Hi Guys,
I'm very active on the LP forums, and to some extent TGP. My PRS collection has been growing of late however, and I've found myself spending more time lurking here. I therefore decided to sign up, introduce myself, and share my PRS journey over the past couple of years.
Ted McCarty DC245- My first PRS. Amazing guitar, and still in the stable. I saw a video of one of these vs. an R8 LP and figured I'd give it a try. This one has Les Paul-like tones, but definitely a bit more twang than my R8. I wouldn't exactly call it a hybrid LP/Tele, but it's definitely more like a Tele-tinged Les Paul sound. The 57/08 pickups are money. The first time I heard all of those amazing harmonics and overtones, I knew I was going to own other guitars with those pickups in them. I like the way the guitar hangs on me, but it definitely pulls your fretting hand in close to your left side. Sometimes I feel that it pulls my hand in a little too close, and makes my wrist hurt ache a bit. It's the only guitar I've experienced this with, and I attribute it to the body shape, short scale, and wide fat carve. I do like the carve a lot, although I'm now really digging the Pattern carve. Cosmetically...gorgeous, 10 top, birds, binding, sunburst back, yada, yada.
McCarty Korina- I decided I wanted to see if I could get the tones of the Ted in a lighter weight package. This one was certainly uber-lightweight at about 6.5 lbs., which made it a joy to play standing up...felt like nothing on my shoulder. It played beautifully, but I could never get tones out of it that I liked. It always sounded a little thin to me, even with a pickup change. I also didn't like the 25" scale as much. I don't mind the 25.5" scale on my Tele, but this one just didn't feel right to me.
SE Custom 22- Astonishingly good guitar for the money. I bought this one to give to a friend for their birthday, but it was tough to let it go! I put USA McCarty pickups in it, and I honestly liked it more than the McCarty Korina, and almost as much as the Ted. It had a pattern or pattern regular neck carve (not sure which) that I really liked, and that made me curious about trying some of the other PRS necks. It also gave me a huge amount of respect for the SE line. The one I had was far better than low level Fenders, Gibsons, Epiphones, etc. that I've tried.
SC58- I adore everything about this guitar. This one has a thicker tone than my Ted, and is similar to some of my meanest Les Paul's. It may be my best sounding, best playing guitar, period. It sounds great clean, but when I kick on some overdrive and play it, I get lost in the sound. I was worried that I wouldn't like the Pattern neck, but I find it to be perfect...chunky enough to rest in your palm, but thin enough as to not stretch you out too much. It weighs about 8 1/2 lbs., so it's not too much of a burden to wear for long periods. The 24.5" scale on this one feels amazing. It puts my arm in a more comfortable place than my DC Ted, and it's super slinky. Bends are effortless...it's just incredibly easy to play. The phase III tuners really impressed me after coming from the standard Gibson fare. I really liked the Grovers on my Historic LP Customs, but I think these are the ticket for me. They hold tune extremely well, are easy to string, precise action....really nice. The two-piece bridge really felt good to me, since I'm used to playing LP's. I like the way my hand rests on them better than the stoptail on my Ted. Obviously, they are good for intonation. If you look at the construction, everything about them is extremely solid. There aren't any rattling wires, bent screws, or leaning bridge posts that I see on my Gibson Historic's. Cosmetically, again gorgeous. The top is very trademark PRS, but I don't think it's over the top in your face. It has the neck binding, which is kind of meaningless to me...don't really care either way. The birds and inlays are nice jewelry, but fairly low on my priority list...Pretty bird, pretty bird.
Also, the artist case is ridiculously nice!
2013 SC245- About a week after I bought my SC58, this one popped up used and I had to have it. On paper the '13 SC245's more or less mimic the SC58. They don't have quite the same level of cosmetic appointments (no binding, no artist top, and different birds), but that's about the only difference as far as I can tell. They have the same construction, hardware, pickups, etc. This one is fantastic as well, but just a tiny notch below the SC58. The neck is a tad thicker, but the differences are miniscule though in terms of sound and feel. I can't imagine buying a nicer guitar in the $2,000 range right now. I love the look of this one...looks like an old-school Les Paul top...crazy Gibson-esque flame top with flecks, specks, and grain.
Paul's Guitar, Yellow Tiger- After going 24.5" scale crazy for a while and playing that SE Custom 22, I decided to branch out and try a longer scale PRS again. I had been reading lots of good reports on the 408, Sig Limited, and Paul's Guitar, so I decided to hunt one down. I bought the one below from Brian's Guitars (which was a fantastic experience, and I'd highly recommend him). I am totally in love with this guitar! I thought my SC58 was it for me, but this one may just take the cake. It's extremely loud and resonant unplugged, and seems to ring forever. It weighs only 7.3 lbs. and is immensely comfortable to play for hours on end. The narrow 408 pickups are amazing. I think I like them just as much as the 57/08's in my 245 scale guitars. They have all of the same complex sounds. The neck and bridge both have great character to them, and sound almost like wind instruments at times. As advertised, the single coil switching is far different from the single coil tap on my Ted. The volume loss is almost imperceptible. It's just a tiny tidying-up of the sound, with a bit more note articulation and sparkle. I was worried that I'd really miss my SC58's separate volume and tone controls for each pickup (sometimes for rhythm sounds I like to run my SC58 on the middle position, and back the neck pickup volume down to about 8 to take out a little bass). I don't think it's going to be an issue at all though. The middle position really has some nice sounds to it. I just put the neck into single coil mode and run the bridge in humbucker...accomplishes something similar. The playability of this guitar is off the charts. Everything feels just perfect. Obviously as you can see below, it's a stunner visually. The back of this guitar is prettier than the front of many guitars.:tongue:
Anyway, that's about it. These guitars are starting to eat a lot more of my time vs. my Les Paul's. With the LP's I always seem to be inclined to change the pickups, wiring, etc., and they still don't have quite the sound and effortless feel that my PRSi do. I'm really loving the PRS pattern neck shape, the ergonomics of the body designs, and the cutaways for upper fret access. The latest range of factory PRS pickups also really do something special to my ear, and the electronics in the are also top notch. As others always preach, the consistency really seems to be there, including the SE that I owned. That really takes away my hesitation to order one online without having played it, and I'm sure that won't do my wallet any favors! Overall, I'm thrilled with these guitars. Because of the ergonomic issues with the Ted, I'm not sure if I'll keep it long term. It's killer, but I obviously won't play it much if it doesn't have the glove-like fit for me that the others do. If I needed money I would also possibly sell my SC245 since it is a near duplicate of my SC58. The SC58 just barely noses it out for me. At this time though, I can't see myself ever selling the SC58 or the Paul's Guitar. They may just be lifelong pals. Thanks for listening to my rambling.
I'm very active on the LP forums, and to some extent TGP. My PRS collection has been growing of late however, and I've found myself spending more time lurking here. I therefore decided to sign up, introduce myself, and share my PRS journey over the past couple of years.
Ted McCarty DC245- My first PRS. Amazing guitar, and still in the stable. I saw a video of one of these vs. an R8 LP and figured I'd give it a try. This one has Les Paul-like tones, but definitely a bit more twang than my R8. I wouldn't exactly call it a hybrid LP/Tele, but it's definitely more like a Tele-tinged Les Paul sound. The 57/08 pickups are money. The first time I heard all of those amazing harmonics and overtones, I knew I was going to own other guitars with those pickups in them. I like the way the guitar hangs on me, but it definitely pulls your fretting hand in close to your left side. Sometimes I feel that it pulls my hand in a little too close, and makes my wrist hurt ache a bit. It's the only guitar I've experienced this with, and I attribute it to the body shape, short scale, and wide fat carve. I do like the carve a lot, although I'm now really digging the Pattern carve. Cosmetically...gorgeous, 10 top, birds, binding, sunburst back, yada, yada.
McCarty Korina- I decided I wanted to see if I could get the tones of the Ted in a lighter weight package. This one was certainly uber-lightweight at about 6.5 lbs., which made it a joy to play standing up...felt like nothing on my shoulder. It played beautifully, but I could never get tones out of it that I liked. It always sounded a little thin to me, even with a pickup change. I also didn't like the 25" scale as much. I don't mind the 25.5" scale on my Tele, but this one just didn't feel right to me.
SE Custom 22- Astonishingly good guitar for the money. I bought this one to give to a friend for their birthday, but it was tough to let it go! I put USA McCarty pickups in it, and I honestly liked it more than the McCarty Korina, and almost as much as the Ted. It had a pattern or pattern regular neck carve (not sure which) that I really liked, and that made me curious about trying some of the other PRS necks. It also gave me a huge amount of respect for the SE line. The one I had was far better than low level Fenders, Gibsons, Epiphones, etc. that I've tried.
SC58- I adore everything about this guitar. This one has a thicker tone than my Ted, and is similar to some of my meanest Les Paul's. It may be my best sounding, best playing guitar, period. It sounds great clean, but when I kick on some overdrive and play it, I get lost in the sound. I was worried that I wouldn't like the Pattern neck, but I find it to be perfect...chunky enough to rest in your palm, but thin enough as to not stretch you out too much. It weighs about 8 1/2 lbs., so it's not too much of a burden to wear for long periods. The 24.5" scale on this one feels amazing. It puts my arm in a more comfortable place than my DC Ted, and it's super slinky. Bends are effortless...it's just incredibly easy to play. The phase III tuners really impressed me after coming from the standard Gibson fare. I really liked the Grovers on my Historic LP Customs, but I think these are the ticket for me. They hold tune extremely well, are easy to string, precise action....really nice. The two-piece bridge really felt good to me, since I'm used to playing LP's. I like the way my hand rests on them better than the stoptail on my Ted. Obviously, they are good for intonation. If you look at the construction, everything about them is extremely solid. There aren't any rattling wires, bent screws, or leaning bridge posts that I see on my Gibson Historic's. Cosmetically, again gorgeous. The top is very trademark PRS, but I don't think it's over the top in your face. It has the neck binding, which is kind of meaningless to me...don't really care either way. The birds and inlays are nice jewelry, but fairly low on my priority list...Pretty bird, pretty bird.
Also, the artist case is ridiculously nice!
2013 SC245- About a week after I bought my SC58, this one popped up used and I had to have it. On paper the '13 SC245's more or less mimic the SC58. They don't have quite the same level of cosmetic appointments (no binding, no artist top, and different birds), but that's about the only difference as far as I can tell. They have the same construction, hardware, pickups, etc. This one is fantastic as well, but just a tiny notch below the SC58. The neck is a tad thicker, but the differences are miniscule though in terms of sound and feel. I can't imagine buying a nicer guitar in the $2,000 range right now. I love the look of this one...looks like an old-school Les Paul top...crazy Gibson-esque flame top with flecks, specks, and grain.
Paul's Guitar, Yellow Tiger- After going 24.5" scale crazy for a while and playing that SE Custom 22, I decided to branch out and try a longer scale PRS again. I had been reading lots of good reports on the 408, Sig Limited, and Paul's Guitar, so I decided to hunt one down. I bought the one below from Brian's Guitars (which was a fantastic experience, and I'd highly recommend him). I am totally in love with this guitar! I thought my SC58 was it for me, but this one may just take the cake. It's extremely loud and resonant unplugged, and seems to ring forever. It weighs only 7.3 lbs. and is immensely comfortable to play for hours on end. The narrow 408 pickups are amazing. I think I like them just as much as the 57/08's in my 245 scale guitars. They have all of the same complex sounds. The neck and bridge both have great character to them, and sound almost like wind instruments at times. As advertised, the single coil switching is far different from the single coil tap on my Ted. The volume loss is almost imperceptible. It's just a tiny tidying-up of the sound, with a bit more note articulation and sparkle. I was worried that I'd really miss my SC58's separate volume and tone controls for each pickup (sometimes for rhythm sounds I like to run my SC58 on the middle position, and back the neck pickup volume down to about 8 to take out a little bass). I don't think it's going to be an issue at all though. The middle position really has some nice sounds to it. I just put the neck into single coil mode and run the bridge in humbucker...accomplishes something similar. The playability of this guitar is off the charts. Everything feels just perfect. Obviously as you can see below, it's a stunner visually. The back of this guitar is prettier than the front of many guitars.:tongue:
Anyway, that's about it. These guitars are starting to eat a lot more of my time vs. my Les Paul's. With the LP's I always seem to be inclined to change the pickups, wiring, etc., and they still don't have quite the sound and effortless feel that my PRSi do. I'm really loving the PRS pattern neck shape, the ergonomics of the body designs, and the cutaways for upper fret access. The latest range of factory PRS pickups also really do something special to my ear, and the electronics in the are also top notch. As others always preach, the consistency really seems to be there, including the SE that I owned. That really takes away my hesitation to order one online without having played it, and I'm sure that won't do my wallet any favors! Overall, I'm thrilled with these guitars. Because of the ergonomic issues with the Ted, I'm not sure if I'll keep it long term. It's killer, but I obviously won't play it much if it doesn't have the glove-like fit for me that the others do. If I needed money I would also possibly sell my SC245 since it is a near duplicate of my SC58. The SC58 just barely noses it out for me. At this time though, I can't see myself ever selling the SC58 or the Paul's Guitar. They may just be lifelong pals. Thanks for listening to my rambling.
