PRS-haters: "What does PRS have that Fender & Gibson doesn't?"

Agree or disagree?

  • Agree

    Votes: 6 66.7%

  • Disagree

    Votes: 3 33.3%
  • Total voters
    9
PRS has originality, flair, quality control and beauty that those other two can not touch or will just try to copy. They also have innovation that pushes envelopes on a daily basis, based on the mind of an individual, not a corporate committee. And as @Aahzz said, they have my money (and a large chunk of any disposable income I have for some time into the future now that I have been bit by the PRS bug)!
 
NoisyDante said:
Ongoing innovation and a passion for the art of instrument building is a quality I’ve always seen in the PRS brand, whereas other brands have rested on their laurels. Also, the willingness to try new things.
Click to expand...
I am not sure this is 100% fair. Gibson has tried new things, they get savaged for doing it though. Robot tuners, Firebird X, DIP switches, richlite, baked maple, you can go to any Gibson oriented forum and see how people feel about any of these attempts to do something different. Anything that doesn't reflect a traditional 50s/60s heritage just gets ripped. They are actually dis-incentivized to try to be creative and original. And hey, PRS makes homages to many of those same guitars from both companies so it's not like they are making old fashioned boring guitars. It's what their customers want from them and what many, many makers are building as well.

I think Fender gets away with it a little bit more but let's face it, they don't deviate from their own formula much more than Gibson does from theirs. Just variations on a theme. Consider this: Guys like Leo Fender and Seth Lover and Ted McCarty are iconic and innovative but they are gone. I think it's like Apple. Steve Jobs was the creative visionary in that company and when he passed the product line stopped being exciting and new every year and became mostly the same stuff every year with a tweak here and there. People love them, people still buy them in droves. But making the iphone bigger or smaller, with a better screen or more speakers doesn't make it something fundamentally different than an iphone. I think Gibson and Fender are in the sane boat. Without that visionary leader who is driven to make something truly new and is willing to take the risks you end up taking the safe path.

That's why for me the one thing that PRS has that nobody else does or can have is ... Paul Reed Smith. Paul is still with us and he communicates directly with us in various ways. He's still innovating and he's still inspiring people with his obvious passion. As long as he is there PRS will not just churn out copies of old models because that's not what interests Paul. Maybe someday they will just do what the marketing tells them to, but not while Paul is there.

A concrete example of this when Tyler from MuscIsWin on Youtube wanted a fretless Cu24 and he asked Paul directly on camera to make one because, you know, he can do that. Paul reluctantly agreed but when it was delivered to Tyler it had a hand written note from Paul to the builders specifying that it should be fretless only after the 12th fret I think and the fretboard scalloped on the first 12, plus he wrote some other specs down. Stuff Tyler didn't ask for (arguably which he specifically didn't want) but which Paul thought would work best so he just stepped in and said 'do it this way'. And it was awesome. You and I can't get that experience (well, I can't) but it's so cool to know that Paul is still personally directing the staff to do things his way for a project he takes an interest in.
 
Last edited:
On a side note, this "thread title to poll" relationship here is a bit wonkified. Kinda like...

Thread title: "What is your favorite color"

Poll choices "Yes or no"

This might work on some people, who shall remain nameless, but I am not falling for any banana in the tailpipe nonsense. YMMV.

So Poll Nazi says "no poll answer for you!" :cool:

As for the actual posts in the thread, well history says we're just going to make that about whatever we want too, anyway.:D:D
 
Last edited by a moderator:
DreamTheaterRules said:
On a side note, this "thread title to poll" relationship here is a bit wonkified. Kinda like...

Thread title: "What is your favorite color"

Poll choices "Yes or no"

This might work on some people, who shall remain nameless, but I am not falling for any banana in the tailpipe nonsense. YMMV.

So Poll Nazi says "no poll answer for you!" :cool:

As for the actual posts in the thread, well history says we're just going to make that about whatever we want too, anyway.
Click to expand...
Whatever wasn't an option only yes or no. What do I do now? :confused::eek:

Panic is setting in..:D
 
Wakester said:
Whatever wasn't an option only yes or no. What do I do now? :confused::eek:

Panic is setting in..:D
Click to expand...

"Oh no. I've created a great thread with an epic idea that could have a thread that lasts for years and my poll choices are only "yes" and "no."

"Oh well. I'm going for it!"

I feel his pain. I had the same idea a couple years ago. I started a thread titled "Sofia Vergara or Julie Bowen? And why?" Only to be confronted with the poll choices of "yes" and "no." I couldn't reword the thread title to anything worth while, because lets face it, with those two, the answer is always "yes." Then Candid Picker was the first poster and he asked who they were, and which one made better pie.

THREAD DELETED!

:p:D:p:D
 
Slowhands said:
I am not sure this is 100% fair. Gibson has tried new things, they get savaged for doing it though. Robot tuners, Firebird X, DIP switches, richlite, baked maple, you can go to any Gibson oriented forum and see how people feel about any of these attempts to do something different. Anything that doesn't reflect a traditional 50s/60s heritage just gets ripped. They are actually dis-incentivized to try to be creative and original. And hey, PRS makes homages to many of those same guitars from both companies so it's not like they are making old fashioned boring guitars. It's what their customers want from them and what many, many makers are building as well.
Click to expand...

Yeah, I sorta agree. Its great to try new things, its not smart to try new things nobody is asking for while simultaneously cutting corners elsewhere. All you need to do is make a great quality instrument. That's basically what PRS does, and seems to work for them just fine. Gibson seems to misfire constantly when it comes to modernizing thier products, and at the same time blowing it on QC control, so now they have to lean on nostalgic aspects of the brand to keep above water. Sometimes it feels like instead of catering to working musicians, they cater to collectors.
 
The answer is pretty obvious.


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I picked up my Core 24 today for the first time in a minute, and although I love my other guitars this is the only one I think to myself why do I bother with other guitars? I know the answer to my own question, but PRS is the only guitars I think that thought. I don't with all of them, but man some just grab me as the strings sing where have you been...

Had to share, I just love this damn guitar and the 59/09 remind once again they are still King.
 
Slowhands said:
I am not sure this is 100% fair. Gibson has tried new things, they get savaged for doing it though. Robot tuners, Firebird X, DIP switches, richlite, baked maple, you can go to any Gibson oriented forum and see how people feel about any of these attempts to do something different. Anything that doesn't reflect a traditional 50s/60s heritage just gets ripped. They are actually dis-incentivized to try to be creative and original. And hey, PRS makes homages to many of those same guitars from both companies so it's not like they are making old fashioned boring guitars. It's what their customers want from them and what many, many makers are building as well.

I think Fender gets away with it a little bit more but let's face it, they don't deviate from their own formula much more than Gibson does from theirs. Just variations on a theme. Consider this: Guys like Leo Fender and Seth Lover and Ted McCarty are iconic and innovative but they are gone. I think it's like Apple. Steve Jobs was the creative visionary in that company and when he passed the product line stopped being exciting and new every year and became mostly the same stuff every year with a tweak here and there. People love them, people still buy them in droves. But making the iphone bigger or smaller, with a better screen or more speakers doesn't make it something fundamentally different than an iphone. I think Gibson and Fender are in the sane boat. Without that visionary leader who is driven to make something truly new and is willing to take the risks you end up taking the safe path.

That's why for me the one thing that PRS has that nobody else does or can have is ... Paul Reed Smith. Paul is still with us and he communicates directly with us in various ways. He's still innovating and he's still inspiring people with his obvious passion. As long as he is there PRS will not just churn out copies of old models because that's not what interests Paul. Maybe someday they will just do what the marketing tells them to, but not while Paul is there.

A concrete example of this when Tyler from MuscIsWin on Youtube wanted a fretless Cu24 and he asked Paul directly on camera to make one because, you know, he can do that. Paul reluctantly agreed but when it was delivered to Tyler it had a hand written note from Paul to the builders specifying that it should be fretless only after the 12th fret I think and the fretboard scalloped on the first 12, plus he wrote some other specs down. Stuff Tyler didn't ask for (arguably which he specifically didn't want) but which Paul thought would work best so he just stepped in and said 'do it this way'. And it was awesome. You and I can't get that experience (well, I can't) but it's so cool to know that Paul is still personally directing the staff to do things his way for a project he takes an interest in.
Click to expand...

I think the problem with other companys' efforts is just asking "How can we make this different", not "How can we make this better".

I sincerely hope that PRS finds the right person to lead the company when Paul steps away, lest it end up like other legacy brands.
 
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