I’m thinking about getting a 408…

Geo408

Geo408

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Joined
Jun 22, 2015
Messages
280
Location
Upstate New York.
Okay, I had a 408 and I sold it several years ago. It had a rosewood neck, was almost 9 pounds, and sounded dull and bassy in all positions. No matter how I tried, (raising and lowering pickups, changing resistors, etc..) I couldn’t shake the dull, lifeless tone. However, that guitar was the best playing, most perfectly intonated, and gorgeous looking PRS I had owned up to that point. Due to back and shoulder surgeries, playing it on stage was out of the equation.
When I started recording with it, no matter what amp I used I could not get a solid workable tone. I own vintage Fender and Marshall amps, and a newer Tone King amp…and I have access to some other incredible amps as well. So, this is my dilemma: I have an opportunity to buy another 408, at a good price and a good weight. Its a 2013, no rosewood neck, and has a pretty plain looking top…but I don’t care about looks, I care about tone…I want to buy it, but should I?
I would welcome anyone who has a 408, or who has owned one, to tell me if that pickup system can be worked with. I have played a few over the last 10 months, and 3 out of 4 of them sounded pretty damn good. The one that didn’t sound good had a full rosewood neck, like the one I owned had. Yeah I know, don’t buy one with a rosewood neck! Help me out…please!
 
I have a 408 and it's been my favorite PRS that I own for a long time. I love the feel as well as the sound. I don't have any issues dialing in sounds I like. It's just my opinion of course but I love the way it sounds. Mine doesn't have the full rosewood neck. I mainly use it for gigging, no recording. I also use a mixture of new and vintage fender amps, a Mesa Mark 5:35 and a Fractal when going straight to the board.
You may not have the same results that I do but I really like mine. Mine is pictured in my avatar
 
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I'd give it another go (but of course, it's easy for me to spend your money). My 408 was my first "core" PRS and I've still got it, many guitars later; in fact, I still like it for its slightly unique pickup approach.

Mine (seen in my avatar photo) weighs in right at 8 lbs, so you definitely can get 'em lighter than your old one. I don't know if the rosewood neck was throwing things off (I believe rosewood necks are heavier than mahogany, though) but every once in a while you can just end up with a "dud" of a guitar. In my experience, that can happen, even with high-end guitars like PRS. I used to have a RW-neck Singlecut that weighed 9.5 lbs--it should have sounded as amazing as it looked, but sadly it didn't. (Don't worry, I didn't sell it to anyone on this forum.) I've had the best, but not perfect, luck by going for guitars that are on the lighter side.
 
I like them. They're niche. Hard to sell, I've noticed. You usually have to sell at a pretty good price because there aren't many buyers, even for nice ones. if your heart's not fully in it, don't do it, that's my go to when you cross the mid price bracket for guitars

Edit: It is a spectacular model though.. the pickups are powerful and musical. I sold the one I had, but it's the guitar I wish I had back despite its imperfections. I solved the boomy neck pickup by raising the bass side but lowering individual bobbins and it sounded great. The bridge was just awesome as it was.
 
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Geo408 said:
Okay, I had a 408 and I sold it several years ago. It had a rosewood neck, was almost 9 pounds, and sounded dull and bassy in all positions. No matter how I tried, (raising and lowering pickups, changing resistors, etc..) I couldn’t shake the dull, lifeless tone. However, that guitar was the best playing, most perfectly intonated, and gorgeous looking PRS I had owned up to that point. Due to back and shoulder surgeries, playing it on stage was out of the equation.
When I started recording with it, no matter what amp I used I could not get a solid workable tone. I own vintage Fender and Marshall amps, and a newer Tone King amp…and I have access to some other incredible amps as well. So, this is my dilemma: I have an opportunity to buy another 408, at a good price and a good weight. Its a 2013, no rosewood neck, and has a pretty plain looking top…but I don’t care about looks, I care about tone…I want to buy it, but should I?
I would welcome anyone who has a 408, or who has owned one, to tell me if that pickup system can be worked with. I have played a few over the last 10 months, and 3 out of 4 of them sounded pretty damn good. The one that didn’t sound good had a full rosewood neck, like the one I owned had. Yeah I know, don’t buy one with a rosewood neck! Help me out…please!
Click to expand...
Dull and bassy is not a set of terms I would use to describe my core blood orange 408!

I know you said you raised/lowered the pickups, but did you raise/lower the pole pieces on each pickup per string?

I've never owned a dull and bassy sounding 408. I've owned 4 of them (one a Private Stock).

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I mean…like…I don’t want to be…like…a typical enabler…but dude…like if I had the scratch…

www.davesguitar.com

408 '13

Frost Blue Metallic, Violin carved figured Maple top, Mahogany body, Pattern carved Mahogany neck, 10" radius Rosewood fingerboard with the Bird inlays, 25″ scale length, 1 11/16th″ nut, PRS 408 bridge and neck pickups, 3-way blade switching with the volume and tone controls plus the two...
www.davesguitar.com www.davesguitar.com

Or maybe…dude…like a fancy dancy…utterly gorgeous…subliminal suggestion…

www.davesguitar.com

408 10 Top Brazilian '13

Tobacco Sunburst, Violin carved figured Maple 10 top, Mahogany body, Pattern carved Mahogany neck, 10" radius Brazilian Rosewood fingerboard with the Bird inlays, 25″ scale length, 1 11/16th″ nut, PRS 408 bridge and neck pickups, 3-way blade switching with the volume and tone controls plus the...
www.davesguitar.com www.davesguitar.com

But no, don’t…buy it…you really shouldn’t…BUY IT…
 
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I love the 408 and have had three (including a Sig Limited, a 408 model, and the PS model that I currently own).

I've used all of them exclusively for recording my ad music tracks. I think they sound gorgeous. They're a little different.

But taste is a very individual thing. RW neck or not, if you didn't like the last one maybe you shouldn't go for one again unless you can give it a good workout with your gear before deciding.
 
Thank you all! My member name was from my first 408, (the one I traded in along with a few others, for a 2008 McCarty Ted, with the Santana headstock) which I should never have done! It’s “the one that got away”. I was listening to a recording I made with that guitar about a month ago, and was amazed at how great it sounded. That’s the spark that started me thinking about getting another one.
I have a few other non-PRSes that I’m going to move, to make room for a 408. Thanks for the encouragement and the “enabling”, that I’ve come to expect from my fellow forum members! I will post pics when I land one.. I have several candidates in mind, along with getting a solid body 594 to go along with the semi-hollow 594 in my avatar pic. The hunt is on!
 
Geo408 said:
I was listening to a recording I made with that guitar about a month ago, and was amazed at how great it sounded. That’s the spark that started me thinking about getting another one.
Click to expand...
A very similar thing happened here quite a few years back.

Listening to a variety of older recordings, most of those I preferred were made with a PRS. I've been all-PRS ever since.
 
I have been a PRS guy since 1989. I acquired a ce-24, in a trade and I was amazed at the quality. I had to really search for more, ( no internet to speak of back then) and a year later found a gorgeous Custom 24 10 top, with birds… since then a dealer in my area started carrying them, and I’ve been addicted ever since. All my recordings are labeled with what guitar, amps, effects and mic placement I used. (Pretty anal, I know)
 
EdSevered said:
I mean…like…I don’t want to be…like…a typical enabler…but dude…like if I had the scratch…

www.davesguitar.com

408 '13

Frost Blue Metallic, Violin carved figured Maple top, Mahogany body, Pattern carved Mahogany neck, 10" radius Rosewood fingerboard with the Bird inlays, 25″ scale length, 1 11/16th″ nut, PRS 408 bridge and neck pickups, 3-way blade switching with the volume and tone controls plus the two...
www.davesguitar.com www.davesguitar.com

Or maybe…dude…like a fancy dancy…utterly gorgeous…subliminal suggestion…

www.davesguitar.com

408 10 Top Brazilian '13

Tobacco Sunburst, Violin carved figured Maple 10 top, Mahogany body, Pattern carved Mahogany neck, 10" radius Brazilian Rosewood fingerboard with the Bird inlays, 25″ scale length, 1 11/16th″ nut, PRS 408 bridge and neck pickups, 3-way blade switching with the volume and tone controls plus the...
www.davesguitar.com www.davesguitar.com

But no, don’t…buy it…you really shouldn’t…BUY IT…
Click to expand...
Atta boy!
 
EdSevered said:
I mean…like…I don’t want to be…like…a typical enabler…but dude…like if I had the scratch…

www.davesguitar.com

408 '13

Frost Blue Metallic, Violin carved figured Maple top, Mahogany body, Pattern carved Mahogany neck, 10" radius Rosewood fingerboard with the Bird inlays, 25″ scale length, 1 11/16th″ nut, PRS 408 bridge and neck pickups, 3-way blade switching with the volume and tone controls plus the two...
www.davesguitar.com www.davesguitar.com

Or maybe…dude…like a fancy dancy…utterly gorgeous…subliminal suggestion…

www.davesguitar.com

408 10 Top Brazilian '13

Tobacco Sunburst, Violin carved figured Maple 10 top, Mahogany body, Pattern carved Mahogany neck, 10" radius Brazilian Rosewood fingerboard with the Bird inlays, 25″ scale length, 1 11/16th″ nut, PRS 408 bridge and neck pickups, 3-way blade switching with the volume and tone controls plus the...
www.davesguitar.com www.davesguitar.com

But no, don’t…buy it…you really shouldn’t…BUY IT…
Click to expand...
That frost metallic is hot!
 
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