The Bonus...

andy474x

Knows the Drill
Joined
May 4, 2012
Messages
5,190
Location
West Michigan
Now, the bonus part to my other thread... a very small asterisk to the story, but takes a few more words to explain. Before Norah came, my wife had the awful cold that's going around for over a week, in addition to being very, very pregnant. When it started to relent, she was itching to get out of the house, and I happened to hear that the local guitar shop was closing their second store a town over, not the one I usually shop but since they had advertised their big going out of business sale, figured I might as well go. Maybe pick up a pedal or a few accessories, just a chance to get out. So, wife stays in the car whilst I go looking, and then she texts me "anything nice in there?" "Well, still looking, they do have a really nice PRS on the wall, but I'll behave. Just grabbing a few odds and ends." A minute later, tap on my shoulder... she came in and is staring at the thing with big eyes, and tells me it looks so good, I better buy it. NEVER TURN DOWN NGD WHEN YOU HAVE PERMISSION. My wife is a sucker for nice tops, Trampas Green, and natty backs. I was, and am trying hard to save for a 594, so I gave myself a chance to get out of it, played it... dang. Sounds really, really good. More open and resonant than most SE models, if you've tried one, you know. But, baby coming, not a great time for buying guitars, another chance to tap out... dang. Guy at the counter makes me a screamin deal. I've passed on several of these before, on the premise that I don't buy them just because they're there, and I have to have a connection with the instrument when I play it. I did, and I can only resist for so long! So, affectionately named after another irresistible gal... we decided to call her Norah too.

If matching the living room gets you permission, take it!
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Hard to resist.
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I put the ZM up next to the S2 semi hollow in my row of 3 hangers, and my wife goes "Hey, if you got another hollow one with the F hole, they would all match!" One heck of a cold goin round fellas, better hope your wives and girlfriends catch it too. Really though, my wife is the fricken best.

Baby Norah has been getting the most love and attention by far though. Trying to enjoy as much of this time as we can, seems like her hair is already growing!
 
Congrats! Nice story... Hope your missus is feeling better!
The ZM is a great guitar. Mrs.Bebop bought mine for me....and got a screaming deal as well...
 
That’s the SE.

It really is. I've played ZM's against some of the other current SE models, and the ZM always comes out on top, even against something similar like a Custom 22 semi-hollow. They just seem to resonate more, and have more depth to the tone.

I played around with mine today, just to get a feel for where it falls amongst the others. It's an interesting guitar, I would say the tone is like a mash up of the punch and twang of a really fat sounding Tele, the airy midrange of a 335, and the grunt of a good singlecut. Really a pleasing sound, it takes the best of a lot of good things and mixes them together. Surprising how punchy and bright it is compared to my S2 semi, I think due to the stoptail being locked right in to the top, vs the trem on the S2. The ZM will be great for rock, blues, pop, I could see country guys liking it as well, whereas the S2 is more mellow for times when I want to sit in a mix, not on it. And, I continue my support of the 245 S pickups. Hotter than most PRS offerings, but not crazy, a little bit of that silvery sounding humbucker tone and they just bring the acoustic tone to life very accurately. I was a little concerned that it I could be fooling myself and the ZM would be toy-like compared to my beloved S2, but it definitely holds its own and then some.
 
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