Buying my first PRS

J

jon75

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Joined
Oct 23, 2015
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I am considering to buy my first PRS. The quality and workmanship seems outstanding.

The actual guitar is a custom 24 30.th anniversary. However this guitar has Maple neck and Korina body. The dealer also claims the fretboard is brazilian rosewood. I can clearly see that the neck is Maple, regarding the body and fretboard i just have to trust them i guess. It's not possible for me to see the difference. Is there any way to tell the difference between mahogny and Korina?

Anyway my question would be how the Maple/Korina combination would affect the sound compared to a more traditional mahogny body/neck combination.

I would appreciate any info regarding this matter.
 
Welcome Aboard Jon,
If the fretboard is Brazilian Rosewood the back of the headstock will say "USA only". Korina is supposed to be similar but a little lighter than Mahogany, but I haven't played one to see if I could hear a difference. The maple neck may make the guitar a bit brighter sounding. I have a 30th with a maple neck, mahogany body, and African Blackwood fretboard and I love it! I say go for it!

Tom
 
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Assuming the dealer is a PRS authorized dealer, I doubt they will lie about the wood. Maple and Korina will add some brightness and a little more "snap" over mahogany. Mahogany has a warmer tone.
 
I played a Korina McCarty against my all mahogany McCarty standard and the difference I heard was mostly a midrange difference. The Korina had a little more upper mid bite compared the mahogany. Both sounded great.
goat-n-gitter said:
Welcome Aboard Jon,
If the fretboard is Brazilian Rosewood the back of the headstock will say "USA only". Korina is supposed to be similar but a little lighter than Mahogany, but I haven't played one to see if I could hear a difference. The maple neck may make the guitar a bit brighter sounding. I have a 30th with a maple neck, mahogany body, and African Blackwood fretboard and I love it! I say go for it!

Tp,
Click to expand...
 
As always, be mindful that the guitar cannot be exported out of the USA if it has a Brazilian Rosewood fretboard (or any other part made of Brazzy Rosewood), due to CITES restrictions.

Nonetheless, sounds like a good combo for a slightly brighter-than-"stock" CU24! I'd certainly be interested if I was in the market!
 
JustRob nailed it. Just get the MODCAT. The proof is right there. If it isn't on the case (being fairly new it should be), it is also in the bridge pup cavity.

The Korina will be lighter and brighter in tone than Honduran Mahogany. With a maple neck it should be a noticeably brighter guitar. Pretty good combo with humbuckers.
 
Thanks for all help, i will try to get the MODCAT and decode it.

I am hoping they have made a mistake and it's actually mahogany. I don't want a brighter sounding guitar. Would mahogany make the guitar less expensive ?
 
Buy the guitar.

You say you want mahogany but you don't understand what the body wood does for the tone? By your description of the specs the guitar sound perfect. As far as I know nobody ever complained that a PRS guitar sounded too bright.
 
jon75 said:
I don't want a brighter sounding guitar. Would mahogany make the guitar less expensive ?
Click to expand...

Yes, because it is generally the standard wood used. By the same token, it will contribute to a warmer, less bright tone than say, a maple neck, as LJD indicates.
 
If you want a warmer sound, a mahogany body and neck will be a better choice for you, unless you've played the guitar and like how it sounds. All 30th Braz fingerboard models will say "made for USA only" in gold paint under the clear coat on the back of the headstock. You probably don't need the modcat.

Note that while Braz fretboards are highly sought after, you'll get your darkest tone with Indian rosewood fretboards. The 85/15 pickups are bright, also.

The maple neck and Braz board are usually on Artist Package models, and they are an up charge over standard models.

However, if you like the guitar when you've played it, know that PRS tone controls actually work well, and can tame brightness. It's nice to have the choice of a little more bite sometimes.
 
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IMO that maple neck will have a bigger impact on the tone difference than between the korina and mahogany bodies. Korina and mahogany are different, but they are not nearly as different as maple vs. mahogany. If you want a warmer guitar, get a mahogany neck, not maple.
 
thanks everybody for good advice.
I have tested the guitar and it's outstanding. I can not decide if i would be better suited with a "normal" cu24 with mahogany body/neck since i don't have the possibility to try one. I am really tempted to take a chance and buy the guitar anyway. My strat is allready out for sale.
 
Whatever PRS you buy, it will not be your last. Good luck with your choice. It's a win win at this point. Go with what you know.
 
So i contacted PRS With the guitars serialnumber, they responded quickly and gave me the specs for the guitar. It appears that the back is mahogany instead of korina and the fretboard is not braz.rosewood but cocobolo. Don't know why the store would mix this up, but i choose to believe it's a lack of knowledge.

What is the general opinion of cocobolo fretboard versus regular (Indian?) rosewood ? Regarding the material itself would it be considered an Upgrade?
 
If you tried the guitar and "it's outstanding", buy the damn thing. "Upgraded materials" on a PRS are a bit misrepresentative since even the basic materials are far better than most other builders.
 
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