Revelation
New Member
You walk in the lobby and you see that thick body hollow body with the Eagle on it. But when you look to your right, there is a gift shop (they call it the demo room) and I was immediately pulled into the room by some unknown force. Your suppose to sign in first, but it was hard leaving the room. All the nice PRS guitars, shirts, hats, beautiful guitars hanging on the wall behind glass, including one of the first guitars that Paul made. I see my son excited that he talked to someone, and I'm like who did you talk to? It was Herman Lee! There is a room in the back where they do their videos he went into. Sure enough Herman walks back in the demo room again and takes the times to say hello. He was very friendly taking photos with some fans and had some more conversations with my son who is more familiar with his music and the different guitars he played over the years. Very polite guy who provided some details on why he loves PRS guitars and how Paul really took the time to make him guitars that would make him happy.
Regarding the factory tours, I was disappointed that you can't take photos on the factory floor like you can at the Martin Guitar tour. But I get it, they have new guitars they are working on and they don't want photos of them being posted online. Thankfully there are authorized videos on line where you can see the factory tour. We got to see the woods they used, how they dry them, we saw the beads of moisture on the wood coming out on some pieces. An explanation of the how they put the necks and body together. Gluing the maple top to the mahogany wood which goes in a press. We saw the CNC machines shape the body of the guitars. many people that sand and work on the guitar body process by hand. I was able to hold a guitar body that was shaped and areas cut out (ready for pickups). Feeling the wood, the violin curve and shape; the craftmanship and detail was breath taking. I wish I could buy one of these bodies (before the neck was put on) as it was a work of art. You feel proud owning a PRS guitar knowing all the details that go into, seeing the different stages of staining a guitar, holding a neck that you can put in place on the body and pretend playing the guitar that just has the neck and body connected. We got to see the SE's that come into the building upstairs and employees reviewing them to make sure they meet the high requirements that PRS has for instruments before they go out. Also got to see the amps as well. The tour guide are employees who work in different positions in the factory. I guess they take turns providing the tours. Very polite and friendly, making sure all your questions were answered. Anything he did not know, he would check with another employee. The tour ends with you going back to the demo room. They provide you with a lanyard with a small PRS headstock on it. I was able to try the horsemeat, Mary Cries and the Wind through the trees pedals. I think the some might find the flanger complicated to use. I put the depth to 3 o'clock and rate around 10 o'clock. Then on the 2nd flanger, the opposite settings. This flanger is really very good. Having the ability to dial in more treble is another plus. The Mary took away the low end even on medium settings when turned on. Horsemeat was decent. Please note that my tests were using them only for 5 min's so my observations are just from on a quick test going through a Strymon Iridum pedal.
Then it happened. There was Paul himself in the lobby. I know he is a busy guy and I did not want to pester him too much, but I thought of a question ahead of time that I wanted to ask him. The McCarty III pickups! I advised him I have a Custom 24 2024 guitar with the 85/15 LT TCI pickups. How different were the new pickups? He said it is a tweak to the sound. The new pickups are a tad richer. Most likely unless you A/B them side by side you would not notice the difference, but the small difference is there. He is just like the way he is in his videos. I gave him my suggestions on a new bass guitar design that I think would do well. He said he would think about.
All in all, a very positive experience and I did purchase some things from the demo room and no, they don't sell guitars there.
Regarding the factory tours, I was disappointed that you can't take photos on the factory floor like you can at the Martin Guitar tour. But I get it, they have new guitars they are working on and they don't want photos of them being posted online. Thankfully there are authorized videos on line where you can see the factory tour. We got to see the woods they used, how they dry them, we saw the beads of moisture on the wood coming out on some pieces. An explanation of the how they put the necks and body together. Gluing the maple top to the mahogany wood which goes in a press. We saw the CNC machines shape the body of the guitars. many people that sand and work on the guitar body process by hand. I was able to hold a guitar body that was shaped and areas cut out (ready for pickups). Feeling the wood, the violin curve and shape; the craftmanship and detail was breath taking. I wish I could buy one of these bodies (before the neck was put on) as it was a work of art. You feel proud owning a PRS guitar knowing all the details that go into, seeing the different stages of staining a guitar, holding a neck that you can put in place on the body and pretend playing the guitar that just has the neck and body connected. We got to see the SE's that come into the building upstairs and employees reviewing them to make sure they meet the high requirements that PRS has for instruments before they go out. Also got to see the amps as well. The tour guide are employees who work in different positions in the factory. I guess they take turns providing the tours. Very polite and friendly, making sure all your questions were answered. Anything he did not know, he would check with another employee. The tour ends with you going back to the demo room. They provide you with a lanyard with a small PRS headstock on it. I was able to try the horsemeat, Mary Cries and the Wind through the trees pedals. I think the some might find the flanger complicated to use. I put the depth to 3 o'clock and rate around 10 o'clock. Then on the 2nd flanger, the opposite settings. This flanger is really very good. Having the ability to dial in more treble is another plus. The Mary took away the low end even on medium settings when turned on. Horsemeat was decent. Please note that my tests were using them only for 5 min's so my observations are just from on a quick test going through a Strymon Iridum pedal.
Then it happened. There was Paul himself in the lobby. I know he is a busy guy and I did not want to pester him too much, but I thought of a question ahead of time that I wanted to ask him. The McCarty III pickups! I advised him I have a Custom 24 2024 guitar with the 85/15 LT TCI pickups. How different were the new pickups? He said it is a tweak to the sound. The new pickups are a tad richer. Most likely unless you A/B them side by side you would not notice the difference, but the small difference is there. He is just like the way he is in his videos. I gave him my suggestions on a new bass guitar design that I think would do well. He said he would think about.
All in all, a very positive experience and I did purchase some things from the demo room and no, they don't sell guitars there.
