LaPanthere
We don't just have Heidi/Rolex in Switzerland :D
Hello all
A bit of nostalgy and also quite interesting, even it's a topic for the ''older'' generations. Before PRS got in the market, what guitars were you playing and what was the factor you switched or added a PRS-Guitar to your stuff in the late 80's/early 90's?
In my case I remember there were, here in europe, 3 essential ''camps'':
- The Gibson Players (who often didn't like to spell the name Fender)
- The Fender Players (who often didn't like to spell the name Gibson)
- The Others (who were often way more open minded, except the Gretsch-Folks)
Well I was in the Gibson Camp, my first ever guitar was a cheap Hondo Les Paul copy, completely unplayable, noisy and like many asian imports of the mid-seventees butchering your hands with a horrible fretwork. Because I did well in school, and since I was 5 yo spent almost all of my spare time with my Ukulele, Mandolin-Banjo, the Hondo or my moms classical guitar, my parents offered me a guitar for my diploma when I was 12, and I selected a 1976 Gibson Firebird Bi-Centennial which was reduced 40% as it was a demo guitar and the hard case missing (the dealer sold the case to someone).
I always loved the 'uncommon' Gibsons - Vees/Explorers were my passion, but those lovely Les Pauls as well of course. I started working beside my studies whenever I could to gather some money and started collecting in the early 80's. The Norlin Gibsons were sometimes bizarre and had possibly some quality issues but there were many beauties available those years anyway. In 1990 I had a couple of Les Pauls (I really digged the anniversaries) - 25/50, 30th Goldtop, 40th Ebony with P-100, 30th SG/LP TV-yellow, but also an Artisan 3PU and an Artist Active. The Vee/Explorer section consisted of a pair of FF82 Alpine White '58 Reissues; a gorgeous 1982 ''The V'' in antique violin sunburst with a 1-piece Flametop, a walnut shaped V2, an Explorer-II (Flametop), Explorer E2 (shaped body) and a custom graphics black/goldstripes Explorer.
As non-Gibsons I had a japanese transparent Plexi-Strat, an M&B Himmelsschlüssel and a beautiful early Blade R4 Strat. And no, I never owned a Fender
Oh yeah and I was always a funny guy in my choice of stage dressing
At the end of the 80's the PRS adds started to appear in the guitar magazines, a beautiful guitar in royal blue with a stunning quilt top! But in Switzerland those years - no infos, no dealers and no such thing like Internet yet. So.... I was just cutting those adds out of the mags
With all those wonderful instruments in my collection, what (except the amazing look) made me want such a PRS? Well, it was a modern guitar, much more versatile than my Gibsons with the 5-way rotary and Sweet Switch, a Trem that actually held the tuning, Locking Tuners and everybody who wrote about them was just fascinated by those instruments. In 1991 one of my local dealers took me aside and said ''you want a PRS right? You still want one?'' Of course I wanted, so he made me a very obscure offer: ''I can't tell you much, but I have hand on a brand new PRS with a minor chip in the finish. That's why it is reduced, but I can neither tell you the color, nor more about the damage - but it's 50% off''! I made a tour in my hometown, walking 2 or 3 hours because, yes i wanted one, but well.... you surely understant my hesitations. I had to decide right away or it is gone. I returned and I bought it! 3 months later I got my PRS, a gorgeous 1991 Custom 24 10-Top with Birds in whale blue! It's still my Number 1!
Well that ''ding'' in the finish, it's that tiny little white spot you can see in this photo:
In 1994 I lost most of my collection in a fire, one my ''The V'', a Les Paul Classic (i bought used for $700 in 1990) and the PRS survived as they were at home and not in the rehearsal room. Anyway since I had the PRS except the LP Classic which was my secondary guitar (it had a killer sound) all other took dust in the cases... in 1996 I also sold the remaining 2 Gibsons (I badly regret the ''The V'' which had an exceptional sound but was extremely heavy too) and since then I only have my PRS.
I never regretted my choice of the PRS and am really happy to have insited 30 years ago to absolutely want one!
What about your memories?
A bit of nostalgy and also quite interesting, even it's a topic for the ''older'' generations. Before PRS got in the market, what guitars were you playing and what was the factor you switched or added a PRS-Guitar to your stuff in the late 80's/early 90's?
In my case I remember there were, here in europe, 3 essential ''camps'':
- The Gibson Players (who often didn't like to spell the name Fender)
- The Fender Players (who often didn't like to spell the name Gibson)
- The Others (who were often way more open minded, except the Gretsch-Folks)
Well I was in the Gibson Camp, my first ever guitar was a cheap Hondo Les Paul copy, completely unplayable, noisy and like many asian imports of the mid-seventees butchering your hands with a horrible fretwork. Because I did well in school, and since I was 5 yo spent almost all of my spare time with my Ukulele, Mandolin-Banjo, the Hondo or my moms classical guitar, my parents offered me a guitar for my diploma when I was 12, and I selected a 1976 Gibson Firebird Bi-Centennial which was reduced 40% as it was a demo guitar and the hard case missing (the dealer sold the case to someone).
I always loved the 'uncommon' Gibsons - Vees/Explorers were my passion, but those lovely Les Pauls as well of course. I started working beside my studies whenever I could to gather some money and started collecting in the early 80's. The Norlin Gibsons were sometimes bizarre and had possibly some quality issues but there were many beauties available those years anyway. In 1990 I had a couple of Les Pauls (I really digged the anniversaries) - 25/50, 30th Goldtop, 40th Ebony with P-100, 30th SG/LP TV-yellow, but also an Artisan 3PU and an Artist Active. The Vee/Explorer section consisted of a pair of FF82 Alpine White '58 Reissues; a gorgeous 1982 ''The V'' in antique violin sunburst with a 1-piece Flametop, a walnut shaped V2, an Explorer-II (Flametop), Explorer E2 (shaped body) and a custom graphics black/goldstripes Explorer.
As non-Gibsons I had a japanese transparent Plexi-Strat, an M&B Himmelsschlüssel and a beautiful early Blade R4 Strat. And no, I never owned a Fender
Oh yeah and I was always a funny guy in my choice of stage dressing
At the end of the 80's the PRS adds started to appear in the guitar magazines, a beautiful guitar in royal blue with a stunning quilt top! But in Switzerland those years - no infos, no dealers and no such thing like Internet yet. So.... I was just cutting those adds out of the mags
With all those wonderful instruments in my collection, what (except the amazing look) made me want such a PRS? Well, it was a modern guitar, much more versatile than my Gibsons with the 5-way rotary and Sweet Switch, a Trem that actually held the tuning, Locking Tuners and everybody who wrote about them was just fascinated by those instruments. In 1991 one of my local dealers took me aside and said ''you want a PRS right? You still want one?'' Of course I wanted, so he made me a very obscure offer: ''I can't tell you much, but I have hand on a brand new PRS with a minor chip in the finish. That's why it is reduced, but I can neither tell you the color, nor more about the damage - but it's 50% off''! I made a tour in my hometown, walking 2 or 3 hours because, yes i wanted one, but well.... you surely understant my hesitations. I had to decide right away or it is gone. I returned and I bought it! 3 months later I got my PRS, a gorgeous 1991 Custom 24 10-Top with Birds in whale blue! It's still my Number 1!
Well that ''ding'' in the finish, it's that tiny little white spot you can see in this photo:
In 1994 I lost most of my collection in a fire, one my ''The V'', a Les Paul Classic (i bought used for $700 in 1990) and the PRS survived as they were at home and not in the rehearsal room. Anyway since I had the PRS except the LP Classic which was my secondary guitar (it had a killer sound) all other took dust in the cases... in 1996 I also sold the remaining 2 Gibsons (I badly regret the ''The V'' which had an exceptional sound but was extremely heavy too) and since then I only have my PRS.
I never regretted my choice of the PRS and am really happy to have insited 30 years ago to absolutely want one!
What about your memories?
