Need SC245 opinions and advice

[TheRockGuitarGuy]

Hi. I'm seeking some advice...

I'm no stranger to PRS. I currently own 3 of them: an 04 Custom 24, an 06 SC 250 and a 13 Tremonti. I love PRS for a variety of reasons - the innovation, the playability, the forward-thinking... I have so much respect for the company and the products. My SC250 with stock #7's is my all-time favorite guitar - it doesn't have any special appointments, it's just a real player.

I'm also a huge fan of Les Pauls. I currently own 2: a '68 custom shop reissue and a custom shop R7. I have an opportunity to buy an R8 plain top that I'm very interested in BUT I have had an eye on an SC245 - a 2012 model with the 2 piece bridge and 57/08s.

I can't buy both.

I'm a straight-up rock player. Nothing fancy, just rock guitar - from EVH to Perry to Page to Slash to Sykes to Bonamassa to Vai... I've played both guitars and they're both great. But it takes me a while to bond with a guitar - I have to play it on stage and I have to live with the guitar for a period of time to really understand the character and the voice.

Here's the dilemma for me: I don't want to pay x2 the $$$ for an R8 if the SC245 is in the same league. It's simply a cost/value issue for me. I guess, deep down, I'm looking for someone to talk me out of the R8 ... but this is a hard one for me.

So, for those of you with some experience, I'm hoping for some advice and guidance. Thanks in advance for the expertise.

 

[László]

I'm a huge fan of the SC245, and PRS (though I was a Gibson player for a long time), so I'm probably less than objective, but here's how I look at it: In the PRS department, you don't have a 2-piece bridge SC already, and they do sound different from the other SCs. They're a little woodier, and to my ears, have a more traditional voice. And the difference in scale length also voices them a bit differently.

I also think that the SC245 is perhaps an even more versatile guitar than what you already have from PRS, and arguably more so than the Gibby.

In terms of the whole package, I'd rather have the SC245 than the R8, hands down, unless the SC245 had issues or the R8 was so great that it was the best I'd ever played.

 

[Whitecat]

2 piece bridge + 57/08s = cured my Les Paul GAS. Obviously it's not identical, but it's close enough for me that between my fingers and my amp the Gibby wasn't gonna be night and day. Give the SC a try for sure, I think it's a better guitar.

 

[jfb]

I like the control placement on the PRS because the volume is bit closer to the pups. There's something about the body thickness on the LP and it's 12'' radius is also very comfortable.

 

[TheRockGuitarGuy]

Thanks for the insight guys. I really appreciate you sharing your experience with a newbie to the forum. I bought the SC 245... Here's a down and dirty cell phone pic. Lovely flame!

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[Whitecat]

Good choice and HNGD. Tone report when you get a chance please!

 

[andy474x]

Nice one, congrats!

 

[dprather]

Good choice! One of my best friends is a Les Paul fanatic and brings a few over almost every weekend to A/B them with my 245 (older nitro model with a one-piece bridge and 57/08 pickups). His "Collector's Choice" (at more than twice the price) edges out my 245 by the teensiest bit, all the others get taken home for more mods and tweaks, trying to get them to sound as good as the 245.

I let him borrow it once and it took months to get it back, I think you'll be very happy with your choice!

 

[vchizzle]

Very nice, man, very nice!

 

[Detroitblues]

Here's my question... the R8 will have a massive neck. I doubt the SC245 will be close to the same feel. The Wide-Fat neck profile is closer to a thinner R9. So how big of a neck do you like?

 

[László]

Wow, that guitar is absolutely stellar in every way!!!

:top:

 

[Bluesboy998]

Knocked it out of the park

 

[TheRockGuitarGuy]

Here's my question... the R8 will have a massive neck. I doubt the SC245 will be close to the same feel. The Wide-Fat neck profile is closer to a thinner R9. So how big of a neck do you like?

Even though I do own some guitars with thinner neck profiles (and I love them) I guess that, generally speaking, I like "bigger" neck shapes...My R7 has the biggest neck shape of all the reissues (I think) and I find it very easy to play and I get along with it well. The SC 245 that i just bought has a pattern profile and (24 hours into my romance with the guitar) I really, really like it.

 

[Gnal]

Congrats on the 245, that's really a hot guitar! I wish the flame in my Tri-Color burst SC250 popped like that :top: its awesome!