CandidPicker
Tone Matters. Use It Well.
Back to the topic, I find it silly to dis any of the current "big" manufactures. Strats aren't for me, but I cant't say they are bad guitars. They work for so many people other than myself. I'm not going to lie, I'm a Gibson fan, however, I really disliked the irrational aversion some of the other Gibson fans have on PRS guitars. Similarly, I found that some people would blow some of the Gibson issues out of proportion. I didn't find it that hard to find the good ones, be it their regular production, their custom shops or acoustic. I love those guitars, but I can also love my PRSi. They sound and feel different, but they speak to me and inspire me to play and to better myself as a guitarist. Also, contrary to some of the criticism that PRS get, they have a ton of mojo. Sure they're pretty and look like piece of art, but if you gig and play them a lot, they will feel played in and exude as much or more mojo than any other guitar. Also they are one of the easiest guitars to maintain, which speaks to their built quality. I've never had that much ease intonating a guitar than PRSi. The only time I had to work a bit harder to set up a PRS was when a friend of mine set his SE Custom 22 bridge and messed with the pivot screws, but that was not the guitar's fault, but my friends. They are set up from factory so that you never really need to be messing up with those pivot screws to begin with.
Paul,
Thanks for your insight. Each of us has own own likes and dislikes, whether our guitars that break-up earlier or later regards gain stage, whether they clean up at lower volumes or remain dirty. I'd say a good answer is that we're sometimes given a smorgasbord to choose from, and hopefully when we select one guitar over another, one pickup config, one electronics type, string gauge, neck pattern, body shape, or finish.
I think the overriding factor will always be how the guitar feels in our own hands and how it sounds when we put hands and fingers to the guitar. The afterthought is how easy the guitar is to maintain once we've purchased one. Unless one knows beforehand how well you can maintain a guitar, it's dependent on others' experience, reviews and word of mouth.
Kind of like asking your parents for parenting advice regards your child. ("Dad, did we break any stuff in the house you had any trouble fixing, or were we kids who would nap at the drop of a hat?" kind of questions...)