Tone vs Looks vs Feel...what's most important to you?

[jcha008]

This topic came up on another message board and I thought it was an interesting topic to discuss among my PRS brethren.

In playing PRS guitars I think they more than most can handle all three aspects very well, but some are still more important than most.

While probably not the most popular opinion, but over the years of playing PRS guitars I think I've gravitated towards looks more than anything. PRS tends to build a very consistent guitar and just about any model I pick up it "feels" very comfortable. While I definitely have preferences as far as neck shape + thickness I can play just about any shape in a reasonably comfortable fashion. With regards to my personal tone, I found that I'm pretty open minded. While I understand not every guitar can do everything, I have found that each guitar I own has a different voice that I can always use for a certain application. While I may have a favorite, it's hard for me to say its the "best" sounding when another guitar may do something else better. In addition, for the most part I play high gain music. Most of the tone tends to come from my amp IMO and regardless of what guitar I plug in, it sounds pretty good to me. I'm an absolutely terrible player anyways so I always sound like me regardless of the equipment .

Another for the looks department is that buying guitars online has become more prevalent. High-end guitar shops aren't nearly as prominent as before and you can't really demo a guitar being bought online(fortunately enough for me, Wild West Guitars is a 2 minute drive from work). Usually if it's a model I'm comfortable with I know it will play+sound good enough and the looks are what seals the deal for me. I know it can be vain to buy just on looks but we tend to do much shopping with our eyes so it can be hard. This may not always hold true to other brands, but with PRS it definitely seems to be the case for me.

What are your opinions? These are just my personal thoughts and I thought it would be fun to get other peoples input as well.

 

[ViperDoc]

Your questions highlights the trade offs that have occurred as the instrument marketplace shifts to a predominantly online environment. I know you posed a question about personal preference, but it's interesting to note how today's kids, for example, will not have the same guitar buying experience that we did.
I recall the days where my friends/band mates and I would head to our local music shop (Gelb Music in Redwood City, CA), squeeze past the patrons through to the intimate guitar and bass room where we would pull down and test out guitars and basses firsthand. We'd look at the price tag and wonder when we'd be old enough to afford it. We'd feel, look and hear, and then if it was time, we'd make a decision. My first bass was a Squier Precision bass that felt and sounded good, was solid black with white pick guard, and cost about $250.00 in 1989. I loved it.

Fast forward to now, I live in the mountains of Idaho, and in my opinion, we don't have a legit music shop in the entire state. The GC in Boise lost its PRS status due to low sales. So, I've bought my last 5 PRS guitars based on looks on the interwebz. And frankly, it's not as cool. It's convenient, but not very cool.

To me, tone and feel trump looks, but I have to commit in order to confirm I made the right decision. Due diligence delayed. If I don't like the guitar, it sits in the case, and I only have 2 of those at the moment.

 

[Michael_DK]

I can get around on most guitars, but lately I've been experiencing the drawbacks of non-optimal neck shapes etc (I thought I like really fat necks, but after getting my pattern regular custom, I find that I like that better. It's even possible that my ideal neck is pattern thin). So I'd say feel is very important.

Tone - I like all kinds of tones haha. So long as there's not too many dead notes on the neck etc, I find I can make it work. I also play a bit higher gain (not metal-high, but hard-ish rock). I feel the same way - the amp matters more. So while tone is very important, I think that a compromise can be made. I'm also mostly thinking of the song as a whole rather than just the guitar, since I'm basically a recording-one-man-band. I think that has something to do with it as well.

Looks are important to me too. Well, at least in the PRS price range. Looks can be many things, of course, but for full satisfaction I think those have to be there for me as well.

I conclusion, I'd say feel first, with tone a fairly close second, and then looks thirdly. but I have no illusions; I'm as shallow as the next guy

 

[bodia]

Yep, I would have to agree. It was cool to walk into a GC 20 years ago and see a dozen, or more, PRSes to chose from. I could take may time and pick the one that sounded the best, and felt the best. Looks would be 3rd in line at that time. Move forward to 2003 when I bought my 2nd PRS, and it was the same story. I spent a couple of hours picking between 20-25 at a GC in the area. I ended up with the one that I thought sounded the best, but I hated the color. Today, it's all about the specs and the color since I'm buying on line. My latest "purchase" (WL 594 from Brian) was just picking the best looking (to me) pile of wood! I don't even know what color it will be!

There are several GC's in the Chicago area, and some other cool places, but I find myself not wanting to make the trek into the city to CME or anywhere else. Most of the GC's are a shell of their former selves. There's one less than 2 miles from my house, but I hardly ever go there. It's sad. It used to be a cool store, but now there's half the inventory, and it's almost all low end Fender and Gibson. No Ibanez, or Jackson, or ESP. Oh well. The internet has changed everything, some for the better, and some not. As long as you're dealing with a shop that's got a good return policy, you're ok. It's just a hassle to ship things back and forth. Global market though!

 

[11top]

What are your opinions?

I like blonds, brunettes, and redheads.

 

[swede71]

Tone and feel in the long run.But to buy a guitar I have to like how it looks.In my world that means prs custom/McCarty platforms,Flying Vs or strats.I don't like how teles looks but if I found one that sounded and felt great I could consider buying it.Tone is interesting,as I get older I'm looking for character.For example I can have two strats that both sounds great but one has a character that makes me play it all the time.My DGT is not the easiest PRS to play feel wise,kinda stiff but it has a character I love.

 

[moT]

Feel, tone, and then looks...

I am an acoustic player, but this is still the order. I assume it will be the same order when I get an electric. Both feel and sound have to be right enough before I will play a guitar whether I decide to purchase it or not. I am comfortable with different necks, but on the other hand I am horrible with first impressions while in a shop. For instance it took me months (years?) to decide which acoustic I like the best of my two favorites, but I am finally ready to let one go. I have found after getting a few duds I do better if I research and decide on the specs and then just order the damn thing because I usually can't find what I want close by anyhow. I assume this will carry over to electrics too. I wish I had a decent guitar shop nearby when I was growing up (or here now), but the closest I got then was a pawn shop with a couple of cheap guitars hanging in the window. That was where I got my first trumpet though.

 

[Artjr]

Price Feel tone looks. Looks within reason. Without looks I my never know about its tone or feel.
Of course if I been drinking it might be another story.

 

[drdoom8793]

I got for Feel, then Tone, then Look. If a guitar doesn't feel right, it's got to go. I can't deal with a guitar that doesn't feel right. I honestly don't care that much about what a top looks like, as long as it's the right color.

And personally, I'm a fan of Redheads.

 

[alantig]

I'm really looking for tone, feel, looks in that order. I can be pushed over the edge by the looks, but I think I've only ever bought one guitar because of the looks (a white LP Custom that looked like Randy Rhoads') and it didn't turn out too well for me.

And man, I've really developed a taste for redheads the last few years, but - for me - what really matters in a woman is enough of a lack of self-respect to take me.

 

[Maertl513]

I saw once Dave Weiner on YouTube presenting a PRS which delivers 13 different tones providing real singlecoil sounds of a SSS guitar, real sounds of a HSH guitar and something in between (clear humbucking).
I will never ever buy a guitar because of seeking a destinct tone.
That said defines the major item tone (tonal capability).

After deciding to purchase a 513 I guessed about specs (colour, grain, top wood grade). That said I defined the second Important item look.

Feel is the third Important item to me. I wanted a PRS. As a pupil I noticed PRS guitars in magazines which where doublecuts. Therefore I wanted a doublecut body.
The neck profile of core 513s is the Pattern Regular. Nothing else the select from. That was my approach on the item feel.

Indeed, the available budget limits everything.

 

[alantig]

I will never ever buy a guitar because of seeking a destinct tone.
That said defines the major item tone (tonal capability).

Good point - when we say 'tone', are we talking a specific tone or the quality of the tone?

My reference is to quality. Sometimes it's a type of tone (say, P90s or humbuckers), but far more often, I'm looking for good tonal quality.

 

[Maertl513]

I would agree to your point tonal quality, @alantig.
I'll ever want a guitar that works either clean and high gain (metal). And crunch aswell.

 

[RonnieD]

Great thread...for me it's pretty much "feel" first and foremost, tone then looks. I will say though the PRS guitars pretty well nail all three IMHO. I would like to add that I've been pondering Private Stock versus Core models lately, and I've really been digging a Core GoldTop DGT, much more so than a Private Stock DGT and DC 245, so that rationale is my basis for feel número uno!
RonnieD

 

[Rider1260]

I have purchased my guitars to fill a tonal or style void , I strive to have ALL the bases covered.
I have yet to find a "BAD" PRS everyone I have has opened my eyes to a new tone.
As far as looks I like them all there is something very beautiful about even a solid top it shows off the curves of the guitar better IMHO ( check out the 408 on the left )
The maple tops are just cool to look at and then there are the different Birds
I have only played 2 of these before I got them so I have NO issues buying unplayed never much liked the guitar store thing.

 

[guitarman001]

Definitely feel first.
If it looks awful, I wouldn't buy.
However all three have to be good for me.

 

[coyote]

To me it's the overall experience, a combo of everything. I think of it in terms of women. And that equation goes as follows:
All other things being equal, the woman better be a good personality.
But...
All other things being equal, the woman should look good!
lol

 

[Artjr]

It's really everything.
Facts when I'm looking at guitars
1. You look at it. If you don't like the looks you most likely won't pick it up
2. Feel. Before you plug it in you strum a few notes to feel the playability.
3 Tone. If you like the looks and feel.

 

[gasmansteve72]

1/Looks as it is what catches the eyes that normally makes me look to see if fit an finish are up to a decent standard.
2/Then feel as if it doesn't feel right you don't need another dust collector which you'll try to get on with for months only to trade for the guitar you wanted in the first place anyway ..
3/Tone is sometimes a bonus as pickups an electrics can be changed but if sustain or feel are not there you'll never make it work for you..

If 2 isn't there then I walk away now an just think about what I have an say I don't need it an keep the money...

 

[justmund]

All of them in extremes have the potential to be deal breakers for me, so I would say they are all as important as each other (as well as other factors).