I'm "all in" in terms of electrics...only PRS. My only non-PRS instruments are my acoustic(Larrivee D-03 walnut) and a bass(Fender deluxe P bass special). I don't play either enough to justify spending thousands on a PRS. Although, I do have severe GAS for a Tonare Grand and GG 4 bass.
PRS ONLY? What else do you play?
- Thread starter Woollymonster
- Start date
garrett
...
Brad737
This space for rent...
Do it! Here's one I assembled...ash body with quilted maple top, solid Indian rosewood Gibson-scale neck by Warmoth, stainless steel frets, Earvana nut, Joe Barden compensated saddles, and Fralin Blues Specials. She's a keeper.
Radioactive Man
New Member
One 2013 PRS S-2 Custom 24 (gray-black)
One 2004 Fender 50th Anniversary American Deluxe Strat.
That's all for now. I'm not sure what I'll go for next; perhaps some sort of semi-hollowbody.
One 2004 Fender 50th Anniversary American Deluxe Strat.
That's all for now. I'm not sure what I'll go for next; perhaps some sort of semi-hollowbody.
Zach Schechtman
senior member
I play My prs along with a Gibson Les Paul Custom that my friend was handed down and gave to me because he doesn't play guitar, and i have my old mocha stratocaster
I had a fantastic limited edition fender (production not CS) tele that was semi hollow with a Spruce top and Nitro. Years later I am still kicking myself for letting that one go. The reason I did was it had the vintage radius and frets which I do not like, but it was worth putting up with for that tone. If it had a 9.5 and bigger frets that thing would never have left my side. The Spruce top took JUST enough of the bite off of the top, and the chambering gave it that haunting midrange type of howl that I am addicted to. Fender hit a home run with that guitar, and I have never seen them do anything like it since. Below is a pic of that model.
Last edited:
Brad737
This space for rent...
Maybe find another and slap a Warmoth neck built to your specs? Warmoth makes very high quality stuff.
I had a fantastic limited edition fender (production not CS) tele that was semi hollow with a Spruce top and Nitro. Years later I am still kicking myself for letting that one go. The reason I did was it had the vintage radius and frets which I do not like, but it was worth putting up with for that tone. If it had a 9.5 and bigger frets that thing would never have left my side. The Spruce top took JUST enough of the bite off of the top, and the chambering gave it that haunting midrange type of howl that I am addicted to. Fender hit a home run with that guitar, and I have never seen them do anything like it since. Below is a pic of that model.
alantig
Zombie Four, DFZ
- Joined
- Apr 28, 2012
- Messages
- 14,942
Acoustic, it's a Larrivee D-09. Cool to see other Larrivee lovers here - great, great guitars. I actually got into an argument with a Martin endorser because she couldn't accept that I thought the Larrivee sounded better than the Martins I tried.
Electrics, if I'm not playing PRS, it's any of an LP Pro ('82, I think), US Jackson Rhoads, EBMM Petrucci, EVH Striped (black & yellow, thank you very much), a MIM Strat that a certain guitar guru transformed from an ugly duckling to a beautiful swan, a Hamer Duo-Tone formerly owned by Mike Keneally (of Dethklok/Satriani/Zappa/Z), a Hamer Eclipse or a Charvel Model 4.
Electrics, if I'm not playing PRS, it's any of an LP Pro ('82, I think), US Jackson Rhoads, EBMM Petrucci, EVH Striped (black & yellow, thank you very much), a MIM Strat that a certain guitar guru transformed from an ugly duckling to a beautiful swan, a Hamer Duo-Tone formerly owned by Mike Keneally (of Dethklok/Satriani/Zappa/Z), a Hamer Eclipse or a Charvel Model 4.
garrett
...
Do it! Here's one I assembled...ash body with quilted maple top, solid Indian rosewood Gibson-scale neck by Warmoth, stainless steel frets, Earvana nut, Joe Barden compensated saddles, and Fralin Blues Specials. She's a keeper.
Sweeeeeeet. How's the ash/rosewood combo, tone-wise? I've read some skeptical opinions on the combo, but the few people I've found who actually have that combo love it. They seem like a good match to me.
I have a Warmoth neck on my number one and I love it. Easily as nice or nicer than anything made by Fender. I got lucky and found one with the exact specs I was looking for in the Showcase. The '59 Roundback contour is very comfortable. I got their satin nitro finish which has broken in nicely and feels great.
Brad737
This space for rent...
I think the ash/maple body is a little bright. I had a maple neck on it previously, and it was too much. I find the rosewood neck warms it up a bit. She still has more than enough twang, but can pull off a convincing early Zeppelin as well. For what I want from a Tele, she's perfect.
SharkGuitar
New Member
Peterson Signature Guitars FT model.
It is THE best guitar that I have, hands down.
https://www.facebook.com/PetersonGuitars
http://www.petersonguitars.com
It is THE best guitar that I have, hands down.
https://www.facebook.com/PetersonGuitars
http://www.petersonguitars.com
CantankerousCarl
Occasionally Onery Member
- Joined
- Apr 29, 2012
- Messages
- 2,009
Forgive me Paul, for I have sinned...hell, well, I don't even feel that bad...the only other electric guitar outside of my PRSes that has given me a toner in the past decade is this lovely little thang that was hanging on consignment at a local mom & pop:
1997 Hamer Artist Custom, '59 Burst, Semi-Hollow, 2 x SD Seth Lovers (OE) and this thing just about makes me weep - stands up extremely well to my 57/08-equipped HBII. Very well made, just effortless to play as with my PRSes.
I think Paul and Jol shopped at the same lumber yard
1997 Hamer Artist Custom, '59 Burst, Semi-Hollow, 2 x SD Seth Lovers (OE) and this thing just about makes me weep - stands up extremely well to my 57/08-equipped HBII. Very well made, just effortless to play as with my PRSes.
I think Paul and Jol shopped at the same lumber yard
sergiodeblanc
New Member
- Joined
- Apr 26, 2012
- Messages
- 27,383
Damn shame about what happened to Hamer....
vox801
New Member
A Hofner CT Club Semi-Hollow w/Bigsby
ken2esq
New Member
YAMAHA!!!!
I love my 2002 PRS McCarty 10 Top in bluish turquoise (not the official color name, I know), it is a work of art and amazing precision craftsmanship. However, I realized I'm scared to take it to gigs, jam sessions, etc., for fear of marring its minty appearance. This led me to the decision to buy a "beater" guitar that I would not care about getting damaged by taking it to a rough / rowdy environment to play. I have older, cheap guitars -- Epiphones (Dot Studio and G400) that I learned to play on, but they both have quality issues that bug the hell out of me now that my ear is better -- fret buzz, bad intonation, go out of tune too fast, weak pickups, etc. Maybe these are fixable, but I'm no guitar tech, so I'm preparing to sell these and I hardly ever play them these days. So what I wanted was a cheap beater guitar that actually was high quality. Tall order?
I took a chance going into a local second-hand guitar shop and trying what they had in stock. Now, since all my current guitars were double-humbucker types with no whammy, I thought I should also look for a strat-type with single coils and whammy, just for variety and to see how I like that type of guitar. I tried every strat-like single coile with whammy that the shop had, including a couple pricey USA made strats. None of them passed my personal "quality control" tests, and I put them all back, disappointed. Then I browsed the store's record collection and acoustic guitars, then decided to take one more hard look at the electrics before giving up. I saw this old Yamaha I had passed over, 'cause I'd never heard anything good about Yamaha electrics, just did not expect it to be any good. But I figured, "what the hell?" and took it off the wall. First thing I noticed, it was HEAVY, even though physically a bit smaller / shorter than any of the other strat-clones. Odd, right? Then I started examining the hardware, the frets, the intonation, the unplugged tonal characteristics... I was floored, it was near perfect in every way. Well, not as perfect as my PRS, but damn near close. It was a Yamaha SE612A, from late 80s, which was a higher (though not highest) end strat clone from that era. It had HSS configuration and, as a bonus, a coil split switch for the humbucker so I could play it as SSS. I found it amazingly playable. The frets, though not jumbo like the PRS (I like big frets) were quite substantial. It had a Yamaha tremolo system, which worked very well, could raise or lower pitch over two semi-tones without guitar going out of tone. It's my first trem system, so I can't really compare to the licensed or newer Floyd Roses, or Kahlers or whatever. I've read it is similar to unlicensed Floyd Rose, but I've also read it compared to Kahler, so I have no clue, but I like it, and use it a lot when I play that guitar.
Anyway, at under $300, and with plenty of cosmetic flaws (though nothing affecting functionality) it was the perfect "beater" guitar for my purposes, high quality and cheap price, and who cares if it gets a bit more relic'd from being knocked around at a gig?
I was so impressed by this Yamaha quality, I started reading more about them. I had been thinking of replacing my Epiphone G400 and Dot Studio with a REAL Gibson so I'd add that tone to my bag, but with better quality. I have the PRS for PRS tone (which I think is distinct). I have the Yamaha SE612A for my strat-like tones (though it also has a unique /original voicing and mojo that I love). So I read about the Yamaha SG's from late 70s, early 80s, that were called "Les Paul Killers." Mainly the Yamaha SG2000 (later renamed SBG2000), and some other models like SG or SBG1000, SBG3000, etc. On the lower end, there was the SBG200, 500, etc. These seemed in both look and tone to sort of fit in between SG style Gibson and Les Paul style Gibson. Seemed perfect for what I was looking for. So I finally located a mint late 70s Yamaha SG1500 with OHSC that has been sitting under some guy's bed for over 35 years (his dad was a Yamaha exec, got it as a "perk," but son never played it). It again has great build quality, like new condition, passes all my "quality control" tests, and has a Gibson-like growl, though I would say it's a bit unique, which is not a bad thing. It has it's own warm growly voice, kind of subtle and clean. Very different from the McCarty, too.
The McCarty is my distortion machine, it can go through just awesome hard rock, grunge, near-metal tones (it can do metal, but I don't like to play metal, though I sometimes get close), but I have not found really light / subtle / clean / brighter growly tones with it, reminiscent of the tones I found on my G400 and Dot Studio. The Yamaha SG1500 dials these in like a champ.
I also happened to already own a Yamaha classical guitar, made in late 70s (G255S) that I picked up on Craigslist because it was cheap and I wanted to try playing classical / nylon, and it was near mint with OHSC. Though I paid under $150 for it, I've seen these lately on Ebay for over $600, so I guess it was a good deal. I like the tone, I'm no conneseur of classical guitar tone, I just like it. The guitarists I know who play nylon classicals professionally (like new flamenco / world music) are kind of guitar snobs, turn their nose up at anything that does not cost at least a couple thousands by a some custom guitar maker or something, but I'm not in that league, and this classical is fine for me. I've even thought I might need a cheaper one, if it's really worth over $500, since I think that's too expensive to take it camping and such, which was one thing I had in mind in buying an acoustic nylon string guitar.
So as much as I am super impressed by PRS quality, and I rank it #1 of all the guitar's I've played in fit, finish, intonation, etc., I just don't have the wallet to buy multiple guitars that cost over $1,000, so I'm limiting myself to the McCarty 10 Top, and apart from that, I've become a "Yamaholic" for getting great bang for buck (if you shop around) since these can be found lying around in stores, garage sales, etc., for way less than they are worth, since the general public has not caught on to how good these really are, except for a few of the top end models.
So, anyway, my guitar family now includes:
1. PRS McCarty for distortion, modern hard rock, lead rock (it can do a lot more, but to me that is it's best "sweet spot")
2. Yamaha SG1500 for subtle / warm growls that are amazing for rhythm guitar, and it can do some really nice bluesy / jazzy / clean tones, when I want to play cleaner tones, and brighter tones almost like a semi-acoustic for jazz / blues.
3. Yamaha SE612A when I want to whammy, have strat-like feel under my hands.
4. Yamaha G255S for classical guitar.
What's missing? Two things: A semiacoustic and a steel string acoustic. I have the Epiphone Dot Studio semiacoustic, and sometimes that bright, twanginess combined with the growly humbuckers is just my cup of tea, just lovely tones if I can look past some of the flaws in quality as I play it. I like some twangy alt rock (Cracker is maybe my favorite alt rock band), and I also think I'd like to play more jazz/blues. The SG1500 seems like it might cover a lot of that territory, but I still think a true semi-acoustic would reach some tones that the SG1500 cannot reach. So a higher quality semiacoustic is on my list, maybe I can find another undervalued "diamond in the rough" like my Yamaha SE612A, maybe some older Asian 335 clone import that has great build quality but not well recognized and sells rather cheaply? Who knows. I would love to try some PRS semiacoustics, but I just can't afford another $1k plus guitar right now. I also need a steel string acoustic, maybe dreadnaught, as this would definitely cover tonal territory none of the others reach. Again, hoping to find cheap "diamond in the rough" for that, too.
So, as you can see, my philosophy on acquiring guitars is about (1) getting guitars that cover different tonal territory, different feel of playing, and (2) getting guitars with superb fit, finish and build quality (more as to functional aspects, not so concerned with cosmetics, though I've been lucky enough that I think all my guitars are visually beautiful works of art -- even the somewhat relic'd SE612A), and (3) getting great bang for buck, since I've already exceeded my guitar budget and wife is not happy about that... Maybe when I unload my two Epiphone's she'll lighten up a bit, though I think they are only worth a couple hundred a piece, so that's not really going to give me much $$$ to work with in finding a great semi-acoustic and steel string acoustic. So, again, I need to get lucky finding hidden gems if I'm going to add more guitars to the family. Or maybe I'll come into some money, who knows?
I notice others on here seem to follow a different philosophy, collecting a lot of near-identical instruments that seem like they'd cover the same tonal territory. Is that because you need back ups when you gig? Or you just figure, when you find your favorite type of guitar, you stick with it and want more of the same? Or maybe that's just a luxury you can afford when you hit a certain income level? Or you buy them as investments if you get them used and undervalued and think they'll appreciate over time? Whatever, no judgment, to each his own.
Here's some pics of most of the family:
Ken
I love my 2002 PRS McCarty 10 Top in bluish turquoise (not the official color name, I know), it is a work of art and amazing precision craftsmanship. However, I realized I'm scared to take it to gigs, jam sessions, etc., for fear of marring its minty appearance. This led me to the decision to buy a "beater" guitar that I would not care about getting damaged by taking it to a rough / rowdy environment to play. I have older, cheap guitars -- Epiphones (Dot Studio and G400) that I learned to play on, but they both have quality issues that bug the hell out of me now that my ear is better -- fret buzz, bad intonation, go out of tune too fast, weak pickups, etc. Maybe these are fixable, but I'm no guitar tech, so I'm preparing to sell these and I hardly ever play them these days. So what I wanted was a cheap beater guitar that actually was high quality. Tall order?
I took a chance going into a local second-hand guitar shop and trying what they had in stock. Now, since all my current guitars were double-humbucker types with no whammy, I thought I should also look for a strat-type with single coils and whammy, just for variety and to see how I like that type of guitar. I tried every strat-like single coile with whammy that the shop had, including a couple pricey USA made strats. None of them passed my personal "quality control" tests, and I put them all back, disappointed. Then I browsed the store's record collection and acoustic guitars, then decided to take one more hard look at the electrics before giving up. I saw this old Yamaha I had passed over, 'cause I'd never heard anything good about Yamaha electrics, just did not expect it to be any good. But I figured, "what the hell?" and took it off the wall. First thing I noticed, it was HEAVY, even though physically a bit smaller / shorter than any of the other strat-clones. Odd, right? Then I started examining the hardware, the frets, the intonation, the unplugged tonal characteristics... I was floored, it was near perfect in every way. Well, not as perfect as my PRS, but damn near close. It was a Yamaha SE612A, from late 80s, which was a higher (though not highest) end strat clone from that era. It had HSS configuration and, as a bonus, a coil split switch for the humbucker so I could play it as SSS. I found it amazingly playable. The frets, though not jumbo like the PRS (I like big frets) were quite substantial. It had a Yamaha tremolo system, which worked very well, could raise or lower pitch over two semi-tones without guitar going out of tone. It's my first trem system, so I can't really compare to the licensed or newer Floyd Roses, or Kahlers or whatever. I've read it is similar to unlicensed Floyd Rose, but I've also read it compared to Kahler, so I have no clue, but I like it, and use it a lot when I play that guitar.
Anyway, at under $300, and with plenty of cosmetic flaws (though nothing affecting functionality) it was the perfect "beater" guitar for my purposes, high quality and cheap price, and who cares if it gets a bit more relic'd from being knocked around at a gig?
I was so impressed by this Yamaha quality, I started reading more about them. I had been thinking of replacing my Epiphone G400 and Dot Studio with a REAL Gibson so I'd add that tone to my bag, but with better quality. I have the PRS for PRS tone (which I think is distinct). I have the Yamaha SE612A for my strat-like tones (though it also has a unique /original voicing and mojo that I love). So I read about the Yamaha SG's from late 70s, early 80s, that were called "Les Paul Killers." Mainly the Yamaha SG2000 (later renamed SBG2000), and some other models like SG or SBG1000, SBG3000, etc. On the lower end, there was the SBG200, 500, etc. These seemed in both look and tone to sort of fit in between SG style Gibson and Les Paul style Gibson. Seemed perfect for what I was looking for. So I finally located a mint late 70s Yamaha SG1500 with OHSC that has been sitting under some guy's bed for over 35 years (his dad was a Yamaha exec, got it as a "perk," but son never played it). It again has great build quality, like new condition, passes all my "quality control" tests, and has a Gibson-like growl, though I would say it's a bit unique, which is not a bad thing. It has it's own warm growly voice, kind of subtle and clean. Very different from the McCarty, too.
The McCarty is my distortion machine, it can go through just awesome hard rock, grunge, near-metal tones (it can do metal, but I don't like to play metal, though I sometimes get close), but I have not found really light / subtle / clean / brighter growly tones with it, reminiscent of the tones I found on my G400 and Dot Studio. The Yamaha SG1500 dials these in like a champ.
I also happened to already own a Yamaha classical guitar, made in late 70s (G255S) that I picked up on Craigslist because it was cheap and I wanted to try playing classical / nylon, and it was near mint with OHSC. Though I paid under $150 for it, I've seen these lately on Ebay for over $600, so I guess it was a good deal. I like the tone, I'm no conneseur of classical guitar tone, I just like it. The guitarists I know who play nylon classicals professionally (like new flamenco / world music) are kind of guitar snobs, turn their nose up at anything that does not cost at least a couple thousands by a some custom guitar maker or something, but I'm not in that league, and this classical is fine for me. I've even thought I might need a cheaper one, if it's really worth over $500, since I think that's too expensive to take it camping and such, which was one thing I had in mind in buying an acoustic nylon string guitar.
So as much as I am super impressed by PRS quality, and I rank it #1 of all the guitar's I've played in fit, finish, intonation, etc., I just don't have the wallet to buy multiple guitars that cost over $1,000, so I'm limiting myself to the McCarty 10 Top, and apart from that, I've become a "Yamaholic" for getting great bang for buck (if you shop around) since these can be found lying around in stores, garage sales, etc., for way less than they are worth, since the general public has not caught on to how good these really are, except for a few of the top end models.
So, anyway, my guitar family now includes:
1. PRS McCarty for distortion, modern hard rock, lead rock (it can do a lot more, but to me that is it's best "sweet spot")
2. Yamaha SG1500 for subtle / warm growls that are amazing for rhythm guitar, and it can do some really nice bluesy / jazzy / clean tones, when I want to play cleaner tones, and brighter tones almost like a semi-acoustic for jazz / blues.
3. Yamaha SE612A when I want to whammy, have strat-like feel under my hands.
4. Yamaha G255S for classical guitar.
What's missing? Two things: A semiacoustic and a steel string acoustic. I have the Epiphone Dot Studio semiacoustic, and sometimes that bright, twanginess combined with the growly humbuckers is just my cup of tea, just lovely tones if I can look past some of the flaws in quality as I play it. I like some twangy alt rock (Cracker is maybe my favorite alt rock band), and I also think I'd like to play more jazz/blues. The SG1500 seems like it might cover a lot of that territory, but I still think a true semi-acoustic would reach some tones that the SG1500 cannot reach. So a higher quality semiacoustic is on my list, maybe I can find another undervalued "diamond in the rough" like my Yamaha SE612A, maybe some older Asian 335 clone import that has great build quality but not well recognized and sells rather cheaply? Who knows. I would love to try some PRS semiacoustics, but I just can't afford another $1k plus guitar right now. I also need a steel string acoustic, maybe dreadnaught, as this would definitely cover tonal territory none of the others reach. Again, hoping to find cheap "diamond in the rough" for that, too.
So, as you can see, my philosophy on acquiring guitars is about (1) getting guitars that cover different tonal territory, different feel of playing, and (2) getting guitars with superb fit, finish and build quality (more as to functional aspects, not so concerned with cosmetics, though I've been lucky enough that I think all my guitars are visually beautiful works of art -- even the somewhat relic'd SE612A), and (3) getting great bang for buck, since I've already exceeded my guitar budget and wife is not happy about that... Maybe when I unload my two Epiphone's she'll lighten up a bit, though I think they are only worth a couple hundred a piece, so that's not really going to give me much $$$ to work with in finding a great semi-acoustic and steel string acoustic. So, again, I need to get lucky finding hidden gems if I'm going to add more guitars to the family. Or maybe I'll come into some money, who knows?
I notice others on here seem to follow a different philosophy, collecting a lot of near-identical instruments that seem like they'd cover the same tonal territory. Is that because you need back ups when you gig? Or you just figure, when you find your favorite type of guitar, you stick with it and want more of the same? Or maybe that's just a luxury you can afford when you hit a certain income level? Or you buy them as investments if you get them used and undervalued and think they'll appreciate over time? Whatever, no judgment, to each his own.
Here's some pics of most of the family:
Ken
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cpark_12
New Member
Ever since I got my SE Singlecut, I've only put it down when I play acoustic...which is a Taylor GS Mini-E. I want to try out a PRS acoustic, but none of the stores/shops around here carry them.
sergiodeblanc
New Member
- Joined
- Apr 26, 2012
- Messages
- 27,383
What this thread makes me feel like:
Last edited by a moderator:
Herbie_B
New Member
I am a mid-level spender on guitars, nothing of any great monetary value in my collection, but I do own some non-PRS pieces:
(in addition to my SE Custom 24 25th Aniv, and S2 Custom 24)
2013 EVH Wolfgang Special hardtail
2010 MIM Strat
1995 MIM Strat
Ibanez AE Exotic Wood in Satin Ash
(in addition to my SE Custom 24 25th Aniv, and S2 Custom 24)
2013 EVH Wolfgang Special hardtail
2010 MIM Strat
1995 MIM Strat
Ibanez AE Exotic Wood in Satin Ash
slev
New Member
I've got my Floyd Rose MIM strat with a canoe carve and satin neck that is my modding platform. Set up for HH right now with a Dragon 2 in the neck and a duncan custom shop 78 trembucker in the bridge. Coil tapped so it is a pretty flexible configuration for me.
Other than that my electrics are PRS only.
Other than that my electrics are PRS only.
Prs2studio
New Member
- Joined
- Feb 12, 2014
- Messages
- 82
I only play PRS USA guitars. I don't need anything else.
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