Ever notice PRS hate on other forums??

[Bogner]

You could have saved some time and used the standard MIPWAKAAICCBADT acronym. Its industry talk.

Also, I kid!

That Would Be Too Easy...

 

[loocnmad]

My three favorite brands are the ones that tend to get bashed a lot (PRS/Heritage/Music Man). The funniest part about it is that if you actually listen to the criticism you can usually tell the person complaining has probably never touched one to begin with.

“Music Man necks are stupid toothpicks because they’re too small” coming from the same person who claims vintage 50’s strats are the perfect guitar. You know, the ones that have the exact same nut width as a Music Man.

“Music Man only got their start because they totally ripped off Fender”. Uhhh, Leo Fender founded Music Man and created the designs for a number of their most popular instruments like the Stingray bass and Cutlass guitar.

The anonymity of the internet makes it too easy to jump on the hate wagon. There also seems, at least to me, to be a growing sense of arrogance and self importance for anything that’s not “mine”. I don’t play that so it’s stupid and I must hate it. I don’t like the color so anyone that does is my enemy. I need to feel like I’m smarter and better than everyone else. Me, ME, MEEEEEEEEEEEE!!!!!

 

[SinSir]

People say the same about Heritage headstocks. I find it absurd!
A lot of people are just traditionalist. If it’s not Gibson or Fender, they dont want to know. personally, I’m the anti-traditionalist. I’ll take PRS, Heritage, and G&L all day long

A huge fan of heritage guitars, but to be honest their headstocks are a little much. Still great guitars, but the revised custom core headstock are a huge improvement and look great.

 

[douga]

One of the things I came to realize over the years...and this may just be true for me...is that I'm not paying any attention to the looks of the guitar while I'm playing. So I can't say I won't play a guitar because of it's looks.

Except maybe for the heavily quilted guitars. Looking at those makes me seasick.

 

[tdroid]

Pre-pandemic, Squiers and Epiphones ranged from $300-600, whereas the PRS SE line usually started around $600. Fenders started around $500, Gibson's around $700, and PRS was what, $800 for an S2?

Budget PRS SE Guitars, especially for the young and the poor, were waaaay more expensive than the budget counterparts. Also PRS is known for loud expressive tops. They're also seen on many walls of many dentist offices. They've got the reputation of being consistently well made, regardless of price, but also pieces to be shown off, rather than played.

Nowadays, the SE line is in the same price range as Fender's MIM, and Epiphones have also jumped up to the $700 mark, so they're no longer going to anger the young up and comers. And the young players are the most vocal and opinionated, because that's what young is.

I can say that over the past 12ish years that I've been purchasing electrics, I've always been aware of PRS/PRS SE, but never considered it, because I wasn't interested in spending that kind of money in my hobby - but I knew they were renowned for their great quality control, and that the SE Line offered amazing bang for all those bucks. But, I was more interested in trying different types of guitars for different tones and scale-length/pickup combinations. It wasn't until the last year I bumped up my game to Fender and SE. My SE is everything I expected it to be, based on what I've read about them on the forums (not that I didn't test one out first before purchasing). So, I can vouch for reading all the hate, but also reading the praise. Now, I own a Chinese guitar that retails for more than a low-end Gibson, and I made that choice with a clear head and no regrets.

 

[JBBUSYB33]

The internet is full of experts, of course they are all entitled to an opinion, but I’m interested in what makes me happy.

In a way I think PRS were in a no win situation for many years, they made impeccable guitars which were big money. I think it’s a place which garnered much jealousy.

As an owner since 92, and yes they were a big investment then, I bought my first PRS Custom 22 as a reward to myself, however by 99 I realised as an everyday tool they were not just excellent in looks and quality, but as a tool that gave me one less thing to worry about.

Laugh if you like, but my ‘gig’ bag consists of IEM, pens, paper, toiletries (toothpaste, deodorant, soap) some makeup (yep sometimes a shiny head is not the friend of a lighting director) , a spare fleece and a change of clothes if needed.

Plus my PRS. I often still get the comment, your doing well, you’ve got a PRS, but it’s my tool and after transport, food, being paid etc it’s one less thing to worry about.

I do think PRS push into SE versions is very smart, it widens them to a new audience and I often wonder if I could get by with an SE, but so far no need, I’ve had 25 years out of my McRosie and that’s value.

Often the dissent is a misunderstanding of what a guitar is for many of us.

 

[ruger9]

All the people who name the birds as the reason they would never buy/own/play/be seen with a PRS make me laugh.

Oh yeah, that's a good one- the birds are the "deal breaker"... everyone has different tastes of course, but to say the birds "ruin a perfectly good guitar" is just silly... I wonder if they feel that way about Gibson's blocks/parallelograms? Or Ibanez' "Tree of Life"? Or any other brands non-dot inlays?

 

[ruger9]

My three favorite brands are the ones that tend to get bashed a lot (PRS/Heritage/Music Man). The funniest part about it is that if you actually listen to the criticism you can usually tell the person complaining has probably never touched one to begin with.

“Music Man necks are stupid toothpicks because they’re too small” coming from the same person who claims vintage 50’s strats are the perfect guitar. You know, the ones that have the exact same nut width as a Music Man.

“Music Man only got their start because they totally ripped off Fender”. Uhhh, Leo Fender founded Music Man and created the designs for a number of their most popular instruments like the Stingray bass and Cutlass guitar.

The anonymity of the internet makes it too easy to jump on the hate wagon. There also seems, at least to me, to be a growing sense of arrogance and self importance for anything that’s not “mine”. I don’t play that so it’s stupid and I must hate it. I don’t like the color so anyone that does is my enemy. I need to feel like I’m smarter and better than everyone else. Me, ME, MEEEEEEEEEEEE!!!!!

I don't get the MM bashing either, my Luke III is absolutely every bit the guitar my DGT is. So it can't be price/value. Most of their necks ARE small- nut width and neck profile.... so if you don't get on with a small neck, that's understandable. But otherwise, the criticisms are nonsense.

 

[Tonart]

All the people who name the birds as the reason they would never buy/own/play/be seen with a PRS make me laugh.

Fully agreed. There are already at least 12 dots on this post. Life is already full of dots, they’re everywhere and they’re boring. Counting them is worse.

I don’t need any more dots appearing on my fingerboards.

 

[Glenn Gross]

All the people who name the birds as the reason they would never buy/own/play/be seen with a PRS make me laugh.

Beaks me why they do that.

 

[SinSir]

I totally get people not liking some PRSi for esthetic reasons, including birds and tops. I typically don't look at something that I dislike visually. Birds are cool.. but at the same time I like variety. That's one of the things I like about PRS. I have different birds, moons, abalone dots, and dots, even a no inlay fretboard. Same with tops, I have flame, quilt, 10 top, wood grain, burst, and solid. Variety is the spice of life.

If you don't like birds, there's plenty of options. And even more top and finish options than you could wish, from mild to wild and totally out there. To blanket statement I don't like PRS because of birds shows how little they actually know about the brand and internet gossip, like soulless and sterile. I get it if early pickups aren't your thing, but for the past 15 years there's a tone for everyone. From PAF to fire breathing dragon. PRS are anything but sterile.

 

[littlebadboy]

Everybody has their own tastes of things. I love my PRS. I also love headless guitars, some hates them. I'm not much into traditional teles, but a lot loves them.

 

[douga]

Yeah, I don't get the thing about the birds either. They don't interfere with playing the guitar.
Also...PRS has moons? I love moons! What models are they on?

 

[Jimi D]

There used to be plenty of Gibson bashing that goes on here, with people complaining about Gibson QC.

People seem to have to justify their choice by slagging someone else's choice. It's silly, but that's what folks seem to love to do.

I've owned several Gibsons in my day, and my personal experience suggests that there are periods in Gibson's manufacturing history when their quality control absolutely deserved to be slagged.

 

[László]

I've owned several Gibsons in my day, and my personal experience suggests that there are periods in Gibson's manufacturing history when their quality control absolutely deserved to be slagged.

They made some good ones, and they made some not-so-good ones over the years. What did bashing them do to improve your life?

It's like when I bash modeling amps. No one really cares. No one's not gonna buy a modeler because I gave my opinion, if that's what they want. No one's gonna say, "Gee, thanks, Laz, you saved me from a fate worse than death." It's just a rant. I'm not gonna have people come up to me in the street asking for my autograph.

"Why do you do it, then?"

"Because I'm neither a sensible or nice person!"

 

[Jimi D]

They made some good ones, and they made some not-so-good ones over the years. What did bashing them do to improve your life?

It's like when I bash modeling amps. No one really cares. No one's not gonna buy a modeler because I gave my opinion, if that's what they want. No one's gonna say, "Gee, thanks, Laz, you saved me from a fate worse than death." It's just a rant. I'm not gonna have people come up to me in the street asking for my autograph.

"Why do you do it, then?"

"Because I'm neither a sensible or nice person!"

Whelp, I'm one of those what thinks that maybe, just maybe, the reason the big boys (ie: Fender and Gibson) have significantly upped their game at all price points over the past decade or so is in no small part a reaction to the fact that guys like Music Man and PRS were putting them to shame on the quality front, and customers were calling them out on it. Maybe.

 

[sergiodeblanc]

They made some good ones, and they made some not-so-good ones over the years. What did bashing them do to improve your life?

It's like when I bash modeling amps. No one really cares. No one's not gonna buy a modeler because I gave my opinion, if that's what they want. No one's gonna say, "Gee, thanks, Laz, you saved me from a fate worse than death." It's just a rant. I'm not gonna have people come up to me in the street asking for my autograph.

"Why do you do it, then?"

"Because I'm neither a sensible or nice person!"

Enjoying life is about the little things, like seeing a beautiful sunset, a special glass of wine, a woman with no bra on, or yes, busting on something completely arbitrary and/or subjective on the interweb.

 

[Fatherjones.com]

I have been loving PRS since I first played one at Chuck Leavin's in the late 80s. But I didnt always love the sound. Once the 245 and 57/08 pickups came out, and all the good ones since, I cant get enough. The haters are just posers usually. Play what you like.

 

[Runcible Gates]

They made some good ones, and they made some not-so-good ones over the years. What did bashing them do to improve your life?

It's like when I bash modeling amps. No one really cares. No one's not gonna buy a modeler because I gave my opinion, if that's what they want. No one's gonna say, "Gee, thanks, Laz, you saved me from a fate worse than death." It's just a rant. I'm not gonna have people come up to me in the street asking for my autograph.

"Why do you do it, then?"

"Because I'm neither a sensible or nice person!"

Sometimes it alerts people to potential problems within specific years/models: so yes, if it's a justified criticism, it does serve a purpose outside of self-indulgence.

Alerting people to a (quite long) run of poorly-cut nuts, poor colour-bleed onto the binding, poorly-set intonation, excess weight, cases that impart a near-ineradicable smell to the guitar itself....... this is just a small handful of what Gibson has dealt out to an excessively forgiving public over the years. For too many years in my lifetime they relied on their name and trade dress to carry on selling, while others had to put out a more conscientiously built product to compete.

Long run? Gibson gave away a chunk of its market to guys like Paul and all the other smaller makers, who had taken a good hard look at overcoming obvious quality issues, and who were just plain prepared to work harder.


Setting expectations of what other manufacturers take in their stride and as a result, getting people to consider the competition, or at the very least run the racks when buying, looks like a public service to me.

 

[Tonart]

This is what I’ve ear-served over the years. The classic PRS 25” guitars have their own distinct inherent tone, just that it is relatively subtle. People can’t pick it out, so they think it’s “sterile”.

In certain individual guitars, due to the individual woods no doubt, it comes out stronger. For example I have a 2014 Collection McCarty 408 where this characteristic tone is just off the charts. I would describe it as a very “thick” mid-range tone, and does very well for lead tones, less well for crunch rock chords.

But the 594 has changed that and I’m very sure now it’s due to the scale length and maybe in some small way the two piece bridge. That produces that fat woody tone, equal parts low and high ends, that is so excellent for crunch rock chords and lower gain riffs.

It’s simply how the strings vibrate on the different models.