Which one suprised you the most?

[Alarik]

Ok. Some times you expect a guitar to sound and play great. And some times you've pretty mych made up your mind that it wont before you even tried it.

And some times you pick up a guitar that blows your mind when i comes to tone and playability.

I for one dont like, SC pups. I dont care for how the pattern regular neck feels compared to the other ones. I kinda don't like the look of the modern birds. I usally like a maple top...
Then i picked up a 305. When looking at the specs this would never be a match made in heaven.
But boy, everytime i give this one a spinn it just inspires me to play out of my comfort zone, it sound amazing and i dont know what i would do with out it.
[COLOR=rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.701961)]








Have you ever hade the same experience?
If so, what guitar was it? [/COLOR]

 

[tiboy]

For me it was this one:



I had never played a Strat before ordering the EC Strat. I did not get on well with the few 3 pick up guitars I tried. The fret wire is vintage i.e. small. I preferred a shorter scale length. I always preferred HB's. In short there was absolutely no reason why I should like this guitar. I don't like it. I love it.

 

[clasbtenn]

I had no idea how this would sound. After getting it and hearing it, I found that it was more 3-D sounding then my wood guitars, and as natural sounding as any wood guitar I have played.
I'm hoping my PS 594 sounds as good.

 

[Mixstar]

some times you've pretty mych made up your mind that it wont before you even tried it

This I don't understand, IMHO the very first thing is to try it, see how it sounds, it's a musical instrument not a work of art. It may be it's an ugly mofo but if it plays that's what counts.

And some times you pick up a guitar that blows your mind when i comes to tone and playability

Exactly.

 

[11top]

it's a musical instrument not a work of art.

If you're buying it, it's whatever you want it to be.

 

[shinksma]

it's a musical instrument not a work of art.

If you're buying it, it's whatever you want it to be.

It doesn't need to be either, but it is ideal when it is both! Aaaannd, art can take many forms and doesn't need to be flashy - my 305 may seem plainer than some of my other PRSi, but it has its own reserved beauty, if you will.

Anyway, when it comes to PRS, I have had no surprises - I expected them to play really well, and they all have - except ones that were set up poorly. In fact, the one surprise I had was playing a "new" Whale Blue CU24 at a GC when I was first on the hunt for a PRS. It was set up so poorly, I couldn't believe it - action was high, strings felt awkward, there was just a whole lot of things "wrong" with it. I have no idea how it got so out of sorts and wasn't fixed by a tech.

 

[veinbuster]

The first Private Stock I got. It looked amazing and I knew it would play and sound as good as the PRS I already had, but I was blown away with how good it sounded when I got it home to my amp and how easily it played.

 

[Alarik]

This I don't understand, IMHO the very first thing is to try it, see how it sounds, it's a musical instrument not a work of art. It may be it's an ugly mofo but if it plays that's what counts.Exactly.

Not based on looks. Based on spec only.

 

[Dusty Chalk]

Parker Fly Deluxe -- looks alien, technological, cold, analytical. You hear about some of the technical aspects -- wood covered in a carapace, the body affected the sound so much he had to have the pickups wound special -- and that presumption is reinforced. But then you play it and it's warm and organic. I <3.

 

[Spikedog007]

I was surprised when I played my brothers early 70's LP deluxe. The frets are about gone, the neck is worn, the action is a bit high and he strung it with 11's (10's are as high as I go). Still, that thing played really well, bends were easy, chords rang out and sounded great. Now it didn't play as well as my PRSi but I was expecting to have to really fight it, I was wrong!

 

[Tosca]

For me it was this one:



I had never played a Strat before ordering the EC Strat. I did not get on well with the few 3 pick up guitars I tried. The fret wire is vintage i.e. small. I preferred a shorter scale length. I always preferred HB's. In short there was absolutely no reason why I should like this guitar. I don't like it. I love it.

+1 on this...best strats ever...the mid boost assure you'll never miss a Humbucker, super comfy neck

Parker Fly Deluxe -- looks alien, technological, cold, analytical. You hear about some of the technical aspects -- wood covered in a carapace, the body affected the sound so much he had to have the pickups wound special -- and that presumption is reinforced. But then you play it and it's warm and organic. I <3.

+1 on this. I prefer the Mojo Fly Deluxe w the SD pickup set. To this day the neck I can play fastest on. Weighs 4.5 pounds...sustains far better than any Les Paul I've ever tried. Technology (esp the bridge) way ahead of it's time.

 

[Tosca]

Should add that every PRS exceeds my expectations...and the Private Stocks are beyond anything else out there. Also...if you can get your hands on a PRS graphite reinforced neck electric or carbon fiber reinforced acoustic (non adjustable TRs)...be prepared to have your concepts on the physics of sustain, tuning stability, consistent action and acoustic volume seriously challenged. Don't understand why these are not more popular...we guitar players are a stubborn bunch.

 

[dogrocketp]

I was playing a theatre gig at a local high school (the money was good.) I needed a solid body, because I played nothing but archtops for about 10 years. There was a PRS Singlecut SE P90 for sale for a couple of hundred. I decided to give it a whirl. That was my first PRS, and I still have it. I couldn`t believe any guitar could have a neck so well in tune. I was an endorser for Earvana Compensated nuts. I still have them on a couple of archtops. I never put one on any PRS, never had to. THis was after years of fighting the big brands to stay in tune.

 

[elvis]

PRS always surprised me as being exceptionally beautiful and well-made, but always left me disappointed. To me they were the guitar I would build if I built guitars, but I could never find one I was happy playing. It always bothered me.

Last year I wound up taking a 2008 SC245 in trade for an amp I was trying to sell. I expected to flip it, but started playing it just because it was there hanging around. I noticed at some point that it was the first guitar I would pick up on any given day. I bonded with it in a big way, and it is still my first-call guitar. I did change the pickups, though. I don't like "vintage PAF", I like a guitar with some teeth. So I have BKP Cold Sweats in it, and I always get comments that it is by far my best-sounding guitar.

Also I think the birds are the nicest inlays of any brand.

 

[fender1punk]

My Gibson SG. I got it cheap, but it plays like a million bucks. Blew my much more expensive Lester out of the water. It's my go to backup for my Core.

 

[Russ73]

I grabbed an S2 Satin standard cheap from sweetwater and I figured its the bottom of the line US, mostly US should I say PRS guitar, but its incredible! resonates, sings, plays fantastic and the pups sound great. maybe I just got a good one but damn what a good bargain purchase! As far as non PRS I picked up a Mexican Jaguar, fender, with 2 HBs that absolutely rips....also I think I just got a winner on that one, I have a feeling there are a lot more great PRS Satins out there...

 

[sergiodeblanc]

The first SE I got. I was a snobby lil' b!tch about 'em until I took a Tremonti in trade.

 

[clasbtenn]

Should add that every PRS exceeds my expectations...and the Private Stocks are beyond anything else out there. Also...if you can get your hands on a PRS graphite reinforced neck electric or carbon fiber reinforced acoustic (non adjustable TRs)...be prepared to have your concepts on the physics of sustain, tuning stability, consistent action and acoustic volume seriously challenged. Don't understand why these are not more popular...we guitar players are a stubborn bunch.

Tosca is totally correct.
My main 3 guitars are hollow carbon fiber, and my Vigier uses a carbon fiber neck reinforcement. Vigier has been doing this for 30 years already.
My PS will have the carbon graphite truss rod.

 

[Dusty Chalk]

I will be the contrarian regarding PRS, but I'm new to them and guitars in general. But that's to say that my expectations are high, and I've never been disappointed.

Maybe I just need to be disappointed by other manufacturers more, then I'll realize how good I've got it.

 

[veinbuster]

Maybe I just need to be disappointed by other manufacturers more, then I'll realize how good I've got it.

I have some decent guitar from other manufacturers. The key with PRS was that with others I would try quite a few before I found one that seemed right to me. PRS was the first where quality was consistent enough that I could tell my wife she could just buy me one she liked the looks of - which she has done a couple of times now. Most notably with the Baby Dragon - her name for what most people consider a Westie.