Advise Needed on Mira S2 purchase Is it right for me?

[Doreen]

First time poster here. I am going to find a Guitar Center with a Mira S2. I am a female player (hands are probably the size of a small guy's - middle finger is longest at 7+ if that help). I have been played off and on or years, but long hiatus, until recently. I have been playing my Taylor faithfully for a few months but my hand/wrist gets fatigued (w some wrist pain) practicing what is more suited for an electric (bends, etc). I play mostly blues and some jazz (lots of rock in the past though). I played strats years ago, but since trying a Gibson 339 I think the shorter scale is better. I am so impressed w the reviews, consistency, and utube demos of the Mira that I may have to go out of my way to find one to play. I apologize for neck questions that you may have been discussed to exhaustion, but that is my concern. The thin wide (is that pattern regular)? How does it compare w the strat and 339 (Gibson) I played recently? I was leaning toward a tele, but I am intrigued w the Mira lately. It seems more versatile and much lighter - something I need. Do you think the Mira is limited for blues/jazz? I hear so many comparisons to an SG, but when I heard some of the cleaner tones (MarK at nstuff music utube review and some others) I was hooked. Last question, What is the difference between older Mira and Mira S2 (some stated the earlier ones are better). I should add that I am a chordal-lead player primarily. Thanks for whatever you can offer - I need a guitar soon.

 

[sleary]

I have small hands so might be able to help.

The wide/thin compares to gibsons 60's slim taper. Difference between the Mira and the s2 Mira is, the s2's electronics are Korean , woods aren't as good as used on the regular Mira. The s2 are still built in Maryland and honestly, I think a very good buy. Prs listen to their customers and watch quality very closely.

I have a prs dgt and my 14 year old daughter has no problem playing it. The neck is close to a pattern regular IMO. I'd say go and try one out however don't count out other s2 models . Prs are probably the most versatile guitar,out there.

 

[alantig]

Do-o-reen...don't make me wait 'til tomorrow! (Zappa song - I've been waiting years to do that!)

I don't think you'll be limited w/the Mira S2. The demos I've heard have covered a lot of ground. sleary gave a good explanation of the differences between the old core Miras and the S2 - there's less of a carve to the S2, so there's a bit less handwork on them. The electronics are imports, but what I've heard has been good. And the S2 has a 22-fret neck - the core line was 24. I found the core line to be a bit neck-heavy.

 

[dsenoj]

Regarding the wood used in the S2 Mira. At Experience last September, I took the S2 factory tour and our guide was the S2 Production Manager. He said the mahogany blanks used for the S2 models are exactly the same ones used for the core models.

 

[Egads]

I have an '08 Mira and love it. I do understand the SG comparisons to a certain extent--lots of good mid-range and tight bass. It is a much more versatile guitar, though. Both the S2 and original Miras are 25" scale (between Gibson and Fender). If you really like the shorter scale, you might want to look around for an used 35th Anniversary Mira. I believe they were 24.5" scale length, and had 2 P90 pickups. I don't think they are quite as versatile as the humbucker version (with coil taps), but the P90s rock.

I seem to have one soapbox, and I'm sure everyone here is tired of it, but here goes!

If you liked the 339, see if you can find a Hollowbody or a Singlecut Hollowbody. They cover the blues and jazz tones so incredibly well. They also handle rock like you wouldn't believe! I've got a SC HB Standard, which is all mahogany, and an SC HB II, which has a maple top and back, with mahogany sides. Unlike Gibson, all of the woods are solid. There are no laminates.

Good luck, and let us know where you end up.

 

[GTinSpanishFort]

Hi, Doreen. I'm getting an S2 Mira that I ordered off of ebay. I played a regular Mira at guitar center and really enjoyed it but, I wanted a really good deal. So, I looked around and found a used S2 Mira and ordered it, should be in my hands tomorrow. I'll let you know my opinion when I get it. Also, I will state one thing I didn't like about the regular Mira was that it was 24 frets. My personal preference is for 22 frets. Anyway, good luck.

 

[vchizzle]

I haven't heard many people having issues with PRS largest carves Wide Fat or Pattern. Usually it's the other way around, people wishing there was a neck carve with "a little more meat to it". My hands aren't huge and I still find the Wide Fat and Pattern carves the most comfortable. Next for me is the "regular" carve. Wide thin or pattern thin is last for me. The thinner neck is still comfortable to me, but I find for how I play, a little more thickness to the neck is more comfortable if I'm playing extended periods of time with a lot of barre chords. I played an S2 Mira awhile back and it was a great guitar. Had a lot of resonance and was loud acoustically. Sounded great thru the Mesa Mk V that I played it thru as well. I like the looks of the older Core model regular Mira a bit better, but either way - great guitars.

 

[CantankerousCarl]

Love my S2 Mira - if you are worried about the neck carve, try to find any (Core or SE) PRS with a wide fat neck carve at any guitar shop (SE 245, SE Bernie Marsden, SE Semi-Hollow s/b pretty easy to find @ a Guitar Center or Sam Ash) and the neck will not be any bigger than that.

My hands are not huge, I have no issues switching between the wide thin, wide fat, pattern & pattern regular carves.

The S2 Mira is a bit more comfortable / manageable than the Core Mira (I had an '08 Core but find the S2 easier to play). The pickups are definitely toward the "vintage" end of things, but the neck is very round and should do well for blues / jazz. The splits are better on the S2 than Core to my ears. And FWIW, unplugged my S2 Mira is the loudest PRS I own, trumping even my Paul's Guitar - it's very lively and resonant despite its featherweight-ness.

Right now there are a ton of used Core Miras out there for under a grand, which is still cheaper than street on a new S2 Mira by a few hundred, so if you're strapped for cash, you won't go wrong with one of those.

Quality-wise, don't be afraid to buy an S2 from a web site - just make sure they have a good return policy in case you don't like it - but you will probably never have to return it because of a quality control issue or defect.

 

[alantig]

Guitar Player has a review of the S2 line:

http://www.guitarplayer.com/article...s2-mira-and-s2-starla-electric-guitars/153327

Spoiler alert - they love the Mira.

 

[Doreen]

Wow! Thanks for all the great and timely feedback. This is a great forum. I am writing this in a bit of shock as I went to a local Guitar Center (been only once before) and they didn't even know this guitar - had to look it up! I wound up calling up the Sam Ashs, Paragon, and several others in Tampa AND Orlando area. ARE YOU KIDDING ME!!?? NO PRS Mira - you have to put money down and order it. I'm shocked! It has been a good bit of time since I walked into a great music store to buy a guitar, but since the internet/WalMart-GCs I guess this all changed more than I realized??! I live in TAMPA, it's not like I'm in the sticks! Is this how it is near you guys? NO place to play more than a handful of American guitars? They all told me all they carry is the SEs and when I asked for a vintage Tele reissue (These are the ones I was honing in on), only ONE of the 5 stores in Orlando and TAMPA had ONE - a 64. HOW am I going to try any great guitars and decide on anything (I'm dying practicing scales and playing Little Wing on a Taylor)!

Egads, that's a strong 'soapbox' to stand on because I really did like that Gibson 339, but what nerve of a price tag. What about dropping 57s in an Epi with other upgrades (played only one but w a fat neck - Ugh. I don' know other Hollowbodies to try (Gretchs are too big). I don't recognize the acronyms for the ones you mentioned - what are those?

 

[leeasam]

Wow! Thanks for all the great and timely feedback. This is a great forum. I am writing this in a bit of shock as I went to a local Guitar Center (been only once before) and they didn't even know this guitar - had to look it up! I wound up calling up the Sam Ashs, Paragon, and several others in Tampa AND Orlando area. ARE YOU KIDDING ME!!?? NO PRS Mira - you have to put money down and order it. I'm shocked! It has been a good bit of time since I walked into a great music store to buy a guitar, but since the internet/WalMart-GCs I guess this all changed more than I realized??! I live in TAMPA, it's not like I'm in the sticks! Is this how it is near you guys? NO place to play more than a handful of American guitars? They all told me all they carry is the SEs and when I asked for a vintage Tele reissue (These are the ones I was honing in on), only ONE of the 5 stores in Orlando and TAMPA had ONE - a 64. HOW am I going to try any great guitars and decide on anything (I'm dying practicing scales and playing Little Wing on a Taylor)!

Egads, that's a strong 'soapbox' to stand on because I really did like that Gibson 339, but what nerve of a price tag. What about dropping 57s in an Epi with other upgrades (played only one but w a fat neck - Ugh. I don' know other Hollowbodies to try (Gretchs are too big). I don't recognize the acronyms for the ones you mentioned - what are those?

sweetwater has them and they are great to deal with if you can`t find anything close.

 

[Egads]

Egads, that's a strong 'soapbox' to stand on because I really did like that Gibson 339, but what nerve of a price tag. What about dropping 57s in an Epi with other upgrades (played only one but w a fat neck - Ugh. I don' know other Hollowbodies to try (Gretchs are too big). I don't recognize the acronyms for the ones you mentioned - what are those?

Sorry for the acronyms. SC HB II is the Singlecut Hollowbody II, and is the only Singlecut Hollowbody in the line right now. The Standard version was all mahogany, and less expensive. It is a blues monster, but can cover lots of ground. You can find used ones without the piezo option for under $2000, or around $2200 with the piezo. Personally, I think the piezo is well worth the extra. Being able to blend or quickly change is a nice feature.

There IS a new semi-hollow SE coming out in a month or so--the new Zach Myers SE. It's getting a ton of attention on the forum, and no one has even heard it yet. To be honest, if it's as good as it sounds like it is going to be, I'll be jumping on that bandwagon, too.

 

[Doreen]

I looked on ebay and the prices were steep for those hollow bodies. Do the pickups get a single coil sound like other PRS (I like this high end I hear on the Mira. How can that be when the guitar is all mahogany - does anyone know)?? When will the Zach Myers SE be coming out (If you know). Thanks again for all the feedback! I may be ordering a guitar online without playing it - I have NEVER done that ever! I feel like an idiot, actually, but believe me these are no where to be found (still in shock here). These GCs and Sam Ash centers have all MIM strats, Ibanez, etc, and like ONE vintage RI of something. With those odds, the necks are not the vintage ones (nice n' narrow). I am lost here, honestly. I lean toward the Mira because of what I've learned and the 'pure' sound (the specs like a 10 radius, light wt. etc). But then, I kick around if an Epiphone w57' humbuckers dropped in and some new pots would be better? I know....all over the map here (and I started out telling you I've played Fenders in my past life and wanting a TELE .....aaaaahh)!!

 

[sleary]

High end would be the pickups for sure. My dgt has a maple top which in theory would make it more bright however the pickups make it more dark sounding. If you are going to order online then I'd recommend talking to someone at Sam Ash. I've personally never dealt with them because I live in canada but I've heard so many great things from others . Gc? Don't do it lol.

I'm pretty sure your mind and heart is set on a Mira , I'd do it because when you get a prs out of the box, it will be setup properly right from the get go.

 

[vchizzle]

I usually have to drive 1-2 hours if I want to actually try anything out. Very limited selection near me. I've bought over 1/2 my guitars online because of that. I'm not reluctant to do that with PRS because of their quality. Yet, most places will have a return policy if it turns out the guitar doesn't do it for ya. It's a catch 22 really with online sales....smaller market areas have less to try, yet online, we have access to thousands of guitars we would never get to see, much less get a chance to purchase.

 

[Doreen]

Thanks to all of you I found a PRS dealer. Vcizzle, this is a mom n pop shop in Cape Coral, but the guy was patient and knowledgeable on the phone - they are a PRS dealer and they have G +L (so I can at least compare necks w the 'vintage tele' neck). I haven't done much research on G + L but I may be there longer than expected so I can really be sure I want this Mira over what is most common to me - a tele (or strat). I am sooo excited to find this shop. They have a white Mira and the McCarty Tabacco - (gosh I can't believe I'm talking colors as yesterday I couldn't find anyone that had any)! OH, this shop told me I won't find any American prs in GC and told me they 'lost that license, essentially' and only carry the SEs and that's prob why they nothing about the S2 series. AHA.

 

[rugerpc]

Hi, Doreen.

Glad you found a stocking dealer! I just wanted to chime in with 2 things...

My opinion... You will not get any where near the quality of an S2 in an Epiphone. It doesn't matter which model of either you compare to the other, the quality, woods, craftsmanship and fit & finish just don't compare. The same goes for most Fenders and core line Gibsons. The last $3000 LP I picked up had cracks at the neck joint and swirl marks in the finish - unacceptable.

Second, PRS is picky about its dealers, but they have a good resource for locating one. See this page: Find A Dealer . Just in case you need to look a bit more...

Edit:

Do these 2 look familiar?

 

[Doreen]

The white one. I will be going to tomorrow to a place that has the white one on ebay (Coral Sky Music - Cape Coral, FL- time change due to work). They also have a Tobacco one (that other is sunburst or something). I can't thank all you for the great feedback. I have heard about the quality of Gibson and I didn't think I would risk an online purchase for a 339. I know NO guitar is all-in-one, but I want something that if I got up the repertoire for a dinner jazz club in Sarasota and still use same one guitar for sitting on an open mic nite in some blues joint, I could. Rugerpc, you could work for the FBI.

 

[sleary]

Hi, Doreen.

Glad you found a stocking dealer! I just wanted to chime in with 2 things...

My opinion... You will not get any where near the quality of an S2 in an Epiphone. It doesn't matter which model of either you compare to the other, the quality, woods, craftsmanship and fit & finish just don't compare. The same goes for most Fenders and core line Gibsons. The last $3000 LP I picked up had cracks at the neck joint and swirl marks in the finish - unacceptable.

Second, PRS is picky about its dealers, but they have a good resource for locating one. See this page: Find A Dealer . Just in case you need to look a bit more...

Edit:

Do these 2 look familiar?

I'm glad you said it lol

I've had four gibsons and all had the same problems, tuning issues and poor qc. I feel prs are probably one of the most versatile instruments out there. You can go from blues, jazz to metal with just a few minor adjustments. That's why I made the plunge.

 

[CantankerousCarl]

Best of luck Doreen - all of this S2 Mira love made me just have to stop working (work from home) and give mine a little quality time...can't wait to hear the results of your visit!