Artist Package Instruments Sound Better?

[yankeebulldog]

No offense intended, because I think the neck pickup in the singlecut is heavenly sounding, but the bridge pickup is like a fork on a plate to my ears. Very raspy and too much treble accentuation. Just my opinion. Great playing though

I think the bridge pickup tone clip is pretty much what I'd expect to hear from a vintage LP through a cranked plexi amp.

 

[László]

I think the bridge pickup tone clip is pretty much what I'd expect to hear from a vintage LP through a cranked plexi amp.

That's definitely the tone I was working on in the clip.

But since Drew dug the playing, he's my new best friend regardless!

 

[Dusty Chalk]

It doesn't affect the tone one way or the other.

But it makes me want to play them more, so they have that going for them.

 

[dergit]

I'm going to take a rather unpopular position in the whole tone wood debate here... the one in between.

I believe wood does matter. I have a Swamp Ash Special and a 25th McCarty that need tons of gain before they start sounding interchangeable. Clean, they're worlds apart and the pickups and the build are as close as they'll ever be. So I'm sold on that point.

But: I believe there's a saturation point. If, for argument's sake, we assume a simple direct correlation between price and quality of wood and put that on the X axis and we put quality of tone on the Y axis, the difference between a $100 and a $500 guitar is going to be much greater than between a $1.000 and a $5.000 guitar. The $500 guitar is still not going to sound 5x as good as the $100 guitar but very noticeably better. The $1.000 guitar and the $5.000 guitar you'd probably have to hold in your own hands to tell the difference. Not saying there is none but it's not going to be the determining factor on any given record or stage.

In my mind, PRS guitars generally are far beyond that saturation point where they'd easily be "good enough". They're uncompromising products of a search for perfection beyond rationale. Now, the S2 line seems like a much "saner" purchase, still approaching that technically ideal point between price and quality from the top end but much closer to it.

I'll still happily spend way too much on a guitar I love. Sanity isn't always the most determining factor behind decisions that lead to happiness.

 

[László]

I'm going to take a rather unpopular position in the whole tone wood debate here... the one in between.

I believe wood does matter. I have a Swamp Ash Special and a 25th McCarty that need tons of gain before they start sounding interchangeable. Clean, they're worlds apart and the pickups and the build are as close as they'll ever be. So I'm sold on that point.

But: I believe there's a saturation point. If, for argument's sake, we assume a simple direct correlation between price and quality of wood and put that on the X axis and we put quality of tone on the Y axis, the difference between a $100 and a $500 guitar is going to be much greater than between a $1.000 and a $5.000 guitar. The $500 guitar is still not going to sound 5x as good as the $100 guitar but very noticeably better. The $1.000 guitar and the $5.000 guitar you'd probably have to hold in your own hands to tell the difference. Not saying there is none but it's not going to be the determining factor on any given record or stage.

In my mind, PRS guitars generally are far beyond that saturation point where they'd easily be "good enough". They're uncompromising products of a search for perfection beyond rationale. Now, the S2 line seems like a much "saner" purchase, still approaching that technically ideal point between price and quality from the top end but much closer to it.

I'll still happily spend way too much on a guitar I love. Sanity isn't always the most determining factor behind decisions that lead to happiness.

I mostly agree with what you've said. Certainly there are diminishing returns on most anything beyond a certain expenditure, and there's also a randomness that creeps in when you're talking about wood and parts and how they interact.

But there are other factors beyond the price. As an example, a PS guitar can be made of hand-selected woods tapped for how the wood rings (I say "can be" because I suppose they can also be hand selected only for looks). The finish can be different, and I realize there's controversy on whether the finish affects the sound quality of the guitar, but I think it does just a little bit.

I've never played a Core or S2 that wasn't "good enough." They're all very fine guitars. I love them.

On the other hand, I think that your chances of getting an exceptional sounding guitar out of PS are greater than your chances of getting an exceptional sounding guitar out of Core. And, of course, you also get the guitar made to your specs, with an awful lot of care paid to the details, and the thing about how it looks.

So the value of the thing may or may not be there for everyone. But I'd have a nervous breakdown if something happened to mine, and not because of the money but because I have a feeling I'd have a very hard time finding guitars that could do exactly what these do after 47 years of searching!

 

[cmcgrath72]

haha, I agree"Sanity isn't always the most determining factor behind decisions that lead to happiness. " I've been debating on an artist package only because PRS seems to have starting limiting special orders.
I don't really need a 10 top or anything fancy. Just a core flame top is fine, but I would like an ebony fretboard and headstock (willing to pay extra) but they only offer that feature in Artist packages which are pretty damn expensive. I'm looking for a Tobacco Sunburst which is simple enough but I'm not crazy about those lighter toned rosewood headstocks and you can't special request a darker one
For the burst guitars I think the darker wood looks better,...on the solid colors the lighter rosewoods look good. I know it's just a visual thing but if I'm gonna spend that much it better be exactly what I want.
I've owned 2 cu24's but lately I'm digging the pattern regular necks more than the thin, so I'm looking to switch.

 

[yankeebulldog]

I'm going to take a rather unpopular position in the whole tone wood debate here... the one in between.

I believe wood does matter. I have a Swamp Ash Special and a 25th McCarty that need tons of gain before they start sounding interchangeable. Clean, they're worlds apart and the pickups and the build are as close as they'll ever be. So I'm sold on that point.

But: I believe there's a saturation point. If, for argument's sake, we assume a simple direct correlation between price and quality of wood and put that on the X axis and we put quality of tone on the Y axis, the difference between a $100 and a $500 guitar is going to be much greater than between a $1.000 and a $5.000 guitar. The $500 guitar is still not going to sound 5x as good as the $100 guitar but very noticeably better. The $1.000 guitar and the $5.000 guitar you'd probably have to hold in your own hands to tell the difference. Not saying there is none but it's not going to be the determining factor on any given record or stage.

In my mind, PRS guitars generally are far beyond that saturation point where they'd easily be "good enough". They're uncompromising products of a search for perfection beyond rationale. Now, the S2 line seems like a much "saner" purchase, still approaching that technically ideal point between price and quality from the top end but much closer to it.

I'll still happily spend way too much on a guitar I love. Sanity isn't always the most determining factor behind decisions that lead to happiness.

I tend to agree with this to a degree, especially with lots of gain, it's tough to tell a $500 guitar from a $5,000 one. I've owned lots of PRS from SEs to Private Stocks and once you get into the Core USA line it's largely splitting hairs regarding tone as you go up in cost although I do think you increase your chances of getting a good final product once you step into tone tapping all the wood, etc. There is also an inherent coolness of laying your hand on the woods before the guitar is built but you certainly pay for that privilege.

 

[AP515]

...On the other hand, I think that your chances of getting an exceptional sounding guitar out of PS are greater than your chances of getting an exceptional sounding guitar out of Core....

This is where I was going to go, but will include the AP's as was in the OP. It has been my experience that the AP's are more often the "magic" guitars but not always. Of the 3 AP's I have, two are magic and while the third is very good, my core of the same model dominates it for tone. The PS is hard to compare because the woods are different, but that core SC will dominate the PS too, so in summary, IMO, you do have a better chance of getting a magic guitar with AP's and PS, but magic guitars come from all levels.

 

[shallbe]

In my experience and preferences, the answer is yes.

I firmly believe most of the tone of a solidbody electric guitar, say 60%, comes from the neck. I like ebony boards. They sound different to me, without question. I also like rosewood necks with ebony boards. That really sounds different than a mahogany neck with a Brazilian board.

My only way of getting those options was thru the Artist Package. The only PRS guitars I own are AP models with ebony boards, and 2 have the rosewood necks as well. I work with musicians and studio folks that have not been smitten by PRS guitars, but they like mine. My CU24AP has surprised everyone that thought they knew what it would sound like, and it is stock.

I know what I like, and it is a twist on the core PRS sound, and I have found that with Artist Pack guitars. It is about the neck to me. I really don't care that much about the grade of the top or the case.

 

[dergit]

I think that your chances of getting an exceptional sounding guitar out of PS are greater than your chances of getting an exceptional sounding guitar out of Core.

Very good point... which is why I mostly buy used and let go of the guitars that I don't feel. The three in my signature are here to stay but there was one PRS (1997 CE 22) that just didn't "get" me like the others.

So, while the chances of getting a magic guitar increase with PS, so does the risk... if you get a guitar custom made and then you can't fall in love with it for whatever reason, you take quite a financial hit. Used core line PRSi you can essentially try out for free in the rehearsal room or on stage for as long as you like. I know I have and this way I'm basically guaranteed to own guitars I love. And the best part: That CE is now owned by someone who did fall for it.

 

[AP515]

.....there was one PRS (1997 CE 22) that just didn't "get" me like the others.

Sure, the other side of the coin is also true. I've had a McCarty and a CE24 that I thought were just so-so. They have moved on to others who might just love them completely. I sold a LP Classic once to a guy cuz I just couldn't get a decent sound from it. The guy played it for 5 seconds through my amp and I was thinking "That's the sound I've been looking for!", but it just couldn't come from my hands. Guitars can play that different in different hands.

 

[CatStrangler]

Sure, the other side of the coin is also true. I've had a McCarty and a CE24 that I thought were just so-so. They have moved on to others who might just love them completely. I sold a LP Classic once to a guy cuz I just couldn't get a decent sound from it. The guy played it for 5 seconds through my amp and I was thinking "That's the sound I've been looking for!", but it just couldn't come from my hands. Guitars can play that different in different hands.

I have that relationship with strats and teles.

 

[Dusty Chalk]

I have that relationship with guitars, but I'm getting better.