I’m thinking about getting a 408…

[Geo408]

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!

 

[Stephen J.]

If it is a good price, you only have inconvenience and maybe some shipping fees to lose. Give it a try.
I have a Paul’s Guitar, which isn’t far off from a 408. It is anything but dull.

 

[JohnPRS]

I had a 408 5/6 ago, sold it and regularly search reverb looking for another, I thought it was a great guitar but had my eye on something else at the time, go get it!

 

[guitarguy1964]

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

 

[RickP]

Anyone with that member name absolutely needs a 408.

 

[Going Modal]

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.

 

[MWebster]

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.

 

[Glide-bpm]

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!

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).

 

[Glide-bpm]

Same 408 into Fractal Axe FX III MkII Turbo....

The lows are my fault due to the recording setup. Was just a quick fun video. Didn't post produce eq. Pardon my fumble fingers...

 

[Rider1260]

My 408 is always among my favorites , a video Chris did of mine before I owned it.

IMG_6449 by


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e4u9094brgU&t=192s

 

[ViperDoc]

RW necks always sound darker, no matter the pickups. I’d blame that. I have a PS that has three 408s in it and it is not dark at all. Maple neck, even, so that helps as well.

 

[EdSevered]

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

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

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

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

But no, don’t…buy it…you really shouldn’t…BUY IT…

 

[Going Modal]

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

Tell me about it! Already have a maple-topped 408 and here I am still keeping my fishin' pole in the water just in case the perfect mahogany-Standard model shows up.

 

[László]

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.

 

[Geo408]

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!

 

[László]

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.

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.

 

[Geo408]

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)

 

[bodia]

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

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

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

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

But no, don’t…buy it…you really shouldn’t…BUY IT…

Atta boy!

 

[SinSir]

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

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

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

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

But no, don’t…buy it…you really shouldn’t…BUY IT…

That frost metallic is hot!

 

[Glide-bpm]

Jump on that 408!!!!!!!!!