Pre-purchase questions. PRS or Parker guitar?

Since you live in a "small European country", is it possible to hop across a border or two to get to one of the other European countries that do have PRSi available to sample, maybe make a weekend holiday out of it? Here in the US, if we don't have guitars nearby to try that we really want to sample in person, we'll drive to a neighboring state - maybe a 4 or 5 hour drive, and make a weekend trip out of it. Or do like my buddy, who stayed in Florida for his weekend trip, but drove a few hours to try out a couple of axes, one a PRSi (he ended up buying both guitars he was interested in!).

Well, I guess I'll have to arrange something like that, for sure. Regarding the PRS guitars, I mean. Parkers are notouriously hard to find, even in bigger european countries.
It's just that I live in Portugal, so we're right on the edge of Europe, mainly facing the Mediterrean and the Atlantic Ocean, with 50% bordering with Spain (which also don't have many shops with Parkers on display).

But I will definitely try a few PRS somewhere else.
The only ones I seem to find in this country are the SE line, and I have to say I'm not that impressed by those. Seemed to have a bit of a bulky neck and were kind of slow (although the dirty strings might have contributed somewhat to that experience).
 
In most online shops they offer a 30 day money back no questions asked. I think some even refund the shipping costs (I think Thomann does it).

So if you can't buy local, order online, test it carefully thru your gear and then send it back if not happy. The only hassle would be to re-package the guitar and go to the post office to re-send it. Oh and wait for a week or so to get the money back into your account.

Not ideal (I know) but if you can't get your dream guitar locally I think it's the only route to follow.
 
I love the concept of the Fly, but the feel just isn't there for me. Hard to describe, but it's something about how a more traditional guitar feels, reacts, and vibrates.

That may be the deciding factor. It's something you can't know from videos or text. You have to hold the guitars in your hands.
 
Having owned a Parker, I can say that the design philosophies are different between Parker and PRS. Parker was always and to a certain extent still is designed as a gigging musicians axe. If you only wanted to lug one guitar to a gig that could reasonably replicate everything in your arsenal, the Parker was/is it. The extreme light weight on most models plays into that too as do the stainless frets. Its almost ergonomic perfection. 3 Hours with a Fly or Nite Fly strapped to you wasn't any chore.

And this is mostly what I see people saying about the Parkers. Light, ergonomic, versatile, but never once I've read someone saying it can produce a "fat and juicy kick ass sound"!
Weird. Even at the Parker forum, people always commend them first on their lightness and ergonomics.
But for someone like me who will be playing it 90% of the time in my own living room... I guess tone will come first.
 
Now that you mentioned that, I recall I tried a SE Custom Semi Hollow (exactly like the one below) and was rather underwhelmed with the guitar. Action was kinda high and the pickups sounded so-so. Playability was not very good. BUT I always take into consideration, sometimes, music stores are not the ideal place to properly try gear. Other people's playing, chatting and the sometimes crappy amps at disposal are things to consider into the equation.

This is good. Means that I'm not the only one who's disliked the "SE experience". Hopefully the S2 C24 will be a different beast.

Ever since I never played another PRS but I always had that "itch" for one. I was thinking following the SE route (a C24) but I'm trying to gather some more to buy an S2. Let's see. And good luck with your choice ;)

That is exactly what I'll do!
I've been playing with my trustworthy Ibanez PGM100 for 22 years now, since I turned 18. If I'm going to splash out on a new guitar, I'd rather save a few more months and buy the real thing, instead of purchasing some low-to-midrange thing and having to live with an inapropriate choice for the next decade...

Good luck with your choice too!
 
If you can't try the actual guitars you want to buy, you might want to at least check out their measurements and other specs and see what similar things you could check out.

This is actually a very good idea, just making some simple measurements of what I use now and try to find out how I will (ergonomically) feel with different guitars in my hand, even if they're not PRS at first.
Thanks!
 
I only have an SE C24 and I absolutely love it, I would consider nothing else in its price range and quite a bit further above, in fact I went to the UK Guitar show last weekend and tried lots of Guitars in the £700-£999.00 price range from many different makers and I would say my trusty SE was easily as good and as playable.

I did try a couple of S2's and they really where exceptional instruments in comparison with there piers such as USA Fenders etc.

I guess I'll have to give the SE line another go, but quite honestly I'm leaning towards the S2 C24.

Do you happen to know what's the best guitar shop in-or-around London to try out PRS guitars?
 
In most online shops they offer a 30 day money back no questions asked. I think some even refund the shipping costs (I think Thomann does it).

So if you can't buy local, order online, test it carefully thru your gear and then send it back if not happy. The only hassle would be to re-package the guitar and go to the post office to re-send it. Oh and wait for a week or so to get the money back into your account.

Not ideal (I know) but if you can't get your dream guitar locally I think it's the only route to follow.

Another nice idea!
Never really considered it, but if their policy is "30 days money back no questions asked", why not have one for a couple of weeks?
Hell, I can order the Parker that way and exchange it for the PRS if I don't like it! (just kidding... I'm leaning towards the S2 C24 more and more).

Thanks!
 
I love the concept of the Fly, but the feel just isn't there for me. Hard to describe, but it's something about how a more traditional guitar feels, reacts, and vibrates.

That's exactly what I'm hearing people saying about the Parker in general. Nice feel, light and ergonomic, but they always stop short when talking about the sound and feeling you have when playing it.
 
Another nice idea!
Never really considered it, but if their policy is "30 days money back no questions asked", why not have one for a couple of weeks?
Hell, I can order the Parker that way and exchange it for the PRS if I don't like it! (just kidding... I'm leaning towards the S2 C24 more and more).

Thanks!

Yes as long as you return the guitar with no scratches, dents or anything broken they will return your money 100%.

Also must be in original case, shipping box with papers, tags, you know...

You can read about it here: http://www.thomann.de/gb/helpdesk_moneyback.html

Hope it helps your quest.
 
Another nice idea!
Never really considered it, but if their policy is "30 days money back no questions asked", why not have one for a couple of weeks?
Hell, I can order the Parker that way and exchange it for the PRS if I don't like it! (just kidding... I'm leaning towards the S2 C24 more and more).

Thanks!

I think the S2 series is the sweet spot for value across all the lines.
 
I think the S2 series is the sweet spot for value across all the lines.

Would you say that the main difference between the S2 and the most expensive ones would be more in terms of materials and veneers and exotic wood arrangements?
Or do you think soundwise there's more of a difference between the SE and the S2 than, say, the S2 and the P24?
 
I got my son a 2012 SE Semi-Hollow like the one above, and I used it for a few weeks before his birthday, and I gotta say I was really impressed with it.
Even though it has a bigger neck than what I like, it was one of the best non wide/thin SEs I have ever played.
The local shop I deal with set it up great.
It played much better than my SE Zach Myers, may have something to do with that it is a 25" scale which is my favorite electric scale.
I would almost be tempted to give my ZM to my son for a second guitar for him, and pick up an SE Semi-Hollow to replace the ZM with.

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Would you say that the main difference between the S2 and the most expensive ones would be more in terms of materials and veneers and exotic wood arrangements?
Or do you think soundwise there's more of a difference between the SE and the S2 than, say, the S2 and the P24?

The core models are nicer all around than the S2, but I don't think you gain much as far as sound or playability goes. The arguable weak points of the S2 is the vibrato bridge and pickups. But even if you get a John Mann bridge and your favorite boutique pickups, you still spend well less than a core model.

Sound wise, I bet most of us would have a hard time telling any of them apart in a blind test.
 
The core models are nicer all around than the S2, but I don't think you gain much as far as sound or playability goes. The arguable weak points of the S2 is the vibrato bridge and pickups. But even if you get a John Mann bridge and your favorite boutique pickups, you still spend well less than a core model.

Sound wise, I bet most of us would have a hard time telling any of them apart in a blind test.

That's good to know!
Maybe I'll start with an S2 and upgrade the bridge and pickups (if necessary) later on.

Thanks!
 
I did play with one PRS SE line a couple of months back (the Paul Allender model...) and I can't say I've had a positive experience.
The guitar guy in that shop told me there is no difference in neck radius between that specific Paull Allender model and the more expensive Custom 22/24's.
I found that guitar to have a bulky neck, definitely bulkier than the guitar I've been using for the past 20 years (an 1990 Ibanez PGM100 original Paul Gilbert model, with a very thin neck).
Neck "radius" is really meant to mean the radius of the profile of the fretboard. And the guy was right, in that sense: almost all PRSi have the same fretboard radius (10"). Nonetheless, I think what you experienced was the overall neck profile, and the Paul Allender comes with a wide-thin neck. The Wide-Thin will have a width (across the strings) that is wider than your typical Gibson or Fender, but will be thinner depth-wise (fretboard through to back of neck) than Gs or Fs. PRSi come in different flavors of neck profiles, such as wide-fat (same width as the Paul Allender, but a thicker depth, more like a 50s Gibson), or another current profile called Pattern Regular that comes on the S2 models, which is a bit narrower than the Paul Allender, more Fender-like, I guess (don't know, haven't played a Pattern Regular neck).

Soundwise it also wasn't that much of an experience, although the blame should be shared with the crappy Roland Cube amp the guy set me up with, and the fact that the strings were dirty and sticky.
All the demos I've heard online of the Custom 24 sound way more amazing than what I've tested, so I'm assuming that there really are tangible differences between the SE and the S2 Custom 24 line (hence the difference in price).

Can someone confirm (or disprove) that even the Custom 24's have a bulky neck?

IMHO SE CU24s, which come with the Wide-Thin necks, have a nice non-bulky neck. From what I can tell by the specs, S2 CU24s come with the Pattern Regular necks, and would feel a little less bulky, width-wise, even though they are a little meatier depth-wise.

But I think you'll find all PRSi have meatier necks than the Paul Gilbert Ibanez model you have been using. From what I can see online, that neck (a Wizard-style neck?) would be about the same width, maybe a touch thinner, than any PRS neck, but the thickness/depth would be much thinner than even a wide-thin neck.

If you don't think you'll like a neck thicker than the Ibanez, you probably won't get along with PRSi, AFAICT.

Hope that helps...
 
and in case you want to see for yourself! They do an SE Standard, SE, S2, and Core.


Yes! I love those videos. They had a bear of a time telling apart a Squier and a Fender Custom Shop, too.

Also, the Wide Thin neck is not wider than Gibson or modern Fender. All three are 1 11/16" at the nut. The PRS Regular profile is a touch narrower, but not as narrow as vintage Fender.

The depth of the wide thin certainly lives up to its name, but is a little rounder than the typical Ibanez profile. The regular could be described as medium. A little girth to it, but not so much that it should offend most players.
 
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Im very curious what the comments were like about prs on the parker forum good and bad.
 
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