The grass is NOT greener

justmund

Plank Spanker
Joined
Apr 26, 2012
Messages
3,300
Location
Down under, down under
So a friend of mine is looking for a cheap, versatile amp. I decided to check out a Fender Mustang III (Rev 2), I was actually really impressed by what you get for minimal $, and the quite usable tones at stage volumes (she's a bit folky).

I had ducked out to the car to grab some change to buy a pick (n00b), came back into the amp room and the guy is already playing through the amp. I did wonder what kind of guitar he'd grab (he didn't ask me what I wanted), and it was a S-type (I was cool with that).

So he hands it over and I get to checking out the amp, after a while I realize the guitar is kinda difficult to play, the action was high, it felt clunky and it was noisy (yeah it has SCs I know). So I wondered, this is a Squire right? Checked out the headstock, nope was a US model.

Sometimes I forget how good we have it, that from time to time I need to play something else to realize why I'm a PRS guy (SE or core). So folks, the grass on this side of the fence is as green as it gets (or is that the colour of the Kool-Aid I drank... Hang on, that stuff is green right?)
 
Sometimes I forget how good we have it, that from time to time I need to play something else to realize why I'm a PRS guy (SE or core).

I love playing other manufacturers' guitars...they make me fall back in love with the PRSs I already have!

When I was 15 and had been playing guitar for barely a couple years (and still pretty bad at it!) I visited Elderly Instruments here in Lansing, MI. I was looking to buy a Les Paul with summer job money, thinking (as their marketing demonstrated) a LP was the end all. Get a Les Paul, be a rockstar, get all the babes. I was aware of PRS at that point, but never seen one in person that I could play. I played a few brand new Gibby LPs that day and one unassuming Standard 22 that was hanging with their used stuff. Even lacking in age and experience, a few minutes with that guitar told me everything I needed to know. The PRS was leagues beyond anything I had played that day or anytime before. I had a "THIS CHANGES EVERYTHING......" moment. I bought my first (a '97 CU24) about a year later and never looked back! :top:
 
Last edited:
I tried a few MIMs and even Am Deluxe and had a similar experience too, they all had fret buzz. I wasn't too particular about this because most trem guitars will buzz after leaving them for some time. They need regular tweaking.

That said, a few Squiers on the rack had better set-up than the US ones. :iamconfused: Oh well...
 
I recently saw someone trying a 59 reissue LP, brand new, and they found a dead spot/high fret on it. Couldn't believe, for the price they charge, they aren't checking those frets more carefully. I also played a couple of LP studio's recently, and the necks on them were funky. The finish was very uneven, and just the edges of the neck, where it meets with the fretboard, were especially inconsistent. Even the SE's have a very even, consistent shape and finish in those areas... I was pretty happy to be going home to my SE's that day.
 
I'm pretty late to the PRS party, my first guitar was a Fender Bronco and I just stuck with the brand. What started to change my opinions was finally managing to afford a few US built Strats and Teles (standards and deluxe's) and they were well enough put together but kind of soulless, quite a big disappointment. My 1990 MiM Strat is light years better in terms of feel. I've had a couple of US Les Paul's and they sounded and felt OK but the fit and finish really didn't live up to the reputation and certainly not the price tag. I eventually found a limited run US Strat that spoke to me enough to want to keep, but it took years.

What sets PRS apart from the other guys is that it is still a relatively small company, seemingly staffed by passionate people and with the founder actively involved in the design and production process. It is as simple as PRS being able to pay attention to the smallest detail of every instrument that leaves the factory that makes them as good as they are. We should also remember that we do willingly pay a premium for the privilege of having something that much better.
 
Every so often I want for something else. Then I'll play it. Result is usually lackluster. PRS for me.
 
Life is relative to perspective. You have to keep sampling to keep up that perspective. :cool:
 
I have tried a few Les Pauls, they did not do anything for me.
Strats I do not care for the feel.
The only other normal size guitar I like playing is my 2012 '61 Reissue SG, it is good quality, and setup by my PRS dealer.

However...I may have to defect to a G&L M2000 bass unless PRS releases an SE bass soon.
Been wanting to try bass too, but not to the tune of what a GG would cost me.
 
I'm pretty late to the PRS party, my first guitar was a Fender Bronco and I just stuck with the brand. What started to change my opinions was finally managing to afford a few US built Strats and Teles (standards and deluxe's) and they were well enough put together but kind of soulless, quite a big disappointment. My 1990 MiM Strat is light years better in terms of feel. I've had a couple of US Les Paul's and they sounded and felt OK but the fit and finish really didn't live up to the reputation and certainly not the price tag. I eventually found a limited run US Strat that spoke to me enough to want to keep, but it took years.

What sets PRS apart from the other guys is that it is still a relatively small company, seemingly staffed by passionate people and with the founder actively involved in the design and production process. It is as simple as PRS being able to pay attention to the smallest detail of every instrument that leaves the factory that makes them as good as they are. We should also remember that we do willingly pay a premium for the privilege of having something that much better.

I think the soulless-ness of US Fenders were due to the non-vintage specs. The 2 pivot bridge, locking tuners, noiseless pickups all that modern technology is so wrong on a brand that makes one of the first solidbody guitars. My opinion is that they should have kept the Am Standard specs vintage and then maybe Am Modern or something for all the newer technologies. I like the MIM more than the AM Standard as well. :dontknow: they just feel more "meat and potatoes".
 
A friend of mine recently needed money and brought over his LP Studio he was looking to sell. We played it and my SC. I can't call it A/B'd them because there was no comparison. Feel, tone, looks, craftsmanship, every category there was to compare, the PRS was simply better. Now granted it was a Studio and certainly cost less, but it wasn't even close. It's been the same with Traditionals too. They say you have to look to find the right one but when you do, the LP's are great. I can believe that, I just haven't found a great one yet. The PRS, you have to look hard to find a bad one. I have found two that weren't bad, but didn't speak to me. The rest have been stellar guitars.

I haven't tried a USA Strat, but my MIM isn't a bad instrument. It has that quack you keep a Strat around for. It is harder to play than a PRS for sure. Makes you work for what you get, but what you get is what you were looking for.
 
People want and appreciate different things in instruments. I know musicians who've owned PRSes, but still preferred the damnedest things.

There's no accounting for taste.

For me, PRS is the end of the rainbow. For other players, it may not be. I'm fine with that. When I go to a guitar shop, I don't even bother looking at other brands. I'm where I need to be with PRS. But when my son comes into town, one of the things we always like to do together is go to the guitar store. Since he plays several other kinds of guitars, he'll hand them to me to play just to get my take on the guitar. There are some very nice "other brands." Some are very well made, play well, and sound fine.

They're just not for me.
 
My PRSi get 90% of my play time.
I pulled my Strat down this weekend, it's the only guitar I own with a trem. I was learning a song with a signature lick that required trem ("Possum Kingdom" ), I had it down for about 5 mins before I'd "Had enought" :iamconfused: and put it back on the wall... I have an R9 that I enjoy and a couple of Taylor Acoustics. Taylor's are the "PRS" of acoustics for me. :top:

For me - PRS electrics are the complete package, tone and feel - oh and they look nice too! :D
 
What's a discussion without a bit of counterpoint? I have 3 PRS guitars with a sale pending on one of them. All fantastic great sounding/playing guitars. But my acquisition of a 2013 LP R9 was the best guitar purchase I ever made. Perhaps it's just a better fit with my amp/cab. Perhaps it's because musically I'm still living in the 60's, 70's and 80's rock/hard rock era. Perhaps I just got lucky. But as of today if I could only keep one, it would be the Lester.
 
I play my Santana SE almost everyday. It's my go-to bedroom guitar. When I jam with friends it's usually with my PRS CE24 and/or my Fender Strat. Love em both. Both have great, but different tones. The CE24 is my all around favorite. And, the guitar I would never sell is my neck-thru-body Carvin Custom - it still has a neck that just can't be beat. My only guitar that is like the red-headed step child is my Gibson Les Paul. Bought it brand spanking new because I thought I needed one. Wrong. I could just never bond with it. So it sits in the corner under appreciated and unloved. In fact the other guitars all make fun of it behind its back. Unfortunately, if my house were on fire, I'd grab all the guitars I could including my 1982 Ovation acoustic and my LP would probably burn with the house.
 
I Play my SE Santana almost every day as well. Its also my go-to bedroom guitar. Every new song I learn, I learn on the SE Santana.

I also have a Gibson SG that I also love. I get great enjoyment out of playing both guitars.

Cheers!

D.

I play my Santana SE almost everyday. It's my go-to bedroom guitar. When I jam with friends it's usually with my PRS CE24 and/or my Fender Strat. Love em both. Both have great, but different tones. The CE24 is my all around favorite. And, the guitar I would never sell is my neck-thru-body Carvin Custom - it still has a neck that just can't be beat. My only guitar that is like the red-headed step child is my Gibson Les Paul. Bought it brand spanking new because I thought I needed one. Wrong. I could just never bond with it. So it sits in the corner under appreciated and unloved. In fact the other guitars all make fun of it behind its back. Unfortunately, if my house were on fire, I'd grab all the guitars I could including my 1982 Ovation acoustic and my LP would probably burn with the house.
 
Yeah, I made a pact with myself around mid-year to stop wasting my time and money on OPG. I just ain't down with OPG. Yeah, you know me.

Wish I had learned my lesson several thousand dollars ago, but I did learn it.
 
I Play my SE Santana almost every day as well. Its also my go-to bedroom guitar. Every new song I learn, I learn on the SE Santana.

I also have a Gibson SG that I also love. I get great enjoyment out of playing both guitars.

Cheers!

D.
Do you find the neck on your SG is a lot longer than the PRS ones?
Even though the Gibsons are 24.75" scale, it seems the neck is really long.
I have to stretch my hand way down to play chords on the first few frets, where as with any of my PRS guitars, it is very easy to play chords on the first fret.

Other than that, I dig the SG, it has the slim 60s profile neck, almost reminds me of the wide/thin on my SE Tremonti Custom and SE Custom 24.
 
Back
Top