What's Your Best Playing/Feeling PRS?

[justmund]

BTW I've been hoping PRS fingerboard redius to become flatter to fit low action setting and shredding. I don't understand why they're sticking with outdated 10-inches radius while other main competitors have long gone compound or 14-inches.

It's probably just because that's what Paul prefers. BTW there's plenty of guys out there doing some serious shredding on these guitars, e.g. this guy:

 

[Maertl513]

@FunkyFreeman, who´s caring about the fretboard radius if he grabs a guitar?
My custom made guitar has got a 12" radius fretboard on a Wide Fat neck profile.
This Wide Fat neck profile has been taken of a sample of three McCartys (from the same production year, but only the profiles name was the same).
Do we feel actually the difference between 10 or 12" on the same width of a fretboard?
If you come up with 7 and more strings it might be better having a flatter radius (Why not more than 14"?) or even compound.
You could question, by all rules of tone or seeking the best sounding guitar, why PRS is so old fashioned remaining on constant scales and orthogonal orientated frets. Multi scale, fanned or tempered frets are the new pigs that are being chased through the village.
If Paul and his R&D team are not convinced of those improvements for best intonation or sound or playability they won´t implement that.

 

[prsrocker1988]

I love all of them but soundwise my McCarty is a fav, just because I love P90s and the way they handle my rhythm guitar playing and when I do play lead, it'll cut through any mix.

Playing/feel wise, they are all perfect.

But it's hard to go wrong with any of these:

 

[alantig]

How does one play rock 'n' roll with one's shirt tucked in? Does not compute.

I always tuck my shirt in. No one wants to see my gut peeking out.

But by and large (no pun intended), it doesn't matter which I d0. If I tuck my shirt in, all night long people are shouting "Get that tucker off the stage! That tucker can't rock!" And if I don't tuck, people get upset at the gut poking out now and then, and they yell "Tuck you! Tuck!!!"

 

[alantig]

Thanks for the clarification. I've yet to hear of the nitro finish checking on a PRS but I suppose it might happen. Then again, vintage LP's are eyed with suspicion unless they have checking. Why shouldn't nitro PRSi get the same love? Doesn't it "open up the sound?"

IIRC, back in the BaM days, someone deliberately tried to get a DGT to check and couldn't do it. They ended up having it manually done with a razor blade.

 

[CoreyT]

That would be my 408, followed closely by my sons SE Custom 22 Semi Hollow I got him for Christmas.

I have said it before in other threads, but his Custom 22 is the best feeling SE I have ever played.
Almost makes me want to buy one and put all black pickups in it with black rings.

 

[bodia]

One word...suspenders. Or, better yet, forget the pants, they're overrated.

Argh...late to the party. F'er christsakes.....they make "pants" with draw strings and elastic bands. They're called sweat pants. These days, they make more than just the plain old grandpa gray ones. Some are very fashion forward. In addition to being easy on a guitar's finish, they're also time savers. No zipper to worry about, no belt to buckle.

 

[veinbuster]

Argh...late to the party. F'er christsakes.....they make "pants" with draw strings and elastic bands. They're called sweat pants. These days, they make more than just the plain old grandpa gray ones. Some are very fashion forward. In addition to being easy on a guitar's finish, they're also time savers. No zipper to worry about, no belt to buckle.

And don't forget Velcro. I hate the stuff because it shreds my fingers, but it keeps your board shorts from falling down your butt.

 

[pjdude]

My McRosie. Bought her new in Spring 2000 at Fred's in Shillington PA. Haven't done much to her - straplocks and TonePros bridge lockdowns is all. This guitar is the one by which all other guitars in my life are judged against. I believe all the planets lined up the day this one was born.

 

[László]

One word...suspenders. Or, better yet, forget the pants, they're overrated.

I love all of them but soundwise my McCarty is a fav, just because I love P90s and the way they handle my rhythm guitar playing and when I do play lead, it'll cut through any mix.

Playing/feel wise, they are all perfect.

But it's hard to go wrong with any of these:

Great set, and...I'm digging the Skynyrd tapestry/flag/decor.

 

[garrett]

Hmm, the oft declared notion that guitars are merely tools. Rightly so.

But I know of at least one entity that subscribes to a different view of PRS guitars - the Metropolitan Museum of Art:
http://www.prsguitars.com/index.php/news/story/prs_guitars_in_the_metropolitan_museum_of_art

How do you subject fine art to what would be inevitable damage?

How many times have forum members labelled a private stock guitar the meaning of life just based on its looks? If you purchased (at a dear price mind you) something because of its beauty, how could you subject it to anything that would undermine/destroy its beauty?

It's all cognitively, emotionally and psychologically incompatible isn't it?

Conundrum, conundrum! But a happy one!

Speaking only for myself, an epiphone SG is a tool. A private stock McCarty is art. Heck, a 57/08 LTD is art.

Tools or Art? You be the judge:
http://www.prsguitars.com/index.php...tar/collection_series_iii_mccarty_semi_hollow

http://www.prsguitars.com/index.php/privatestock/gallery_guitar/collection_series_ii_dgt

http://www.prsguitars.com/index.php...s_the_2014_collection_series_by_private_stock

I say they are tools, but more specifically, they are functional pieces of art. The question lies in did you by it for its beauty or did you buy it for its functionality as a tool?

Geez, this thread is getting deep.

 

[László]

Argh...late to the party. F'er christsakes.....they make "pants" with draw strings and elastic bands. They're called sweat pants. These days, they make more than just the plain old grandpa gray ones. Some are very fashion forward. In addition to being easy on a guitar's finish, they're also time savers. No zipper to worry about, no belt to buckle.

Being a grandpa, I wear the grey ones.

But I also have navy and black.

I wear them to work out in, or on a Sunday lounging around. But...not on the street. I can't bring myself to be that old dude who wears sweatpants in the world. Yet.

They're very easy on guitars, though.

 

[László]

Hmm, the oft declared notion that guitars are merely tools. Rightly so.

But I know of at least one entity that subscribes to a different view of PRS guitars - the Metropolitan Museum of Art:
http://www.prsguitars.com/index.php/news/story/prs_guitars_in_the_metropolitan_museum_of_art

How do you subject fine art to what would be inevitable damage?

How many times have forum members labelled a private stock guitar the meaning of life just based on its looks? If you purchased (at a dear price mind you) something because of its beauty, how could you subject it to anything that would undermine/destroy its beauty?

It's all cognitively, emotionally and psychologically incompatible isn't it?

Conundrum, conundrum! But a happy one!

Speaking only for myself, an epiphone SG is a tool. A private stock McCarty is art. Heck, a 57/08 LTD is art.

Tools or Art? You be the judge:
http://www.prsguitars.com/index.php...tar/collection_series_iii_mccarty_semi_hollow

http://www.prsguitars.com/index.php/privatestock/gallery_guitar/collection_series_ii_dgt

http://www.prsguitars.com/index.php...s_the_2014_collection_series_by_private_stock

You know, I really like this post because it brings together some of the most wonderful things about the guitars we're passionate about.

I'll share my thinking: A beautiful instrument - whoever makes it - is both a means of artistic expression, and an artistic expression in itself.

But the essence of it is still that it is a musical instrument. This is why the musical instruments in museums that are playable get regular musical workouts - they are, in fact, played. Often, priceless instruments make the concert tour.

So you play it, risking the inevitable wear and tear, for its ability to help you express your own artistic ideas, because it's your own musical use of the thing that is the "highest and best use;" and the better the instrument, the more easily that is often accomplished.

That makes the risk of damaging the "work of art in itself" part significantly less important.

Also, a musical instrument can be repaired. Most of the works of musical instrument art in museums have, in fact, been repaired, often many times. If I had dinged my Northern Lights (20th Anni of PS), I'd have felt badly for about five...uh...I was going to say minutes and then realized it'd have been more like 5 DAYS ...but anyway, I'd probably have sent it to the PTC for repair and in any case, I'd never have felt regret about playing it.

Finally, I'd like to point out one more thing: while the looks of a PS are stellar -- and you're right, people often buy them for that reason alone -- I don't.

I empty out the wallet for them because PS - at least the ones I have - are absolutely amazing instruments. I can only speak for mine, but they all sustain longer, have "the tone," and have an incredible feel that puts even my Core stuff in the shade. I bought them to play them, not look at them. For me the looks are a fun bonus, something I can share here on the Forum, etc, but they aren' t the important thing.

It's my hope that my PS guitars never wind up in a museum, or hang on someone's wall as artwork. I hope they're played (and played well!) by my talented son on his future tours and records (his band Partybaby has a show at the Echo in LA Feb 9, then they're doing SXSW in March), and by my grandkids, and if not by them, then I hope they're played by real players who need a great instrument to express themselves with.

I hope they're appreciated and taken care of in a reasonable way, but I'd be happy to know they're loved and played.

 

[CVS]

Have been thinking about my selection for a few days and I have to say the NF3 is my 1st pick, primarily because the thin neck fits my small hands and fingers so well. It is really easy to play for me. On the other hand, if someone told me that I could only keep one of the PRS's that I currently own, this guitar would not be the one I keep as other criteria enter into the picture.

 

[SteveB123]

I don't think anyone has mentioned a Stripped 58 yet. I love the playability, feel, and tonal range of my Stripped 58 goldtop. When I play it, it makes me want to play more! What a guitar.

 

[pjdude]

I don't think anyone has mentioned a Stripped 58 yet. I love the playability, feel, and tonal range of my Stripped 58 goldtop. When I play it, it makes me want to play more! What a guitar.

I have a Stripper that I like very much, but in the end, I think I'm more of a double-cut dude.

 

[toothace]

I have a Stripper that I like very much, but in the end, I think I'm more of a double-cut dude.

What's not to like about a stripper...

 

[strat63]

This is a tough question for me to answer. Due to neck and shoulder issues, how a guitar balances on a strap has become very important if I want to play at all standing up. The Charcoal CU22 in the picture below is the easiest playing and best sounding PRS I have by a large margin but I can't play it on a strap. All I can do is look at it hanging on the wall. Very sad seeing as this is a very special guitar.

What I've found is a CU24 seems to have a little better balance on a strap and is far more comfortable to play. It's got me thinking that it's time to start looking at new CU24s. The one below is currently the one that works the best for me. It's not as spectacular as my favorite CU22 but it's still a great playing guitar. 25 years old and still going strong.

 

[László]

I am thrifty and extravagant in a strange way, I guess. I find PS guitars way too extravagant for me to play on, but passing up the chance for their company in my life would be too thrifty.

As Yoda would say, gone about my guitars the wrong way round, I have.

Not at all, and I think I might have felt that way if it hadn't been for a coming-together of events and situations that were unusual - for me.

What happened was that I felt I needed a maple bodied acoustic. I'd had a couple of Collings that met that spec, and missed that kind of tone for certain recording sessions. However, I had a cocobolo Tonare Grand with an ebony fingerboard. I loved it, but still wanted the maple. The only way to get one was to go the PS route, and I decided to do that.

I wasn't after the bling of a PS, nor the fancy wood, the coco Tonare (then a Core model) had more than enough bling for me. So I spec'd out a very plain PS compared to most, simply to get the woods of choice, in 2013.

When the guitar came, it was, to say the least, a revelation. Yes, it was the same model of acoustic with different woods. But there was something about it that was literally incredible in the way it sounded and played. It was the best sounding and playing acoustic guitar I'd ever held in my hands, and that not only includes my old Collings guitars, my 41 series Martins, and 900 series Taylors, I've also played Gurians and Bozos from the 70s, Olson, and many, many other high end guitars.

So we're talking rarified company here.

Then in 2014, I was looking for the perfect Singlecut. And PRS had just come out with a run of PS McCarty Singlecuts. My friend and dealer Jack Gretz had just gotten in an Artist Relations model made by the PS Dept. I called to ask about it, and he made me a video of it. The thing sounded like an old LP in that video, and I was really intrigued. Because of my great luck with the acoustic, I went for it. Damn the expense, full speed ahead! And it was not only phenomenal, everything I'd ever loved in both a PRS and that old-school Single-cutaway tone, but the feel and playability were off the chart and honestly, the guitar put the Core Singlecuts, SC58, SC245, I've had in the shade in every way.

I immediately started using it in my work. Ad track after track.There's no way you let a guitar this playable and this good-sounding sit on the wall or in a case. It'd just be wrong, for me. YMMV.

Easily the most useful studio guitar I'd ever owned up to that time. In a way, well...you know the difference between the feel of a Core PRS and an SE? This is a similar kind of thing.

Then the 30th Anniversary PS came out, and when Jack got one in, I didn't have to think about it very long -- another video, and I was hooked. And what an instrument it is! Open, clear-sounding, different enough from the McSC that it's useful in entirely different ways.

It's the same with the "20th Anni of PS" PS. Simply a unique guitar! This time I didn't wait for the video, I just jumped on getting one ordered as soon as they were announced. The reward? I've never played, let alone owned, a guitar whose notes literally fly off the fretboard like this. Incredible tone. For days. Again, how can this just sit in a collection somewhere, and not be played? I couldn't think of it that way.

So my thinking on PS, what it's about, and who it's for, has changed, because at one time, I thought it'd just be about the bling, the top the artistry, etc. That is simply not the case. It's more about the instrument qua instrument, than anything else!

A work of art? That, too. But a playable work of art, whose primary function is clearly and absolutely, making music.

I tend to like these "stock" PS instruments, as opposed to thinking about a custom order, actually. I don't really know what I want, I kinda like the ideas PRS has more than my own. Because I don't design guitars for a living, I just play 'em.

One thing: I have a Core Wood Library McCarty, and it's a great instrument. But it's a different kind of thing than PS. Both, PS and Core, are great, all are keepers.

 

[Screamingdaisy]

When the guitar came, it was, to say the least, a revelation. Yes, it was the same model of acoustic with different woods. But there was something about it that was literally incredible in the way it sounded and played. It was the best sounding and playing acoustic guitar I'd ever held in my hands, and that not only includes my old Collings guitars, my 41 series Martins, and 900 series Taylors, I've also played Gurians and Bozos from the 70s, Olson, and many, many other high end guitars.

So we're talking rarified company here.

Then in 2014, I was looking for the perfect Singlecut. And PRS had just come out with a run of PS McCarty Singlecuts. My friend and dealer Jack Gretz had just gotten in an Artist Relations model made by the PS Dept. I called to ask about it, and he made me a video of it. The thing sounded like an old LP in that video, and I was really intrigued. Because of my great luck with the acoustic, I went for it. Damn the expense, full speed ahead! And it was not only phenomenal, everything I'd ever loved in both a PRS and that old-school Single-cutaway tone, but the feel and playability were off the chart and honestly, the guitar put the Core Singlecuts, SC58, SC245, I've had in the shade in every way.

I immediately started using it in my work. Ad track after track.There's no way you let a guitar this playable and this good-sounding sit on the wall or in a case. It'd just be wrong, for me. YMMV.

Easily the most useful studio guitar I'd ever owned up to that time. In a way, well...you know the difference between the feel of a Core PRS and an SE? This is a similar kind of thing.

IMO, we live in a society that believes that you don't need to pay top dollar to receive top quality, and that anything above a certain (usually arbitrary) price point is throwing money away....

.....but in my experience, you generally get what you pay for.