PRS 2014 All "G" and no "F"?

[sergiodeblanc]

What's up wit that?

Did PRS just give up on tryin' to satisfy anyone who likes single coils or "F" styled tones? I'm a little bummed that the only thing left is the 513 and "G" inspired tone wood guitars with split-able hums... I mean they just started getting in with all these country dudes and now they've dropped all the guitars that were made to appease them? Was nobody buying them?

Man, why can't PRS make the SAS Studio with a couple of regular sized single coil pup routes in it? The DGT and 408's have a decent split tone but is that really all we're gonna get this year? I would think that they'd give the Brent Mason model more than a single year to gain a little "foot-hold" in the marketplace, I guess not.

The only thing that remotely addresses the "F" side of things is that damn blade switch and putting swamp ask backs on the CU24.

Maybe I'm just tryin' to fit an oval pup into a square hole here, but really? Nothing. Nada. Nope. No Dice?! Even the SE line is "G" loaded with a billion similar versions of the SC model, I love Marty Friedman's playing and all... But it's pretty much the same thing as the Mardsen, 245, and Tremonti which seem like competition for the S2SC.

Oh! And speaking of "O", where'd the Orianthi model go? Are people too afraid to rock a "girls" guitar? That was a bangin' model with the Korina an ebony, shame to see that one go.

*****.
*****.
*****.
moan.
You only buy used so shut up or exercise your vote and buy a new guitar Sergio.:girl:

 

[jimistephen]

Have they discontinued the BM? It's still on the web site. I know the studio, nf3, dc3 and 305 is gone but the mason is still there.

 

[Shawn@PRS]

Things are woven in and out of the line-up all the time. Just because something isn't currently being offered doesn't mean it's gone for good. Remember how the Santana SE was discontinued a few years ago and it came back with a totally new design.

 

[CantankerousCarl]

Things are woven in and out of the line-up all the time. Just because something isn't currently being offered doesn't mean it's gone for good. Remember how the Santana SE was discontinued a few years ago and it came back with a totally new design.

So when's the CE coming back? I'll take two...

 

[sergiodeblanc]

Have they discontinued the BM? It's still on the web site. I know the studio, nf3, dc3 and 305 is gone but the mason is still there.

You're right! It is! Hissy fits never rely on facts you know.. They are merely designed to get attention and reassurance. :violin:

Things are woven in and out of the line-up all the time. Just because something isn't currently being offered doesn't mean it's gone for good. Remember how the Santana SE was discontinued a few years ago and it came back with a totally new design.

Ugh.. I forgot about that. :redface: It'd be great if what you're sayin' is that PRS is tweaking the designs of some of those guitars, I mean I know you can't, but.. it would be super cool. If the "O" comes back in sparkles I won't be able to resist myself.

I just feel a NGD coming on and I'm foolishly telling myself it will be my last, so it better be a big one, and with "F" type tones.

 

[sergiodeblanc]

So when's the CE coming back? I'll take two...

:star:

 

[JustRob]

Oh! And speaking of "O", where'd the Orianthi model go?

Saw something last week about her pimping Fretlight guitars. :dontknow:

Maybe the next O model will have sparkles AND a light up fretboard...

 

[Herr Squid]

PRS will drop models that aren't selling like a hot potato. And sometimes great ideas and great models hit the market with a thud. How many SAS NF, DC3, NF3, 305, and Studio NGDs did we see? Precious few compared to DGT, P22, SC and 408, methinks! That's sad because I thought the narrowfield pickups were a great idea, and love the Studio that I bought.

PRS never seems to have cracked the "F" nut and gotten big sales on guitars that aren't dual-hummers. Maybe splittable 408's are "F" enough. Or maybe the PRS skunk works is chewing on the problem and we'll see a whole new run on that windmill in a year or two..?

 

[vchizzle]

I still want a SAS NF. A SAS studio would be a smarter buy since I'm a G style fo shizzle, but I'm drawn to the straight up NF too.

 

[Rider1260]

My guess is you will see something in the S2 line in the future
I love my 305
but sometimes I wish it had a 25" scale

 

[themike]

Let it out buddy, tell your friends whats bothering you! We've all had a good rant from time to time and I hear ya but like Shawn said I think its more of a "when" than a "why not".

 

[Mike Duncan]

I think I would really enjoy a CE.

 

[László]

Dear Mr. DeBlanc:

We at Jazzelski, Rapp, and Rockenfunk have been retained by a Mr. LSchefman to respond to your rant on his behalf. Our client has instructed us to have you complete the following survey so that he can formulate an appropriate answer:

1. Have you personally played a 408 or Paul's Guitar through a tube amplifier and listened to the single coil tones?

a. I have played a 408 or Paul's Guitar through a tube amplifier and have listened to the single coil tones, and I don't get it.
b. I am afraid to play a 408 or Paul's Guitar through a tube amplifier and to listen to the single coil tones because then I might find myself spending more than $100 on a guitar.
b. I have had it with your incessant questions, and this is only the first question.

2. Have you played a Brent Mason Guitar?

a. Who's Brent Mason?
b. Maybe, why do you want to know?
c. Stop it, already, with the questions.

3. Would you rather be a pencil or a Q-tip?

a. I would rather be a pencil. I do not fear the pencil sharpener.
b. Gross as it would be to be a Q-tip, it's a far better end than the pencil sharpener.
c. C'mon, man, what's that got to do with anything?
d. Ah. I see what you're getting at. Very clever.

4. If you were making guitars, and way more people bought the classic maple top, humbucker guitars you made than the bolt-on and other single coil models, would you:

a. Figure that the demand is greater for the models that sell well, and make more of them.
b. Make more of the models that don't sell as well, thinking, "What the heck, it's only money."
c. Throw up your hands and shout, "Ahh, Fenders sound like crap anyway."
d. Throw up.

Thank you for your time in filling out this survey. You are now eligible for a grand prize of some sort. We haven't figured out what that will be yet, but it will not be anything you want, so don't worry about it.

Sincerely,

Jazzelski, Rapp, and Rockenfunk, Marketing Firm for LSchefman
Affiliated with PR Firm, Hinkle, Binkle and Periwinkle.

 

[maxtuna26]

I echo the thought on Paul making far too many G-style guitars. The whole SE line's crowded with singlecuts, and as a PRS doublecut fan, there's not much "new things" for me this NAMM, apart from a few new guitars that I'm not interested in. :idontknow: At least, Paul should reintroduce a stoptail doublecut in the SE line, like the old SE Custom 22. Maybe an SE Standard or something like that, because that's very close to the SE Tim Mahoney and R&D wouldn't be a big problem. I mean, not everyone wants a baby blue guitar (or two...), right?

I haven't really seen Paul doing "Tele"-style guitars. 2 singlecoils (not P90s), 3 way switch, no frills controls and flashy as a PRS would be. The only closest thing currently is a 408, with the narrower neck pickup coil and the wider bridge coil, which is technically not completely different from a Tele, but they got the coil-split (or was it tap?)... In the end, they're still not the same thing. I'd really like to see Paul try his hands at making a Tele-style model. That'll definitely get PRS rooted in country music.

That said, Paul's done a very good job on the G side of the things, maybe even outdoing G in their own territories. Like Shawn said earlier, perhaps Paul pulled the F-inspired PRS to tweak them. Since most of the withdrawn models have the singlecoils/NFs.... who knows! There might be good news.

 

[Deleted member 2284]

I don't think they would pull models out of the catalogue if it is just to "tweak" them, sadly. Most likely, it is as has been said numerous times: they simply don't sell well.

PRS is well established as a dual humbucker/G-style brand. I think getting into the single coil market is an uphill battle from a marketing standpoint, sadly. Thinking for instance about trade shows like NAMM and AES, sending demo models for guitar magazines to review, etc etc, it's also a question of how much "airtime" they would use on establishing the single coil business, when it would divert focus away from their core business (humbucking models). Just my thoughts.


Also, what the heck is up with that q-tip vs. pencil question???

 

[HANGAR18]

I wish someone would make a guitar with a bunch of single coil pickups in it so the guitar will make noise on its own and also so that I'll have to constantly turn off the volume knob and fight with it humming all the time.
:rofl: Just kidding.

 

[John Beef]

It's easy to lose perspective, but take a look at the PRS book from 2007 and compare the lineup then to the lineup now. They've been rolling out new models left and right. Some are going to sell, others not. You don't want to create a situation where the consumer enters a state of decision paralysis faced with too many decisions.

 

[sergiodeblanc]

Let it out buddy, tell your friends whats bothering you! We've all had a good rant from time to time and I hear ya but like Shawn said I think its more of a "when" than a "why not".

Thanks homie, sometimes I just gotta whine like a baby for no real reason. I should've started a cooler thread or at least not pick on Singlecuts and Marty... It was just a big fart that I needed to let out.

Saw something last week about her pimping Fretlight guitars. :dontknow:

Maybe the next O model will have sparkles AND a light up fretboard...

Nevermind! Later PRS!:vroam: Hello Fretlight!:call:

Dear Mr. DeBlanc:

We at Jazzelski, Rapp, and Rockenfunk have been retained by a Mr. LSchefman to respond to your rant on his behalf. Our client has instructed us to have you complete the following survey so that he can formulate an appropriate answer:

1. Have you personally played a 408 or Paul's Guitar through a tube amplifier and listened to the single coil tones?

a. I have played a 408 or Paul's Guitar through a tube amplifier and have listened to the single coil tones, and I don't get it.
b. I am afraid to play a 408 or Paul's Guitar through a tube amplifier and to listen to the single coil tones because then I might find myself spending more than $100 on a guitar.
b. I have had it with your incessant questions, and this is only the first question.

2. Have you played a Brent Mason Guitar?

a. Who's Brent Mason?
b. Maybe, why do you want to know?
c. Stop it, already, with the questions.

3. Would you rather be a pencil or a Q-tip?

a. I would rather be a pencil. I do not fear the pencil sharpener.
b. Gross as it would be to be a Q-tip, it's a far better end than the pencil sharpener.
c. C'mon, man, what's that got to do with anything?
d. Ah. I see what you're getting at. Very clever.

4. If you were making guitars, and way more people bought the classic maple top, humbucker guitars you made than the bolt-on and other single coil models, would you:

a. Figure that the demand is greater for the models that sell well, and make more of them.
b. Make more of the models that don't sell as well, thinking, "What the heck, it's only money."
c. Throw up your hands and shout, "Ahh, Fenders sound like crap anyway."
d. Throw up.

Thank you for your time in filling out this survey. You are now eligible for a grand prize of some sort. We haven't figured out what that will be yet, but it will not be anything you want, so don't worry about it.

Sincerely,

Jazzelski, Rapp, and Rockenfunk, Marketing Firm for LSchefman
Affiliated with PR Firm, Hinkle, Binkle and Periwinkle.

I just have to reply to this...

1) a. Yes, I've gotten the chance to to play a wonderful 408 (thanks Mike!), they are really cool guitars and the Paul's guitar is a beautiful instrument fer sure.. but the split 408's leave me feeling more like "Ah, that's supposed to sound like a single coil" rather than "Damn, that's a single coil", if that makes any sense.

I had a discussion with a forum member recently about the effects of the "other" coil in a bucker messing with the tone of the split coil. We discussed de-magnetizing the slug pieces and "dummy" coils, and how he personally didn't notice a difference between a "true" single coil and one that was only using part of a bucker. Now it could only be psychosomatic, but I believe that in this instance I can hear a difference.

I really enjoy the split tones I get from my 5-way rotary equipped PRS, and had come to terms with them having their own sound and not exactly like a Strat (after all I'm used to hearing them that way after 20 years with 'em) but that difference is even more noticeable when the split pickup is heard all by itself (as in not two together).

The 408 volume issue is just...weird. I have never heard a single coil that loud in my life! Now this definitely has something to do with how I've always had to deal with a mismatch in volume between buckers and singles, like how hard the input to the amp is driven or how I'll compress the signal to make up for it, but they kinda made me feel like I needed to rethink my signal chain. That's not to say it's a bad thing, it just new,.. and for the most part we guitarists are a traditional bunch of goons.

I presently own, and have owned a butt load of fancy pants split-able hum buckers. As of today I have P-Rails, PRS, and some Lipsticks, in addition to two PRS with "actual" single coils and a P90 equipped PRS... What can I say? I think buckers sound different. It's my quest/obsession and I don't know everything (or anything) except what "I" hear.

None of this is all that important in life or music, and I don't think any of my favorite songs could be ruined by pickup selection but...... Just put a fricken regular set of single coils in a CE ALL READY!! :box:


2) a. :wink:

3) d. I've spent a lot of time thinking about this one. Knowing that you are indeed a very clever man, I had to weigh the philosophical concept of vagina dentata against the intended intrusional usage of trademarked cotton swabs in my orifices. I also debated the allegory possibilities and analogical reasonings of scribing my way to new sonic destinations versus writing romance novels with ear wax, but the thought of sticking my pencil in a sharpener proved to be too terrible of a visual for me to ponder so early in my day.

4) b. It's the most romantic answer and it's almost Valentine's Day. Don't try to use logic and reason on me, you know I live in a world of my own design where everyday is a trip to the beach and women admire my intellect under a life sized fountain of champagne with jet skiers in it. Nice try reptilian overlords! I defy your illusionary world of suffering and split coils! I shall now retire to my hot tub on the spaceship moon!

 

[Shawn@PRS]

it would be super cool. If the "O" comes back in sparkles I won't be able to resist myself.

'Twould be cool, but I was hoping for blood-splatter finish.

 

[themike]

'Twould be cool, but I was hoping for blood-splatter finish.

View attachment 1297

Do you want the floyd too? haha