Not everyday is new 513 Rosewood day but I am delighted to say today is.
Delighted to pick up a beautiful 2005 example in McCarty Tobacco burst. This is my third 513 Rosewood and fifth 513 overall.
Folks familiar with my musings on the forum know that the 513 Rosewood in my opinion is the best guitar ever and I am delighted to say that this third example is equally as good as the other two I have. Utterly butterly playable, unbelievably clear pickups that have percussive thump in single coil mode and go to very controllable warm fat goodness in heavy humbucker mode where harmonics fly like pigs in a pink floyd concert, and that feeling of electricity under your fingers, a built in compressor almost, which only really good PRS guitars seem to have.
I would say that it looks even better than my other rosewoods as McCarty Tobacco burst, especially with the natural binding, just looks outstanding (particularly to someone who bought his first electric guitar after watching Slash in November Rain). Also the top has a lot more movement than my other 513 Rosewoods, or most maple tops I have seen. Reminds me of the Graveyard 1 I saw in Japan.
Four years into owning my first 513 and in short order my first 513 Rosewood, have allowed me to develop my opinions on the matter a bit. 513s are great guitars but tonewood skeptic or not, there is little doubt in my mind that the Brazilian rosewood of the 513 rosewood gives the guitar the extra oomph to take it past a 100%. Even if I compare it to my Private Stock (Maple necked, ash bodied 513), the Rosewood imo is a more magical guitar (beauty being the eye or ear of the beholder and all that)
So it strikes me as quite amazing that while the myth of the ME1 grows, the 513 Rosewood continues to fly under the radar. I got my first 513 rosewood and ME1 at the same time and four years later, I still have only one ME1 (despite playing four others extensively) and 3 513 Rosewoods. My perhaps cynical theory is that the 513 suffers from being different, for not sounding 'exactly' like a Strat or Les Paul, but the plus side is that these don't cost kings ransoms and especially now that inflation has hit new guitar prices, 513s are more incredible value.
Enough prose. Here come the pics
Family shot of the 3 'Bursts'
Left: 2006 Violin Amber Sunburst set up in D, Middle McCarty Tobacco Sunburst set up in Eb, Right: Dark Cherry Wrap Sunburst set up in E
Delighted to pick up a beautiful 2005 example in McCarty Tobacco burst. This is my third 513 Rosewood and fifth 513 overall.
Folks familiar with my musings on the forum know that the 513 Rosewood in my opinion is the best guitar ever and I am delighted to say that this third example is equally as good as the other two I have. Utterly butterly playable, unbelievably clear pickups that have percussive thump in single coil mode and go to very controllable warm fat goodness in heavy humbucker mode where harmonics fly like pigs in a pink floyd concert, and that feeling of electricity under your fingers, a built in compressor almost, which only really good PRS guitars seem to have.
I would say that it looks even better than my other rosewoods as McCarty Tobacco burst, especially with the natural binding, just looks outstanding (particularly to someone who bought his first electric guitar after watching Slash in November Rain). Also the top has a lot more movement than my other 513 Rosewoods, or most maple tops I have seen. Reminds me of the Graveyard 1 I saw in Japan.
Four years into owning my first 513 and in short order my first 513 Rosewood, have allowed me to develop my opinions on the matter a bit. 513s are great guitars but tonewood skeptic or not, there is little doubt in my mind that the Brazilian rosewood of the 513 rosewood gives the guitar the extra oomph to take it past a 100%. Even if I compare it to my Private Stock (Maple necked, ash bodied 513), the Rosewood imo is a more magical guitar (beauty being the eye or ear of the beholder and all that)
So it strikes me as quite amazing that while the myth of the ME1 grows, the 513 Rosewood continues to fly under the radar. I got my first 513 rosewood and ME1 at the same time and four years later, I still have only one ME1 (despite playing four others extensively) and 3 513 Rosewoods. My perhaps cynical theory is that the 513 suffers from being different, for not sounding 'exactly' like a Strat or Les Paul, but the plus side is that these don't cost kings ransoms and especially now that inflation has hit new guitar prices, 513s are more incredible value.
Enough prose. Here come the pics
Family shot of the 3 'Bursts'
Left: 2006 Violin Amber Sunburst set up in D, Middle McCarty Tobacco Sunburst set up in Eb, Right: Dark Cherry Wrap Sunburst set up in E
