Les Paul vs. SE Bernie Marsden
I'm rather new to the "PRS Family", having just received my very first one yesterday but, I have owned a Les Paul for quite a while now, so I can speak to a few of the similarities and differences.
My PRS is the Bernie Marsden which, as most are aware, is based a lot on his '59 Les Paul "The Beast". Unable to actually play one due to not being near enough to a music shop, I had to rely on online reviews and videos of this model. I was not able to find a single bad review. In short, this guitar more than lives up to the hype.
Weight: There's a reason the Les Paul was nicknamed "the Log" in it's early inception. As any Les Paul owner will attest to, a genuine, solid (non weight relieved) Les Paul is rather heavy. The first thing that stunned me by the "Bernie" was how much lighter she was by comparison. I found the weight of her closer to that of my Stratocaster.
Feel: Right away the Bernie felt very comfortable in my hands, like an old friend. I had read where the neck was wide but, the neck width and girth feel almost identical to my Les Paul (SlimTaper "D" profile). Overall, the body of the Bernie is as wide/thick as the Les Paul, but does feature a "belly scarf" which does as to the comfort when playing.
Sound: The sound from various guitars will be subjective depending on various factors, such as pick ups, amps, strings, even ones fingers and playing styles. My Les Paul has Gibson '57's in her. These have been my most favored pick ups from my stable of guitars, I like the thick, fat, warm and crunchy tone I am able to coax out of them. I was immediately able to generate very similar tones form the stock Bernie Marsden pick ups. Not identical, mind you, but in the same ball park. Which to me is good. I was not looking for a clone of my Les Paul but, did want those types of bluesy, rock 'n' roll, hard rock tones and texture. This Bernie has that in spades. I have no intention of ever replacing nor "upgrading" the pick ups on this guitar. Even Bernie Marsden himself states that he actually prefers the stock pick ups on these models.
Construction/Build: My Les Paul is a beautiful creature. Solid as a rock, built like a tank. She is made of solid mahogany with a hand carved AAA flame maple cap and has a deep set neck joint. My Bernie has all of that, as well, only no AAA flame top, because I got her with the black finish. Having that sexy, glossy black finish, any flaw would show up under the lights...she is flawless! This is an incredibly well made guitar, all around! Though an import, I have a few other guitars which were made in Korea. I have come to learn that, when it comes to imports, Korea, more often than not, has very well crafted guitars.
That leads me to another observation on this guitar and it's co-creator: Mr. Bernie Marsden actually plays his own signature model guitar! That is actually a big deal, kids. Too many guitar heroes will have their names emblazoned on the headstock of a guitar, do a few photo shoots with it, then maybe (contractually) use it on a song or two in concert. Mr. Marsden plays his signature model quite often, even recording with it. That was, for me, one of the biggest selling points on this model.
A few parting points on this model I'll add. This model, as well as a few other PRS', has a "wrap around" bridge. This is very reminiscent of some early Les Paul models, as well as current ones like the Studios, Jr's, Double Cut Aways. It also features green "tulip" style tuners in the vein of Kluson tuners, also used on many Gibsons, even their higher end models.
Okay, perhaps I got a little longwinded with my second official post here at the sight. I'll retire to the back of the class now and get back to playing my guitar...
