Standard Satin - breaking in nicely!

[andy474x]

While we're all waiting for Les to announce his new arrival, I'll talk S2. Playing my standard satin yesterday, and I noticed some light, barely worth mentioning buckle rash forming - almost like minuscule indentations in the wood. With a finish that's more in the wood than on it, and that wood being mahogany, I'm not surprised. Also noticed the matte feel on the neck is transitioning to more of a smooth sheen in the areas I play most.

On my brand new PRS, and let me tell you how much it bothers me - NONE!!! I think these satins are going to break in quick, like when a new pair of shoes stretch and mold to fit your foot. And they're going to age well too - I'm not going out of my way to abuse mine by any means, but it's going to look killer as it starts to show signs of use, especially if finish wears through on the neck and some of the edges of the body. The natural wood showing will be a great look with the black.

Sounds great too. Compared to its semi hollow sibling, the standard has more presence and cut, a twangy, thrashy sounding midrange . Definitely a screamer! The comparison brings to mind what PRS has described the 85/15 pickups to do tonally. Although I'm sure there are different nuances to both. I'm not saying the CE24 isn't worth it, but for half the price and I'm hearing this much cut, what an insane deal the satins are!

 

[garrett]

Cool man. The way satin finishes wear used to bug me, but now I view it like a badge of honor to see those semi-gloss areas formed by playing.

 

[xjbebop]

Outstanding!

 

[bodia]

I love good ole honest wear!

 

[CantankerousCarl]

Natural, play-induced relicing...what a novel concept in this day and age. Would be interesting to take photos every few months to chronicle the break-in! Very cool Andy!

 

[László]

Sounds absolutely awesome, Andy! A real rock and roll machine!

 

[FollowMyHead]

If Guitar Center (have connections there and some credit to burn) could figure out how to order a Singlecut Standard Satin, I'd happily be in the owner's club. I keep telling myself that the wait and "struggle" will make the NGD that much sweeter, but it's getting difficult to keep the faith.

 

[andy474x]

That's strange, why can't they order one? Just a long wait?

 

[FollowMyHead]

It's not in their order system yet. None of the stores (apparently) have taken ANY inventory of the Satin line since it's release. It's not on their site OR MusiciansFriend.com (GC and MF share distribution). My guy is trying to work through his channels, but it's apparently harder than it needs to be. I even sent a message to the PRS Facebook page and asked them for guideance. They answered (as I figured they would because they're pretty great about it) didn't really understand the issue either.

Hoping for the best, here. Until then, I have to live through the forums and whatever bits and pieces I can find on the web. Watching the same videos over and over again is making me feel kinda Close Encounters-ish. I'm going to start forming a Singlecut in my mashed potatoes soon.

 

[andy474x]

It's not in their order system yet. None of the stores (apparently) have taken ANY inventory of the Satin line since it's release. It's not on their site OR MusiciansFriend.com (GC and MF share distribution). My guy is trying to work through his channels, but it's apparently harder than it needs to be. I even sent a message to the PRS Facebook page and asked them for guideance. They answered (as I figured they would because they're pretty great about it) didn't really understand the issue either.

Hoping for the best, here. Until then, I have to live through the forums and whatever bits and pieces I can find on the web. Watching the same videos over and over again is making me feel kinda Close Encounters-ish. I'm going to start forming a Singlecut in my mashed potatoes soon.

Gotta love Guitar Center. Somehow they managed a special finish, early bird run of the Satin 24's, and yet they still don't have the regular stock even in their system months later. I hope I'm not offending you if you have friends that work there, but as a whole corporation that place has their heads squarely up their a$$es, and in many cases it trickles all the way down. Although there are a few good sales folks here and there.

 

[drdoom8793]

It's not in their order system yet. None of the stores (apparently) have taken ANY inventory of the Satin line since it's release. It's not on their site OR MusiciansFriend.com (GC and MF share distribution). My guy is trying to work through his channels, but it's apparently harder than it needs to be. I even sent a message to the PRS Facebook page and asked them for guideance. They answered (as I figured they would because they're pretty great about it) didn't really understand the issue either.

Hoping for the best, here. Until then, I have to live through the forums and whatever bits and pieces I can find on the web. Watching the same videos over and over again is making me feel kinda Close Encounters-ish. I'm going to start forming a Singlecut in my mashed potatoes soon.

Was there a reason you haven't tried going through another retailer like Sweetwater?

 

[GS1]

Was there a reason you haven't tried going through another retailer like Sweetwater?

I got my satin singlecut from Sweetwater about a week ago, and it was the only one that they had in stock. I think they only got a few of them in initially. (They did have a demo Sunburst, but I really dug the red, so I went with that.) And yes, they are worth the wait!

 

[FollowMyHead]

I like Sweetwater. I've only dealt with them a few times and didn't need to utilize their excellent customer service, but I've seen it in work and appreciate the effort they put in. I actually know that they've scooped up some of the cream of the crop from Guitar Center in the recent past.

In this case, I've got a couple hundred dollars in Guitar Center gift cards and have a few items to trade in (Ebay/CR don't make sense for these items). Also, I go way back with my salesperson and would like to help him out, especially during the beginning of the year. Their commission gets hit with all of those soccer mom gear returns after the kid realized he really wanted a PS4 under the tree rather than a BC Rich starter pack. The Singlecut is definitely a WANT rather than a NEED (my heart debates this, but still). If I were gigging and NEEDED this guitar, then I'd have to do my guy a solid later. I know he's doing his best with the resources he's given.

For disclosure purposes, not that it matters or that anyone asked, I worked for Guitar Center about 10 years ago. It's a completely different company now than it was then. For all the good that they've done in those past 10 years (expanded their brand dealings, moved management around, paying on gross vs profit...), they're still needlessly challenging themselves. Things like not carrying a great value line of a major manufacturer in a timely manner is just one of them. But that's a whole other topic and not worth discussing. Is what it is.

 

[LedZepp007]

I wonder if you could do the Virtuoso polish on these guitars and get something really cool out of it?

 

[andy474x]

S2 satin in action at our show lastnight - performed very well!

 

[GS1]

That looks just great in black!

 

[bodia]

Nice!

 

[xjbebop]

That looks just great in black!

Yes it does....