Guitar.com PRS article

I agree with Paul on this comment. As a collector, the older one's get the nod. But the player in me much prefers the newer PRS guitars.

“So, to me, something that has been turning in the industry and I think is about to tip over, is the very real possibility that brand-new guitars will be able to outmanoeuvre classic vintage instruments. ‘Vintage’ guitars can be like unicorns to some players, but if you think about it, those same guitars were brand new in the moments that made them so beloved, so it’s not that sacrilegious of a thought!”
 
]-[@n$0Ma☩!© said:
I agree with Paul on this comment. As a collector, the older one's get the nod. But the player in me much prefers the newer PRS guitars.

“So, to me, something that has been turning in the industry and I think is about to tip over, is the very real possibility that brand-new guitars will be able to outmanoeuvre classic vintage instruments. ‘Vintage’ guitars can be like unicorns to some players, but if you think about it, those same guitars were brand new in the moments that made them so beloved, so it’s not that sacrilegious of a thought!”
Click to expand...
Totally this
 
]-[@n$0Ma☩!© said:
As a collector, the older one's get the nod. But the player in me much prefers the newer PRS guitars.
Click to expand...
That's very true. My PRS guitars are all from the 90's, more out of circumstance than conscious choice. As they are now over 25 years old (the point where some prematurely attach the "vintage" qualifier to an instrument), I noticed that their market value has not significantly increased, as the new instruments being produced today seem to be equally desirable and sought after. There is no CBS/Norlin effect with PRS because they have managed to scale production while maintaining quality and pursuing innovation. I think that the reason PRS never bought into that "relic" business is that they are more concerned with making guitars feel and sound vintage, rather than look vintage.
 
I agree with Paul for the most part. I think PRS Guitars are better than a typical vintage but it depends on the brand. My brother has a 1964 Gibson 345. It sounds unbelievable. Carter Vintage in Nashville had one for $26,000. I wouldn't pay that but it sounds way better than any new 335/345 etc. Gibson I've ever played.
 
Paul is a very interesting guy. You can see the wheels turning in his head when he answers people's questions. His passion and drive for his company is very apparent.

I dont see many of the other guitar company owners get out in public and inspire people to play their instruments.

Paul is definitely one-of-a-kind.
 
]-[@n$0Ma☩!© said:
I agree with Paul on this comment. As a collector, the older one's get the nod. But the player in me much prefers the newer PRS guitars.

“So, to me, something that has been turning in the industry and I think is about to tip over, is the very real possibility that brand-new guitars will be able to outmanoeuvre classic vintage instruments. ‘Vintage’ guitars can be like unicorns to some players, but if you think about it, those same guitars were brand new in the moments that made them so beloved, so it’s not that sacrilegious of a thought!”
Click to expand...
I couldn't agree more, Hans.

For a long time, I played my '65 SG Special because 'they aren't making them like this any more' (though I didn't become a collector). That ended with my first PRS in 1991, and ever since I've gone with the PRS flow and I think it's gotten better for me as a player over time.

For me, the old ones aren't children of a lesser god, but I prefer the more recent ones. My '21 Special is off-the-charts good, and the tone is up there with my PS stuff. That in itself is pretty impressive.
 
]-[@n$0Ma☩!© said:
I agree with Paul on this comment. As a collector, the older one's get the nod. But the player in me much prefers the newer PRS guitars.

“So, to me, something that has been turning in the industry and I think is about to tip over, is the very real possibility that brand-new guitars will be able to outmanoeuvre classic vintage instruments. ‘Vintage’ guitars can be like unicorns to some players, but if you think about it, those same guitars were brand new in the moments that made them so beloved, so it’s not that sacrilegious of a thought!”
Click to expand...
Except there isn’t a new PRS guitar I want.

The 2004 PRS I trade for a 1991 PRS were/are just as amazing as my newest PRS in different ways, and I haven’t been bowled over by any hardware or pickup “advancements” that made me rush out and beg, borrow, or steal to acquire since 59/09’s.

Paul is in the business of selling, making, and hyping new guitars. Ain’t nuthin wrong with the old ones. IMO, YMMV, etc.
 
sergiodeblanc said:
Except there isn’t a new PRS guitar I want.
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A byproduct of owning all the old ones? ;)

sergiodeblanc said:
The 2004 PRS I trade for a 1991 PRS were/are just as amazing as my newest PRS in different ways, and I haven’t been bowled over by any hardware or pickup “advancements” that made me rush out and beg, borrow, or steal to acquire since 59/09’s.
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Makes me wonder why nobody has experimented with narrow 408's in a CE platform.

sergiodeblanc said:
Paul is in the business of selling, making, and hyping new guitars.
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In my last meeting with them regarding used guitars on this site, that was exactly their reasoning for saying 'no'.

sergiodeblanc said:
Ain’t nuthin wrong with the old ones. IMO, YMMV, etc.
Click to expand...

I hope those on the periphery of this discussion don't mistake personal preferences with an assertion that old = bad. I don't play the old ones very often because I'm a McCarty guy and my ears continue to evolve toward single-coil tones. As such, narrow 408's hit the sweet spot. That is certainly the direction PRS has been moving.

To date, one of the best sounding [obviously subjective] PRS guitars I have ever heard — easily in the top 3 — was a Sorcerer's Apprentice. It shocks me that there hasn't been a PS or production reissue of that iconic model.
 
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]-[@n$0Ma☩!© said:
A byproduct of owning all the old ones? ;)



Makes me wonder why nobody has experimented with narrow 408's in a CE platform.



In my last meeting with them regarding used guitars on this site, that was exactly their reasoning for saying 'no'.



I hope those on the periphery of this discussion don't mistake personal preferences with an assertion that old = bad. I don't play the old ones very often because I'm a McCarty guy and my ears continue to evolve toward single-coil tones. As such, narrow 408's hit the sweet spot. That is certainly the direction PRS has been moving.

To date, one of the best sounding [obviously subjective] PRS guitars I have ever heard — easily in the top 3 — was a Sorcerer's Apprentice. It shocks me that there hasn't been a PS or production reissue of that iconic model.
Click to expand...
Lol. Yeah, I’m sure some of it may have to do with the pile of guitars in my tiny laundry room, on my dinning room table, in my wife’s office, and the three or four littering my bedroom. :rolleyes:

But aside from that, I wouldn’t want people to think new = better and/or old = worse either.

Like, if we used a CU24 as a baseline and compared examples of one from every five years of manufacture, there’d be differences but they’d all be excellent.
 
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