GibsonLives
New Member
- Joined
- Jun 9, 2016
- Messages
- 8
(As promised in another thread, here's a NGD review of my new PRS, which was first posted under the username GibsonLives in The Gear Page.)
So, last weekend, I pulled the trigger on this...
...my very first PRS!
I've been playing for over 30 years, and tried a handful of PRSi over the decades, but I was more into the usual suspects like Fender and Gibson.
One thing that was always a turn-off for me was that most all PRS guitars have rosewood boards, and I'm just not a huge fan. Enter this beauty, and a long-overdue awakening.
Got it yesterday. Fit and finish were outstanding. The top looks a bit darker in person, more true to the name "Honey" they give the finish. The case is without a doubt the most luxurious case I've ever gotten with a guitar, and I'm used to quality along the lines of the G&G cases they give with instruments from the Fender Custom Shop, which are sweet cases in their own right. Still, this one is a step or two above.
This is not rated as a 10 Top, though you sure could have fooled me. Most of the 10 tops I've seen don't look much better (though some of that Wood Library stuff PRS puts out is in another league by far). Anyway, great top in this one, and I saved several hundred bucks off the 10.
The feel of the Pattern Regular neck is comfortable, albeit with a matte finish which is a bit less glossy than most Fender, and much less so than typical Gibson. It's also a bit thicker and rounder than Fender's modern C, but not overly much. Tuning and intonation is dead-on right out of the box.
Plugged into my Goodsell Super 17 MKIV combo, it literally rocks. Position 1 on the toggle gives ballsy humbucking rock tones as bold as any Les Paul I've played. The maple top and neck combined with the new 85/15 pickups hold everything together nicely. Course, I don't mind my guitars a bit on the brighter side, so ymmv. My other favorite position thus far is number 4, which brings out syrupy Strat sounds via one coil from each of the buckers. These are usually my two favorite positions on an actual Strat, and while different slightly in tone, these are also my faves here thus far. Position 5, just as on a Strat, is a gutsier version of number4 (imo, anyway), and while it's cool to have that option, I prefer the fourth position for that quackier, hollower, less-aggressive Strat vibe. Position 2, disappointingly, does not give an equally-quacky-but-brighter Strat sound, but then, it's not a Strat...which is something I needed to remind myself of after playing on position 4 for a half-hour straight today. I'll mess more with the other positions and possibly have more to say later.
All in all, phenomenal piece. Looks stunning, feels fairly comfortable even right out of the box, didn't need any tweaking before playing, and sounded way bigger and beefier than its 7.3lb weight would imply. Turns my low-watt, mid-gain combo into an undisputed rock machine, and I haven't even added a dirtbox to the mix yet. At $xxxx (it omitted the price when I copied/pasted; is it frowned down upon to post prices here or something? Weird that it did that lol) from Musicstorelive, I feel like I made out very well.
Thoughts? Questions?
So, last weekend, I pulled the trigger on this...
...my very first PRS!
I've been playing for over 30 years, and tried a handful of PRSi over the decades, but I was more into the usual suspects like Fender and Gibson.
One thing that was always a turn-off for me was that most all PRS guitars have rosewood boards, and I'm just not a huge fan. Enter this beauty, and a long-overdue awakening.
Got it yesterday. Fit and finish were outstanding. The top looks a bit darker in person, more true to the name "Honey" they give the finish. The case is without a doubt the most luxurious case I've ever gotten with a guitar, and I'm used to quality along the lines of the G&G cases they give with instruments from the Fender Custom Shop, which are sweet cases in their own right. Still, this one is a step or two above.
This is not rated as a 10 Top, though you sure could have fooled me. Most of the 10 tops I've seen don't look much better (though some of that Wood Library stuff PRS puts out is in another league by far). Anyway, great top in this one, and I saved several hundred bucks off the 10.
The feel of the Pattern Regular neck is comfortable, albeit with a matte finish which is a bit less glossy than most Fender, and much less so than typical Gibson. It's also a bit thicker and rounder than Fender's modern C, but not overly much. Tuning and intonation is dead-on right out of the box.
Plugged into my Goodsell Super 17 MKIV combo, it literally rocks. Position 1 on the toggle gives ballsy humbucking rock tones as bold as any Les Paul I've played. The maple top and neck combined with the new 85/15 pickups hold everything together nicely. Course, I don't mind my guitars a bit on the brighter side, so ymmv. My other favorite position thus far is number 4, which brings out syrupy Strat sounds via one coil from each of the buckers. These are usually my two favorite positions on an actual Strat, and while different slightly in tone, these are also my faves here thus far. Position 5, just as on a Strat, is a gutsier version of number4 (imo, anyway), and while it's cool to have that option, I prefer the fourth position for that quackier, hollower, less-aggressive Strat vibe. Position 2, disappointingly, does not give an equally-quacky-but-brighter Strat sound, but then, it's not a Strat...which is something I needed to remind myself of after playing on position 4 for a half-hour straight today. I'll mess more with the other positions and possibly have more to say later.
All in all, phenomenal piece. Looks stunning, feels fairly comfortable even right out of the box, didn't need any tweaking before playing, and sounded way bigger and beefier than its 7.3lb weight would imply. Turns my low-watt, mid-gain combo into an undisputed rock machine, and I haven't even added a dirtbox to the mix yet. At $xxxx (it omitted the price when I copied/pasted; is it frowned down upon to post prices here or something? Weird that it did that lol) from Musicstorelive, I feel like I made out very well.
Thoughts? Questions?
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