Good buy / Stupid decision?

[ZedZed 2112]

Hi Guys,

Hoping you can help me. Bit of back history to set the scene.....

I've been thinking about buying an electric guitar for a couple of months. I have an Ibanez in my dad's attic that I've owned for about 25yrs, of which I've not picked up in about 12yrs! At home I have a little practice acoustic guitar that I've been playing A LOT and I have 'the bug' back.

I would class myself as a 'beginner' although I can play Rush's 2112 straight through, however if you asked me to play a 'lick' I wouldn't know what to do....so maybe I'm intermediate on some techniques but beginner on others?

A PRS guitar has always been my dream guitar. I just love the look of them and for a while in the '90's my guitar 'hero' Alex Lifeson used one. However, I always thought two things. (i) I could never afford one and (ii) I wasn't good enough to have one.

Since getting the 'bug', I've been to my local guitar shop (PMT) and tried an SE Custom, priced at £xxx (blue whale colour). I was also trying an Epiphone Custom TopPro (£xxx). I was gutted to find that I couldn't get on with the PRS. It just sounded 'thin' and no punch and I had difficulty nailing anything I could play simply on my acoustic. No idea if this was because of the amp settings but I just wasn't getting on with it. I was however loving the Epi, it just felt 'right'. Also I really couldn't justify the PRS price tag considering (a) I'm intermediate at best and (b) my wife would kill me.

Last week I saw a Epiphone Special 2 at my local Cash Converters for £xx I though maybe this will be fine to just play about with until I properly have the cash to buy a decent one. Anyway, whilst I was there, the Store Manager said I might be interested in another guitar that he just had in..... Low and behold, it was a PRS SE Singlecut.

Now I wouldn't know a PRS Singlecut if it jumped up and bit my arse, but it was a PRS!! I played it, loved it. Price was £xxx. No idea if that's a decent price or not, so I quickly went home and checked on the web if this was good or not. Now, pricing ranged from £xxx for an old looking one to £xxx. The original owner was actually in the shop at the time and said it was a lovely guitar, but didn't really 'sell it to me'. I had NO IDEA the age of the guitar but on impulse.....I've bought it.

I love looking/playing this thing, but something in the back of my mind keeps asking me "have I been done/duped/conned"? The body work is amazing. No knicks, nothing. No markings and the fretboard plays great. The top e string does seem 'loose' and 'twangs' a lot off the fretboard when just using that string. No idea if this is just the string or something else?

Anyway - here are some pics

Can anyone tell me if I've got a decent deal out of this. £xxx seems great, but how old is it? Is it even legit? I guess the fact that I love it should be good enough, however an extra 'cherry on top' would make my day too.

I have other questions, such as can I replace the bridge and put a tremolo on it, and if so is this something I can do or better left to a pro.....and at what cost. The original owner scoffed at the idea!!

I hope I can remain as an active member on the forum, however if I've been conned I will simply take it back.

Many thanks in advance guys

 

[ZedZed 2112]

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[ZedZed 2112]

Sorry for all the pics as individual posts. Thanks again for your replies

 

[garrett]

After reading the first half of the post I thought, "This guy needs to try a Singlecut." So, good choice.

The G serial number indicates a 2006 guitar. http://prsguitars.com/csc/year.html That's the year they brought the Singlecut back after the Gibson lawsuit failed. Definitely legit. All the details are in place.

No idea what they go for in the UK, but agree it seems like a good deal.

Don't think you'll have much luck adding a vibrato bridge. Way more work than is worth it in my opinion. It'll just give you an excuse to also buy a Singlecut Trem or a Tremonti Custom.

 

[ZedZed 2112]

Hey Garrett

Thanks for the reply. So far so good!!

Thought changing the bridge would be easy......? Even DIY

 

[garrett]

Hey Garrett

Thanks for the reply. So far so good!!

Thought changing the bridge would be easy......? Even DIY

Stoptail guitars have the neck set at a steeper angle to make up for the taller bridge height. Most trem guitars have the saddles sitting closer to the body, so you'd have to jack a trem bridge up a fair bit. That's assuming you're a talented wood worker who can effectively execute the necessary body routing.

But hey, people put Floyd Rose bridges on Les Pauls, so what do I know? Here's one culprit you might recognize :

 

[ZedZed 2112]

Cheating git!

 

[Screamingdaisy]

Thought changing the bridge would be easy......? Even DIY

It'd probably be more cost effective to buy a guitar with one already installed.

 

[Dusty Chalk]

Stonkin' good deal!

 

[Whitecat]

I think you did fine. Play it lots before music is outlawed by the high priests of Syrinx!

 

[Alan Manning]

£xxx, i'de say that's a good deal. 2006 model As for adding extras as said in a previous post it's not really worth it.
Have fun and welcome mate!!

 

[Shaw]

As long as the neck is straight and the electronics are good, you got a really god deal... Enjoy!

Depending on your woodworking skills, it's probably better to get a guitar with the Trem you want already installed. Before getting one with a Floyd, try the PRS Trem if you haven't already. They are great.

 

[ZedZed 2112]

Well, I'm feeling a whole lot happier right now!! Many thanks for your feedback.

I guess I won't be doing anything with the trem.....bit of a shame but I'm sure I'll get over it!!

Thanks for your welcome's too - looking forward to learning more about these fantastic guitars! Such as....for those who own this guitar is there anything I need to look out for? And can someone explain what the toggle switch actually does? The three settings.....silly Q I know but I'm a complete amateur

 

[AP515]

The tone you don't like on the high E may be due to wear in the nut slot or it could just be a bad string. At worst you will need to get a new nut which isn't super expensive.

The switch activates the pickups in a particular order. All the way to the front of the guitar, the neck pickup is active. In the middle, both pickups are active and in the back position the bridge pickup is active. You will hear a difference for each setting. The neck is warm and good for rhythm. The middle is a good all around setting and the bridge is most used for lead solos because it has more highs and they say it "cuts through the mix" the best when playing with a band. YOu can of course play which ever setting suits you. I play more on the neck than the bridge but I like warm tones.

Welcome to the forum!

 

[ZedZed 2112]

Thanks AP515. So the 'bridge' in this instance is basically the lower part of the neck? The lower being closer to the strumming hand?