I’m So Confused

[Yohannah]

Too many beauties to look at, and so many options.

On PRS’s site, they show the S2 Singlecut with birds but no pick guard.

They show the S2 Singlecut Standard with pick guard but dots, no birds.

They don’t show an S2 of any type with both birds and pickguard, and PRS emailed me back and said the birds aren’t available on the Standard, but one of the big-box online guitar stores (that I won’t name or buy from) shows one that has both birds and pickguard. They call it an S2 Standard.

Might that be an older model? If you get the S2 with the birds, can you get the pickguard as an add-on?

I’m still waffling between the Standard satin finish with pick guard, but really want those birds!!! I wish I had a store to try them side by side, but my local dealer doesn’t have either one.

Thanks for being patient with me.

 

[Cbouty]

Too many beauties to look at, and so many options.

On PRS’s site, they show the S2 Singlecut with birds but no pick guard.

They show the S2 Singlecut Standard with pick guard but dots, no birds.

They don’t show an S2 of any type with both birds and pickguard, and PRS emailed me back and said the birds aren’t available on the Standard, but one of the big-box online guitar stores (that I won’t name or buy from) shows one that has both birds and pickguard. They call it an S2 Standard.

Might that be an older model? If you get the S2 with the birds, can you get the pickguard as an add-on?

I’m still waffling between the Standard satin finish with pick guard, but really want those birds!!! I wish I had a store to try them side by side, but my local dealer doesn’t have either one.

Thanks for being patient with me.

Checkout this post....

https://forums.prsguitars.com/threads/custom-24-invisible-pick-guard.29304/

After having my PRS’s for a while now, I realize the reason they dont have pick guards is that the carves and height of the strings make them difficult to scratch... but I still have these invisible pick guards on both my guitars and my boys guitar.

So chose the look you want and the tone your after and spend $30 to make your own invisible pick guard

 

[Yohannah]

Thank you so much for the link.

While I want the pick guard protection, I really also just love the look and shape of the guard on the S2.

Thank you.

Checkout this post....

https://forums.prsguitars.com/threads/custom-24-invisible-pick-guard.29304/

After having my PRS’s for a while now, I realize the reason they dont have pick guards is that the carves and height of the strings make them difficult to scratch... but I still have these invisible pick guards on both my guitars and my boys guitar.

So chose the look you want and the tone your after and spend $30 to make your own invisible pick guard

 

[andy474x]

Sometimes certain dealers either have old stock, some of the older S2 standards did have birds as an option IIRC, or they get special runs made that have birds.

I'll say this regarding the birds on S2's: they look nice, from a moderate distance, but they won't wow you close up. They're not a fancy textured material like abalone or MOP, or even an emulation of that kind of thing, they're just flat, off-white pieces of plain plastic. Normally I wouldn't criticize that, they don't look bad, but they also don't pop like a Core or even some SE's do. In this situation where you're torn over birds vs. dots, I just want to make the point that you're not getting much more than a shape if you go for the birds. If the shape is still a big thing for you, there's nothing wrong with that. Personally, I have an S2 satin in black, and something about that pickguard, dots, and the whole stripped-down motif just screams with an understated yet defiantly rock and roll attitude. And, IMO, the unplugged tone of the satins is arguably the best of the whole solid body S2 line, they ring like a bell. It's not a thick finish, and it will relic quickly, which means perhaps just some change of texture on the neck if you're gentle, all the way up to buckle rash and pick scratches taking finish off if you're rowdy with it. Which will still look awesome, so it's a win-win. Plus, at the price of an S2 satin, vs a maple top and birdies S2, you can get the guitar AND put an order in for an MT15! The satins aren't just a good value compared to the more expensive S2's, they're literally the best guitars in the line and somehow also the cheapest, if you can get along with a satin finish and less bling. At least that's my take.

If you want to look for an odd bird (pun intended) of an S2, something that might have a pickguard and birds, check out Dave's Guitar Shop. They're a PRS dealer and get tons of oddball, but very cool, stock, lots of one-offs and prototypes. And, for whatever reason, they can often sell them at very reasonable prices (you will save money).

 

[Yohannah]

Wow, just when I was ready to let go of the satin. You're *very* convincing!!! Hmmmmmm . . . . . They really are very nice looking, and I'm impressed with the video sound.

Yes, I did know that about the S2 birds. I've been looking at them and blowing images up, so I'd figgered that part out. The higher end MOP birds are definitely wonderful and offer a lot more pop.

Thanks so much.

Sometimes certain dealers either have old stock, some of the older S2 standards did have birds as an option IIRC, or they get special runs made that have birds.

I'll say this regarding the birds on S2's: they look nice, from a moderate distance, but they won't wow you close up. They're not a fancy textured material like abalone or MOP, or even an emulation of that kind of thing, they're just flat, off-white pieces of plain plastic. Normally I wouldn't criticize that, they don't look bad, but they also don't pop like a Core or even some SE's do. In this situation where you're torn over birds vs. dots, I just want to make the point that you're not getting much more than a shape if you go for the birds. If the shape is still a big thing for you, there's nothing wrong with that. Personally, I have an S2 satin in black, and something about that pickguard, dots, and the whole stripped-down motif just screams with an understated yet defiantly rock and roll attitude. And, IMO, the unplugged tone of the satins is arguably the best of the whole solid body S2 line, they ring like a bell. It's not a thick finish, and it will relic quickly, which means perhaps just some change of texture on the neck if you're gentle, all the way up to buckle rash and pick scratches taking finish off if you're rowdy with it. Which will still look awesome, so it's a win-win. Plus, at the price of an S2 satin, vs a maple top and birdies S2, you can get the guitar AND put an order in for an MT15! The satins aren't just a good value compared to the more expensive S2's, they're literally the best guitars in the line and somehow also the cheapest, if you can get along with a satin finish and less bling. At least that's my take.

If you want to look for an odd bird (pun intended) of an S2, something that might have a pickguard and birds, check out Dave's Guitar Shop. They're a PRS dealer and get tons of oddball, but very cool, stock, lots of one-offs and prototypes. And, for whatever reason, they can often sell them at very reasonable prices (you will save money).

 

[andy474x]

Wow, just when I was ready to let go of the satin. You're *very* convincing!!! Hmmmmmm . . . . . They really are very nice looking, and I'm impressed with the video sound.

Yes, I did know that about the S2 birds. I've been looking at them and blowing images up, so I'd figgered that part out. The higher end MOP birds are definitely wonderful and offer a lot more pop.

Thanks so much.

You're choosing between something good and something good, so either way I'm sure you'll land on your feet!

 

[Yohannah]

Nice!!

You're choosing between something good and something good, so either way I'm sure you'll land on your feet!

 

[Cbouty]

You're choosing between something good and something good, so either way I'm sure you'll land on your feet!

Agreed!

 

[shimmilou]

Yep, looks like that one is the only one with birds and pick guard.

Also available here, with 2 color options.
https://www.wwbw.com/PRS-S2-Singlecut-Standard-Bird-Inlays-Electric-Guitar-J17191.wwbw

 

[Cbouty]

Yep, looks like that one is the only one with birds and pick guard.

Also available here, with 2 color options.
https://www.wwbw.com/PRS-S2-Singlecut-Standard-Bird-Inlays-Electric-Guitar-J17191.wwbw

And a white open box one... unless sergio bought it already

 

[Yohannah]

Actually, the one I found was on a different site. If I could do side by side comparison that would help. I have to say, I love both color options - Sienna vs. vintage cherry is a hard decision. Both are yummy.

The more I read about concerns regarding the nitro finish, the more I'm leaning away from satin. I'm a pendulum, hahahahaha.

They really don't make it easy to decide!! It's a good problem to have.

Yep, looks like that one is the only one with birds and pick guard.

Also available here, with 2 color options.
https://www.wwbw.com/PRS-S2-Singlecut-Standard-Bird-Inlays-Electric-Guitar-J17191.wwbw

 

[Yohannah]

Never mind. They look like different business sites, but have the same contact mailing address. :-/

 

[garrett]

There are a bunch of the gloss standard with birds on eBay. The S2 Singlecut Standard is a criminally overlooked model, so these would be new old stock from 2016, I believe. I think they dropped birds from the S2 standards for '17.

 

[László]

The more I read about concerns regarding the nitro finish, the more I'm leaning away from satin.

Remember, however, that PRS sprays gloss nitro on their Private Stock line, and some satin nitro as well; it’s certainly not bad stuff. I have a few PS with gloss nitro, and I think it offers a slight improvement in tone from poly - if you like a more traditional tone. I have poly finished Core models, too. I like both, but nitro has a slight edge in my panoply of preference, as it does for many others.

In any case, if I was interested in a satin finish instead of the shiny objects I’m attracted to, I’d want nitro over poly.

The downside to a satin finish is that with use, it’ll gloss up a little where your arm and hands touch the guitar as it wears in. But that has nothing to do with poly vs nitro, and it gives the guitar a “working tool” look that’s often desirable.

On the other hand, mmmm, shiny guitars!

Incidentally, even though I have fancy birds on my guitars, I love (and have owned) PRS’ moon and dot inlays, too. Sometimes the birds can be too much of a good thing.

 

[JJJ]

Remember, however, that PRS sprays gloss nitro on their Private Stock line, and some satin nitro as well; it’s certainly not bad stuff. I have a few PS with gloss nitro, and I think it offers a slight improvement in tone from poly - if you like a more traditional tone. I have poly finished Core models, too. I like both, but nitro has a slight edge in my panoply of preference, as it does for many others.

In any case, if I was interested in a satin finish instead of the shiny objects I’m attracted to, I’d want nitro over poly.

The downside to a satin finish is that with use, it’ll gloss up a little where your arm and hands touch the guitar as it wears in. But that has nothing to do with poly vs nitro, and it gives the guitar a “working tool” look that’s often desirable.

On the other hand, mmmm, shiny guitars!

Incidentally, even though I have fancy birds on my guitars, I love (and have owned) PRS’ moon and dot inlays, too. Sometimes the birds can be too much of a good thing.

I like nitro finishes but you do have to be mindful what you expose them to. Plus a lot of nitro necks I have played have felt sticky after an hour or two on them and when you sweat. They absorb damage well, and are easy to repair, but they are soft and like I said, the sticky neck thing seems common at least in my experience.

My favourite guitar finish, aside from a good hard drying oil, is PRS' poly undercoat, acrylic top coat. It feels like a really hard old nitro but doesn't get sticky and it won't wear off.

 

[László]

I like nitro finishes but you do have to be mindful what you expose them to. Plus a lot of nitro necks I have played have felt sticky after an hour or two on them and when you sweat. They absorb damage well, and are easy to repair, but they are soft and like I said, the sticky neck thing seems common at least in my experience.

My favourite guitar finish, aside from a good hard drying oil, is PRS' poly undercoat, acrylic top coat. It feels like a really hard old nitro but doesn't get sticky and it won't wear off.

PRS’ nitro (at least on my 4 PS guitars with it) isn’t sticky. In fact, I was surprised at how hard, non-sticky, and durable it is.

If my experience with PRS’ nitro with 4 guitars, built in 4 different years, is any indication (two of which were sprayed in summer, and two in winter) I wouldn’t worry about stickiness.

I take a few simple precautions with nitro, because I’m fussy these days:

1. Nitro can interact with certain chemicals used to tan some leathers, if it’s in contact with them for long periods. So remove the straps after playing. Simple. No issues if you do that.

2. Nitro can also interact with the brown surgical rubber that used to be common on guitar stands. These days, stand makers often use stuff that won’t interact with nitro. If you buy a stand, just check to see. If unsure, simply put a cloth over the parts that touch the guitar.

3. Some guitar polishes don’t interact well with nitro. So use a polish that works with nitro, like Virtuoso (my favorite polish for any guitar). It’ll say whether it’s formulated for nitro on the packaging.

4. If coming into a warm place from a cold place, don’t open the case right away, to prevent finish checking. Same coming in from a hot place to a cool one. Let the guitar acclimate in its case for a few minutes. Use common sense if traveling with it, i.e., don’t leave it out in a freezing cold car for a long time, or in a hot car trunk in summer.

Beyond these very simple things, I treat the nitro guitars exactly the way I treat the poly/acrylic ones.