gush
Where is that speedo pic
I Would Own That Korina Mira
What first prs to buy?
- Thread starter steely_dan
- Start date
That is a gorgeous axeI would not turn my nose up to a core Mira. I have owned four PRSi, all of which were purchased new. I have parted with a 1995 Standard 24 and a 2011 one-off Custom 24. I still own a 2009 Mira Korina and 2011 McCarty 58. If I could only keep one guitar, it would be the Mira Korina. However, then again, it has been through the PRS Tech Center and is not stock.
I would do dirty things to it
dcm_guitar
New Member
Are you looking for something closer to the LP or the Tele?
FWIW, I just bought a new Vela hard tail. It's sort of a weird love child between a Tele and an SG. I'd DEFINITELY recommend it, and it's well within your price range. Give it a go!!!
FWIW, I just bought a new Vela hard tail. It's sort of a weird love child between a Tele and an SG. I'd DEFINITELY recommend it, and it's well within your price range. Give it a go!!!
steely_dan
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I ordered a satin s2 used from a well known guitar site. The store is about a 24 hour drive away, so I had to ask someone to play it for me at the store. They said it played well, and they have a return policy, which I hopefully won't have to use. This seems like a nice option to appease me until I can find a core.
What really sold me is a video where the prs president talks about making the s2 on youtube. I like that the neck feels the same as a core, and it comes from the maryland factory. Second thing is that practically every clip I've heard on yt of the s2 with the 85/15 S pickups sounds amazing. Last thing is there are people touring with the s2. There's a video where steve vai's guitarist is using an s2 on tour.
What really sold me is a video where the prs president talks about making the s2 on youtube. I like that the neck feels the same as a core, and it comes from the maryland factory. Second thing is that practically every clip I've heard on yt of the s2 with the 85/15 S pickups sounds amazing. Last thing is there are people touring with the s2. There's a video where steve vai's guitarist is using an s2 on tour.
D
Deleted member 5962
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I would not turn my nose up to a core Mira. I have owned four PRSi, all of which were purchased new. I have parted with a 1995 Standard 24 and a 2011 one-off Custom 24. I still own a 2009 Mira Korina and 2011 McCarty 58. If I could only keep one guitar, it would be the Mira Korina. However, then again, it has been through the PRS Tech Center and is not stock.
Uh... WOW! WANT!
jxe
babe en der wood
lol at ‘steve vai’s guitarist’.
merciful-evans
Portsmouth uk
steely_dan
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lol, yeah, idk how many people would know dave weiner. I guess since it's this forum and prs everyone knows him. I saw he was on the list of musicians at experience prs.
I was reading the prs electric book last night. It mentioned the experience prs, which just happened. I watched clips on youtube of it yesterday before I knew exactly what I was watching. The book said you could buy guitars there and there's hundreds to play. I'm pretty sure you can still buy there since a ton of dealers probably go? [edit] I just saw someone from this forum bought a guitar there. [/edit]
On paper, I'm leaning more towards something like a mccarty violin II. I started looking at the prices of the Paul's 28, so I was surprised to see that the mccarrty II violin's were the same price as a private stock. I was expecting them to be more. It'd be amazing to have a ton of private stock guitars in once place just to see if they were worth the price to me over the standard models, and even then I could try out so many different standard models all in one place. Not a ton of different customs, but hollowbodies, semihollowbodies, near field pickups, ect.
I'm going to save up enough to go to the experience prs 3-4 years from now and get a private stock or a few standard non-private stock models. I'm getting more and more into the violin mindset where I want something really nice. Fortunately, nice guitar prices are a fraction of the cost of nice violins.
I was reading the prs electric book last night. It mentioned the experience prs, which just happened. I watched clips on youtube of it yesterday before I knew exactly what I was watching. The book said you could buy guitars there and there's hundreds to play. I'm pretty sure you can still buy there since a ton of dealers probably go? [edit] I just saw someone from this forum bought a guitar there. [/edit]
On paper, I'm leaning more towards something like a mccarty violin II. I started looking at the prices of the Paul's 28, so I was surprised to see that the mccarrty II violin's were the same price as a private stock. I was expecting them to be more. It'd be amazing to have a ton of private stock guitars in once place just to see if they were worth the price to me over the standard models, and even then I could try out so many different standard models all in one place. Not a ton of different customs, but hollowbodies, semihollowbodies, near field pickups, ect.
I'm going to save up enough to go to the experience prs 3-4 years from now and get a private stock or a few standard non-private stock models. I'm getting more and more into the violin mindset where I want something really nice. Fortunately, nice guitar prices are a fraction of the cost of nice violins.
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steely_dan
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Hated the satin s2 I ordered use. I'm surprised how weird the satin s2's feel. There was a used s2 semihollow for 1k which felt really good, but that's getting so close to the price of a core. I'd rather have a cu22. They feel like a step up to me, but I can't verbalize why. I can see why a core > s2 or s2 > se wouldn't be worth the price difference to some people, but imo it's worth it. Anyway, I learned my lesson not to buy without playing it first.
I bought a used se with moon inlays that played amazing. Not as good as the semihollow s2, but better than the other s2's I tried in stock. The price was ridiculously low for some reason. I bought it more for my friend who will buy it off me, but if they hate it I don't mind keeping it. I liked it so much I didn't even bother looking up anything about it.
The other se's I didn't like at all. Idk what it is about some guitars that make them feel unpleasant or cheap to me. I can't tell until I play it. I don't feel too snobby about the price or where it was made. On average, I like most the mexican and especially the indonesian fenders way better than the americans I've been picking up the past year.
Anyway, there are no used cores in store in my city at the moment even though I live in a big city. I'll keep on waiting, but I'm going to try really hard to make it to the next experience prs.
I bought a used se with moon inlays that played amazing. Not as good as the semihollow s2, but better than the other s2's I tried in stock. The price was ridiculously low for some reason. I bought it more for my friend who will buy it off me, but if they hate it I don't mind keeping it. I liked it so much I didn't even bother looking up anything about it.
The other se's I didn't like at all. Idk what it is about some guitars that make them feel unpleasant or cheap to me. I can't tell until I play it. I don't feel too snobby about the price or where it was made. On average, I like most the mexican and especially the indonesian fenders way better than the americans I've been picking up the past year.
Anyway, there are no used cores in store in my city at the moment even though I live in a big city. I'll keep on waiting, but I'm going to try really hard to make it to the next experience prs.
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jxe
babe en der wood
dave winer from scripting.com?
steely_dan
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I played the used prs at the guitar store again since they dropped the price. If you want to skip to the end to see the spoiler and cliffs you can save some time, but I'll list everything that was wrong with the guitar first. I played it for at least 20-30 minutes. The tech changed the high e string because I noticed this time that it seemed like a thicker gauge string. That helped fix some of the string jumping off the fretboard problem, but now it had the problem at the third fret instead of the fifth. It wasn't as bad so I kept playing. I really tried to like the guitar. I actually planned to buy it after he changed the string since it felt better, but the more I kept playing the more problems I found.
The low E string sounded extremely dead when tuned to drop D. I haven't had this problem on any guitar. I detuned the string and looked at the nut, but the nut and bridge saddle seemed fine. The only thing I could think of was that it was a weird string, like an elixir. The tech said it had clear coat strings on it. I haven't heard of it, but I said it sounded like some kind of elixir string.
The B string wouldn't stay in tune. It would randomly go flat after some bends and a minute or two of playing. The trem did not feel great. I spent about 20 minutes playing before starting to use it as I don't use trems. The pickups didn't sound that good to me. Not bad, but I didn't feel anything while playing.
What made me want to like the guitar was that the neck and balance of the guitar were amazing. I brought the guitar back to the tech to see if he would change the low E string, but before he did I was showing the guitar to my friend and explaining the differences between the S2's and the cores to him. I said the neck is made in the same place with a different process, but the trem is different on the S2s. I went to show him the trem block and it was not a brass trem block. Then I showed him how they do the serial numbers and I'm like oh #$%^ I think it says '14 s2xxxxxx'. I thought maybe the s could have been a 2 which seemed possible for the 2014s, but the tech was nice enough to pull the pickups out for me and they were the s2 pickups.
Everything started to make sense to me. There's just a lot of little things wrong with the guitar.
I still love that guitar's neck and the balance of it. I think the trem and tuning problems would keep me away. There was a semihollow s2 that I liked at the sister store, but I didn't like the balance and neck of the guitar as much. I think it means I really need to hold out until I can make it to experience prs because I might be pickier than I thought at the core price point. I am pretty happy I was able to tell something was wrong with it by playability alone. I'm pretty mad at myself since it's obvious to see it's an s2 in hindsight because of the lack of violin carve, inlays, serial, and trem block. Even the pickups while playing should have been an easier giveaway. I have to learn to trust myself more, but sometimes I feel like I set the bar unrealistically high as well.
I'm not confident they'll relabel the guitar as an s2 instead of a core. The price tag has said a higher price than what it says online. They've lowered the price online twice already, but the tag in store is the same. The tech said that the person who changes the tags has been sick for a week. The only thing is the price has been lowered for well over a week now. I also don't think they restrung the guitar because the older strings had an 11 gauge string on the high E (tech checked it) while the others felt like the normal gauges for 10s to me, and the low E string felt awful even though it didn't have debris on it like it had been played a lot. That one confused me since it looked new but felt extremely dead. Like it was soggy.
Cliffnotes: The guitar store here has a used s2 custom 22 listed as a custom 22. It's misleading even though it doesn't say core because the used price started at what a core would go for, and more than what a new s2 goes for. Is there anyone I should pm a link of the guitar to on here to keep tabs on it, or is it vague enough where it's not worth it?
It's unacceptable that a store tries to pass off an s2 as a core model, even if it's not technically illegal. It is very shady. It's hard enough to find a core in person to try, and I finally think I find one only to find out that it's an s2 that is being sold as a core imo.
The low E string sounded extremely dead when tuned to drop D. I haven't had this problem on any guitar. I detuned the string and looked at the nut, but the nut and bridge saddle seemed fine. The only thing I could think of was that it was a weird string, like an elixir. The tech said it had clear coat strings on it. I haven't heard of it, but I said it sounded like some kind of elixir string.
The B string wouldn't stay in tune. It would randomly go flat after some bends and a minute or two of playing. The trem did not feel great. I spent about 20 minutes playing before starting to use it as I don't use trems. The pickups didn't sound that good to me. Not bad, but I didn't feel anything while playing.
What made me want to like the guitar was that the neck and balance of the guitar were amazing. I brought the guitar back to the tech to see if he would change the low E string, but before he did I was showing the guitar to my friend and explaining the differences between the S2's and the cores to him. I said the neck is made in the same place with a different process, but the trem is different on the S2s. I went to show him the trem block and it was not a brass trem block. Then I showed him how they do the serial numbers and I'm like oh #$%^ I think it says '14 s2xxxxxx'. I thought maybe the s could have been a 2 which seemed possible for the 2014s, but the tech was nice enough to pull the pickups out for me and they were the s2 pickups.
Everything started to make sense to me. There's just a lot of little things wrong with the guitar.
I still love that guitar's neck and the balance of it. I think the trem and tuning problems would keep me away. There was a semihollow s2 that I liked at the sister store, but I didn't like the balance and neck of the guitar as much. I think it means I really need to hold out until I can make it to experience prs because I might be pickier than I thought at the core price point. I am pretty happy I was able to tell something was wrong with it by playability alone. I'm pretty mad at myself since it's obvious to see it's an s2 in hindsight because of the lack of violin carve, inlays, serial, and trem block. Even the pickups while playing should have been an easier giveaway. I have to learn to trust myself more, but sometimes I feel like I set the bar unrealistically high as well.
I'm not confident they'll relabel the guitar as an s2 instead of a core. The price tag has said a higher price than what it says online. They've lowered the price online twice already, but the tag in store is the same. The tech said that the person who changes the tags has been sick for a week. The only thing is the price has been lowered for well over a week now. I also don't think they restrung the guitar because the older strings had an 11 gauge string on the high E (tech checked it) while the others felt like the normal gauges for 10s to me, and the low E string felt awful even though it didn't have debris on it like it had been played a lot. That one confused me since it looked new but felt extremely dead. Like it was soggy.
Cliffnotes: The guitar store here has a used s2 custom 22 listed as a custom 22. It's misleading even though it doesn't say core because the used price started at what a core would go for, and more than what a new s2 goes for. Is there anyone I should pm a link of the guitar to on here to keep tabs on it, or is it vague enough where it's not worth it?
It's unacceptable that a store tries to pass off an s2 as a core model, even if it's not technically illegal. It is very shady. It's hard enough to find a core in person to try, and I finally think I find one only to find out that it's an s2 that is being sold as a core imo.
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Outlier22
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Steely_Dan, I want to think the store just made a mistake. If you think it was intentional, I would not buy any guitar from this store!
...on a side note, I did buy a Fender Strat from Musician Friend about 10 years ago and was shocked how nice it was setup right out of the box. You could always buy a new s2 from Musician Friend or Sweetwater and return it if you don't like it. A friend of mine bought and returned 3 Les Paul's because he didn't like how they were setup or played. I don't think you have to pay for return shipping but might want to look into that before buying.
Regarding the S2, you said; " There was a used s2 semihollow for 1k which felt really good, but that's getting so close to the price of a core." Are you looking at used only? I'm guessing this must be a 2016 or newer guitar if it's selling used for $1k. If you get any core CU24 for under $2000, it's going to be much older and might need fretwork, setup, electronic work, etc... something to consider as it will add to your price.
I just bought my first PRS a few months ago. I was sold on an S2 custom 22 or 24 after selling my SE Santana and Strat. I talked myself into the S2 being a lower priced US made (or at least assembled) PRS with locking tuners and split coil humbuckers. But I changed my mind after a trip to Guitar Center where I got to compare an S2 Custom 24 with a CE24. The satin finish and shape of the CE neck as well as the sound of those US 85/15 pickups sold me immediately! So I put my money down and came back with the balance two weeks later.
So it's NOT quite a CU24 core model, but almost half the price of the core model. It's only $500 more than the S2 Custom 24 and in my opinion blows away the S2. It's definitely worth considering. If you can find one to play, I would at least go try one out.
...on a side note, I did buy a Fender Strat from Musician Friend about 10 years ago and was shocked how nice it was setup right out of the box. You could always buy a new s2 from Musician Friend or Sweetwater and return it if you don't like it. A friend of mine bought and returned 3 Les Paul's because he didn't like how they were setup or played. I don't think you have to pay for return shipping but might want to look into that before buying.
Regarding the S2, you said; " There was a used s2 semihollow for 1k which felt really good, but that's getting so close to the price of a core." Are you looking at used only? I'm guessing this must be a 2016 or newer guitar if it's selling used for $1k. If you get any core CU24 for under $2000, it's going to be much older and might need fretwork, setup, electronic work, etc... something to consider as it will add to your price.
I just bought my first PRS a few months ago. I was sold on an S2 custom 22 or 24 after selling my SE Santana and Strat. I talked myself into the S2 being a lower priced US made (or at least assembled) PRS with locking tuners and split coil humbuckers. But I changed my mind after a trip to Guitar Center where I got to compare an S2 Custom 24 with a CE24. The satin finish and shape of the CE neck as well as the sound of those US 85/15 pickups sold me immediately! So I put my money down and came back with the balance two weeks later.
So it's NOT quite a CU24 core model, but almost half the price of the core model. It's only $500 more than the S2 Custom 24 and in my opinion blows away the S2. It's definitely worth considering. If you can find one to play, I would at least go try one out.
steely_dan
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They still have it listed online as a custom 22 at a core price. I doubt they're going to change it. I think they want to pass it off as a core custom 22 in a shady way.
For a prs, I think it must be the bolt-on neck on the ce's that I don't like in the clips I'm hearing. I haven't heard a ce clip that I've liked yet, and sometimes I'll load up clips of a few videos and play them and minimize the video so I can't see exactly what I'm hearing and be fooled by looks. There was a clip that someone had of I think a 95 ce that I did like, and I'm not sure why it doesn't sound like a bolt-on to me. That being said, the s2 custom 24 clips I've heard sound great, but I didn't like the pickups on the one I played. I wonder if it's not the bolt-on that's affecting the sound on the ce's imo, and they started making the bodies or neck thinner around the heel joint to make them easier to play?
There's a lot of sites online with custom 22/24s for under 2k used with little fretwear, already setup, and some people have return policies, but I can't bring myself to get another guitar online again.
For a prs, I think it must be the bolt-on neck on the ce's that I don't like in the clips I'm hearing. I haven't heard a ce clip that I've liked yet, and sometimes I'll load up clips of a few videos and play them and minimize the video so I can't see exactly what I'm hearing and be fooled by looks. There was a clip that someone had of I think a 95 ce that I did like, and I'm not sure why it doesn't sound like a bolt-on to me. That being said, the s2 custom 24 clips I've heard sound great, but I didn't like the pickups on the one I played. I wonder if it's not the bolt-on that's affecting the sound on the ce's imo, and they started making the bodies or neck thinner around the heel joint to make them easier to play?
There's a lot of sites online with custom 22/24s for under 2k used with little fretwear, already setup, and some people have return policies, but I can't bring myself to get another guitar online again.
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Outlier22
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I also did a bit of searching and I recall finding a few good clips of the CE but way too many poor quality clips seemingly recorded with an iphone or something. And even most of the higher quality recordings didn't sell the guitar for me. While I looked briefly at the CE, I wasn't really considering this guitar - mostly because of the price. I was pretty decided on a whale blue S2 custom 22 or 24. But as I stated above, I instantly changed my mind after playing and hearing both guitars live.
Almost every demo talks about "snappier tones of a maple bolt on neck" but to be honest, I don't think I can really tell. It might be because I've been a Strat guy for years and so used to the bolt on maple neck sound?? But I feel like pickups, Amp voicing, and EQ make a larger impact on the sound. I don't have a mahogany set net core model with the same pickups to A/B test with. I'm sure I could tell the difference in the tone if I did. But my feeling is, you can get whatever tone you want out of this guitar based on your amp, EQ setting, and pedals you use.
Anyway, I don't want to try to talk you into a CE just because I have one lol. Sound like you are really set on a core model. I therefore would not recommend buying an S2 or CE as these guitars are never going to scratch your Core model itch. Your going to get the mahogany set neck you are looking for, better bridge, nicer tuners, nicer top carve, and abalone inlays! Start off with the guitar you want and it MIGHT save you some money in the long run.
...Okay it likely won't save you money. We all know it will lead to a 2nd. In fact I'm fairly sure that my purchase is only leading me into my first core model as well!
Good luck!
Almost every demo talks about "snappier tones of a maple bolt on neck" but to be honest, I don't think I can really tell. It might be because I've been a Strat guy for years and so used to the bolt on maple neck sound?? But I feel like pickups, Amp voicing, and EQ make a larger impact on the sound. I don't have a mahogany set net core model with the same pickups to A/B test with. I'm sure I could tell the difference in the tone if I did. But my feeling is, you can get whatever tone you want out of this guitar based on your amp, EQ setting, and pedals you use.
Anyway, I don't want to try to talk you into a CE just because I have one lol. Sound like you are really set on a core model. I therefore would not recommend buying an S2 or CE as these guitars are never going to scratch your Core model itch. Your going to get the mahogany set neck you are looking for, better bridge, nicer tuners, nicer top carve, and abalone inlays! Start off with the guitar you want and it MIGHT save you some money in the long run.
...Okay it likely won't save you money. We all know it will lead to a 2nd. In fact I'm fairly sure that my purchase is only leading me into my first core model as well!Good luck!
bluefade
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It doesn't matter which one you buy first, because after you buy one, you'll eventually buy them all...
sergiodeblanc
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Truth.
Just look on reverb and buy the most upscale model you can with the amount of money you have, then repeat until you die.
steely_dan
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Funny you say that, but I'm starting to realize that the wood library models seem to always sound the best to me. A new prs core gets a used wood library.
It doesn't make any sense to me logically since you would think the sound doesn't care how much flame is on the top as much as how thick the top is. Custom shop strats usually sound amazing as well, but I'm sure a lot of them don't have nicer flamed or quilted tops if at all. For whatever reason, the higher end models do have that little extra magic in the sound to me. I'm getting pretty obsessed with trying to figure out why.
