The Shameful Elephant's in the Room

[Macmutt]

Hey guy's, first let me say that I have been a PRS fan and on again off again owner throughout the past 25 years.
Having said that, one of the things I most admired about Paul and PRS was their originality, they came up with a unique and gorgeous body shape in an already over crowded guitar market that was riddled with foreign copy cats by the mid to late 80's, and a custom 22 or 24 had it's own unique shape as well as sound.

Now fast forward to 2017-18, Paul and the folks at PRS have literally made near identical copies of two world famous guitars, that have been their primary competition for over 30 years.

Lets be honest with ourselves and just admit, the McCarty 594 single cut is a Gibson Les Paul Standard and a John Mayer Silver Sky is a Fender Stratocaster....The aesthetics and sound similarities are undeniably nearly identical.

Now if PRS was some Indonesian / Korean copy shop, then fine, it's been expected and done by them for years now, but Paul and PRS are true American innovators, I've always thought so, but the similarities with these guitars is just too much to ignore.

Aside from the fact that PRS is charging thousands more for each model than it's Gibson or Fender doppelgängers, and we all know about the PRS aesthetic quality and attention to detail but seriously this is just too much to ignore any longer.

PRS as a whole has really disappointed me with these very apparent copies, and it just seems like their trying to prove that they can " IMPROVE " on designs that have already been done over 60 years ago.
As far as I was concerned Gibson and Fender have their pride and joy in their Les Paul and Stratocaster models, as did PRS with it's Custom 22 & 24 models.

Now PRS just seems to be acting like an arrogant jerk on a playground by saying..." hey man I can build a better one than you ".....I mean it's just childish and petty, and I lost a lot of respect for them because of it.
They need to stick with their own designs and stop trying to copy and top the other guys.

 

[AP515]

I will agree with you that the SS has a near copy of the Strat. The McCarty SC has a body more like a PRS than the LP but again I agree that they gave a nod to that guitar in making it.

However, I disagree that they did it to be arrogant or just to make a copy. They did it because that is what people were going to buy. If they could get the larger market to step away from those body styles and control layouts, they would. They knew there was a significant population that wasn't going to buy anything but a clone of what they were used to. It is a long held and worthy tradition for a maker of any product to make what people want to buy. Any other recipe doesn't work. For those of us who want something other than a traditional layout, we can buy a Cu24/22. Those who want something more familiar, they can and should make exactly what the customer will buy.

My opinion only of course.

 

[gush]

Hmmmmm.

 

[shinksma]

If PRS dropped all other designs, and made/sold only the Silver Sky and the SC594, I might buy into your argument.

But that isn't the case. They are simply offering up options that have been in demand for quite some time. Popular options, as it turns out.

If the market had turned up its nose at the 594/SC594, you can bet PRS would stop making them. Similar for the Silver Sky. That does not appear to be the case.

 

[toothace]

Hey guy's, first let me say that I have been a PRS fan and on again off again owner throughout the past 25 years.
Having said that, one of the things I most admired about Paul and PRS was their originality, they came up with a unique and gorgeous body shape in an already over crowded guitar market that was riddled with foreign copy cats by the mid to late 80's, and a custom 22 or 24 had it's own unique shape as well as sound.

Now fast forward to 2017-18, Paul and the folks at PRS have literally made near identical copies of two world famous guitars, that have been their primary competition for over 30 years.

Lets be honest with ourselves and just admit, the McCarty 594 single cut is a Gibson Les Paul Standard and a John Mayer Silver Sky is a Fender Stratocaster....The aesthetics and sound similarities are undeniably nearly identical.

Now if PRS was some Indonesian / Korean copy shop, then fine, it's been expected and done by them for years now, but Paul and PRS are true American innovators, I've always thought so, but the similarities with these guitars is just too much to ignore.

Aside from the fact that PRS is charging thousands more for each model than it's Gibson or Fender doppelgängers, and we all know about the PRS aesthetic quality and attention to detail but seriously this is just too much to ignore any longer.

PRS as a whole has really disappointed me with these very apparent copies, and it just seems like their trying to prove that they can " IMPROVE " on designs that have already been done over 60 years ago.
As far as I was concerned Gibson and Fender have their pride and joy in their Les Paul and Stratocaster models, as did PRS with it's Custom 22 & 24 models.

Now PRS just seems to be acting like an arrogant jerk on a playground by saying..." hey man I can build a better one than you ".....I mean it's just childish and petty, and I lost a lot of respect for them because of it.
They need to stick with their own designs and stop trying to copy and top the other guys.

Sooooooooooo....you aren't in the market for a Silver Sky or 594?


If you have been paying attention, neither is a "copy"...

 

[Dusty Chalk]

There are only so many variations of pickups and singlecut/doublecut/1.5cuts (tele) styles that can be offered. I'm surprised he's so resistant to 7-strings and offset styles, if he could figure out how to appeal to those markets with the same shrewdness that I mentioned elsewhere (getting that supply/demand balance so perfectly), he could have his finger in every market/pie.

Except BC Rich, that's just a weird body design. They're on their own.

 

[jxe]

the les paul special looks like a broadcaster rip-off to me, and that was the 1950s.

 

[sergiodeblanc]

Thoughts and prayers

 

[andy474x]

Seriously, dude, this is a PRS sponsored forum, that they are nice enough to provide for those of us who enjoy their instruments. If you want to rip the company, go to f*cking TGP or something. Poor form.

 

[Clashcityrocker]

I agree. Fender and Gibson should think of something new instead of reissuing copies of their guitars from the 50's

 

[Rider1260]

Macmutt I could not disagree more - I am glad PRS continues to make every design they do, I for one have been sick and tired of the POOR quality of Fender and Gibson having to sort thru dozens of guitars just to find a "good" one in this day and age and for the last few decades pushed me to PRS and I voted with my now empty wallet.
The 594 is as good or better than the best Les Pauls I have ever played and if you don't want a single cut than get a double cut the market "US" demanded a single cut 594
and the market "US" has been asking for a high quality single coil guitar, the DC3 / 305 are great guitars but didn't sell well enough, PRS had a chance to built an artist guitar and looks like they hit it out of the park a killer version of a classic 63/64 Stratocaster that doesn't cost $20000 dollars.
Tell Fender and Gibson to build better guitars, show me a $2000ish fender that is as good as the PRS SS seems to be.
PRS makes so many models from the classic Customs to 513/509s to 408s and don't forget the Santana, DGT, Tremonti oh and don't forget the S2s and the SE lines so there was something for everyone with killer quality.
I ask when was the last time Fender or Gibson came up with anything new that you really wanted oh yea that was the mid 50s and early 60s
Thanks PRS my wallet hates you but I will continue to vote PRS as long as you keep building the best out there IHMO

 

[jxe]

i’d buy a prs barney kessel but only if it didn’t have wing tuners.

 

[dmatthews]

I don't understand.
Enjoy your PRS original body shape/style guitars. I do.
I have 4 of those and one SC shape (SE ONE), and they all get more play than my Yamaha Pacifica HSS Strat clone.
For SHAME Yamaha! For Shame!

 

[flux]

I'm having a difficult time reconciling the OP with this other one.

To each his own, of course, and thankfully choices abound.

The snarky language, however, makes it read like a tryhard 1-star Yelp review.

 

[MichaelS]

the fact that PRS is charging thousands more for each model than it's Gibson or Fender doppelgängers

I quit reading at this point... Comparing price of PRS core to GibsonUSA or non-customshop Fender just goes into the 'uninformed' drawer and I move on.

I'm looking at a 'mint' (read 'no warranty') R9 with 15% reverb discount, and it is still more than a PRS 10-Top core from a dealer (with life-time warranty). Similar for Fender, except I am not shopping for one of those.
I'm also having a hard time finding the flame I like on the R9. You can almost buy PRS (especially 10-Tops) sight unseen.

 

[Alnus Rubra]

 

[Johnny Rigs]

I'm having a difficult time reconciling the OP with this other one..

Good catch.

 

[Tosca]

How DARE PRS build significantly improved versions of guitars with the features, quality, playability and superior tone that their customers and artists demand at a competitive price. If they had any self respect they would focus on reissuing instruments exactly like their first designs, jacking up the price, and figuring out ways to make them look like they were made over 50 years ago.

 

[Buildermike]

Well someone is going to have to build a LPC styled guitar when Gibson goes bankrupt.

 

[ScottR]

INCOMING!!!


...runs away arms a flailing...