Hello and greetings from a new member!
Forgive the long(ish) story, but its a lesson in not making assumptions!
Ive been playing nearly 20 years and have always been, not exactly against PRS, but certainly a bit snooty of it. I always took the view that they were over finished, over priced trophy guitars that did not have any real unique selling point, other than being pretty.
I was always a Gibson/ Fender guy.
Things started changing about a year ago when I actually saw Paul being interviewed on the Andertons TV channel. He just came across as a lovely guy who really cared about his company and his product.
I also started to feel, from the demo's I was watching, that PRS was starting to come into its own and be its own thing tonally (maybe that was just perception).
I also started looking into the Custom 24 and thinking to myself, 'you know, I could seemingly really find a use for that'.
The real turning point was when they bought out the Reclaimed Wood series. I'm a sucker for natural finish guitars and I really liked the look of those. But I wasn't in the market for a guitar at that time, and the price point was still out of my consideration for something I was unsure I would use.
I then saw the SE Exotic Wood range and really, really, liked the look of the Zebrawood version. But still, I wasn't looking to buy a new guitar.
At the weekend, I then found myself in Andertons in the UK. I needed a case for my Helix. My wife had also said I could take a break from the kids if I wanted and could spend some time playing some guitars if I would find that relaxing....;-)
After a while in the acoustic lounge, I picked up a natural finish 335 and played it for a bit. It was nice, but the price...
Leaving the demo room, I saw the Zebrawood SE on the wall and thought, meh, I'm here, I'll give it a play.
I was genuinely, astonished.
It sounded great.
It looked like $1m
It's build quality was superb
It played, genuinely, like no other guitar I had ever picked up before.
It came home with me.
I really was so surprised, but I simply could not leave it in the shop ( I did that once with an acoustic and regret it to this day).
I'm simply bowled over by this thing.
The build quality for the price is quite honestly unbelievable.
I've owned Gibson Studio and "Faded" Les Paul's before and, nice as they might have been, you knew you did not own the "real" thing. The compromises in finishes, in wood, in electronics, all designed, (and I do believe they are designed) to make you want to upgrade.
The SE on the other hand, feels and looks and plays like the real thing. There really seems to be every effort made to make this be a professional instrument. And it is a professional instrument. Its also the first guitar I have owned in a very long time where I have not needed to get a set up done or felt the need to change the pickups.
My hats off to PRS. A genuine convert.
That said, I'm still not sure I would ever fork out for a Core, but you never know...
A couple of questions though, which I have not seen an answer too:
1. What string guage did this ship with? Feels like 9s to me, but want to be sure.
2. The trem arm is loose in the trem bushing and swings freely. Is it supposed to do this? If not, any suggested fixes?
Thanks all, and sorry for the essay!
Jeremy
Forgive the long(ish) story, but its a lesson in not making assumptions!
Ive been playing nearly 20 years and have always been, not exactly against PRS, but certainly a bit snooty of it. I always took the view that they were over finished, over priced trophy guitars that did not have any real unique selling point, other than being pretty.
I was always a Gibson/ Fender guy.
Things started changing about a year ago when I actually saw Paul being interviewed on the Andertons TV channel. He just came across as a lovely guy who really cared about his company and his product.
I also started to feel, from the demo's I was watching, that PRS was starting to come into its own and be its own thing tonally (maybe that was just perception).
I also started looking into the Custom 24 and thinking to myself, 'you know, I could seemingly really find a use for that'.
The real turning point was when they bought out the Reclaimed Wood series. I'm a sucker for natural finish guitars and I really liked the look of those. But I wasn't in the market for a guitar at that time, and the price point was still out of my consideration for something I was unsure I would use.
I then saw the SE Exotic Wood range and really, really, liked the look of the Zebrawood version. But still, I wasn't looking to buy a new guitar.
At the weekend, I then found myself in Andertons in the UK. I needed a case for my Helix. My wife had also said I could take a break from the kids if I wanted and could spend some time playing some guitars if I would find that relaxing....;-)
After a while in the acoustic lounge, I picked up a natural finish 335 and played it for a bit. It was nice, but the price...
Leaving the demo room, I saw the Zebrawood SE on the wall and thought, meh, I'm here, I'll give it a play.
I was genuinely, astonished.
It sounded great.
It looked like $1m
It's build quality was superb
It played, genuinely, like no other guitar I had ever picked up before.
It came home with me.
I really was so surprised, but I simply could not leave it in the shop ( I did that once with an acoustic and regret it to this day).
I'm simply bowled over by this thing.
The build quality for the price is quite honestly unbelievable.
I've owned Gibson Studio and "Faded" Les Paul's before and, nice as they might have been, you knew you did not own the "real" thing. The compromises in finishes, in wood, in electronics, all designed, (and I do believe they are designed) to make you want to upgrade.
The SE on the other hand, feels and looks and plays like the real thing. There really seems to be every effort made to make this be a professional instrument. And it is a professional instrument. Its also the first guitar I have owned in a very long time where I have not needed to get a set up done or felt the need to change the pickups.
My hats off to PRS. A genuine convert.
That said, I'm still not sure I would ever fork out for a Core, but you never know...
A couple of questions though, which I have not seen an answer too:
1. What string guage did this ship with? Feels like 9s to me, but want to be sure.
2. The trem arm is loose in the trem bushing and swings freely. Is it supposed to do this? If not, any suggested fixes?
Thanks all, and sorry for the essay!
Jeremy
