So I'm looking to upgrade my electric rig, and the SE Chris Robertson has caught my eye. However, I'd love the opinion of more experienced PRS folks about how it might compare to other guitars. Yes, I know the best advice is "go play everything in your price range and pick the one you can't let go of," but I like going into the guitar store as informed as possible.
I've been playing primarily acoustic for the past decade or so. My electric is a parts-caster strat, which is fine, but I'm ready for something different.
I'm a big fan of Jimmy Page and Duane Allman, a lot of the late 60s/early-70s rock. Acoustically, I play a lot of singer-songwriter stuff and am heavily influenced by the '70s British folk scene (Nick Drake, John Martyn, Bert Jansch) as well as CSN. Rumors-era Fleetwood Mac is also a big influence.
I've always loved the Les Paul sound, but have had mixed feelings about Les Pauls in general. The weight makes them hard to play for long periods of time. The upper fret access is mediocre at best. It did occur to me that, given PRS's attention to detail and playability, their take on a Les Paul might be what I'm looking for.
Once I started lusting after the Chris Robertson, I figured I ought to compare it to the similar guitars in the PRS lineup. I actually prefer double-cuts (less weight!) but also hard tails (faster tuning, better tuning stability, especially jumping back and forth between standard and DADGAD or maybe even DADDAD). Honestly, the 597 seems like it was made for me but it's way out of my price range at the moment. The Chris Robertson seems like it might be a nice compromise and something about it speaks to me enough for me to get over my concerns about weight.
I obviously have to get one in my hands to make sure the Wide Fat neck works for me. But in general, do people with more experience agree with these assessments about other similar guitars?
So the Zach Meyers is obviously also interesting. I like semi-hollows, and less weight is always nice. But it seems to me like the ZM is a little more modern-voiced? A little more metal, less classic rock?
The 245 seems a little ... safer, maybe? Less mojo? It's obviously a fair bit cheaper, which is nice, but it also feels, to me, like it veers a little more towards the standard PRS voice, which is more modern than I like.
I could probably stretch the budget and get an S2 Singlecut Satin. That seems like an upgrade on the 245, and it'd be nice to buy American (I might not be willing to buy Chinese because of economic/labor/environmental issues, but I'm happy to buy Korean, so that's not a big ding if the quality is good), but maybe it makes the same safer choices that the 245 makes? Maybe a little more middle-of-the-road? Something to look at if the wide/fat doesn't work for me, but I kind of feel "meh" about it.
So ... anything else I should really look at? Any places where my thinking here just seems way off the mark? Thoughts and opinions welcome!
I've been playing primarily acoustic for the past decade or so. My electric is a parts-caster strat, which is fine, but I'm ready for something different.
I'm a big fan of Jimmy Page and Duane Allman, a lot of the late 60s/early-70s rock. Acoustically, I play a lot of singer-songwriter stuff and am heavily influenced by the '70s British folk scene (Nick Drake, John Martyn, Bert Jansch) as well as CSN. Rumors-era Fleetwood Mac is also a big influence.
I've always loved the Les Paul sound, but have had mixed feelings about Les Pauls in general. The weight makes them hard to play for long periods of time. The upper fret access is mediocre at best. It did occur to me that, given PRS's attention to detail and playability, their take on a Les Paul might be what I'm looking for.
Once I started lusting after the Chris Robertson, I figured I ought to compare it to the similar guitars in the PRS lineup. I actually prefer double-cuts (less weight!) but also hard tails (faster tuning, better tuning stability, especially jumping back and forth between standard and DADGAD or maybe even DADDAD). Honestly, the 597 seems like it was made for me but it's way out of my price range at the moment. The Chris Robertson seems like it might be a nice compromise and something about it speaks to me enough for me to get over my concerns about weight.
I obviously have to get one in my hands to make sure the Wide Fat neck works for me. But in general, do people with more experience agree with these assessments about other similar guitars?
So the Zach Meyers is obviously also interesting. I like semi-hollows, and less weight is always nice. But it seems to me like the ZM is a little more modern-voiced? A little more metal, less classic rock?
The 245 seems a little ... safer, maybe? Less mojo? It's obviously a fair bit cheaper, which is nice, but it also feels, to me, like it veers a little more towards the standard PRS voice, which is more modern than I like.
I could probably stretch the budget and get an S2 Singlecut Satin. That seems like an upgrade on the 245, and it'd be nice to buy American (I might not be willing to buy Chinese because of economic/labor/environmental issues, but I'm happy to buy Korean, so that's not a big ding if the quality is good), but maybe it makes the same safer choices that the 245 makes? Maybe a little more middle-of-the-road? Something to look at if the wide/fat doesn't work for me, but I kind of feel "meh" about it.
So ... anything else I should really look at? Any places where my thinking here just seems way off the mark? Thoughts and opinions welcome!
