Quality problems

[BB2]

I was always a fender player until I got some bad guitars and amps made by them about 10 years ago and have been interested in PRS for a while but never owned one. I have always heard raves about PRS fit and finish and quality. I have purchased 3 PRS guitars over the past year: 1 se, 1 s2, and most recently a ce-24 semi-hollow. Each of the three guitars had issues. The SE semi-hollow baritone had a very obvious discoloration where there was yellow from the body covering about an inch of the rose wood on the side of the fret board. This really made me question the quality control at the new Indonesia plant. I can't see how a defect this blatant could have gone out. I should have sent it back but kept it because it didn't effect the playability and it was relatively cheap compared to other PRS guitars. The S2 was a used 2016 semi-hollow Mira which I really liked except for the fact that the bridge was slightly off shifting the strings toward the treble side by about 1/8" which caused the high e to slide off the edge of the fret. I did send this guitar back to the person I purchased it from. I have been looking into getting a core hollow-body II but couldn't justify it in my budget right now so I compromised and bought a CE-24 Semi-Hollow. It is the new McCarty sunburst. I think I was one of the first to get one in this finish as it didn't even show up as an option on the PRS site until later in the day on the day I ordered it. The body is beautiful and I really wanted to like the guitar but I am sending it back due to issues. I can't speak to how it plays or sounds because I didn't even plug it in or sit down with it. The first thing I noticed was gaps between the neck and body. I read another post that someone posted where they asked PRS about a similar issue and were told it was within specs. The thing is that over the years I have had at least 10 much cheaper guitars that had a better neck fit. The second problem that I noticed is that there was some kind of finish inconsistency on the back of the neck that was not visible but a small area was noticeably rougher than the rest of the neck. Like I said I have always heard raves about PRS quality and still like the company and may try again at some point but I really hope that PRS isn't going the way of other big names that have arrogantly let quality slide while relying on their name and outdated reputation to sell guitars.

 

[veinbuster]

Too bad you haven’t liked your experience.

I have to say I have never seen PRS with what I would consider a quality issue. Maybe I’m just lucky, or maybe my sample size is just too small. I have watched the guys in Stevensville QA incoming SEs and was impressed with how thorough they appeared to be.

 

[BB2]

I believe you I think I have had really bad luck but I will say that the problems are no where near the issues that I had with a les paul that I ordered a few years ago. I vowed to never buy a gibson. I haven't given up on PRS I think I am just going to wait until I can afford to buy the hollow body II that I really want maybe the fourth time will be the charm.

 

[Black Plaid]

I wouldn't expect "perfection" on anything less than a Core. They are all built "to a price"

Even then, "perfection" is open to interpretation. Some people have a more precise eye for detail. I have a private stock instrument which has a couple of things I consider flaws, but most people look at me like I am a crazy person when I attempt to point them out. I got it "used" (unplayed) for like half price, so I try not to let them bother me.

This can be a problem with buying online. Without a hands on experience, you can't know exactly what you are going to get.

That said, PRS has the best track record of any brand I've experienced.

 

[BB2]

I hear you man, but it is still expensive and they make compromises in the tuners, bridge, carve, thickness of the wood and a by having a three piece neck on the new CE so to me those compromises should make up for the difference in price. I don't think anyone should expect less in build quality on an instrument of this cost just because it is not extremely expensive. I too believe that PRS has quality but the guitars that I have received didn't meet my expectations. Maybe I have been lucky with less expensive instruments that didn't have any issues and got spoiled. Not trying to argue, I understand what you are saying, but it will bother me. Im not a rich man, I'm a special education teacher so when I spend this kind of money it needs to be right or it is going to feel like I was punched in the stomach every time I pick it up. If I had bought the CE used or discounted I would feel better about it because at least I could take comfort in the fact that I got a deal but I paid full retail plus tax. Thanks for your input.

 

[bodia]

Its hard to imagine that neck pocket gap being so wide since it’s all CNBC. Guess it can happen, though.

 

[Rider1260]

Of the 27 PRS I have had , I have never sold or traded or returned due to a quality issues. Any one of the 8 I have at the moment could be a one and only.
Not to say issues don't happen but IMHO it is rare and in my experience PRS will make it right.

 

[alantig]

Its hard to imagine that neck pocket gap being son wide since it’s all CNBC.

 

[Boogie]

Its hard to imagine that neck pocket gap being so wide since it’s all CNBC. Guess it can happen, though.

Then, the gap would definitely be liberal.