CrimesAgainstMusic
New Member
- Joined
- Feb 18, 2021
- Messages
- 525
As much as I like saving money, and snagging the cool deal from a reputable on-line retailer, there is no substitute for actually seeing the object of our guitar lust, in the flesh ...er maybe cellulose ...
I just returned from a visit to my "neighborhood" Guitar Center to see an PRS SE Hollowbody II in the the flesh ! They actually had one in each color, the Tri Color Burst (my Fav) and Charcoal. They also had Standards in both colors, and the Tobacco, is a real beauty ...
In playing them, the "mission" was to make sure of the feel & fit of the "wide-fat" neck profile. Like my visit to their competitor Sam Ash, I came away with the thinking that "Yeah, this will work". Not as good a fit for me as the S2 Mc Carty Thinline (Pattern Thin) ... but not the baseball bat I was afraid of initially. Seeing them in person, solidified my initial impressions that the Tri Color is my first choice . This particular guitar had an acceptable amount of "flame" and if armed ($$$ in hand) it would be sitting in the box "acclimating " to its new environment. But I have to wait ...
Anyway, seeing the Tobacco for the first time, was a revelation. It is simply beautiful, and this one showed plenty of grain pattern. A barely flamed Hollowbody II would take a back seat to this guy. The Charcoal was a pretty too. Pictures do not do it justice, but I'm still biased to the "brown tones" ...
They also had another surprise. S2's hangin' on the wall !!!
Even The Candy Water guys do not show these guys in stock, but GC had them in the Green & the Blue. Mine is mahogany, got to see that wood grain, But the Blue & Green look waay better than the pics I have seen on line. Just goes to show 'ya that you really have not "seen" them, until you see them.
To comply with State and Federal statutes prohibiting my public play, I brought along my own Brand F Micro Ponycar amp and headphones, so I was statutorily compliant and cool . But there were others shamelessly bangin' away , that the Law has not caught up with... yet !
I think if I owned a store... I would almost require its use ! 
Anyway, I had a lot of fun, and even left with a Rage Against the Machine LP. I didn't know about Tom Morello, until Fender did the thing on him and his signature guitar. Glad to cop on vinyl
All this to say, that although one should expect to pay more at the brick & mortar joint... it is truly worth it to be able to make a informed decision based on actual experience. The one time I did buy "blind" (my S2 Mc Carty) worked out well for me. But you cannot always be sure that it will work out. And all this shipping & returning stuff has to be costly in the end to both the merchant and maybe even the customer. So if the brick & mortar guy is not too far off, reasonably covering his added expenses of inventory & sales staff ... I'm glad to have that option ...
And it was a lot of fun, just to get out
I just returned from a visit to my "neighborhood" Guitar Center to see an PRS SE Hollowbody II in the the flesh ! They actually had one in each color, the Tri Color Burst (my Fav) and Charcoal. They also had Standards in both colors, and the Tobacco, is a real beauty ...
In playing them, the "mission" was to make sure of the feel & fit of the "wide-fat" neck profile. Like my visit to their competitor Sam Ash, I came away with the thinking that "Yeah, this will work". Not as good a fit for me as the S2 Mc Carty Thinline (Pattern Thin) ... but not the baseball bat I was afraid of initially. Seeing them in person, solidified my initial impressions that the Tri Color is my first choice . This particular guitar had an acceptable amount of "flame" and if armed ($$$ in hand) it would be sitting in the box "acclimating " to its new environment. But I have to wait ...

Anyway, seeing the Tobacco for the first time, was a revelation. It is simply beautiful, and this one showed plenty of grain pattern. A barely flamed Hollowbody II would take a back seat to this guy. The Charcoal was a pretty too. Pictures do not do it justice, but I'm still biased to the "brown tones" ...
They also had another surprise. S2's hangin' on the wall !!!
Even The Candy Water guys do not show these guys in stock, but GC had them in the Green & the Blue. Mine is mahogany, got to see that wood grain, But the Blue & Green look waay better than the pics I have seen on line. Just goes to show 'ya that you really have not "seen" them, until you see them.
To comply with State and Federal statutes prohibiting my public play, I brought along my own Brand F Micro Ponycar amp and headphones, so I was statutorily compliant and cool . But there were others shamelessly bangin' away , that the Law has not caught up with... yet !


Anyway, I had a lot of fun, and even left with a Rage Against the Machine LP. I didn't know about Tom Morello, until Fender did the thing on him and his signature guitar. Glad to cop on vinyl

All this to say, that although one should expect to pay more at the brick & mortar joint... it is truly worth it to be able to make a informed decision based on actual experience. The one time I did buy "blind" (my S2 Mc Carty) worked out well for me. But you cannot always be sure that it will work out. And all this shipping & returning stuff has to be costly in the end to both the merchant and maybe even the customer. So if the brick & mortar guy is not too far off, reasonably covering his added expenses of inventory & sales staff ... I'm glad to have that option ...
And it was a lot of fun, just to get out

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