Have you found "THE One"??? I think I have....

markd21

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Like many of you, I enjoy having MANY guitars. With PRS it's funner than other brands - each is so pretty and unique and tuneful....

Over the last couple of years I have grabbed a nice little herd of expensive (for me), gorgeous, and phenomenal musical instruments built in MD. Not many have left - and those that have sailed the seas to allow "better" fitting instruments into my hands. I am glad Mr. Smith developed the "21 Rules of Tone" because it made his instruments "work" for me. They were always gorgeous, but NOW (in my book, anyway) their musicality is superb.

But this is not a thread about how killer PRS are. This is a thread about having found THE Paul Reed Smith. THE one that has NOT been put away for another to be played. The ONE that breathes life to music, allows me to be the artist and creator I long to be. THE one that seems to have become MY Excalibur....

(excuse my bizarre posts lately, I am on new seizure drugs and they seem to make me more "epic" in my ramblings)

Only TWICE in my life have I purchased guitars that I have felt were "magical". I define a magical guitar as one that comes to me with songs in it. It'll work like this...I pick it up, plug it in, dial up a sound, play, then a song is there. I mean, like as soon as I play it, the song is INSTANT. Not the idea I need to build, but the full-on progression, the mood, how I plan to express emotion, the arrangement, ALL of it. There. Immediately.

I have had other instruments that are "inspirational" in composing. Others that inspire me to play or PERFORM better. Those are awesome too - but they aren't MAGICAL....

Currently I have the following PRS instruments, and I adore each.....

MC58 10 top
P22 10 top Quilt
CU22 10 top Quilt
SC245 57/08 LTD 10 top Quilt
SC250 Artist Package
Paul's Guitar Trem
S2 Standard 22 Metallic
S2 Singlecut Standard
S2 Standard 22

(looks I need one more to make an even 10. was looking at CE's yesterday, but nothing spoke to me because I found THE ONE....hmmm, has GAS expired? Is this temporary? Am I finally done buying?)

But only ONE of those has been getting played. All the rest are cased and buried in the studio gear closet. To get them out would be WORK. Last night I thought about grabbing the MC58. My heart was feeling the MC....the wonderful neck, the singing tone of the neck pickup.....the orgasmic feel of just emoting through that special instrument.

NOPE.

Walked into the studio, looked to the lonely guitar hanging on the stand (I use Hercules stands for the instruments I am using in the moment). It called to me as I powered up the console. As I powered the secondary rack the lure of my Excalibur was undeniable. I grabbed it, threw it over my shoulder, and sat comfortably in my chair. I capo'd the 9th fret and began finger pickinng a melancholy piece....

Eyes closed, at one with the instrument, within moments I had the whole song worked through. The arrangement built, the instruments and dynamics sketched. The ache in my soul quenched via my Excalibur...the glorious simple guitar that was created with such love and care that it speaks MUSIC into my very being in a way NONE of its siblings do....

This is not the first time this has happened. It is common place with this instrument. It is alive with music.....

I know what you're thinking....."Which ONE IS IT?!?!?!"

It's the one I planned to sacrifice to a modification.....

The S2 Standard 22 McCarty Tobacco Burst I bought used off Reverb.com. The one that came to me beat up, needing SEVERE amounts of effort to bring it back to life. Maybe the love and care that brought this guitar back is why it is rewarding me with music? I wonder if from a metaphysical way, the guitar KNEW that I had a love for it, therefore it is loving me back?

What is it Carlos Santana said of the earliest PRS' he received? "....frequency of love...."? Maybe this S2 is resonating with my via a frequency of love? Hmmmmm.....

I am currently watching an anime series called 'Soul Eater'. It's fairly complex so I won't explain the whole concept. There is just a part where a meister and it's weapon achieve a 'soul resonance' to make their attack as powerful as it can be. Is that what is happening with this S2 and myself?

A couple questions for you....

Do you have ONE guitar that does this for you?
Is this metaphysical/supernatural concept of the instrument/soul/expression WAY to wacky?

Looking forward to what you want to share!!
 
Great read. Amazing guitars of course. What other animes do you like? I got my wife into a few from my childhood. I'd like to hear of some more good series we can binge.
 
Great looking fiddles. I'm about to fire up Full Metal Alchemist live action on Netflix, looks cool. And, Cowboy Bebop is one of my favorite things in the world. I loved that series. It's beyond amazing. I listen to the soundtracks all the time!
 
Great read. Amazing guitars of course. What other animes do you like? I got my wife into a few from my childhood. I'd like to hear of some more good series we can binge.

I have always been a HUGE Super Robot guy. My all time favorite is the Original Gundam Series - Mobile Suit Gundam. Most of the other Universal Centruy stories dealing with new-types and living in space vs. being trapped by gravity are thought provoking. For an interesting dip into the Gundam waters, check out "Char's Counter Attack". It's MUCH later after the events in Mobile Suit Gundam, and deals with the main characters, Char Aznable and Amuro Ray. It's a movie so, even though it's kind of the end, it's a good place to start if that makes sense.

Of course if you can find the Jpanese Lionbot series that inspired Voltron, that is AWESOME - WAY grittier than what we got here. Oh the REAL origin and creation of the 'Robeasts" is vicious!!!

Other than those, and I wish I could find them - I often find poorly dubbed DVDs in dollar stores - I dig the old 70s Super Robots. Danguard Ace, Getter Robo, etc. We got them on Showtime in the early 80s as the "Shogun Warriors". Those shows are cool, though the animation and dialogue are weak.

If you can find Go Nagai's ORIGINAL "Devil Man" OVA - THAT was killer. I tried Netflix's "Devilman Crybaby" and it's ok, but not like the original....

Cool story! Funny coincidence, I'm rewatching Soul Eater right now. It's a good one. Full Metal Alchemist: Brotherhood, FLCL, and Cowboy Bebop are some of my other favorites.

I am seriously digging 'Soul Eater'. Had never seen it. Like I said earlier, I am usually about robots, lol. BlackStar gets on my nerves and some of the "funny" stuff isn't my cup of tea, but the story with Maka and Soul is engaging enough. I just got into the main conflict of Season 2, so it's getting juicy. I'll most likely finish the series this weekend. I have no gigs and the wife is sick, so I'll just park in front of the TV and watch!!
 
I’ve found the One a few times.

Millennium Dragon: didn’t even look a ‘new’ guitar for 10 years

Laskin classical: heaven surrounded by cedar and Brazilian rosewood tied with cat gut

Violin McCarty: all kinds of special

Laskin Art Deco: spruce and rosewood with steel and hand cut inlays. Sound like church.
 
OP I have 2 S2 Standard 22s and an S2 Mira, there is no better guitar for the money especially when you can get them new for under a grand if you search and negotiate as I have, I also have a Core but the Satin Standard 22 is my favorite for sure, it just simply rocks and sounds fat clean as well...gonna go play it now lol
 
I’m afraid I’ve found more than one The One.

I’ve found the One a few times.

I'm with Serge. I find "the one" every five years.

How do you define "the ONE"?

I have come across MANY that are amazingly feeling and sounding instruments. For example, the guitars pictured ALL have attributes that made them stand head and shoulders above any other guitar I was bringing at the time. Each of the PRS guitars in this thread can be pulled from the case, taken to a show and inspire me to perform at a level beyond any guitar I have owned previously.

What I am finding with the McCarty Burst S2 is that MUSIC just pours forth from it effortlessly. It's like it is imbued with music. The only other guitar I have owned that has been just gushed songs and music is my Ibanez 540S. It's like it came to me with songs trapped inside. I wrote ALL my 90's material on that one guitar - all the songs that are considered my "classics" (the tunes that saw release or local notoriety when local radio still existed, lol). The McCarty Burst S2 is like the second coming of that instrument.

I would LOVE to see the guitars and hear why they are "magical" to you!!

OP I have 2 S2 Standard 22s and an S2 Mira, there is no better guitar for the money especially when you can get them new for under a grand if you search and negotiate as I have, I also have a Core but the Satin Standard 22 is my favorite for sure, it just simply rocks and sounds fat clean as well...gonna go play it now lol

I don't disagree. Enjoy your play time!
 
My #1 is my McCarty Artist with the solid Brazilian RW neck. The 58/15LT pickups just put it over the top. The only guitar that ‘could’ challenge it is my modified DC3.

I recently found out my DC3 must have had a personality change since it got new strat pickups. It’s now a jealous lil mofo, talking bout ‘do you love me? Yeah? how much? Ok. If that’s true then why is that 408 still hanging around all outside of its case and shyt? I’m loud now. I gots decent output now. I even got myself a cool new pickguard. For YOU. Why is he still over there, outside his case, waiting to be touched?’

I was caught off guard by the entire conversation (I had thought we were ALL cool) and made a drastic decision. Now my 408 is GONE.

:confused:

As long as the DC3 doesn’t start throwing shady looks at my McCarty... cause then there’s gonna be a sitcheeaachin.
 
Characteristics of the One for me.

I can’t see it without wanting to play it. It feels like it was made to fit in my hands and on my lap. It sounds good from the lowest note to the highest note. The tone and volume are balanced throughout the guitars range.

The Laskins both have a distinctive ring to each note and excellent note separation. They also both have excellent sustain. I think I have a short video of them with some other acoustics on YouTube- I’ll check for the link.

The two PRS electrics I mentioned are similar in many ways but still have distinctive voices. Each represents the state of the Art of PRS at the time (1999, 2009).
 
Well...
My first "One" was actually a ONE, a SE ONE, that I... um... won!
Then my next One, was a 305!
Then it was a core Mira with birdies!
Then it was a McRosie!
Now it's a P22 with rosewood neck!

So... every new One is the ONE!
Maybe I need to start again. Time to play the SE ONE!:cool:
 
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