guitarman001
New Member
- Joined
- Sep 12, 2014
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- 602
This is a bit of a waffly post...
Just about how much I love PRS!
After 15 years of playing and hitting my 30th birthday, and after having only played cheap guitars, I thought I'd treat myself since I also joined a band and had a terrible first audition (still got accepted!) whereby my Ibanez was a bit microphonic and went out of tune quickly. Note I'm now 31 so this was a little while ago.
I went to the guitar shop and tried a whole bunch of guitars. A nice Suhr strat-style guitar really ignited me. I tried a few PRS but none really grabbed me. I almost bought the Suhr when an orange PRS caught my eye. It had been hanging on the wall at that time, so why had I passed it? I spent about an hour demoing it versus the Suhr and walked out with the PRS, even though it was crushingly expensive. Three times what I had budgeted for, but I knew I had to have it or regret it forever. Goes to show how you should really try every guitar in the shop when paying so much money because I almost passed up the best guitar of my life.
The lovely orange flame top, the powerful sound and bottom end of the 57/08s (I didn't know anything about them at the time), the flame satin maple neck (yowsa!), the double cutaway and extremely ergonomic design, the pattern thin neck which felt right at home, the amazing bird inlays - it was just perfect!
As it happens, I got the Suhr second hand and still have it. Great guitar, but the PRS is tops.
GAS struck me when I saw a Wood Library model with violet burst and that amazing flame satin maple neck. It was so amazing. Despite being practically the same guitar I had to have it. Madness? Many thought so, especially considering it was within just a couple of months of buying the first! I bought it online, "blind" in the sense that I hadn't played it first. What a gamble!! But it turned out to be no gamble at all because it looks and plays fantastic. I know this exact spec PRS will be A-ok every time I pick one up. I think I was lucky with the top though as I've seen some that look great online but just "ok" in store.
GAS picked at me again... I love the sound of Suhr Moderns so spent so much time checking them out but in the end, after a hard day's try-out of multiple Moderns, I came home, opened the cases to my guitars (in awe, every time I open them...) and called myself crazy because these guitars couldn't be bettered. The Moderns are ok but the downfall was the upper fret access - it's just unbeatable on a Cu24, honestly. And the pattern thin neck... it's just perfect.
Fast forward to last weekend and I sinned... my favourite guitar player has always been Slash and I think Les Pauls sound fantastic and look the part. I tried a Gibson class 5 which sounded fantastic but I wasn't overly keen on the gloop (lacquer?) neck and the fret access just wasn't there, it being a single-cut. I also tried a 2016 Standard which again looked great and sounded great. Perhaps TOO many options, though (all 4 pots can be pulled out and I think that live, it'd be a bit bewildering). That's another thing I like about mine - the 5-way blade with just enough sounds - not too many - simplicity in itself. I don't want a complicated beast to operate when I'm playing live. The most disappointing thing was that the Standard kept going out of tune! I'll give it the benefit of the doubt and say that the strings seemed new but I found it quite annoying. Another positive for PRS - they seem to stay in tune the best. More so than the Suhr and definitely more so than Gibson. Oh, and I realised just how much I like to use the trem - I never quite realised until I played the hard-tail Gibson. Yet another plus point for the Cu24. The Gibson felt a bit clunky to me and I really had to fight with it, whereas the PRS is like walking on air. I'm like a beginner on a Gibson and a virtuoso on a PRS! People say they like the fight of a Gibson but I never quite got that...
Again, I came back after trying the Gibsons and it was just like "woah" - absolute perfect beasts. What was I thinking!? When I got the pups changed on my violet one from covered 59/09s to uncovered 85/15s I actually missed it. When I opened the case in the shop and tried it out it was sheer bliss, seriously. You also should have seen some of the looks it got - it's a very sexy guitar. People just stop and stare!
Saying the above, there is a Gibson roadshow on this weekend so I will go along to check out their custom shop guitars. However while there I MUST resist getting a 30th Cu24 in Autumn Sky with Cocobolo fingerboard...
Now, I don't like all PRS, and there are others guitars that come close (a friend of mine has a nice Mayones Regius 6 which is on par with my Suhr). I vastly prefer satin neck models. I'd love to try different types of woods (though I think I'm at home with my light and snappy maple necks and sleek ebony fretboards). I'm not keen on how the heel comes closer to the neck on 22 fret models (can the heel not be pushed back down like for the Cu24? That would be an improvement?), though I prefer the sound of the neck pup on those guitars. An improvement might be an adjustable nut (you can vary the height of the nut on the Gibson HP range) as I do think the nut on my violet one is a hair too high, but that's nitpicking.
Specifically, the satin neck, 24-fret, double cut-away models I find hard to beat. VERY ergonomic. The guitars are just absolute workhorses - the ultimate dependable guitar when gigging. And the trem is so good... almost as good as a floyd rose for staying in tune.
Oh, and the pickups are fantastic. I've yet to actually try a guitar with Bareknuckles or custom hand-wound pups but I've heard the "sterile PRS" comments and it's bollox! 57/08s, 59/09s, 85/15s are all immense and have great split tones (not as good as a strat style guitar but damn good).
I love how PRS is constantly making innovations that are GOOD (eek, Gibson 2015!!) and people want to buy. I love the idea of the P22 and P24, and I REALLY love the idea of the 408 whereby there is no volume drop when using split positions (a slight mark down for the Cu24 or most guitars, to be honest - that's a real pain when gigging). And his acoustic and amps look great, too!
Man, I've just got to stop GASsing for other guitars that will never beat what I've got, focus on even MORE playing and just buy another PRS in future. I couldn't be happier with the guitars I've got. Just fantastic.
Bravo PRS! And for the millionth time, I'm going to post a pic of those guitars again. Man, I'd just LOVE to have some other models and in other colours like jade (or lime green), autumn sky etc....
Now perhaps I'm just being sentimental. Like I said, it's the specifics of the guitars I have that I love. Perhaps there are similar other gems from other builders. In which case, I must try (did you see some of the beauties at NAMM 2016!?). Regardless, I think I'll have these guitars for a very long time, if not forever. They cost me a small fortune and are worth every penny.
Just about how much I love PRS!
After 15 years of playing and hitting my 30th birthday, and after having only played cheap guitars, I thought I'd treat myself since I also joined a band and had a terrible first audition (still got accepted!) whereby my Ibanez was a bit microphonic and went out of tune quickly. Note I'm now 31 so this was a little while ago.
I went to the guitar shop and tried a whole bunch of guitars. A nice Suhr strat-style guitar really ignited me. I tried a few PRS but none really grabbed me. I almost bought the Suhr when an orange PRS caught my eye. It had been hanging on the wall at that time, so why had I passed it? I spent about an hour demoing it versus the Suhr and walked out with the PRS, even though it was crushingly expensive. Three times what I had budgeted for, but I knew I had to have it or regret it forever. Goes to show how you should really try every guitar in the shop when paying so much money because I almost passed up the best guitar of my life.
The lovely orange flame top, the powerful sound and bottom end of the 57/08s (I didn't know anything about them at the time), the flame satin maple neck (yowsa!), the double cutaway and extremely ergonomic design, the pattern thin neck which felt right at home, the amazing bird inlays - it was just perfect!
As it happens, I got the Suhr second hand and still have it. Great guitar, but the PRS is tops.
GAS struck me when I saw a Wood Library model with violet burst and that amazing flame satin maple neck. It was so amazing. Despite being practically the same guitar I had to have it. Madness? Many thought so, especially considering it was within just a couple of months of buying the first! I bought it online, "blind" in the sense that I hadn't played it first. What a gamble!! But it turned out to be no gamble at all because it looks and plays fantastic. I know this exact spec PRS will be A-ok every time I pick one up. I think I was lucky with the top though as I've seen some that look great online but just "ok" in store.
GAS picked at me again... I love the sound of Suhr Moderns so spent so much time checking them out but in the end, after a hard day's try-out of multiple Moderns, I came home, opened the cases to my guitars (in awe, every time I open them...) and called myself crazy because these guitars couldn't be bettered. The Moderns are ok but the downfall was the upper fret access - it's just unbeatable on a Cu24, honestly. And the pattern thin neck... it's just perfect.
Fast forward to last weekend and I sinned... my favourite guitar player has always been Slash and I think Les Pauls sound fantastic and look the part. I tried a Gibson class 5 which sounded fantastic but I wasn't overly keen on the gloop (lacquer?) neck and the fret access just wasn't there, it being a single-cut. I also tried a 2016 Standard which again looked great and sounded great. Perhaps TOO many options, though (all 4 pots can be pulled out and I think that live, it'd be a bit bewildering). That's another thing I like about mine - the 5-way blade with just enough sounds - not too many - simplicity in itself. I don't want a complicated beast to operate when I'm playing live. The most disappointing thing was that the Standard kept going out of tune! I'll give it the benefit of the doubt and say that the strings seemed new but I found it quite annoying. Another positive for PRS - they seem to stay in tune the best. More so than the Suhr and definitely more so than Gibson. Oh, and I realised just how much I like to use the trem - I never quite realised until I played the hard-tail Gibson. Yet another plus point for the Cu24. The Gibson felt a bit clunky to me and I really had to fight with it, whereas the PRS is like walking on air. I'm like a beginner on a Gibson and a virtuoso on a PRS! People say they like the fight of a Gibson but I never quite got that...
Again, I came back after trying the Gibsons and it was just like "woah" - absolute perfect beasts. What was I thinking!? When I got the pups changed on my violet one from covered 59/09s to uncovered 85/15s I actually missed it. When I opened the case in the shop and tried it out it was sheer bliss, seriously. You also should have seen some of the looks it got - it's a very sexy guitar. People just stop and stare!
Saying the above, there is a Gibson roadshow on this weekend so I will go along to check out their custom shop guitars. However while there I MUST resist getting a 30th Cu24 in Autumn Sky with Cocobolo fingerboard...
Now, I don't like all PRS, and there are others guitars that come close (a friend of mine has a nice Mayones Regius 6 which is on par with my Suhr). I vastly prefer satin neck models. I'd love to try different types of woods (though I think I'm at home with my light and snappy maple necks and sleek ebony fretboards). I'm not keen on how the heel comes closer to the neck on 22 fret models (can the heel not be pushed back down like for the Cu24? That would be an improvement?), though I prefer the sound of the neck pup on those guitars. An improvement might be an adjustable nut (you can vary the height of the nut on the Gibson HP range) as I do think the nut on my violet one is a hair too high, but that's nitpicking.
Specifically, the satin neck, 24-fret, double cut-away models I find hard to beat. VERY ergonomic. The guitars are just absolute workhorses - the ultimate dependable guitar when gigging. And the trem is so good... almost as good as a floyd rose for staying in tune.
Oh, and the pickups are fantastic. I've yet to actually try a guitar with Bareknuckles or custom hand-wound pups but I've heard the "sterile PRS" comments and it's bollox! 57/08s, 59/09s, 85/15s are all immense and have great split tones (not as good as a strat style guitar but damn good).
I love how PRS is constantly making innovations that are GOOD (eek, Gibson 2015!!) and people want to buy. I love the idea of the P22 and P24, and I REALLY love the idea of the 408 whereby there is no volume drop when using split positions (a slight mark down for the Cu24 or most guitars, to be honest - that's a real pain when gigging). And his acoustic and amps look great, too!
Man, I've just got to stop GASsing for other guitars that will never beat what I've got, focus on even MORE playing and just buy another PRS in future. I couldn't be happier with the guitars I've got. Just fantastic.
Bravo PRS! And for the millionth time, I'm going to post a pic of those guitars again. Man, I'd just LOVE to have some other models and in other colours like jade (or lime green), autumn sky etc....
Now perhaps I'm just being sentimental. Like I said, it's the specifics of the guitars I have that I love. Perhaps there are similar other gems from other builders. In which case, I must try (did you see some of the beauties at NAMM 2016!?). Regardless, I think I'll have these guitars for a very long time, if not forever. They cost me a small fortune and are worth every penny.
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I have a few others, but I've gotten rid of most of my non-PRSes. Don't miss them a bit.
