tried a Fiore

BrianC

more toys than talent
Joined
Apr 26, 2012
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Naperville IL
I went to CME with Rider (my buddy Mike) to try out and perhaps he was to buy a Fiore.

I had watched all the videos and demos with this new PRS guitar. Many of the features spoke to me and Mike. I loved the tones I had heard in the videos. It seemed like the took the JM model and super charged it a bit!

The guitar was unboxed in front of us. The setup was perfect for Mike but he notice a fine superficial scratch on the top that was agreed could be buffed out. The red color was better in person for me as it was lighter and translucent. This allowed the grain pattern to show through nicely. The neck wood had visible grain that boldly showed where the scarf joint was. I, for some reason, didn't mind it.

Mike went off into a practice room to try it out. I gave hime some time and then joined him. He was noticeably just OK with it and handed it to me. The amp was not really dialed in well and I knew from the videos that it should better. He tweaked it while I played.

For me: I am a Custom 24 guy but many of my heros played SSS 25.5" guitars so I keep trying to find one for me. The Fiore has more features than I will ever use but I like a few of its differences from the JM. Humbucker bridge is more me and I like the no pick guard. The JM pick guard was staticy for me, same issue on my SE EG.
The big NO for me was the string spacing. I don't know the numbers - it could all be in my head, I only know how it felt. The strings felt vey close together like playing a Rick. It was like a deep C shape. Baseball bat but small...

They were not able to "make him a offer he couldn't refuse" (said in a mafia voice) and we left empty handed.
 
I went to CME with Rider (my buddy Mike) to try out and perhaps he was to buy a Fiore.

I had watched all the videos and demos with this new PRS guitar. Many of the features spoke to me and Mike. I loved the tones I had heard in the videos. It seemed like the took the JM model and super charged it a bit!

The guitar was unboxed in front of us. The setup was perfect for Mike but he notice a fine superficial scratch on the top that was agreed could be buffed out. The red color was better in person for me as it was lighter and translucent. This allowed the grain pattern to show through nicely. The neck wood had visible grain that boldly showed where the scarf joint was. I, for some reason, didn't mind it.

Mike went off into a practice room to try it out. I gave hime some time and then joined him. He was noticeably just OK with it and handed it to me. The amp was not really dialed in well and I knew from the videos that it should better. He tweaked it while I played.

For me: I am a Custom 24 guy but many of my heros played SSS 25.5" guitars so I keep trying to find one for me. The Fiore has more features than I will ever use but I like a few of its differences from the JM. Humbucker bridge is more me and I like the no pick guard. The JM pick guard was staticy for me, same issue on my SE EG.
The big NO for me was the string spacing. I don't know the numbers - it could all be in my head, I only know how it felt. The strings felt vey close together like playing a Rick. It was like a deep C shape. Baseball bat but small...

They were not able to "make him a offer he couldn't refuse" (said in a mafia voice) and we left empty handed.

Interesting. I have been contemplating checking out the Fiore that they haven't arrived locally in Singapore yet. The narrow string spacing is a new insight. Is it narrower than the DGT? Thanks for the tip on the colour. Critical if one is ordering sight unseen
 
Yeah, same, thanks for bringing up the string spacing, that's a deal-killer for me, unfortunately. (One of the reasons I won't go below 25" scale, and prefer 25.5" and above, is because I like the fret spacing. So string spacing would be just as important, and I would prefer not to have any narrower than I'm used to.)

It appears to be the same as the DGT, according to a quick perusal of the specs via Sweetwater:

Nut Widths:
Custom, Mira, Santana1.6875"
DGT, Fiore 1.656"
 
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I tried one at Dave’s a while ago. I liked the feel and the sounds. It’s a big lift for me price wise. I hope eventually they’ll start appearing on the used market and by then I won’t feel like $2K is too much to spend on a guitar.
 
i bought one. The string spacing didn’t have much affect for me but the deep c shape neck in combination with an unfinished/smooth neck gives me trouble. My hand just slides out of position with the round slick neck.
 
I tried one at Dave’s a while ago. I liked the feel and the sounds. It’s a big lift for me price wise. I hope eventually they’ll start appearing on the used market and by then I won’t feel like $2K is too much to spend on a guitar.

I've already seen a couple used ones for sale
 
I'm not sure what is was , just felt very different it is deeper feeling than any PRS I have. Thats why I mentioned Pattern Vintage depth and Pattern regular width. I would say it has the most in common with a big Tele neck. ( and I love big tele necks )
For me it was a combo of things , possibly not all the guitars fault and that happens with me sometime. I didn't love the Silver Sky at first either it was the second time I set one up that it started to click for me.
I think I might have been tempted even with the average first play had the deal been closer to what I was hoping for.
I may go play one again down the line or if the right deal pops up I may grab one and see if I jell with it.


Yeah, same, thanks for bringing up the string spacing, that's a deal-killer for me, unfortunately. (One of the reasons I won't go below 25" scale, and prefer 25.5" and above, is because I like the fret spacing. So string spacing would be just as important, and I would prefer not to have any narrower than I'm used to.)

It appears to be the same as the DGT, according to a quick perusal of the specs via Sweetwater:

Nut Widths:
Custom, Mira, Santana1.6875"
DGT, Fiore 1.656"
 
My deal breaker with the Fiore (and SS) is the strat like knob placement. I can't get used to it and I am always banging and moving the volume knob. Both sound phenomenal, so it is a tough pass. :(

That said, I do have a sweet black 305 that feels much more traditional PRS like with similar specs. Anyone know if the PTC is open again for doing mods? I would love to throw a humbucker in the bridge position. :)
 
Did a mini guitar store tour yesterday and ran across a fiore. Its a nice enough guitar that sounded good, played well, but honestly nothing about it said buy me. I really did want to like this one as I'm more of an HSS guy for S style guitars.

Screenshot_20211031-213134_Gallerye947a91f89474722.jpg
 
My deal breaker with the Fiore (and SS) is the strat like knob placement. I can't get used to it and I am always banging and moving the volume knob. Both sound phenomenal, so it is a tough pass. :(

That said, I do have a sweet black 305 that feels much more traditional PRS like with similar specs. Anyone know if the PTC is open again for doing mods? I would love to throw a humbucker in the bridge position. :)

I have the same issue with accidentally turning down my Strat's volume. I put a small o-ring around the pot shaft. That stiffened the action of the knob up enough that a slight bump doesn't change the knob position but it isn't so stiff as to be difficult to turn down. Did the same on a couple of pedals that I was accidentally re-adjusting with my foot while turning them on/off. I think I got this little mod from a video interview with Paul Gilbert.
 
Has anyone put their hands on both the Fiore and an Ibanez AZ2204? Can you describe the tone differences?

I am planning on purchasing one this week. Watched pretty much all of the available videos, and want to hear a first hand comparison. Seems like the Fiore might be more neutral in tone. The AZ seemed a little thinner. Am I way off?
 
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Has anyone put their hands on both the Fiore and an Ibanez AZ2204? Can you describe the tone differences?

Not that Prestige AZ you mentioned, but I had the Premium AZ224F. Your mileage may vary, but IMO the Fiore has better pickups than the Hyperion pickups in the AZ. (The AZ has possibly more "options" due to the Dyna-Mix switching?)

I'm sure that the Prestige-level AZ would be closer in fit & finish to the Fiore, but the Fiore (again IMO) is way better than the AZ224F that I had...and I'd also pick it over the Prestige AZ that I played that belonged to another local guitarist (don't recall the model but it was a sunburst with 2 humbuckers).
 
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