PRS 305 info?

[Julian]

Hello all,

I was wondering if anyone knew why PRS discontinued the 305? It looks like such a killer instrument, for those who own one, could you share a pros and cons list/your thoughts? How does neck shape compare to newer prs pattern designs?

 

[dmatthews]

As Paul has always maintained, "If you buy them, I will continue to make them".
I bought one and gigged it for a long time.
It has the beauty of the standard/core body carve.
The neck is wide/fat and not dissimilar to a Pattern of today (not to be confused with Pattern Regular/Thin/Vintage etc.).
It has lovely locking tuners.
It has pickups that are a fair rendition of an S type guitar, but...
Those pups are a tad "darker" than you might hear on a S type guitar.
Those pups are not easy to replace/upgrade if you are so inclined (unless you are Hans).
It is a wonderful instrument to be sure.
Check one out if you can.

 

[Longneck Tenon]

As Paul has always maintained, "If you buy them, I will continue to make them".
I bought one and gigged it for a long time.
It has the beauty of the standard/core body carve.
The neck is wide/fat and not dissimilar to a Pattern of today (not to be confused with Pattern Regular/Thin/Vintage etc.).
It has lovely locking tuners.
It has pickups that are a fair rendition of an S type guitar, but...
Those pups are a tad "darker" than you might hear on a S type guitar.
Those pups are not easy to replace/upgrade if you are so inclined (unless you are Hans).
It is a wonderful instrument to be sure.
Check one out if you can.

I bought one new when they first came out and sold it last year after I bought a Silver Sky SE. I just wasn’t playing it much after that, but it was a beautiful guitar. I know some prefer it to conventional S-type guitars, especially those that use a fair amount of gain.

 

[Rider1260]

Thinking it wasn't Straty enough for folks , it didn't have a lot of quack and was warmer than a typical Strat and for me the bridge pickup was lacking like most Strats , Played Great !!! looked killer.
I think if PRS tried it again with the way they make pickups now and possibly a Vintage / Modern switch and nicer top woods they would have better success with that model .

untitled-4687 copy by https://www.flickr.com/photos/152274366@N08/

 

[dmatthews]

Thinking it wasn't Straty enough for folks , it didn't have a lot of quack and was warmer than a typical Strat and for me the bridge pickup was lacking like most Strats , Played Great !!! looked killer.
I think if PRS tried it again with the way they make pickups now and possibly a Vintage / Modern switch and nicer top woods they would have better success with that model .

untitled-4687 copy by https://www.flickr.com/photos/152274366@N08/

Yummy!

 

[VHTStark]

Mine is an all black/rosewood board model from 2012 with regular birds and phase 3 tuners.

Pros would be: it is PRS's take on a Core Level strat that veers very much in the PRS direction. It plays and feels very much like a PRS....and that means it plays great!

Cons: the pickup layout. With proprietary pickups mounted direct to body, with no pickguard, it is difficult to try other single coil or humbuckers if you want. Like on every strat I have played, I don't like the bridge pickup. Unfortunately, as of right now, the PTC won't do route for humbucker + pickup swap.

All in all, it is a great playing, unique long scale PRS that is built great and plays great and does a decent job of capturing a warm strat sound. I am likely hanging on to mine until the PTC can do a mod or two for me....

 

[Julian]

Yeah I’m thinking if they had slapped some JM635s on that body it would’ve been the perfect PRS. I’d get a silver sky but it’s just too similar to a strat for my taste