JM-PRS Strat....coming soon?

I wonder what they used for pickups.:D:p:mad::oops::eek:
Pickups I’m guessing. Or a ute... could be a ute.
;)
Do Australians call guitar pickups Utes also?
Nah mate, you'd have to be a bit of a drongo to do that.

For those wondering, Australians don't drive the typical US-style pick-up truck for light-work duties, they drive vehicles similar to El Caminos, with the bed area fully integrated into the passenger areas, instead of the separate "box" of your typical Ford F-150 etc. These Aussie vehicles are called "utes": short for utility vehicles.

Which means, I suppose if we carry through the analogy as Ovibos perhaps intended, that pickups on a bolt-on guitar would be called "Pickups", but for set-neck guitars, they would indeed be called Utes.
 
Nah mate, you'd have to be a bit of a drongo to do that.

For those wondering, Australians don't drive the typical US-style pick-up truck for light-work duties, they drive vehicles similar to El Caminos, with the bed area fully integrated into the passenger areas, instead of the separate "box" of your typical Ford F-150 etc. These Aussie vehicles are called "utes": short for utility vehicles.

Which means, I suppose if we carry through the analogy as Ovibos perhaps intended, that pickups on a bolt-on guitar would be called "Pickups", but for set-neck guitars, they would indeed be called Utes.

Yes. That was the very bad joke I was attempting
 
Oh boy....

My 40th birthday is early Jan but I doubt we’ll know more about this until NAMM and may not see it in shops until much later.

If it has a decent sized neck and preferably a maple option / though RW is fine, and is in the CE price range then i’ll....

Oh... I don't know! It sounded great anyhow.
 
Oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooohhhhh!
Yeah, I didn't get it. Thanks for the explanation.
 
My guess is S2 line based on the bird inlays.

Yeah, would seem so, we'll see. I couldn't get excited about that. I have a modded Eric Johnson Fender Strat that is as sweet and resonant (quartersawn, vintage tinted maple neck) as the day is long. I would consider something sonically superior, but I can't imagine that in a sub-core or possibly even a core model.
 
If it comes not only in uni colour but in a sunburst shade or even Black Gold. Then I would give a JM Strat a big chance.
 
So I was pondering where this putative JM Sig "Son of a DC3" might fit into the line-up, both marketing-wise and price-point-wise.

It is a bolt-on. So I will start with where the current CE24 sits. Marketing-wise that makes for a nice comparison, and the two very different options might mean no cannibalism of the CE24 sales.

The body shape is simpler, so costs should be lower. The body doesn't have the fancy-ish tops of figured maple, so maybe that also cuts costs - just a single slab of alder/ash to shape. So some cost savings there, lowering the price.

Hardware could be the equivalent of an upgrade from the Import version to the US-made versions, so a cost increase there (I believe the CE uses the same trem as the SE line, IIRC). IMHO it should come in a hardshell case instead of the gig bag (even though I happily use gig bags for many of my PRSi!), so that also adds to cost. JM may get a piece of the pie, so perhaps that is an added cost.

Not sure about the pickups - PRS has the single coils from the 509, or maybe JM has a particular 3rd-party-branded set he prefers. Could go either way.

So overall, maybe about the same price point as the CE24.

Alternatively I could see it placing with the S2 line. That would fit in with the "working guitarist's guitar", no fancy top, but a quality USA-built instrument. It is kinda similar to an S2 Standard 22 but with birds on the neck, and a different pickup configuration on the pickguard. So it could slot in a bit higher than that price range too, around the same as a S2 Custom 22.

Third possibility, it might have a highly-figured maple top, with figured (flame) rock maple neck, gold-trimmed bird inlays, and a piezo built into the bridge, resulting in dual outputs a la the P24 (Custom 24 Piezo), not quite as extreme as the Super Eagle II, but driving the price well into Core territory or beyond.

or...

What do I know?
 
So I was pondering where this putative JM Sig "Son of a DC3" might fit into the line-up, both marketing-wise and price-point-wise.

It is a bolt-on. So I will start with where the current CE24 sits. Marketing-wise that makes for a nice comparison, and the two very different options might mean no cannibalism of the CE24 sales.

The body shape is simpler, so costs should be lower. The body doesn't have the fancy-ish tops of figured maple, so maybe that also cuts costs - just a single slab of alder/ash to shape. So some cost savings there, lowering the price.

Hardware could be the equivalent of an upgrade from the Import version to the US-made versions, so a cost increase there (I believe the CE uses the same trem as the SE line, IIRC). IMHO it should come in a hardshell case instead of the gig bag (even though I happily use gig bags for many of my PRSi!), so that also adds to cost. JM may get a piece of the pie, so perhaps that is an added cost.

Not sure about the pickups - PRS has the single coils from the 509, or maybe JM has a particular 3rd-party-branded set he prefers. Could go either way.

So overall, maybe about the same price point as the CE24.

Alternatively I could see it placing with the S2 line. That would fit in with the "working guitarist's guitar", no fancy top, but a quality USA-built instrument. It is kinda similar to an S2 Standard 22 but with birds on the neck, and a different pickup configuration on the pickguard. So it could slot in a bit higher than that price range too, around the same as a S2 Custom 22.

Third possibility, it might have a highly-figured maple top, with figured (flame) rock maple neck, gold-trimmed bird inlays, and a piezo built into the bridge, resulting in dual outputs a la the P24 (Custom 24 Piezo), not quite as extreme as the Super Eagle II, but driving the price well into Core territory or beyond.

or...

What do I know?


Because speculating is fun:

I'm hoping it will do for the Strat what the 594 did for the Les Paul: Capture the best of the feel and sound from the vintage instruments, but with modern quality and reliability.
  • Alder is a lot quicker/easier to finish than ash, and is the classic Strat wood, so it makes the most sense.
  • The prototypes looked like they might have had Gotoh 510 series bridges. These cost around the same as the SE bridge aftermarket, are all-steel (as a classic Strat bridge should be) and widely accepted as high-quality. The two post version is used on $2200 Suhr guitars. Plus, PRS has used Gotoh for tuning keys for years, so they could leverage that relationship to get good pricing.
  • I'd be cool with the S2 style Phase II tuners, but Phase III would be more in line with a vintage sounding approach.
  • Pickups and electronics, who knows? But you get a full USA kit on the CE, so you better get the same here.
  • Some people will groan about a gig bag, but to mention Suhr again, that's what you get with a Classic Pro at $2200.
  • It's gotta come in at $2200 or less and compete toe-to-toe with Suhr or any other boutique brand, or it's sunk.
But, like you said, what do I know?
 
You guys still gotta factor in John's fee... His 16oz laundry detergent is $20. Dude hasn't had a low cost signature anything ever.

The sonzera isn’t so expensive as far as PRS amps go. Maybe the relationship of the new s-style and the super eagle will be like the relationship between the sonzera and the J-mod.
 
Back
Top