First of all, you, sir, have an absolutely gorgeous set of guitars that anyone would be proud to own. And I have yet to hear a PRS that’s a slouch in any category. So I’m with ya! I’m sure your guitars all sound extremely good. More power your way..
First of all, thank-you. I know its not the largest or the most diverse in terms of colour or indeed body-shape, but I am more than happy with it which is the most important.
I kinda think there’s a little bit of unusual tone magic to a few guitars. I don’t know if all of mine would have that for someone else, but they do for me. Nonetheless, there’s nothing wrong with wanting both! And as I’ve often said, I’m kind of a sucker for a cute one.
I am sure this phenomenon exists - I remember watching Rob Chapman and Lee Anderton discussing Robs Wood Library 594 he bought for his 'son'. Lee said that no-one else made that guitar 'sound' inc Rabea like it did with Rob, as if that guitar was meant to be his. Why this maybe, who knows but this isn't the first I had heard of this and doubt it will be the last either...
I don't honestly know if I have the 'best' Fire Red (or Charcoal Cherry in the case of my Special) as far as that extra 'special' thing that seems some people find with a certain guitar and, to a degree, I don't care either.
The great thing about PRS, however, is that they’re uniformly damn good guitars, and I’ve never personally played a bad sounding one, as I have with other brands. Doesn’t mean they don’t exist, just that I’ve never come across one.
And this is the reason why I don't really care. I could spend the rest of my life looking for that 1 Fire Red 594 that really speaks to me and probably only me or I could buy the one that I did when the money was available to buy that guitar and be enjoying its quality ever since, reaping the benefits now. I know that PRS are so consistent, its obvious to anyone who walks into a shop and plays all the 594 double cuts through the same amp and same settings - yes there will be very slight differences but in general the will all be virtually identical - identical enough to pick the one you like the look of best.
Its not like wanting a Cherry Sunburst Single Cut but the one in the shop sounds 'meh' and has more cosmetic fit and finishing issues so you either buy the tobacco burst that has barely any grain in the top and the brown has been sprayed too thick that they may as well of sprayed the whole thing but that was the one that sounded best. If you did go for that one, you may want to fill that gap in the neck pocket in or use it as a pick holder...
The fact that five 594's in a shop all feel remarkably similar (small variation in weight), play the same with no fit/finish issues and, in the shop all sound very similar too, even if you go to the next shop and try 5 more, they are all in the same ballpark that you can literally pick the one you want - whether that's colour, grain pattern, weight or whatever criteria that helps you decide which of the 10 you want to take home and don't feel that you are compromising on anything. By me buying 'red' for example, I am not compromising on build, playability and even tone because those small differences on a shop aren't an issue when you get it home, plug it into your rig and tweak any settings specifically for your new guitar. PRS are one of the few brands where you can pick on 'trivial' matters - like colour - without worrying about whether other guitars were vastly superior. or have better build quality.
So yes, I totally understand, and I don’t disagree with your points. I may be a little pickier tonally, but then, I feel I have to be, given my occupation. I will sacrifice looks for that special tone. Fortunately, PRS is making awesome guitars. I think it’s easier today than it’s ever been to pick a winner.
So do you find enough of a difference between PRS guitars that 'tone' is clearly better? I can understand if you may prefer some microtonal difference over another as it would be incredibly difficult to build two guitars that sound exactly the same - especially with natural materials. I am referring to 'core' guitars rather than wood library or Private Stock which no doubt use different woods. Is it case of this one is fractionally preferred over that one or do you notice a 'big' difference than can actually be quantified? Have you ever been in a position where you couldn't pick on tone alone and just picked the one you liked the look of best?
Its an interesting thing to consider, the reason we picked a certain guitar and even whether or not psychological factors play into that too. Do I think the Red Guitars I have for example are the best or at least on a par with others because I want a red guitar? Not just me, but I wonder if others have psychological factors playing into their guitar buying or even selling. Maybe wanted a Red guitar but had to pick green as that was all they had in stock, does that influence the way they hear that guitar?
Paul wasn't stupid when he made his guitars stand out, look amazing with the bright (but not neon) colours, amazing flame etc. He knew that when you walk into a shop, the aesthetics is what draw you in, make you want to pick it up and play over any of the others. I know that if its not backed up by great quality, playability/feel and great tone, you will move on to the next guitar that caught your eye but visual appeal is still an important aspect. I guess though if you are buying PRS, they are generally all stunning so its not like you have to settle with an 'ugly' PRS and even less so if you have no particular favourite colour or perhaps more importantly, no dislike of any colour.
It would still be an interesting experiment to see how many people think a certain colour of guitar is the best sounding to them. A room of fairly evenly matched flame top 594's (for example) in various colours and see which people think the guitar that is the best sounding also happens to be the one that is their favourite colour. See how much colour really plays in deciding which guitar sounds 'best' to them.
