Which PRS can sound the most "Strat" like?

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Stegre

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I've played a bit on a 513 and listened to demos of the PRS Studio. To anyone who owns one, who's had the best success getting a strat tone, especially the 2 and 4 positions of a 5 way?

Obviously I want everything, which means a great humbucking bridge sound too...

Thoughts???
 
To me the CE bolt on series comes closest but a lot of PRS models can come close, like the 408.
 
If you're talking all time, I can personally vouch that the old EG Series I from the early 90s is very Stratty-sounding and can totally do the position 2 and 4 sounds. Some had bridge singles and some had bridge humbuckers. I haven't pulled off my own pickguard but based on pics I've seen of other EGs, they have a universal rout, so if you can make or doctor a pickguard to match, you could easily change pickup configurations.

I second checking out the CE 24 and 408 of the current models. The CE 24 has the closest construction with the bolt-on maple neck. The 408 has more versatility in tones with the blade switch and coil tap toggles. Not sure whether either could pull of the position 2 or 4 sounds, though, I bet they probably do position 1 and 5 like most coil-tap platforms.
 
Oh, and the Brent Mason. I bet that would get you close too.
 
I am a fan of the 513. Surprisingly, maybe, I like my "lesser" one with the maple neck (in terms of scratching my "Strat" itch anyway) better than my other, Private Stock, one....,..Which in pretty much every other way is the "better" guitar. Guess I should get around to selling one. Someday. Maybe.
 
So many to choose from:

The CE does a good single coil but doesn't do a convincing Strat in 2&4 IMO. Same with the Custom but more so.
513 -gets really close
503 -is just the 513 mini
NF3 -was pretty good when it was being made
DC3 -really close when it was made
Brent Mason -now were talkin
EG's - both the USA and the SE - for my money this is the ticket. I A/B my EG with my Strat and they are as close as two different model Strats are and that's close enough for me.
 
305 Prototype with a coil tap, 513 with Maple Neck and Fretboard, PS P515 with Maple neck and Rosewood fret board, 513 Swamp Ash, and GOTM 509 with the 305 Proto, PS P515, and the GOTM 509 being the most successful.
 
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My 30th CU24 does more than well enough on position 2 of the 5 way (both 85/15s split) at sounding like my Strats in position 4. I'll not likely get rid of both of my Strats, and I'm sure I'll still use them here and there for recording, but I rarely play them with my band.
 
The NF3's "in-between" sounds were very convincing. The "single pickup" positions much less so.
 
You may be asking for too much...

You want those classic funky / knopfleresk tones from positions 2 & 4... The classic 'quack' but also a classic humucker tone from the bridge.

This really depends how much you want that classic Strat tone? You can get closeish with other guitars, and PRS do it better than most. However you won't get that classic sound without going the single coil, bolt on route. Doesn't have to be a Fender but you do need 3 single coils and a 5 way.

Now you also want a good sounding bridge humbucker. A HSS Strat type would be the best solution. Plenty manufacturers do them from Fender to Suhr and beyond.

A Strat will stay in tune with the right components. The classic six screw bridge on a Fender is useless for anything other than shimmer but the two point terms are pretty good. The PRS bridge is excellent.

Jeff Beck has no issues using a Strat with some choice components.

If it has to be PRS and the single coil sounds only need to be a good approximation then you will find something in the range, but...

If it has to sound like a Strat, get a Strat!

Hell... Get a decent Strat and a nice PRS if you can afford it!
 
Mikegarveyblues said:
You may be asking for too much...

You want those classic funky / knopfleresk tones from positions 2 & 4... The classic 'quack' but also a classic humucker tone from the bridge.

This really depends how much you want that classic Strat tone? You can get closeish with other guitars, and PRS do it better than most. However you won't get that classic sound without going the single coil, bolt on route. Doesn't have to be a Fender but you do need 3 single coils and a 5 way.

Now you also want a good sounding bridge humbucker. A HSS Strat type would be the best solution. Plenty manufacturers do them from Fender to Suhr and beyond.

A Strat will stay in tune with the right components. The classic six screw bridge on a Fender is useless for anything other than shimmer but the two point terms are pretty good. The PRS bridge is excellent.

Jeff Beck has no issues using a Strat with some choice components.

If it has to be PRS and the single coil sounds only need to be a good approximation then you will find something in the range, but...

If it has to sound like a Strat, get a Strat!

Hell... Get a decent Strat and a nice PRS if you can afford it!
Click to expand...
I finally learned this. If you want a Strat, get a Strat. I love my PRS guitars for their sound but I also have Fender guitars for their distinct sounds.
 
The right PRS can come pretty darn close, but that's hardly the point. How close does it have to be? What are the priorities?

As Paul Smith says, everything matters, so with a large number of materials, hardware, and design differences, it isn't surprising that a Fender sounds like a Fender and a PRS sounds like a PRS. One would hardly expect the two makes to sound the same.

But that doesn't mean PRS doesn't have terrific single coil tones on offer, along with its renowned humbucker tones.
 
IKnowALittle said:
Sorry, this comes up all the time, I just don't "get it'.
If you want a 'strat sound", then buy a f___in' strat!!!
Not rocket science.

PRS have their own sound. Regardless of the model or the pickups, they will never sound like a strat or a lp. all to the better.
I don't think that they are perfect and the company does some things that I believe are pretty dodgy at times, but I gig a lot and all I play is PRS.
Click to expand...

LOL, The reason it comes up is very simple. People want Strat tones, with PRS feel and playability. And it would seem to me that this was the intent of more than one model that PRS has produced.

This reminds me of the similar posts at TGP of "If you want Marshall tones, just get a Marshall!" Meanwhile Friedman, Fargen, etc., etc., etc., are all doing Marshall tones WAY better than Marshall does now. I wish ALL my guitars played and felt like my PRS guitars do. I have 3 very good strats that all play great "for Strats," and rarely play any of them. Hard to do with 4 PRS guitars sitting there. So, would I swap one for a 305 or DC3 or something? In a heartbeat.
 
I finally learned that there is nothing terribly magical or distinctive about a ten cent sticker on the headstock. There are so many luthiers out there now who do Fender as well or better than Fender itself does, and often at better price for value. Someone mentioned Knopfler, who hasn't played Fenders live since like 1985, yet he still gets that sound with other companies' guitars.

You generally lose position 4 with a humbucker at the bridge. If you want legitimate position 2 and 4 sounds, you are probably going to need S-S-S with a 5-way or some kind of custom switching to get there with a tappable bridge humbucker. As a side note, Clapton gets really, really close to his old Gibson woman tone using an internal mid boost mod on his Strat. A similar control mod or mid boost pedal might get you enough of a PAF tone to suffice.

Like Mike said, there is in the end a choice between whether you would rather have legit position 4 or a legit bucker. With PRS, it's about the in-betweenness.
 
I think "Strat" tone is actually "single coil bolt on neck guitar" tone to me, and to my ears most bolt on electrics with sgl coils have "that sound". I've heard cats with Tele's, Jazzmasters, Jaguars, along with just about any Ibanez, Yamaha, etc. get that sound really well. The basics of it is bolt on & single coil & 5-way switching, maybe that is the configuration you should look for regardless of brand.
 
Huggy B said:
I think "Strat" tone is actually "single coil bolt on neck guitar" tone to me, and to my ears most bolt on electrics with sgl coils have "that sound". I've heard cats with Tele's, Jazzmasters, Jaguars, along with just about any Ibanez, Yamaha, etc. get that sound really well. The basics of it is bolt on & single coil & 5-way switching, maybe that is the configuration you should look for regardless of brand.
Click to expand...
Huggy, you may be on to something that I have never really considered - re: bolt on neck. I had always thought that scale length had something to do obtaining "that" single coil sound as well.
 
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