Magic Guitars

[EveryAxeAGem]

Paul Reed Smith often uses the term 'magic guitar'. According to his TED talk some time ago, it's a guitar that gives out 5.9 parts of energy for every 6.0 parts you put in.

From my own experience, a magic guitar is one with the following traits:

- Individual notes resonate acoustically with the slightest touch. Very 'alive', as they say.
- The acoustic vibrations are stable, smooth, and sustain well, lending a feeling of harmony and stability to the player. This as opposed to guitars where the string vibration is unsteady, 'fuzzy', decay quickly.
- The acoustic tone has a special and appealing quality to it. It does not sound like just a metal string. It sounds like a metal sting blended with qualities from the guitar itself.
- When strummed, there is a acoustic chime and ring, and you can sense that the vibrations are harmonious, strong and stable.
- Plays well.

You might notice I define only the acoustic qualities, because that's all that matters for me in an electric guitar, cos Steve Perry sounds good no matter what microphone and speaker he uses. Or at least, he will always sound proportionally that much better than a poor singer, even if saddled with a poor mic.

The thing is, magic guitars are uncommon, even with private stock guitars. How many of your guitars are magic guitars? Did you land them by chance or by choice?

 

[C&M Music - Lafayette]

None of my PRS's are slouches by any means. However, my 12 string (see avatar) is all that magic you speak of and more. It does everything you describe above times two. I do believe PRS 12 string electrics are the best kept secret out there. For as many PRS aficionados we have here on the forum, I am surprised there are not more PRS 12 string fans out there. Sometimes I wonder if even Paul is not aware of how great these guitars are, or if he is just being the humble man he appears to be and waiting for everyone else to catch on. I have now played two of these fine instruments and have to say they were both magic. I do not believe at all that is a coincidence, although I do agree with your point on this matter. These 12 strings are just that good. The intonation, the harmonics, clarity, and acoustic tone despite not being an acoustic instrument are just a few of the hallmarks of this instrument. I have archtops pickups in mine and when I plug into my acoustasonic ultralight head (think DI) it sounds like an acoustic at low to moderate volumes. Magical Guitar. No other way to put it.

 

[László]

I love this thread - there's a lot to chew over in your post.

I agree with much of what you have to say, but I also could quibble over a few points. I don't have an answer for you yet.

 

[Boogie]

In the years I've been aware of this phenomenon, I've run across examples only a few times. Despite keeping a watchful eye out for such an animal, you can't find one by sight, so it's a tough search. Then, one day, a friend offered me the only guitar that he's told me, "there's something special about this one" (and he really knows his sh*t). Sixty seconds later, I knew he was right and instantly bought it. It's not crazy-beautiful, but otoh, it's crazy beautiful. And, in the magic department, it may not have 3lbs. of pixie dust...only 6oz. but it's definitely there. I am a lucky bastage. And yes, they do exist.

 

[0defects13]

I have experienced this I am sure of it. In my opinion every guitar that I've kept is a magic one, some that I've sold (my first PRS CE 24 was one) have been magic too. I have had the benefit of being in the right place at the right time for some great deals. I played some pieces that while maybe not the prettiest to look at, they were the prettiest to play.

I bought a used Charvel Fusion at a dealer one day. I went up and was playing all sorts of guitars- Jake E Lee owned Charvels, crazy vintage strats, and I saw this fusion hanging on the wall. The price was nothing special. It had this ugly gray/silver chainsaw Jackson case, and the awful bright white toothpaste logo. 24 frets, dot inlays. Schaller floyd, and stock pickups. One full size hum in the bridge, and a slant stack bladed single space him in the neck. The guitar just played magically. Every note rang true and it made you want to make music. It was my most played guitar for a few years. To this day, I do not know why I got rid of it...or even HOW I got rid of it. I honestly am sitting here typing this wondering where the heck it went.

I owned probably 2 dozen different USA Jackson SL2H guitars (and an SL1 that had a finish production date of 9-11-01. I bought that from OSG for stupid cheap, like 700 dollars because no one wanted the color or the finish date. I sold that one because while it was great- there was just something off about that). I ended up keeping 2 of them. It wasn't that some were awful and some were great. I just got 2 that were magic.

My PRS guitars, each one is something else. When I grab my Navarro it just makes me want to make music. I've got a really cool 04 10 top that just has this vibe to it, and as much as I rag on the S2...I like mine a lot.

 

[CoreyT]

It is too bad not all of the cores are magical.
My 408 sounds or plays no better than any of my SEs.
Unplugged or plugged in the same.

However my 408 is more comfortable with it contours, low friction pots, and it stays in tune better than my SEs.

Perhaps I can buy some magic fairy dust to sprinkle on it?
Would like to find a new stoptail Tremonti that is magical like deseibed above.

 

[gwardealy]

My P22 runs circles around my Tremonti SE. They are not even close in sound and how they play. I dont know if I got a magic P22 or a lame Tremonti. I rarely the play the SE because i think...i could be playing the P22.

 

[László]

If you have to use a word like magic, you're admitting that you can't find suitable descriptors for what you're talking about. And that means a concept that is pretty amorphous. You're wrestling with jelly. It can't be pinned to the mat.

One day I met Robben Ford, and he handed me his fabled guitar to try. Here's the guitar that was a chunk of the Robben Ford tone that for years people were chasing, and I get to play it. And it sure sounded exceptional in his hands.

The guitar is magic - in Robben Ford's hands. Not in mine. But he is a great player, with a very different style, and much stronger hands, and so what works for him might not work for a player like me. Thus the elusive quality of being magical is purely subjective.

You can set forth the description of magic guitars in the original post, and I'll say, "Yes, you've described what a very good guitar is. But you haven't defined the magic part." Find a guitar that ticks all the boxes, and it still might not be incredible, just very, very competent. But a great instrument is one of those The Whole Is Greater Than The Sum Of Its Parts things.

I have a shrink friend who told me, "Love is the closest thing to schizophrenia that there is." Hanging out with the folks some of my friends have married, I think there's a lot of truth in that.

I have only three guitars, all PRS Private Stock. Each one is simply incredible in so many ways, and I've used them on every project I have in my work. But I play them just for the sheer joy of listening to their ear candy. While I ordered the maple Tonare and took a chance, it turned out to be an incredible acoustic guitar. My McCarty Singlecut, a.k.a. The Hammer Of The Gods, got to keep its moniker when my friend Liz (who's also a great player and has won many, many music awards) was over for a session and said, "You sound like a god on that thing." It's incredible, off the chart great. I bought it after my dealer sent me a clip of the guitar.

My 30th Anniversary sounded so good in the clip I got from Jack before buying it, that I couldn't get the tone out of my head for about three weeks. I finally relented and bought it. It's made me a very happy camper in a way that definitely compliments what I get from The Hammer.

Here's the caveat: I expected greatness when I bought these instruments. I think they delivered in spades, but the question is how much of that is the instruments, and how much is my emotional reaction to them? I'll never be able to separate those elements, of course. And when we're talking amorphous and indefinable concepts like magic in an instrument, that's to be expected.

 

[László]

It is too bad not all of the cores are magical.
My 408 sounds or plays no better than any of my SEs.
Unplugged or plugged in the same.

I remember when you got that one, you were pretty excited about it! I'm going to bet you're just having a hankering for something different.

I find that there's a significant difference between the Core and SE models, but I play with a lot less gain. High gain tends to obscure differences because it's all square wave grind after a point, and the amp comes into play far more than the guitar.

 

[CoreyT]

I remember when you got that one, you were pretty excited about it! I'm going to bet you're just having a hankering for something different.

I find that there's a significant difference between the Core and SE models, but I play with a lot less gain. High gain tends to obscure differences because it's all square wave grind after a point, and the amp comes into play far more than the guitar.

Thanks Les, yeah, I play with lotta lotsa gain, but I will be experimenting turning it back some.
The 408 still excites me, it is one of the two guitars (other one is the SE Angelus) that I get out every Friday for the weekend.
The Santana is always out, much nicer noodling on it after work relaxing than playing that little Fernandes.

It is just that the SEs play nice as far as the neck and fingerboard goes as the 408, so they are all a joy to play.
But yes, the 408 has superior pickups over the others, but since I max the gain, they all sound the same
And as mentioned the body contours and where your right hand sits the core models feel superior to the SEs.

Last year at work I was playing the 2012 SE Custom 24 on the neck pickup with the coils split, and it sounded very cool.
Why? I was on the clean channel of the Blackstar ID15 I keep at work.
When I play with high gain I do not notice the sound difference so much with the coils split, even with the 408.
But throw it on a clean channel, and the 408 is amazing.

It is about time for me to take it in for its free second setup (first was at purchase, as my dealer sets up all new guitars) since buying it May of 2013.
While it is there, I will have them throw on the black 408 pickup rings, new strings, and a good setup.

 

[László]

But throw it on a clean channel, and the 408 is amazing.

It is about time for me to take it in for its free second setup (first was at purchase, as my dealer sets up all new guitars) since buying it May of 2013.
While it is there, I will have them throw on the black 408 pickup rings, new strings, and a good setup.

Nothing wrong with high gain, of course - it just tends to obscure some of the things that make a guitar special, and honestly, the 408 is a guitar whose subtlety, especially the split coil sounds, can get lost in grind. And then we forget why we got it in the first place!

Sometimes I've sold things that were really special, and regretted it later. "Sometimes?" I should have said "Usually!"

 

[gwardealy]

I remember when you got that one, you were pretty excited about it! I'm going to bet you're just having a hankering for something different.

I find that there's a significant difference between the Core and SE models, but I play with a lot less gain. High gain tends to obscure differences because it's all square wave grind after a point, and the amp comes into play far more than the guitar.

I notice the difference in the response.... this subtle sustain that the P22 has. I dont have to work as hard to get what I want. Notes ring out more....they are distinguished more. I have replaced the pickups in the SE and it just doesn't do it.

I notice it clean and with high gain. But there is that point as you said ....it begins to obscure the differences. One thing I found is the P22 made me pay more attention to the notes i play. Because it feels good to play them.

And my 2013 P22, is better than older ones I've had and played. Seems as if many companies can get worse over time. PRS seems to have found the way to get better.

 

[gball]

I do agree that certain guitars possess something special that is hard to define and pretty rare. "Magic" if you will.
For me though, I can only evaluate an electric guitar when it is plugged into an amp - it may be great acoustically, but I don't play electric guitars that way and so I can only define them plugged in. An example: one of my guitars (a G not a PRS) is really pretty average if I just pick it up and plink away, but plugged in the thing comes to life and turns into a monster. I can't tell you why and I don't really care but it's like two different instruments.

 

[dogrocketp]

I`ve bought and sold a number of guitars looking for ones that had that magic. I`m happy to say that all of my PRSi now have it. For some, like my old Mira, it was obvious when I first played it. 2 of them are SE`s I bought stripped of all parts. I then loaded them with American parts and they sing. It`s weird that the amount of money spent doesn`t correlate to the guitar quality. I had an archtop that begins with D several years ago, cost more than any guitar I ever had. It is and was the single most beautiful guitar I ever owned. And it was a dog to play, so it went bye bye. In the end, I think the big deal is just to find those ones that do it. ANnd that`s how I ended up with PRS.

 

[markintime]

Just happened to see this thread open up late last night and was thinking about my response, but I delayed to see what others' thoughts were. Then today I just happened to see Paul's "magic" talk. Then I found this video, actually I saw the video just before I saw Paul's presentation, and it seems to point directly to CoreyT's point (hey, not trying to single you out personally, Corey) and how it relates to a lot of players in general. It is titled "In Praise Of Tone Controls (And Why You Are Probably Using Your Guitar Wrong). Here is the video by a young Scottish dude (cool accent, btw): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7XU0YeQ0ADA.

I've given this some thought as I was wondering if I wanted to go the route of starting a pedal collection. Now I've decided to put that off for an undetermined length of time until I learn for myself the intricacies of my setup. This will likely take quite some time.

Very strange how these things work out. :dontknow:

 

[Boogie]

...there's a significant difference between the Core and SE models, but I play with a lot less gain. High gain tends to obscure differences because it's all square wave grind after a point, and the amp comes into play far more than the guitar.

Yes, yes and yes. Then there's the difference in the neck work (like another 3+ weeks of labor). The SEs play very well but the core line is masterpiece territory. The real surprise with the 408s is the nuance-level of articulation/clarity with all modes, split or not. That won't be noticed with high gain as much. Use that Mk Five 25 in IIc+ mode and back down the guitar volume for a good example. You have a good combination of gear for big tonal and stylistic variety!

 

[EveryAxeAGem]

The SEs play very well but the core line is masterpiece territory.

I am very impressed with the Bernie Marsden. Not sure what it is, but the specimen I have is really close to that magic territory. Acoustically the tone sounds like a $6000 historic LP, which I find very amazing.

The difference between my BM and my Tremonti SE is night and day. The Tremonti is lackluster acoustically.

 

[dogrocketp]

I have an SE Tremonti Custom with old USA Mira pickups in it. Acoustically..........nada........Plug it in..........it`s one of the magic ones that even stays in tune. It`ll be buried with me.

 

[andy474x]

Of all the guitars I own, of course it's the plainest one that has the most soul - my Mira X. I love my other PRSi to pieces, but this one just has an acoustic resonance that can't be stopped. It's an incredibly light guitar, even lighter than my semi-hollow S2, probably due to the unique blend of woods it's made from, and it rings out loudly for days when played unplugged. I can feel the vibrations coming from the neck and body when I play it, which is a cool feeling. Plugged in, it was too bright and piercing at first, but I added a small capacitor to the tone pot (aside from the regular tone cap), which tamed the highs, and that axe sings with a midrange growl that is a thing of beauty on the bridge pickup, and the neck sounds almost like a single coil - low end spank and creamy highs. Fantastic blues and rock guitar, glad I rescued her from the used wall at GC (at a screamin deal of a price).

What kills me is that I thought the X series was almost a joke when they came out, I figured they would come up short like the sub-grand Gibsons of recent years... man was I wrong!

 

[László]

I gotta say, this thread has really gotten me thinking -- and experimenting!

I've spent quite some time over the last couple of days and nights with my electric guitars thinking about what they do and whether they'd "make the cut" for someone who didn't have a stake in them, and wasn't predisposed to thinking they're so great (in other words, someone who isn't biased by virtue of having bought and paid for them).

The McCarty Singlecut has gotten such a response from people who've heard it in person or in clips, or played it, that it's pretty easy to know for sure that it has a very special thing going on. That's been confirmed by playing it in every possible combination of amps, pedals, direct, and unplugged I can think of over the last few days.

I've played the CU24 30th on so many tracks lately, but haven't posted anything to SoundCloud, and most of my studio rat friends haven't heard it or played it. So there isn't a group of positive comments from my friends about its tone that I can easily rely on (though there have certainly been lots of comments about how the guitar looks!). I've always thought it had a special tone since hearing the clips from my dealer before I bought it, so I'll admit a bias. Plus there is the novelty of having to get familiar with its 85/15 pickups over time since I was already used to the 57/08s on the McSC and could "hear through" to the guitar.

What I can say after really concentrating on what it can do over recent days is this: the guitar produces notes effortlessly. It's an incredibly touch-sensitive instrument. The string-to-string definition on chords is so clear and clean that it sometimes surprises me. There is a very rich, woody tone - the guitar simply sounds beautiful on everything I play on it, and when I pick it up and play, I don't want to put it down. It's the clearest, most open-sounding electric guitar I have ever owned, yet it rocks with the best of them on the dirty stuff. On balance, if this guitar doesn't have that special "it factor." then I don't know what would.

These guitars deserve a better player, but alas for them, I'm their owner!

One weird result of this experimentation is that I've changed my pedalboard - again!