a high percentage on the 2 iconic brands, and then the top boutique brands are a little behind that.

Anything new and in big demand devalues little, e.g. Bigsky pedals, but in 2-3 years this will change.

Stuff that's rare and in fashion ends up costing more than new

Some US boutique acoustic guitar brands are actually cheaper second hand in the UK than in the US, since everyone here just goes for Martins and Taylors, Gibsons and Larrivees.

SquireJapan

All this chat and I'm still struggling to find my £1k battered Custom 24.

Woe is me ...

cm01

RaymondLin;524997" said:

cm01 said:

Do tell....what did you get?[/quote">RaymondLin;

Do tell....what did you get?[/quote said:



[quote="RaymondLin;524844"]
The one made in by Paul when he was on West St ?

If it's true, these are like Les Paul between 57-59 in the PRS world ! Even less of them about. 

I don't think it's one of those, I think they were pre factory guitars... the 85 and 86 guitars are fairly rare but they still made around 1700 guitars in those 2 years - they started calling them 'Standards' in 1987

ICBM

cm01 said:

I don't think it's one of those, I think they were pre factory guitars... the 85 and 86 guitars are fairly rare but they still made around 1700 guitars in those 2 years - they started calling them 'Standards' in 1987

That's about the same as the number of original '58-'61 sunburst Les Paul Standards, so it is comparable.

A friend of mine had a late '85 PRS Custom once, 10-top in Royal Blue with birds which is about the most iconic of the lot. I bet he wishes he hadn't sold it when they were only worth about two grand, now...

RaymondLin

cm01 said:

RaymondLin;524997" said:

cm01 said:

Do tell....what did you get?[/quote">RaymondLin;

Do tell....what did you get?[/quote said:



[quote="RaymondLin;524844"]
The one made in by Paul when he was on West St ?

If it's true, these are like Les Paul between 57-59 in the PRS world ! Even less of them about. 

I don't think it's one of those, I think they were pre factory guitars... the 85 and 86 guitars are fairly rare but they still made around 1700 guitars in those 2 years - they started calling them 'Standards' in 1987

Strictly speaking only guitars made pre mid-1985 are "pre factory". . Pre-factory are really ones made by Paul at 33 West Street, Annapolis, MD, when he was still doing repair work alongside making guitars.

There are only about 80 true pre-factory PRS guitars in existence. They were all made prior to mid-1985; when PRS Guitars was formally launched. If a PRS was made after mid-1985 and has a serial number of any kind on the back of the headstock (or back-plate for CE's), it is not a pre-factory PRS.

 

Taken from here.

 

http://prsguitars.com/forum/showthread.php?5920-Pre-Factory-Paul-Reed-Smith-(PRS)-Guitars&highlight=factory

 

 

 

crunchman

Up to around 1990 ish they used Brazilian rosewood as standard on fingerboards so that may lead to a bit of a premium on the older guitars.

There weren't a lot of guitars made before 1990 at all.  I had a 1990 with a serial number that was in the 9000s if I remember correctly.  I had a 98 with a serial number of just over 40,000 so even at that stage there were not a lot of them around.  According to the PRS website 2014 starts at 206,060 so there are a lot more of them around now.

https://www.prsguitars.com/csc/year.html

It also interesting to note that production of the set neck US main line has declined.  They made about 18,000 in 2007 but the numbers have declined significantly since then.  2013 was about 3000 down on 2012 and was the lowest production since 2000.  The S2 line might have offset some of this but the main line is definitely not selling like it used to.

cm01

I had a 1990 Standard (bought from Bignorm), a great guitar that I foolishly sold - I've been after another early Standard for a while so I can't wait for this '86 to arrive... Picked it up for the current price of a new S2 Standard which is bonkers!

jeztone2

nickb_boy said:

For some reason PRS prices were at an all time high in April 2013:

But Ive just bought one & I do a blue collar job. I just like stuff that works well. Besides I think the dentists have moved onto Fender CS relics, I put my own dings in

Loobs

They aren't cool.

How many hip young bands are using PRS? They haven't been cool since nu-metal. 

Adam_MD

Loobs;525887" said:

They aren't cool.

How many hip young bands are using PRS? They haven't been cool since nu-metal. 

At the minute. You could have said the same thing about Les Pauls after they were released and then just before Slash.

richardhomer

Adam_MD;525890" said:

You could have said the same thing about Les Pauls after they were released and then just before Slash.

I suspect Slash did for the Les Paul pretty much what Hendrix did for Strats in terms of creating demand again (I not suggesting he was/is as ground-breaking - simply that he made a then unfashionable guitar very noticeable).

Prior to G n R, the 80s were dominated by Strats and 'Super Strats'.

I don't really think PRS have ever been particularly 'fashionable'. What they really achieved was a way of combining Gibson(ish) and Fender(ish) sounds into a highly playable, classic looking guitar, built to a standard that has changed industry perceptions of mass-production.

ToneControl

Loobs said:

They aren't cool.

How many hip young bands are using PRS? They haven't been cool since nu-metal. 

who gives a...

do people really want to copy new young stars?

and as said, I think custom shop Fender and Gibson have taken on a lot of the well-heeled new-guitar buyers

I don't see any drop in popularity or price beyond that applying to Fender and Gibson really. Strats, LPs and 335s are all selling for £200 less than 4 years ago

What I don't understand is the current fad for not liking pretty wood, unless for some reason it's on an LP

To me pretty wood always looks nicer than flat paint colours

Whitecat

Loobs said:

They aren't cool.

How many hip young bands are using PRS guitars at all? 

I realise that's a gross generalisation but if you watch Later... it sure seems that in terms of the young 'uns they're all two-keyboardists either side of a vocalist type setups.

rocktron

I would like to present another view. Coupled with the shortage of disposable income, I think that the rise in quality of the Mid-Range guitars may also account for the drop in sales of high-end models. 

Now, there may be a world of difference between a £600 guitar and a £2500 guitar, but is there that much of a significant difference in playability and sound quality?

Point is that many players would take out their Epiphone LP, or Vintage V100 LP rather than their Gibson LP, and are quite happy with the cheaper guitars.

A £400 Jackson SLX Soloist, equipped with EMGs or Seymour Duncans, is a fine instrument for shredding. I think spending more money results in diminishing returns.

Not sure that there is a flaw in my viewpoint, but there it is to mull over!!!    

 

ThePrettyDamned

ToneControl said:

Loobs said:

They aren't cool.

How many hip young bands are using PRS? They haven't been cool since nu-metal. 

who gives a...

do people really want to copy new young stars?

and as said, I think custom shop Fender and Gibson have taken on a lot of the well-heeled new-guitar buyers

I don't see any drop in popularity or price beyond that applying to Fender and Gibson really. Strats, LPs and 335s are all selling for £200 less than 4 years ago

What I don't understand is the current fad for not liking pretty wood, unless for some reason it's on an LP

To me pretty wood always looks nicer than flat paint colours

I get what you're saying, but cool is literally all that matters to loads of guitarists. Suhr are currently pretty in fashion - despite there being loads of super strat builders out there who do the same thing to the same high standard of quality. People still want the Suhr though.

impmann

I've just always thought they were neither Arthur nor Martha.

I'm sure they are very nice - I've played and looked after/repaired loads but honestly, they have never moved or inspired me. Much like Eggles (arguably the UK PRS copy) they just look incongruous for a lot of music styles and their slightly bland sound (sorry to the fans, but Paul's pickups suck) just don't work for me.

I guess I'm the "target demographic" for a PRS guitar player in many ways - 40+, can't play a Les Paul due to the weight, reasonable income etc (not a dentist - although with redundancy at the end of next month, that changes soon)... and I've never wanted one. None of my guitar playing friends want them either.

So is it that the appeal of furniture guitars is limited? And that lack of appeal means their resale value is affected? Possibly...

But bigger picture a moment - the market is FUCKED right now. One of the reasons I'm losing my job of 10 years is because sales are flat - despite the smiles, it isn't very different for other major MI manufacturers. The reason? There just too much equipment sat in shops and warehouses that no-one wants - because we have all bought our fill. Yes, GAS, kicks in for all of us but in percentage terms that represents a small sample of a small market. The facts remain that it is an industry in decline.

So, no PRS, aren't alone. But as mentioned, due to fashions there are a lot of unwanted PRS guitars in the channel so the effect is amplified for them.

My view from the inside is - it isn't going to get better. But hey enough of the doom and gloom, let's boogie..

guitarfishbay

SquireJapan said:

All this chat and I'm still struggling to find my £1k battered Custom 24.

Woe is me ...

@SquireJapan

http://www.gumtree.com/p/guitar-instrument/prs-custom-24-guitar-with-bird-fret-inlays/1101111757

That is currently up for £800 but with few details and only one picture, not the most well fleshed out advert for a high value guitar but might be a lead worth looking in to given what you're looking for.

Whitecat

impmann said:

I'm sure they are very nice - I've played and looked after/repaired loads but honestly, they have never moved or inspired me. Much like Eggles (arguably the UK PRS copy) they just look incongruous for a lot of music styles and their slightly bland sound (sorry to the fans, but Paul's pickups suck) just don't work for me.

Have you tried the more recent pickups though? I too agreed with you once, until about 2008 - I wanted a PRS badly in the 1990s but once I actually plugged one in I was like, "meh."

IMO, the 245 was the first acceptable pickup they made - as in, not terrible. The Starla was the first great pickup they made - to this day it's still one of my favourites of all time from any manufacturer. The 57/08 and 53/10s are superb. The 408s are excellent (but unfortunately proprietary).

There are still some boring ones out there but they cover quite a range so I suppose that's to be expected. Gibson and Fender both make pickups I like and dislike...