Too much/too many?

I agree with you that over-saturating your product line can lead to decline. This is across all kinds of businesses...I've seen it happen in restaurants a lot. Sometimes having a huge menu with lots and lots of options can end up hurting your business.

But that's when business models come into play. If your business model can handle the multi-tiered product line-up, I don't see any reason not to reach for higher heights. If you're running a business, it's priority number one to grow...that's any business. Being their recent success with all their "newly" released models, it seems to me they're making sound business decisions in growing the company.

I see no issue with this at all, as long as the business model stays adaptive and product quality maintains a steady course.
 
New model and product introductions drive sales for any manufacturer. Whether that's a good or bad thing, or is somewhere in the middle, is up to the observer.

It makes sense that PRS has a line that offers a little something for lots of guitar players' budgets, musical interests, and needs.

They've scaled back their amp offerings to their Hendrix, DG, MT and Archon lines. Not confusing.

At one time they offered more, and I could kick myself for not getting another CAD amp while the gettin' was good (no need to post links to used amps, guys, I don't trust 'em for critical studio use).

Most Core models are variations on only a few themes: McCarty, 594, Singlecut, Paul's, Santana, Hollowbody or Semi Hollow 594 and McCarty, and the rarely-seen basses. The variations are merely pickup configuration and trems, etc. Doesn't confuse me. Takes about ten seconds looking at the website to know what might interest me.

In S2 you only have three basic models with variations, such as whether they have maple tops, are Standards or Semi Hollow models. That seems pretty easy to me.

The acoustic SE line isn't very large, though PS has a wide range, as it oughta.

There are only three pedals. They all do different things. Not at all confusing.

By way of comparison, here are a few examples:

BMW has 17 models. Mercedes has 15. Gm has dozens. Ford has dozens. So does Chrysler. Dyson offers 8 cordless models, 5 uprights, a canister, 2 hard floor, 3 hair stylers, 2 humidifiers, 2 purifiers, 4 combination model heater/cooler/purifiers, and 2 lamp systems - 28 products.

I figure no one is suffering because PRS offers a bunch of choices, and some people may benefit. It's all to the good. :)
 
11top said:
Didn’t Paul say “If they buy it, we’ll make it” (paraphrase)? Makes sense to me.
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Indeed he did. So, while I've read threads about it at TGP about why people passed on the NF3 ("can't replace the pickups because they are non-standard size") I wonder why more people didn't actually try this guitar out. They'd quickly figure out that they'd NEVER need to change those pickups, and in fact the guitar will expand their tonal vocabulary in a few beautiful ways.

So yeah, I know the reason most use for not buying one, but holy crap, to not even try one when you had the chance... hard to fathom. It's like, as guitar players, we pre-determine what something is or should be and rule it out without actually trying it to find out. I'm completely confident that if more people tried them out, they'd still be in the lineup. Those pickups just KILL!
 
The variety does not bother me at all. I see it as PRS' way of expanding their basic skill set and capabilities. For a company that started with the Custom 24, none of the other models (let alone pickups) would exist without stretching boundaries. Someone else said it well that the line should be drawn where the quality on items starts to drop and it does not look like PRS has reached that point. If anything, they incredible quality demonstrated on the SE and S2 line indicate they have ample room to run on the quality front. There is something for everyone.

The irony is that I own 4 PRS Guitars, all of them Core, with 3 being 594's... So while I appreciate the company's ability to innovate and stretch the boundaries, I also appreciate their ability to do a specific thing VERY WELL! That one thing is also more than enough to keep me in the PRS camp where I just kind off shrug off other brands.
 
LSchefman said:
New model and product introductions drive sales for any manufacturer. Whether that's a good or bad thing, or is somewhere in the middle, is up to the observer.

It makes sense that PRS has a line that offers a little something for lots of guitar players' budgets, musical interests, and needs.

They've scaled back their amp offerings to their Hendrix, DG, MT and Archon lines. Not confusing.

At one time they offered more, and I could kick myself for not getting another CAD amp while the gettin' was good (no need to post links to used amps, guys, I don't trust 'em for critical studio use).

Most Core models are variations on only a few themes: McCarty, 594, Singlecut, Paul's, Santana, Hollowbody or Semi Hollow 594 and McCarty, and the rarely-seen basses. The variations are merely pickup configuration and trems, etc. Doesn't confuse me. Takes about ten seconds looking at the website to know what might interest me.

In S2 you only have three basic models with variations, such as whether they have maple tops, are Standards or Semi Hollow models. That seems pretty easy to me.

The acoustic SE line isn't very large, though PS has a wide range, as it oughta.

There are only three pedals. They all do different things. Not at all confusing.

By way of comparison, here are a few examples:

BMW has 17 models. Mercedes has 15. Gm has dozens. Ford has dozens. So does Chrysler. Dyson offers 8 cordless models, 5 uprights, a canister, 2 hard floor, 3 hair stylers, 2 humidifiers, 2 purifiers, 4 combination model heater/cooler/purifiers, and 2 lamp systems - 28 products.

I figure no one is suffering because PRS offers a bunch of choices, and some people may benefit. It's all to the good. :)
Click to expand...

And J. Rockett has 5 different Archer pedals.
 
Rod/ said:
Do they really? The overrated Klon pedal…..:p
Click to expand...
I respect your opinion, of course, and I realize many of our opinions are situational. One person's beloved piece of equipment is the next person's 'what are you thinking?'. For me, that's a good thing, because I'm appalled by so many players and much gear sounding alike, and homogenized.

It's one of the reasons I grimace when people tell me about certain pieces of gear that cop this or that tone. I like it best when folks' tone sounds hand-made, by them and just for them.

With the right amp, and the right guitar, a real Klon (I've only played through the real ones and don't have experience with the many clones) does truly wonderful things for guitar tone.

For me, they work best with classic vintage Fender amps for the "Edge of Breakup" stuff. So if you're Keef, it's the perfect pedal, and of course he's a big proponent of them.

The Klon sounds wonderful with a vintage brown panel or black panel Fender, or something like one of Fender's hand wired Vibro-Kings. I've had good results with the Klon set pretty clean, more to be used as a tone shaper than an overdrive pedal. Adds some needed girth and life to the tone, especially useful for recording.

I also think it does its best with single coil guitars, but like anything else in Tone Land, that's just me. It's a pedal that does well with nuance.

So much depends on what you're used to, style of play, other gear, etc. In any case, for lots of players there's a reason the pedal got its hype - I don't know what they're going for now on the used market, probably a ton, but I'm OK with it. You should see the prices of certain classic microphones today if you want to talk about stuff that makes very little sense, though there's a 'gotta have one' for just about any piece of older gear!
 
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LSchefman said:
I respect your opinion, of course, and I realize many of our opinions are situational. One person's beloved piece of equipment is the next person's 'what are you thinking?'. For me, that's a good thing, because I'm appalled by so many players and much gear sounding alike, and homogenized.

It's one of the reasons I grimace when people tell me about certain pieces of gear that cop this or that tone. I like it best when folks' tone sounds hand-made, by them and just for them.

With the right amp, and the right guitar, a real Klon (I've only played through the real ones and don't have experience with the many clones) does truly wonderful things for guitar tone.

For me, they work best with classic vintage Fender amps for the "Edge of Breakup" stuff. So if you're Keef, it's the perfect pedal, and of course he's a big proponent of them.

The Klon sounds wonderful with a vintage brown panel or black panel Fender, or something like one of Fender's hand wired Vibro-Kings. I've had good results with the Klon set pretty clean, more to be used as a tone shaper than an overdrive pedal. Adds some needed girth and life to the tone, especially useful for recording.

I also think it does its best with single coil guitars, but like anything else in Tone Land, that's just me. It's a pedal that does well with nuance.

So much depends on what you're used to, style of play, other gear, etc. In any case, for lots of players there's a reason the pedal got its hype - I don't know what they're going for now on the used market, probably a ton, but I'm OK with it. You should see the prices of certain classic microphones today if you want to talk about stuff that makes very little sense, though there's a 'gotta have one' for just about any piece of older gear!
Click to expand...
I hear where you are coming from Les… I’ve always been a JTM 45 or 50 Marshall player and it makes sense that they never worked for me. I used to be a dealer for them in my guitar store back when Bill was hand building the the Klon 1 at a time at his kitchen table in Brookline Mass and the Fender amp players at my shop loved them .. He’s a great guy. It’s really to bad that there is so much cloning of original designs these days. AnalogMan Mike Piera has been having the same issues with so many clones of his Prince of Tone & King of Tone pedals…..
 
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Rod/ said:
I hear where you are coming from Les… I’ve always been a JTM 45 or 50 Marshall player and it makes sense that they never worked for me. I used to be a dealer for them in my guitar store back when Bill was hand building them 1 at a time at his kitchen table in Brookline Mass and the Fender amp players loved them .. He’s a great guy. It’s really to bad that there is so much cloning of original designs these days. AnalogMan Mike Piera has been having the same issues with so many clones of his Prince of Tone & King of Tone pedals…..
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How interesting that we had the very same experience with them working for Fenders, but not Marshalls!

I agree that the cloning isn't the best outcome for people who worked hard to build their pedal business, and of course AnalogMan and Finnegan got the results they got because of the care they took, and could only get so many out the door, so there were waiting issues.

Then again, I play an HXDA because Marshall isn't making them like they used to back in the day.

By the way, I recorded with a guy who will play nothing other than a JTM45 and swore by them. It was part of his recording agreements that a JTM 45 be provided - Laurie Wisefield, who was once in the band Wishbone Ash, toured with Clapton, Ringo Starr, Joe Cocker and many others. Fabulous player! One of the best I've ever worked with. I really need to track him down, he is a super nice person, and I'd love to hear what he's been up to lately. I felt honored to be able to work with him, and so many other great musicians.

I should add via this edit that his tone was magnificent. He knew exactly who he was, and what he needed to do to get what he wanted. What a warrior!

Sometimes I think I've had a wonderfully interesting musical life. Other times, I've looked at my son's musical life and thought, WTF, I'm a loser in comparison!

[insert laughing until I cry emoji]

But of course, that's the outcome I wanted, for my son to do even better than I've done.
 
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I watched the 59/594 video again, I just can't get over how close they sound.

I think I have decided to give my 8515 bridge pickup a 2nd go. I liked the less saturated tone they make and I'm using less OD these days so maybe it will appeal to me more now????
 
LSchefman said:
How interesting that we had the very same experience with them working for Fenders, but not Marshalls!

I agree that the cloning isn't the best outcome for people who worked hard to build their pedal business, and of course AnalogMan and Finnegan got the results they got because of the care they took, and could only get so many out the door, so there were waiting issues.

Then again, I play an HXDA because Marshall isn't making them like they used to back in the day.

By the way, I recorded with a guy who will play nothing other than a JTM45 and swore by them. It was part of his recording agreements that a JTM 45 be provided - Laurie Wisefield, who was once in the band Wishbone Ash, toured with Clapton, Ringo Starr, Joe Cocker and many others. Fabulous player! One of the best I've ever worked with. I really need to track him down, he is a super nice person, and I'd love to hear what he's been up to lately. I felt honored to be able to work with him, and so many other great musicians.

I should add via this edit that his tone was magnificent. He knew exactly who he was, and what he needed to do to get what he wanted. What a warrior!

Sometimes I think I've had a wonderfully interesting musical life. Other times, I've looked at my son's musical life and thought, WTF, I'm a loser in comparison!

[insert laughing until I cry emoji]

But of course, that's the outcome I wanted, for my son to do even better than I've done.
Click to expand...
Laurie from Wishbone Ash. Wow. Such a great player. Glad you got to work with him… I wore out a few of their albums learning their tunes but as much, to understand their musicality , back in the early 70’s.
Glad your son is doing well musically!
 
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