New PRS Core Guitars

cwgatti

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Has anyone noticed that the quality of non-10 top guitars have rather "average" maple tops? Am I crazy, or have the transparent maple tops been really...unattractive? I was looking at some non 10-top Core models, but I am thinking of just getting a solid finish guitar.
 
Has anyone noticed that the quality of non-10 top guitars have rather "average" maple tops? Am I crazy, or have the transparent maple tops been really...unattractive? I was looking at some non 10-top Core models, but I am thinking of just getting a solid finish guitar.

I guess it depends on how recently you're talking about... in the last year I've actually felt the opposite, but haven't looked at a lot in the last few months.
 
My recent non-10 top McCarty - pretty killer IMO:

5aqRzlp.jpg
 
It's just your imagination. Or your opinion.

Choice is a good thing. Hang in to find a non-10 you like, or a 10 you like, or a solid color you like...
 
I have to agree with bodia and flux my custom 24 I bought around a month ago to me is better than some 10 tops I’ve seen but that’s just my personal opinion we all like different things!

My recent non-10 top McCarty - pretty killer IMO:

5aqRzlp.jpg

That’s very nice love the finish on it ! I was saving for a McCarty before I got my custom 24 hopefully next year I can have enough saved to get one :cool:
 
Ever since the first PRS forums in the late 90s someone periodically comes online and complains that “the tops aren’t as good as they were back in the day” — whatever day that may have been.

Since I’ve been buying PRS since 1991, I’d observe that the looks of tops has been remarkably consistent, but there’s a huge variety, as there should be; after all, it’s real wood, and it’s not veneer. I’ve had non-10s, 10s, Artist, WL, and Private Stock PRSes, so I do have some idea what a pretty top looks like.

Anyway, if you don’t like ‘em, and you prefer to go with a solid color, there isn’t a thing wrong with that! I say go for it.
 
Also - and depending on how obsessively you shop - I think it's inevitable to find periods in time when store stock available to you in a given model isn't quite what you envisioned. It doesn't mean the product quality has declined, but rather shows a wide range of natural variance in wood, transparent to the world so to speak. Some prefer chevrons, others lush quilt. Many seek a near-perfect book match, others like some "strange". I know I have my preferences, and I've been fortunate enough to enjoy two spectacular purchases so far. All I know is: I've never seen a stock PRS top that made me think "DAMN, I wish they'd shot that in a solid." ;)

This is giving me the kooky notion for a "runners-up" thread to purchases we've made, but is anyone besides me dorky enough to keep track of that sort of thing? :confused:
 
This is where PRS could be burdened by its own high bar. It’s the same when Gibson tries to introduce adjustable nuts and modern ideas to their LPs.

In recent times many other brands have started to copy the highly flamed look. What might that do to demand and supply of flamed maple? We are also in the midst of economic upswing.

True or not, reality or perception, the situation will eventually take care of itself.
 
Ever since the first PRS forums in the late 90s someone periodically comes online and complains that “the tops aren’t as good as they were back in the day” — whatever day that may have been.

Since I’ve been buying PRS since 1991, I’d observe that the looks of tops has been remarkably consistent, but there’s a huge variety, as there should be; after all, it’s real wood, and it’s not veneer. I’ve had non-10s, 10s, Artist, WL, and Private Stock PRSes, so I do have some idea what a pretty top looks like.

Anyway, if you don’t like ‘em, and you prefer to go with a solid color, there isn’t a thing wrong with that! I say go for it.

So, so true.
 
One thing I have to point out though - when comparing PRS PS tops against Gibson CS Reissue tops, PS wins hands down.

Some PS have absolutely perfect ‘les Paul’ tops where the grain literally curls about. A good example is the recent 594 hollowbody limited run.

Whereas with CS R9s you’d be lucky to even spot a near perfect one. Most I see are patchy and not well defined, even with the higher end range of the R9s. It’s even more surprising given the price, or the fact that R9s are supposed to be highly and flamboyantly flamed. I would say many core PRS tops are on par with R9 tops, and this is not even apples with apples.
 
The thing to remember about a 10-top grading is that it's about consistency across the piece of wood. There are very pretty pieces of maple that aren't 10-tops because the wood is very figured in some places and not in others. A case in point is the McCarty pictured above. It's certainly pretty, but the figuring is concentrated in the center and then it peters out towards the edges. Some non-10s are very nice, and some are completely blah. You get what you get with a non-10 top. Boogie's McCarty is one I'd be happy to buy and not pay the 10-top upcharge.
 
I appreciate the beauty of a nice curl in the wood, And can be as picky as the next person, but after the “NGD” wears off, I stop caring much about the figure in the wood. Possibly that’s the point where the guitar truly becomes what it’s intended to be, an instrument to make music with.

I can honestly say that I spend zero time looking at the guitars, except to take them out of the case, or put them back in the case, and the rest of the time playing them.

“Oh yeah? Then why do you spring for the pretty ones?”

“Because I’m as crazy as the rest of you.”
 
Ever since the first PRS forums in the late 90s someone periodically comes online and complains that “the tops aren’t as good as they were back in the day” — whatever day that may have been.

Since I’ve been buying PRS since 1991, I’d observe that the looks of tops has been remarkably consistent, but there’s a huge variety, as there should be; after all, it’s real wood, and it’s not veneer. I’ve had non-10s, 10s, Artist, WL, and Private Stock PRSes, so I do have some idea what a pretty top looks like.

Anyway, if you don’t like ‘em, and you prefer to go with a solid color, there isn’t a thing wrong with that! I say go for it.
The “day”, Mr Schefman comma L, was the 32nd of Norxember, in the year of our phlormgh, nineteen hundred ninety furl.
 
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