How Did You Afford Your First New PRS?

[Herr Squid]

you could play bingo with the guitar phrases in this post, it’s like reading a guitar player column. ‘pre lawsuit ibanez’, ‘warmoth factory’, ‘princely sum’,...

Guitar nerd. Guilty as charged!

 

[pac90]

Drilling holes under the sea; SE bernie, but worth it, one strum like a different instrument from my first offbrand, turns out the magazine reviews were right...nothing much has changed except gas from forums instead of mags

 

[Alnus Rubra]

Courtesy two of the best dudes in the world.

if you don’t know the story, here’s a pic, apparently they tell a thousand words!

 

[markie]

I quit drinking & ended up with a guitar addiction. Surprising how much spare change I had for guitars

 

[Parralax view]

I've told the story, but mine was a gift. I didn't expect to walk out of GC in Dallas that day with anything. SHE thought otherwise. For that alone, it's my most treasured guitar.

 

[Deleted member 5962]

I quit drinking & ended up with a guitar addiction. Surprising how much spare change I had for guitars

Wow, that’s the opposite of my story. I used to play guitar, build pedals, build amps, etc. Then I joined here and within 3 months I was drinking!

 

[John]

Level 99 thieving.

 

[Guitpicky]

I’m one of those oddballs that believes in self sacrifice because without it there’s no real appreciation of what you’ve gained. The sacrifice I made to get my 594 was to give up my precious weed for a year. I say precious because it’s the only drug prescribed or otherwise that actually helps my autism cope with society. After 10 years without a single day off I quit cold turkey for exactly one year. I stuck to that like glue until the 366th day.

I also learned that for all my vices and abuses I’m still the one in control, but the only reason I am in control is because I allow those vices under management rather than trying to eliminate them. I have a fire inside that cannot and will not be controlled, the best I can do is contain it so it doesn’t get out of control. I get the feeling it’s not the guitar I’m really after there, but I love nice toys and a little extra incentive never hurts.

I never give myself anything for free, there’s just so much more to be gained thru personal sacrifice

 

[albert808]

I always wanted a Core, but never had the extra money to afford one. I had been playing over 20 years and had some decent guitars but nothing as nice as a Core.

One day I created two products that improved a couple of popular existing guitar products I listed them on Ebay without any extra marketing. When sales took off I new I was on a path to a new guitar. I kept the money in a separate "guitar" account. Then, right before my daughter was born, I thought I better get a core before my life changed forever (for the better). When I had earned just about enough money to buy a Core, I sold a few watches I was collecting and with that I had enough money to by a beautiful Black Gold P22 (Custom 22 Piezo).

A few years later, I started selling other gear and using that money to first buy a couple of used S2's at great prices. A S2 Standard 24 and a S2 Satin SingleCut. Then after saving for over another year and selling some more gear, I purchased a CE 24. When I thought I was done, PRS releases the S2 McCarty 594. I had to have one! So by luck one popped up at an online retailer with a 2-year no interest payment plan and I jumped on it. A beautiful S2 McCarty 594 DC in Faded Blue Smokeburst. I have halfway paid it off and have almost 22 months left to pay. Once that is paid off, I may just have to get a Silver Sky. I have yet to even try one out, but with all the good reviews it is on my future wish list.

 

[Mike Duncan]

I think I ran up a credit card bill. Meh.

 

[Texsunburst59]

ONE of these days I'll buy a new PRS.

Maybe!

My home studio is kind of a guitar orphanage for good quality used guitars.

The majority of my guitars are used, and I personally haven't bought myself a new guitar since '99

I have 3 killer used Core PRS guitars, and I'm a Happy Camper.

 

[Kiwi]

I got into guitar pretty late in life, about age 40, and I'd slaved to build a career till I finally got a few bucks ahead - and went the usual route of buying the classic guitars and standard amps at first, trying to figure out tone and music at the same time. (Not recommended - do one or the other at a time.)

A buddy had a PRS or three and I sure liked how they sounded. Didn't know much about PRS, but they seemed to be well thought of. I started looking.

Sold off those very good classic models to buy a brand new 1999 PRS HB-II for more money than I'd ever contemplated spending on a single piece of gear. My hand was trembling as I slid the credit card over the counter, thinking, Kiwi, you better be right about this one. But it called me by my secret name.

It's over 20 years later and that HB-II is the core of my PRS collection. I've bought and sold a lot of good guitars, but the '99 is still with me.

=K

 

[Grapeshot]

I forget if it was a Visa or MC...

 

[dwrockdoctor]

Fell in love with PRS guitars because of Larry Lalonde from Primus. Always loved the aesthetic, beauty and attention to detail of PRS guitars. Best quality production line guitars out there today! I saved as a struggling musician for my first PRS, a second hand 98 Black Cherry CE24 which I cherished and used to great extent on many tours and recordings. I stupidly sold it to fund an amp purchase which didn't happen because a bunch of bills came through. I luckily bought it back from who I sold it to about a year ago which reignited my love for PRS and I have since bought another two CE24's (94 and 02), a 92 EGII, a first generation SE Santana and my latest that I received two days ago, a 2008 Core Mira.

I had another one that got away i bought about a year after my first PRS as a back up, a Custom 22 in McCarty Sunburst. I still have photos that I long over, I wish I didn't sell it, was a beautiful guitar but needed funds for an overseas trip... sigh.

Edit: I haven't bought any PRS new, I'm always about the used market and love the thrill of finding a good deal. Plus if you sell it on you don't stand to lose much money and sometimes even gain from it.

 

[Steve's addiction]

Tax return back in 89. Bought a blue CE