Anyone Here Owned Their PRS between 10 to 20 years ?

[Macmutt]

OK great thank you for that in depth answer as far as caring for the finish of the PRS, i feel a lot better about it now.
My other question is the open back, unsealed tuners, why isn't PRS doing the sealed tuners this year, and how does being exposed affect their longevity and reliability over years to come?
Plus if dust or lint and dirt should get in the tuning gears, what would be the best way to clean them? Spray air, WD-40, or some other lubricant or oil?

 

[sleary]

The phase 3 tuners are the best out there imo. I've have them in my 2013 DGT and my 2011 cu24 , both are still amazing . No dust gets in them that I've noticed . Never let me down yet .

 

[sleary]

My 2001 mcarty. Not a scratch, no fading and is in pristine condition even though I play it everyday. I bought it used and the two owners before me took excellent care of it .

 

[tabl10s]

Yes, except for the part about being polished once a month. Most polishes contain abrasives. They make a guitar shiny by removing old finish. I find that wiping a guitar down with a clean damp cloth and drying with a clean cloth, preferably thick microfiber (not the thin kind you wipe a computer screen with) creates fewer surface swirls than cotton, and is all that's necessary unless the guitar is either very dirty, or you want to remove scratches.

After many years of caring for guitars and for many years being involved in the car restoration hobby, I'm convinced that the less you do to a finish, the better.

We tend to want to polish our guitars to the nines, but in most cases we're actually doing more harm than good. Less is more when it comes to using guitar polish. If the guitar doesn't need it, don't do i
PRS does make a very nice cleaner that doesn't contain abrasives if you feel the need to shine things up, and it's not harmful to nitro finishes. but I use it very infrequently.

It is, of course, safest to case the guitar when not in use. Not only does this preserve the color and finish, it also keeps dust out of the guitar's controls, and it buffers the changes in temperature and humidity that come to every room at various times of the day and season, and minimizes the effect of these changes on the instrument.

I have a car wax that was given to a local guitar tech@NAMM. It's applied by fingertip and can be used on the fingerboard also.

 

[tabl10s]

The phase 3 tuners are the best out there imo. I've have them in my 2013 DGT and my 2011 cu24 , both are still amazing . No dust gets in them that I've noticed . Never let me down yet .

Yeah, but Paul won't authorize them for direct replacement for Phase II's.

 

[Daniel]

Here's another '86/7 Custom in Royal Blue. It was a studio guitar for 20+ years before I bought it. It has bumps and bruises but minimal fading of the stain. I guess they stored it in the case or away from UV light.




https://a1-images.myspacecdn.com/images01/83/1f09bd65b8b5d0fc249e987576a1735b/full.jpg

https://a3-images.myspacecdn.com/images01/74/cb6dc0d0ace2813ccfdaff90ef1e455a/full.jpg

 

[ecalcagnino]

My first one, a CU24 bought new in 1993 is still perfect to this day. Wear on the bobbin edges and a few love marks here and there but the purple has faded very nicely.

 

[László]

OK great thank you for that in depth answer as far as caring for the finish of the PRS, i feel a lot better about it now.
My other question is the open back, unsealed tuners, why isn't PRS doing the sealed tuners this year, and how does being exposed affect their longevity and reliability over years to come?
Plus if dust or lint and dirt should get in the tuning gears, what would be the best way to clean them? Spray air, WD-40, or some other lubricant or oil?

If you've ever played a vintage Martin with exposed-gear tuning machines, or a guitar with modern Waverlys, or a Fender bass, you'll find that the exposed gears aren't a problem.

Unlike the vintage tuning machines that occasionally needed a jot of lubricant, the PRS machines don't need it. The advantage of not needing lubricant is that there isn't anything sticky to attract dust or lint, however, even the old machines tend to be very easy to clean.

 

[Coral Sky Music]

Purchased My Whale Blue Cu22 In 2001. Still looks and plays as amazing as the First day I brought it home. Only issue is the finish on the top of my 2 stoptail studs, very minor. I use the PRS cleaner and whipe her down after every session and she does go back in the case.

 

[Stonelands]

Though I've owned PRS since 1991, and I should be drawn and quartered for not keeping them longer, in 1999 I bought my son a CU22 Soapbar that he played until two years ago, and toured with. I bought it back from him, and the guitar still looked near-new in 2012. That's pretty typical for a PRS in terms of how it holds up. So, thirteen years, daily use, looked new, and my son doesn't baby his instruments. Oh, and we bought it second-hand, the guitar was a 1998.

So that does mean if I really like the way a well played Gibson ages as it gets older in terms of aesthetics (wear down the neck, etc, etc) I'll be unlikely to see that with a PRS in 20-30 years?

 

[Tele295]

I bought my Std 22 (used) in 2003 with my Christmas bonus. It still sounds fantastic, has one chip in the finish but I'm a working musician and the guitar has been played in a lot of bars. The stock locking tuners are not my favorite. They are very touchy, but that is not a function of age

 

[Boogie]

Yep...15 years. Other than testing pickups in the bridge a bazillion times and swaping the 5-way rotary with a 3-way+push/pull split config, it's exactly the same as the day I brought it home. Well, and the bumps and boo boos that go along with gigging a guitar for 15 years.

 

[11top]

I special ordered this Artist II. My first PRS guitar. Still looks, plays, and sounds fantastic.

 

[veinbuster]

My first two: Custom 22 and an early hollowbody have their 20th birthday with me this year. Spoiled at an early age.

 

[Huggy Love]

I've had my HB for about 15 years, had it refretted, a few dings but the finish never faded or anything, and I've never had any tuning issues on any PRS I've ever owned.

 

[Mixstar]

My 2001 SC in dark cherry burst still looks like it came out of the factory, that's partly my fault as I haven't played the bejeezuz out of it but, in my defence, I didn't have it from new. Others I have are too new to comment.

@garrett: I love your pics, they look like proper guitars, if you play your guitars you have to have a ding or two and I think a ding + a bit of fade gives a guitar character. It certainly wouldn't stop me buying one.

As far as polishes go, my excellent friend who is a panel beater to the rich and famous says any polish you are happy to polish your car with will be ok for polishing guitars - most of the major polish manufacturers make non-scratch polishes. I personally don't polish my guitars or anything else if I can get away with it.

 

[Mark Ray]

I bought my '95 CU22 new. It's Royal Blue. I've never tried to get it to fade, always cased it when not in use, or it's on a stand in the music den. Still looks great. I have never had to adjust the neck-it plays like the day I found it. I took it to an open jam a couple of weeks back (first one of those I've done in a LONG time), and the guitarist from the host band was really into the sound of it. The secret? Dragon 1's!

 

[Mike Duncan]

My nitro finished '08 DGT looks like its 35 years old. The finish, pre V12, isn't super strong. But it does give the guitar fairly groovy vibe!

 

[gush]

My wife bought me a 2000 McCarty in 04 or 05 then I bought a new cu22 in 2006.

McCarty has been modded with rosewood pickup rings and toggle switch cap plus it has M pickups in it now. It's about to get locking tuners thanks to bodia.

Cu22 is bone stock but gets the least amount of playing time.

 

[gush]

I bought my '95 CU22 new. It's Royal Blue. I've never tried to get it to fade, always cased it when not in use, or it's on a stand in the music den. Still looks great. I have never had to adjust the neck-it plays like the day I found it. I took it to an open jam a couple of weeks back (first one of those I've done in a LONG time), and the guitarist from the host band was really into the sound of it. The secret? Dragon 1's!

Dragon 1s rock hard!