Learn to Love or Kick to the Curb?

[colinkanders]

Back in 2017 I got an S2 Mira that instantly became my go-to guitar for everything. It can play anything decently well or better and it just feels right in my hands. Then in 2020 I grabbed a Wood Library Special Semi Hollow that can also play anything decently well or better...and in every case sounds (and looks) better than the Mira. BUT it doesn't feel quite so right in my hands. I've got no complaints - it's an amazing instrument - but I just didn't bond with it like I did with the Mira. I trust that other guitar players know what I mean here.

I'm curious what the the forum thinks I should do...use the SSH for recording and the Mira for everything else? Force myself to use the SSH as my main guitar for everything? Sell the SSH to pay for something else? Buy a new amp and a few pedals (which won't solve the issue but might make me feel better for a couple days)?

 

[Moondog Wily]

Go on the hunt for a core (or WL or Artist or PS) that you bond with, then use the WL SSH as a partial trade for that!

 

[Proteus]

1) No forcing. This is guitars, not death-n-taxes.
2) Don't ever be tempted to offload the Mira.
3) Unless you're playing through an electrified turdbiscuit - and I doubt many PRS buyers are in that predicament - you probably don't need an amp. (But why do you think you might?)
4) You should ALWAYS buy pedals.

 

[Rider1260]

I have moved many guitars that should be lifetime keepers ( Modern eagle II , Santanas , Knaggs #25, Brushstroke 24 ) the list is long. There are guitars that sound better on others than me. I do love my SSH but for me its not the most versatile guitar , it makes some great noises and love the light weight but there are others in my collection I play more for one reason or another. SSH , Fiore by https://www.flickr.com/photos/152274366@N08/

 

[dmatthews]

I have moved many guitars that should be lifetime keepers ( Modern eagle II , Santanas , Knaggs #25, Brushstroke 24 ) the list is long. There are guitars that sound better on others than me. I do love my SSH but for me its not the most versatile guitar , it makes some great noises and love the light weight but there are others in my collection I play more for one reason or another. SSH , Fiore by https://www.flickr.com/photos/152274366@N08/

How's the Fiore compared to the Silver Sky?

 

[RickP]

No harm in keeping both. Play the one you like better, use the other for a different flavor. A used core Mira might be one of the best PRS deals on Reverb these days. You can probably keep what you have and still pick one up. Freaky good guitar. Then you’d have three good choices.

 

[Russ73]

Op I have 9 guitars....6 of em PRS including an S2 Mira that I agree is awesome....if you like the neck and feel of the Mira grab another S2 maybe?? I have 2 Standard 22s and a Vela semi...plus they come in satin which is sweet!!

 

[ViperDoc]

If it doesn’t feel right, it likely never will. Happy hunting.

 

[Rider1260]

How's the Fiore compared to the Silver Sky?

Interesting you ask , I was going to do a post about that I think I will now. the short is they are BOTH killer guitars just completely different at what they do.

 

[watelessness]

my rules, in order:
1) feel
2) tone
3) looks

if a guitar doesnt feel right, one will be disinclined to play it. for example, i cannot play 12" radius necks, or wide/thin prs necks. just cant do it. so regardless of how great a guitar might sound or how gorgeous it is to look at it would just be a flammable wall hanging to me (not that there's anything wrong with that).

since you enjoy playing the s2 mira, consider adding another s2 mira or an old-school core mira, hog or korina, and swap in different pickups. you might find a sonic combination that you really like, or at the very least you add more sonic variation to your toolbox.

regarding the ssh, dont give up on it. many players have strats and les pauls, which are totally different beasts. use the tool for its intended purpose.

 

[bodia]

I’ve moved many fine guitars. No problem doing that if it doesn’t give you the feels.

 

[Going Modal]

Absolutely has to feel right and/or comfortable. I've sold some amazing (cost, rarity, or looks) PRSi simply on account of the fact that--for my playing and my style--I just couldn't get comfortable with them. If I'm not comfortable, it means I'm much less likely to pick it up and be inspired; and at that point, there's no sense in owning the guitar long-term.

 

[El Fenix]

It's a guitar, not a marriage.

Move it on for something you love.

 

[ScottR]

It's a guitar, not a marriage.

Move it on for something you love.

So you're saying you’re not supposed to do that with marriages?

Hmm, who knew.

My bad...

 

[László]

1. First thing I'd do is have a pro give the Special a great setup. Then you're comparing apples to apples.

2. You said it sounds better to you. That would be all I'd need to know, so I'd spend more time with it after doing idea #1. Get used to it. Learn its nuances.

3. There's no need to make it a contest. Nor does it have to be either-or. Nothing wrong with having a workhorse AND a guitar you use a bit less. 'Different' doesn't have to mean 'worse'. It's nice to have choices.

4. No reason not to find a new amp that sounds particularly great with the Special, so you can get more enjoyment out of the guitar.

I make these suggestions after a lifetime of screwing up, because I used to think I had to assign a pecking order to instruments, that everything had to result in a shoot-out. As a result, I've sold/traded/given up on some fantastic guitars that deserved to have a permanent place in my studio. But now I don't have them. I feel foolish about that.

I even feel foolish trading in a really nice WL McCarty on my Special, even though I love my Special! I should have been more patient. I dug the McCarty. It would have been nice to have both on hand.

No idea why I was thinking whatever I was thinking. Then again, guitar buying isn't a rational process. A whole lot of emotion is involved.

 

[alantig]

So you're saying your not supposed to do that with marriages?

Hmm, who knew.

My bad...

I'm sure you've heard the joke...

Why are divorces so expensive? Because they're worth it.

Haven't been there myself. But my one buddy had been divorced, and he told his second wife, "I'm not going through that again. If this doesn't work, you'll just disappear." She said, "My dad's a cop. He's already told his friend on the force if anything ever happens to me, look at you first." (They've been married around 30 years now.)

 

[ElrytNamrogo]

I go through this quite often, really. Some days one guitar will feel better than another. Then, some days, that guitar that wasn't doing it for me before, all the sudden, will outshine everything else I have. I have six total PRS guitars, and I experience this back-and-forth with all of them. As you said, none of them are "bad guitars" per se, just that they don't seem to "feel right" at times.

I can't really bring myself to sell any of my guitars, though. So, I guess my answer would be to keep both and find a way to fund your next PRS.

 

[Alnus Rubra]

I'm sure you've heard the joke...

Why are divorces so expensive? Because they're worth it.

Haven't been there myself. But my one buddy had been divorced, and he told his second wife, "I'm not going through that again. If this doesn't work, you'll just disappear." She said, "My dad's a cop. He's already told his friend on the force if anything ever happens to me, look at you first." (They've been married around 30 years now.)

I frequently joke with my wife that I would be out in 12 years for good behaviour!

 

[alantig]

I frequently joke with my wife that I would be out in 12 years for good behaviour!

I tell my wife no jury would convict her.