PRS as first guitar?

[jamjam1]

It seems most people start on Strats or Les Pauls and then gravitate towards PRS later on. I'm curious since I'm starting on a custom 24 if my technique or tone expectations will end up being different than if I started on a Fender or Gibson. For instance, the Strat quack or Les Paul growliness...I'm not really coming from a place of knowing those. Anyone have an opinion on that? Or will it just not matter in the long run?

 

[alantig]

We all have our own tone journey. You may want or need those tones at some point, or you may never want them. Hard to say where your journey will take you. A lot of us start by chasing the tone of a favorite player - sometimes we end up in a similar tone neighborhood, sometimes we end up in a completely different country. I've never been able to find a Tele I could get along with. Do I miss that tone? Sometimes, but not very often.

You'll have a nice range of tones with the CU24. It may or may not cover all the bases you want covered, but that's part of your journey, and ultimately, only you will be able to decide if you need more.

 

[SinSir]

Wish I had started on a PRS.

 

[Gtrbldr]

Lucky you, and no, it does not matter what you start out on, however you might be ruined for life, because you will never be satisfied with a lower standard ;-)

 

[Wyzard]

FWIW I hardly ever use the in-between positions on my own S-types and Silver Sky. I'd also sooner play almost any recently-built SE than a Les Paul.

 

[Moondog Wily]

If your goal in guitar playing is to sound like X, Y or Z, then you may have problems. If you like what you are hearing from this guitar, I think it is unlikely you will have issues. There is always a variety, even within the PRS line of what guitars can sound like, and minor changes can make big differences, so don't be afraid to "make it yours" by customizing items to get you further down the road to your tone nirvana!! Enjoy!!!

 

[JasonE]

I wish PRS would have been around when I started playing... If you were looking at the big names in electric guitars back when I started playing you had two choices. I fell in love with the look of a PRS when I first saw one. It took me a couple of decades to be able to afford one and find one that I just couldn't walk away from. I still have that guitar, and he has a lot of friends now.

 

[FragileThunder]

The right guitar for you is the one that speaks to you and says "yes, pick me up and play me MORE!". There is no right or wrong beyond that...




...although there are usually a bunch more guitars that ALSO need your love and attention as you go along.

 

[jak3af3r]

Your technique may be different since you won't have to worry about hitting the middle pickup or the volume knob or the pickup switch or the trem arm that dangles on a strat. And your left hand may like not having to wrap around a larger body joint like a strat or LP.

 

[Tony M.]

1- Play the guitar.
2- See what happens.

 

[Wyzard]

The right guitar for you is the one that speaks to you and says "yes, pick me up and play me MORE!". There is no right or wrong beyond that...


...although there are usually a bunch more guitars that ALSO need your love and attention as you go along.

I've co-built fifteen S-type guitars purely for my own use




I'm currently building two more......you know, just in case............

 

[bodia]

Wish I had started on a PRS.

Ditto

 

[jamjam1]

FWIW I hardly ever use the in-between positions on my own S-types and Silver Sky. I'd also sooner play almost any recently-built SE than a Les Paul.

Why is that? I went into a store recently and tried a Les Paul for the first time and it seemed more comfortable to play than the Strat I picked up. For some reason, the Les Paul felt closer to the PRS and easier to move around than the Strat.

 

[Victor Vector]

The guitar is the canvas, you are the painter. The canvas does not dictate the painting. All that you need to be concerned about is TOI...Time on Instrument. Everything else is moot at this point.

 

[jamjam1]

Just to clarify, I love the PRS I got. No regrets and that's what I'm going to learn on. Just curious about these other models. Not sure what I think about Strats...very different feel and tone from a cu24. And I heard so many bad (or rather, polarizing) things about a Les Paul. When I finally tried one it seemed pretty comfortable and had a good tone. The Tele I tried really didn't seem comfortable at all. Maybe in 6 months when my technique changes I'll feel different about them all.

 

[AP515]

When I started PRS did not exist. I had a crappy Squire Strat that wouldn't stay in tune.

I teach guitar to a young man that asked me about what guitar to use and I helped him find a used SE Cu24. He's becoming a fine guitarist, and he wasn't held back by the equipment like I was. Everyone should start on a good quality guitar. For many that is a PRS.

 

[FragileThunder]

Just to clarify, I love the PRS I got. No regrets and that's what I'm going to learn on. Just curious about these other models. Not sure what I think about Strats...very different feel and tone from a cu24. And I heard so many bad (or rather, polarizing) things about a Les Paul. When I finally tried one it seemed pretty comfortable and had a good tone. The Tele I tried really didn't seem comfortable at all. Maybe in 6 months when my technique changes I'll feel different about them all.

Part of the fun of life with guitars is all of the options out there. Once you start getting comfortable as a player, you may or may not find that you embrace that diversity. Some folks find their lane and stick to one brand and/or style. Others happily switch guitars every 8 bars. I have 7 guitars (a very modest count by the standards of this joint ) and they are all unique voices.

Hell, 20 years ago my music room had 10 BASSES in it. Now I'm perfectly happy with 2...well, I would like to add a fretless and a 5ver back to the mix. Sh*t, here come the GAS pains again...

 

[jamjam1]

Part of the fun of life with guitars is all of the options out there. Once you start getting comfortable as a player, you may or may not find that you embrace that diversity. Some folks find their lane and stick to one brand and/or style. Others happily switch guitars every 8 bars. I have 7 guitars (a very modest count by the standards of this joint ) and they are all unique voices.

Hell, 20 years ago my music room had 10 BASSES in it. Now I'm perfectly happy with 2...well, I would like to add a fretless and a 5ver back to the mix. Sh*t, here come the GAS pains again...

I found it funny that Mark Knopfler while being known for Strats, had an interview showing him kissing his Les Paul because he loves it so much. It can be odd what we gravitate towards.

 

[Wyzard]

Why is that? I went into a store recently and tried a Les Paul for the first time and it seemed more comfortable to play than the Strat I picked up. For some reason, the Les Paul felt closer to the PRS and easier to move around than the Strat.

I've been first a Strat player, then a superstrat player, and finally an S-type player (mostly my own builds) for well over forty years. Almost everything I play is done on the bridge pickup, and for some context on tones I've been most inspired by, you could listen to Eric Johnson, Jimmy Herring, Scott Henderson, Mike Landau and Wayne Krantz. Jeff Beck and Ritchie Blackmore too.

I struggle to get anything like my own best tones out of a Les Paul, and I always found the ergonomics quite a challenge in the course of a two hour+ set. I suffer from forearm rub on the bound upper edge of LPs, so I need to wear a long-sleeved shirt to defend my arm when I play the blasted things.

Even when practicing, I've always stood up - back in the day, when I was in my teens and early twenties, LPs weren't the lightest guitars (understatement!) and holding up a 10+ pound guitar for hours was another sacrifice I wasn't prepared to make.

 

[bestguitarsnow]

It seems most people start on Strats or Les Pauls and then gravitate towards PRS later on. I'm curious since I'm starting on a custom 24 if my technique or tone expectations will end up being different than if I started on a Fender or Gibson. For instance, the Strat quack or Les Paul growliness...I'm not really coming from a place of knowing those. Anyone have an opinion on that? Or will it just not matter in the long run?

In my opinion, it won't matter in the long run, especially when it comes to your technique. But I think that it may be a good idea to explore something different in the future. Strats and LPs are cool but you can try some offset guitars too - Jaguars and Jazzmasters are a completely different story It's awesome that you're starting with a custom 24, most guitar players start with some low-quality Chinese-made models.