Please Help a Confused and Overwhelmed Newb

[jxe]

 

[show_a_little_faith]

I’m delusional, but not quite so delusional that I think I’ll ever sound anything like JM or JG or (fill in the blank), at least not for more than about four seconds at a time, if I’m lucky, some day, maybe. Hopefully I sound good enough at some point to sound good enough to not be embarrassed in front of my wife or someone else who likes me. I’ll practice hard and do a lot of hoping.

So….I’ve got a little more than a grand to blow on my first guitar. Where would you point me?

I'm going to go on a limb a bit and suggest you check out something else: an SE 24-08, either Standard or Custom ($200 more, but maple top and different finish options, including "Vintage Sunburst")
It's got the split-coil options for versatility. I personally find the stock pickups a little bright, but some experimentation with the Tone control does a lot to mediate that.
And if your budget is about $1,000, then the Standard will leave you at least a couple of hundred towards an amp. For that, I'd suggest the Boss Katana MkII, 50 watt (but that's another thread...)

 

[sergiodeblanc]

If I were a hippie on a budget, I’d buy one of these:

https://reverb.com/item/47191372-prs-se-custom-2010-vintage-sunburst

Some Seth Lovers from SD, a Q-tron, and a Blackstar HT-40.

 

[AZGiant]

I have played acoustic guitar, badly, for maybe 15 years, though I have no musical background beyond that. My love affair with The Dead/D&C, etc has led me to purchase an electric, and when I saw JM playing “Honey” in Boulder in June, I decided I had to own a PRS. So….I began researching and have reached a serious state of confusion and indecision, and I’m hoping y’all can help a brother out.

Budget: SE or, maybe, a used S2
Sound: I just don’t have the ear for it, or the vocabulary, to describe what I like. I know I love “Honey.”

Here are the options I’ve identified:

1) SE SS: seems like a versatile instrument for the kind of music I love. I wish it came in sunburst, though. (It shouldn’t matter, but it kind of does). I played one at a shop and it felt nice.

2) SE Cu22 SH: I mean, it kinda LOOKS like a SE, right? But, for real, does it have the sound I’ll want? (Nobody near me has one in stock)

3) s2 McCarty 594. Again, it LOOKS like a guitar I know I love, but i don’t know much about how it will sound stock. How much of “Honey’s” sound is due to the middle PU mod, etc? This is a much bigger $ investment, but I can handle it if I must.

4) almost forgot: Cu24, since it seems like it kind of does everything, and because I played one and kind of wanted to curl up in bed with it.

I need your help because I don’t have the ear or experience at this point to really understand how the rest of the differences in these models (and others in the PRS line) will affect my playing and listening experience.

If y’all could make this simpler for me so I can get some sleep, it’d be much appreciated. Thanks in advance!

I think the issue here is not only the guitar, but the amp, its settings, pedals, etc. There is a lot that goes into tone for sure, and while the guitar plays a huge part, it is only one piece of a large puzzle. What I would do is also try out amps now as depending on what you want or need, that could be more than the guitar. Hope that helps

 

[Russ73]

OP def a used S2...I bought a 594 thinline off GC used site for 900...but have bought a couple of Standard 22s for under 800 as well...in fact I'm playing one of them as we speak...check out GC used and Davesguitar.com in LA Crosse...they gave great stuff and don't charge tax or shipping...

 

[AP515]

No. I’ll figure out amp budget after I find a guitar.

I'd go the other way. Find the amp that gets you close and find a guitar you can play well. That's a better recipe for success.

 

[Jetty]

I can not make comparisons of the different guitars you have asked about. There are hundreds of members on here far more qualified to do that and some already have. But Guitarist magazine did a 50th anniversary of PRS cover article and discussed not onl the history of PRS but articles about many different PRS models. Of most interest to you is they awarded the S2 McCarty 594 Thinline a "10" and the S2 McCarty 594 a "9". I have never seen them, although they have to have done so, give a "10" to anything in their reviews.

Here is my post about that issue of Guitarist. I'm certain that issue is long out of print. But I'll see if I can dig it up in the shambles here of my music room and see what other articles in it may be of use to you.

Many thanks! It does seem like I’ll probably love just about any PRS I end up getting. I love the suffering of this stage of making a big purchase.

 

[Jetty]

I'd go the other way. Find the amp that gets you close and find a guitar you can play well. That's a better recipe for success.

I thought I’d be lazy and just snag a Katana. Any specific advice on better choices?

 

[AP515]

I thought I’d be lazy and just snag a Katana. Any specific advice on better choices?

The Katana is a good SS amp. If your plan is to get the Katana and a starter PRS, that's a fine plan. You can build a broader sound pallet as you build your chops. Some of us here use modeler software and a computer and never warm up a tube. I'm not one of them. Like the blues boys of 70 years ago, I run a guitar through a tube amp and the blues pour out the speaker cabinet.

 

[Rod/]

Having had the SE SS and the S2 594 I'd say an SE SS in Stone Blue will give you a taste of what you want. Les makes an excellent point as two artists can use the same guitar and rig and still sound exactly like themselves. Much of tone is in the fingers the guitar is a transducer that converts this to sound. The SE SS is a heck of a transducer and will cost much less.

Then start saving some dollars, cos you're going to want a S2 594 DC next

Great advise! The Silver Sky SE will run you $849, or even less for a used one.. great guitars. Watch the PRS video of John playing this model……he loves it….if you want more of that middle pickup tone (and output), raise that pickup up a turn or more on each side… good place to start….. hell, Jeff Healey who I shared the stage with a number of times played a $200 Squire Strat that in his hands, sounded amazing…….rip Jeff.. we miss you
Jack Pearson (Allman Bros, amongst others) and monster guitarist plays a Squire Strat as well. Imho, the SE SS is a much better instrument. So much is in the hands……attack, intent, passion, knowledge ect ect

 

[Jetty]

If I were a hippie on a budget, I’d buy one of these:

https://reverb.com/item/47191372-prs-se-custom-2010-vintage-sunburst

Some Seth Lovers from SD, a Q-tron, and a Blackstar HT-40.

I think I’m going to change my user name to “Hippie on a Budget” if you don’t mind?

 

[ViperDoc]

Are the S2 594 pickups pretty different than those on the core model? (I’m sure I could easily look that up, but we’re just talkin here)

I've never played the S2 58/18s. I've seen several people swap in the Cores as an upgrade, but if you're buying the S2, I would just play it and find out what you think for yourself. They could be perfect.

 

[shinksma]

Hmm, interesting questions, OP!

Getting an SE or S2 will net you the same type of import-class pickups. The core models use pickups made by PRS in the US. Some people are OK with the stock imports in the SEs and S2s, some folks love to swap them out. Since a new set of nice pickups is probably $400-ish, keep that budget in mind.

A Core PRS would generally be thought to have better pickups, but even then some people like to swap them out.

So I suggest you find the guitar body and features that appeal to you, and if the pickups aren't quite right, have another $400 saved up to adapt accordingly with different ones.

Having humbuckers that split will be a nice option. If you go with the SE Silver Sky, this is a moot point.

I would suggest you might look at a semi-hollow CU22 or S2 594 with pickup splitting toggles (or pull-push), if that combo exists.

Edited to mention the S2 594 and to add:

Also, no matter what pickups you have, you will not sound like anyone in particular for a while, as you build up technique. Well, you could sound like the Sex Pistols, I suppose, with minimal effort. But JM, as an example, has a very particular tone that truly does emanate from his fingers. He could pick up any guitar and sound like him. And I could pick up any of his guitars and I will not sound like him - I will sound like me (which influence-wise is a mashup of well-known artists plus my own little style).

 

[Texas_minor_blues]

"What do you think, Dr. Freud - am I crazy?"

"Well...my guess is you're merely playing out the dialog between your ego and superego in internet posts."

"That's a relief!"

"Don't get a swelled head...I didn't say you aren't out of your freaking mind."

"Speaking of crazy, would you say it's unusual that I'm getting psychiatric advice from someone who's been dead since 1939?"

"It's all about that ouija board, my friend. Who needs the internet when you have a fully functioning ouija board?"

"So true. Of course, I keep it cased when I'm not using it."

"That's very good advice. I suppose you keep it in its original cardboard box?"

"No, I opted for the Artist Package with the paisley hard case. I always use a humidipak. Hasn't needed an adjustment since I got it in 1973."

"Hmm. Not exactly reassuring when it comes to my evaluation of your sanity. When is the asylum planning to release you?"

"I'm not sure there's a plan."

"That's probably a good thing. By the way, how's your fantasy of being an orchestral composer going?"

"Well, you can listen to the stuff on my website."

"Been there. Listen, Stravinsky and Strauss were friends of mine."

"And?"

"Don't quit your day job."

"My day job is 'inmate'. But one day I'm going to run this asylum!"

You know Les as a therapist I could write a fantastic dissertation on you haha
At least the voices try and steer you in a positive direction

 

[László]

You know Les as a therapist I could write a fantastic dissertation on you haha
At least the voices try and steer you in a positive direction

I really don't hear voices. I do this stuff to add a little humor to the mix here.

 

[Texas_minor_blues]

I know Les just giving you a hard time

 

[László]

I know Les just giving you a hard time

Not that I wouldn't benefit from therapy, because I've lost touch with reality.

I think I've become an orchestral composer!

 

[Jetty]

The S2 594 seems to tick a lot of my boxes. It’s a little more than I’d like to spend, though, since they don’t make an SE.

How do y’all think I’d like an SE Custom 24-08? Shares a fair number of characteristics, seems.

 

[sergiodeblanc]

Not that I wouldn't benefit from therapy, because I've lost touch with reality.

I think I've become an orchestral composer!

If you compose orchestral music, you are an orchestral composer.

 

[László]

If you compose orchestral music, you are an orchestral composer.

But not necessarily a good one.

Hey, I'm trying!