The "in person" comment from G-Man intrigues me. I am not going to retell the story of how I ended up with my first PRS in over 50 years of guitars. My S2 is a Dark Cherry Burst, maple top, birds and much more top figure than usually seen on an S2. When I pulled it out of the gig bag on delivery, I was a very happy fellow just looking at it. When the "finish -fail" on the neck I refused an exchange. When I bought it I accepted lower weight ( only about 6 oz.) for the figure. On the first try, with Elixir 10's, it set up to my preference which is low and clean. With the figure, a pickguard would be a crime. Coming from an LP world, the minimalist carve was different but, altogether it works perfectly to the eye. Sadly, it came back with a 1/8th" fisheye in the middle of the back. From what I hear, such a flaw in customer service is rare for PRS. I don't gig so my guitars rarely suffer wounds and I was unhappy. But, it had been gone 2 months+ and I play it for my long-coat Chihuahua every night. WE love this guitar. Here is the kicker- I had the opportunity to exchange it for a truly new condition "used" SC 245 in Mc Carty Tobacco Burst for $500 thrown in. I emailed PRS CS asking what I would gain- they wrote back and told me I would not notice any significant difference for the $500. I cannot recall if it had a pickguard, but if I had a "Core" fixation, it would have been a bargain. Most important, there is a very satisfying range of classic "blues-tone" in this $1400, beautiful guitar that is not a hallmark of PRS. There should be one singlecut and one double in the S2 line with real MOP or abalone birds, ebony FB and inlet cavity covers and a 5-6 top. All embellishments to appearance (except the ebony FB; I feel and hear that)-- I would have gladly added $200 which would still allow decent profit. The one high risk for PRS would be total loss bodies during the cavity plate inlet.
