Why the nitro switch?

Woodrow F Call said:
Oh, there might be some micro tone change that people hear better than me. I think PRS did it for as much as a marketing move as anything. People paying big dollars for guitars tend to want nitro because it's what the old guitars had.
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Exactly. And we all know older is ALWAYS better... right? ;)

We are living in probably the greatest time ever for guitars, amps, and pedals, yet "vintage" is still "better". While I get the coolness and mojo of the "old factor", vintage is not, in & of itself, better.... neither is age. Plenty of vintage dogs out there. I wish my DGT was poly, it's my only complaint. Then I wouldn't have to worry about it is much. I recently bought a guitar that may in time replace it, so I may not be worrying about it anyway, lol.
 
Lewguitar said:
Just out of curiosity, has anyone ever stripped and refinished a Korean made SE?

I have a Korean made SE Soapbar and the glossy finish is thick. It must affect the sound and I wish it sounded more like an old Les Paul Jr.

I don't see myself stripping and refinishing it. It's too nice as it is.

Just wondering if anyone HAS, and how they removed the finish and if it was a chore.

I've read that you can use a heat gun and peel off some of those poly finishes!
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Search PRS refinish on BigD Guitars channel.


Jo- said:
You are not alone. I was thinking this was some kind of new sweet switch.
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Me third.
 
Lewguitar said:
Just out of curiosity, has anyone ever stripped and refinished a Korean made SE?

I have a Korean made SE Soapbar and the glossy finish is thick. It must affect the sound and I wish it sounded more like an old Les Paul Jr.

I don't see myself stripping and refinishing it. It's too nice as it is.

Just wondering if anyone HAS, and how they removed the finish and if it was a chore.

I've read that you can use a heat gun and peel off some of those poly finishes!
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I did. Kind of a partial refinish lol.

But I only did the face of the guitar.

I must not have been a member here then, because I searched my content but couldn't find it, but I documented it on another forum:

 
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Hmm. Maybe these nitro finishes will relic with time. Check marking occurring near the bass pickup and an easy to feel linear cracking that goes vertical. This guitar has spent most of the time in its gig back stored away.
This is a now 2 year old S2 thinline. It also easily chipped on a bout. Picked up a lot surface scratches and swirls. At this rate it’s gonna look fully relic in a decade.

I did a pickup swap today and realized so much has changed since I last played it. I kinda love that it’s relic naturally. But this was also a $1k used guitar. My reaction would likely be different if this was a gorgeous pristine $5k guitar.
 
Broseph said:
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Hmm. Maybe these nitro finishes will relic with time. Check marking occurring near the bass pickup and an easy to feel linear cracking that goes vertical. This guitar has spent most of the time in its gig back stored away.
This is a now 2 year old S2 thinline. It also easily chipped on a bout. Picked up a lot surface scratches and swirls. At this rate it’s gonna look fully relic in a decade.

I did a pickup swap today and realized so much has changed since I last played it. I kinda love that it’s relic naturally. But this was also a $1k used guitar. My reaction would likely be different if this was a gorgeous pristine $5k guitar.
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Something interesting is that I have seen a lot of posts about S2 guitars finishes chipping easily and showing wear fast. I think they are spraying the same finishes on the core models and I have not seen any posts saying the same things. That makes me wonder what they are doing different between the two lines.
 
JasonE said:
Something interesting is that I have seen a lot of posts about S2 guitars finishes chipping easily and showing wear fast. I think they are spraying the same finishes on the core models and I have not seen any posts saying the same things. That makes me wonder what they are doing different between the two lines.
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My s2 594 is definitely -extremely- delicate with the finish, I've been surprised the number of little chips I've put in it already. I've had my CE24 slightly longer and It doesn't seem anywhere near as fragile. It is a 2019 but that should still be nitro right?

I have an s2 satin vela as well and I've heard people say those "relic" real quick, but I haven't noticed anything with that one.

My only core is a 2000 with poly so I dont have a frame of reference there
 
most of my cores were pre nitro change. Very durable. The most recent core model did not seem to have chipped as easily as the s2s I've had. And I've had plenty of post 2020 CEs and those finishes did seem much more durable than the s2s. I do agree that the S2 has a much softer finish. Which again, I don't necessarily mind as I didn't buy them alone for their looks. I wish PRS would be more transparent about finishes and stuff. But maybe that's why I feel the s2's resonate better than their comparable SE counterparts? I think there is a discernible feel and acoustic sound to S2s compared to SEs
 
spawnofthesith said:
So, I have an s2 594, a ce24, s2 vela satin and a core cu22 (2000 so it’s poly)

The finish on the 594 is ridiculously thin and sensitive. I’ve only had it it for a couple weeks and I’ve seemed to put several dings in it. I’m not mad but damn lol.
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Same here on a new core 594. Two pretty big dents along the bottom edge from hitting my chair. Hasn’t happened on tons of other guitars in the same chair. Really weird!
 
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Broseph said:
My reaction would likely be different if this was a gorgeous pristine $5k guitar.
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Speaking only for myself here: I don't like playing while feeling that I have to keep pristine $5k guitars....well, pristine. I've been selling off my few remaining super-clean guitars recently. Let them be someone else's responsibility :)

Playing (in my style at least...) is physical enough as things are, leaving me with relatively little energy for worrying about knocks. The only thing I'm careful about at all is keeping the back of the neck as free from marks as possible: I really dislike this kind of damage, so what little care I take goes into this form of safekeeping.
 
Dnerve said:
The nitro may affect 1% tone, but makes the finish like 50% more fragile. Not worth it.
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However, that appears to be different between the core and S2 lines. I see a lot more posts about the S2 guitars taking damage very easily. I don't see that for the core line guitars.

I only have 2 core guitars that are nitro. I have a Ted McCarty from 2009 that is nitro and the new Studio that I bought late last year. I am betting they are two different types of nitro. I don't play the Ted much, partially because I typically prefer double cuts and my Ted is a single cut. I go through phases where I prefer the single cuts. It gets more play time in those phases. I take really good care of my guitars and the Ted still looks new.

I also have an SC-58 that had a finish that got cloudy. PRS refinished it for me a couple of years ago. I forgot that one now has the same nitro that my new Studio has. So I have 3 PRS core guitars that have nitro. I will have to see how they wear over time to see if they wear faster than the old poly or V12 finishes.

One thing I did notice about the nitro on the new Studio is that it seems to hold static electricity in it. It has been a dust collector. I have 5 guitars out in my room and I am playing the Studio the most right now, because it is the newest one, and every time I pick it up I see dust lines where my hand stops at the top of the neck when playing. I am literally sliding the dust on the neck to the top. I have used guitar polish on it and it still does it. I just put a second coat on it so we shall see if that helps any. None of the other guitars in the room are doing this.
 
ViperDoc said:
I believe PRSh believes that nitro has higher compatibility with their base coat (he says as much in their new quiz video), among the fabled tonal qualities. Nitro with a BRZ board is guitar perfume, man. Love it.
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Yeah But Is It Ewww Da Toilet Or Eau De Toilette? ;)
 
To be honest I'm a bit skeptical that Paul honestly gives to much credence to significant tonal properties of nitro vs. poly, otherwise he wouldn't have waited 35 years to make the switch
 
spawnofthesith said:
To be honest I'm a bit skeptical that Paul honestly gives to much credence to significant tonal properties of nitro vs. poly, otherwise he wouldn't have waited 35 years to make the switch
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It could be giving the customers what they are asking for. His only real stance on finishes that I have seen is that they need to be very thin.
 
I certainly like the feel of nitro better. Poly may be more durable, but when it scratches it’s damn near impossible to repair whereas nitro is easily repairable. I also like the way nitro ages and wears and checks. Gives the guitar more mojo visually imho.

As for tone, I think the difference is minimal when new but since nitro allows the wood to breathe, over a decade or two I think the difference is far more noticeable. Nitro allows the wood to age.
 
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