To me, this whole soul/no soul thing comes down to one thing;
transcendence.
What I mean is for one to
transcend the corporate and fanboy thought process, that of a brand carries the soul of your guitar heroes. When you get a Fender Strat, it carries the soul (inspiration) of Buddy Guy, Jimi Hendrix, SRV, to name a few. Get a Gibson Les Paul, it carries the soul (again inspiration) of Les Paul, Ace Frehley and Jimmy Page. Gretsch, Chet Atkins. You get my drift.
Marketing and brand loyalty; to be like them (to be inspired by them), you need to play what they played. People then entrench themselves with this belief, and no other brand or model will suffice. Therefore, all other brands are soulless, or any other negative connotation that can fit the bill. This is an oversimplification, but again, you get my drift.
I had similar thoughts, but not as entrenched as some. Slowly, I changed. I allowed myself to seek other options, and I started to discover these other options offered platforms I was/am more comfortable with. Better playability, and the like.
Basically, I began my journey of
transcendence; that the soul/inspiration does not lie within the guitar, it lay within me.
@d^rren eloquently makes this point; "It's a slab of dead tree, some wire, and magnets...'Soul' comes from the
player and
their playing, not from the instrument."
A guitar is simply a platform to create sounds, it's up to me to make those sounds, sound good. Duh, this is Enlightenment 101 here...
Those calling any PRS soulless, have yet to
transcend.
Anyway, apologies for the drivel, I will now silence myself...for a few minutes.
J
