PRS - Beauty Is More Than Skin-Deep

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Too Many Notes
Joined
Apr 26, 2012
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34,505
Location
Michigan
A lot of folks buy PRSes because they look great, and are relatively flawless coming out of the factory. I get that. And a lot of folks love anything that represents a certain status. I get that, too.

But first and foremost, I play PRS because they are the most capable guitars out there for making music. I'm sure most of us feel this way. To my mind, they just keep getting better. So I thought it'd be fun to talk about why we choose to play them, whether the preference is for new or more vintage. Here's what springs to mind about PRS these days for me:

The electric guitars are sounding better, and are more versatile, than ever. The sum total of all the little tweaks to the build and hardware have made a significant difference, but most importantly, the pickups that have come out in the last few years are wonderful. They have gobs of personality and tones that go well beyond what the older models were capable of, in terms of sonic variety. The newer pickups have the ability to produce righteous classic tones, as well as the hard rock stuff that they could do so well in earlier incarnations. Kudos to PRS for recognizing the need to go beyond what they were known for doing in the past, and for having the patience and skill to follow through and accomplish it in a super way.

I'm knocked out by the acoustic models. For me, they're the best acoustics out there. Enough said.

Amps! There are some great amps on the market these days. I've been fortunate to have a CAD amp in my studio lately, and I can honestly say it's a treat. I don't know about everyone, but I have always wanted to explore certain classic tones, and the amp serves them up in spades. These are not only the tones we've heard on generations of great records, but they're easily set up to give the player new options. And the controls sound great no matter where you put them! That's the coolest part. You don't simply "find the sweet spot" with these amps, and then never touch the controls again. Everywhere you set the amp is a sweet spot. Cool beans.

So that's why I play PRS.
 
I'll butt in with a nod for the SE's...

I bought an SE (Bernie) simply because it was a great sounding, great playing and remarkably well built guitar for the money. It was - IMHO - by far and away the best guitar within a certain price range in the shop. A few hundred quid more would have needed to be spent to attain the same quality!!!

What I get with PRS - and it clearly filters down to the SE line - is that for all the looks, the bling, etc... It's all pointless if the guitar doesn't play and sound great. It has to be built solidly and function as a viable instrument.

Essentially, PRS get it right by making sure the foundations are solid. The fact they also look great is a bonus.
 
Once again some great insight, and a bit of reassuring comfort in knowing that I'm not the only soul left who still uses the expression " cool beans "!!!!!
 
Once again some great insight, and a bit of reassuring comfort in knowing that I'm not the only soul left who still uses the expression " cool beans "!!!!!

Haha! Well, cool beans, then!

I'll butt in with a nod for the SE's...

I bought an SE (Bernie) simply because it was a great sounding, great playing and remarkably well built guitar for the money. It was - IMHO - by far and away the best guitar within a certain price range in the shop. A few hundred quid more would have needed to be spent to attain the same quality!!!

What I get with PRS - and it clearly filters down to the SE line - is that for all the looks, the bling, etc... It's all pointless if the guitar doesn't play and sound great.

Yup, the SE line is great. No ifs, ands, or buts.
 
I had to put a huge "scar" on the face of my CE, it was so pretty it wasn't fair to my other guitars.
 
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