Which PRS for Blues/Jazz..Newbie here

tyt921

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Apr 3, 2014
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Hello Folks,

I am here because I LOVE the bird inserts! LOL. But I just want to add I been playing for 1 month. I love guitar already. I have a really beginners guitar ESP starter pack which I dont like the sound. I am looking for an upgrade. I was wondering which line of the PRS electric I should get for blues or Jazz. Occasionally soft rock. I am looking at the PRS SE and the SE 240 and the 24. Do all of them come with a gig bag? btw budget under 700. I tried strate and tele, which all sounded very twangy for my taste. The les paul, felt cheap. I held a PRS in my hand and it feels so good...now i havent had the chance to test out the sound. But anyone wanna chip in some suggestions?


thanks!!
 
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Hello Folks,

I am here because I LOVE the bird inserts! LOL. But I just want to add I been playing for 1 month. I love guitar already. I have a really beginners guitar ESP starter pack which I dont like the sound. I am looking for an upgrade. I was wondering which line of the PRS electric I should get for blues or Jazz. Occasionally soft rock. I am looking at the PRS SE and the SE 240 and the 24. Do all of them come with a gig bag? btw budget under 700. I tried strate and tele, which all sounded very twangy for my taste. The les paul, felt cheap. I held a PRS in my hand and it feels so good...now i havent had the chance to test out the sound. But anyone wanna chip in some suggestions?


thanks!!

The SE Zach Myers might be a good choice for your price range and musical interest. Under $700 will put you on a SE Korean model of some kind.

http://www.sweetwater.com/store/detail/SEZMTG/

Everyone will tell you to go play as many as possible. Look at all the big online stores; Sweetwater, American Musical, Musician’s Friend, Wildwood, etc. Any of the SE’s will be plenty good enough for a beginner and there are lot of pros out there gigging with them too. But I would say the same goes for MIM Strat’s, Tele’s, and imported Gibsons.

Remember the tone has as much to do with your amp as anything. What ever you get make sure it is set up by a pro who knows what he is doing. Then learn to do your own set ups. When you demo guitars, don’t be shy about telling the salesperson that you are a beginner. Then ask him to play it and see what he/she thinks. Ask things like “what is the best guitar in the store for under $700?” You will get a different answer for each person you ask.

Best of luck and stay with it!
 
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Being that you just started playing. I would say buy a used prs not new. You will get a better deal and able to get your money back if you change your mind. Also I would save a little more and go with a ce-22 usa model. Good luck
 
My personal opinion is the 24 fret instruments don't lend themselves tonally to those genres as much as the 22 fret ones, so I would focus on the latter that fall within your budget. YMMV of course, and there's no accounting for taste, but FWIW and there you go etc.
 
In the two options you mentioned, I would go with the SE 245. But I would definitely look at the SE Zach Myers. I am deeply looking into that one myself now too. Semi hollow and a great little guitar, gorgeous by the way too!
 
Yup, try as many as you can! :)

Give the ZM, SE 245 and Bernie Marsden a try. My vote is for the Bernie... Not much between them really as they sport the same pickups but the Bernie has that more bluesy vibe going for it. Check out the blues jam I did near the end of my demo (See my sig line).

Good luck... And only go home with the one that spoke to you the most!
 
You may also find a SE Custom Semi-Hollow for a good price, they're discontinued now that the ZM is out, but fantastic guitars! My buddy has one and I love it.
 
Welcome! But I'm going to be contrarian at first and say figure out what you don't like about the sound of your current setup. Also, it would be good to make sure your guitar is set up correctly, so you may need to check some good, local music stores with a tech/luthier available. I'm not that familiar with the ESP starter pack, but I believe the weak link in most of them is the amp. I'd replace that before shopping for another electric. You won't have to spend much to get a nice one for home use. The Roland Micro Cube and Tech 21 Trademark 30 (or used 10) are a couple of great choices. Some others include the Vox Pathfinder 15R (now discontinued) and the Yamaha THR.

Once you have an amp sorted and a set up guitar, you may find you don't need to shop for another just yet. But most of us are here to help enable buying them, so I'd also look to the PRS SEs as well (and outside PRS to the G&L Tributes. Also $700 may get you close to a US G&L or, eventually a US S2 PRS once they hit the used market). As for blues and jazz, about any guitar can be used to play any style. Certainly there are standards, like full hollow bodies for jazz, but you can really use any instrument. So I'd go with the one that most feels and sounds right to you.

But then again, I also like Strats and a Teles. (And with Teles, especially, it really helps to use the tone and volume controls).
 
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I'll second trying out a semi-hollow. I started playing on cheap Ibanez acoustic/electric, then got classical nylon to try learning classical style, but soon wanted to focus more on rock, so I got solid body electric Epiphone G400 (used and cheap), then thought maybe a semiacoustic would be nice to try, so I got Epiphone Dot Studio (used and cheap -- I was also looking at Ibanez Artcore models, but the Dot Studio was cheaper). After a couple years, getting past the "beginner" phase, I rewarded myself with PRS McCarty (solidbody). I could play the PRS all day long, it sound so good. It is basically a replacement for the G400 which, as a cheap guitar, has had just a lot of problems with build quality from tuners to pick ups to input jack and fret buzz up the wazzoo, so I did not play much rock, and the PRS totally fixes all that and makes it a joy.

That said, My Dot Studio was also nice to play, did not have the quality issues of the G400, and I still like to pick it up time to time. The real beauty of it, to my ear, is how the semi-hollow adds some element of breadth or twang or resonance or something (probably not using best words to describe) that is really sweet for jazzy tones or bluesy tones. I think semihollows are traditionally the common choice for a lot of jazz players, and I can see why. I have not even tried to get those tones from my PRS, which is more my rock n roll workhorse, though I guess with the right fx / amp set up, it would not surprise me if I could get similar tones in single coil mode. But I figure "right tool for the right job" and I'm not sure a PRS hardbody is really the best tool for jazz.

Now, if I could get a PRS semi-hollow to replace my Dot Studio, now that I have considered. If I get more into playing jazz or acoustic-ish blues where I want some jazzy-bright tones (rather than, say, SRV rockin' blues), I could see my next guitar purchase being a higher end semi-hollow.

So, to sum, if you've got the money for a higher end guitar than the Epiphone Dot Studio -- which you clearly do (I got mine for $150 used), I would recommend looking at PRS semi-hollow or even another brand of higher end semi-hollow. One great thing about a semi-hollow, at least in my experience with Dot Studio, is that it can also really rock out, play grunge, distortion. If I could only have two guitars, I'd probably pick my classical acoustic and my PRS solidbody electric. However, if I could only have one guitar period, I think I'd have to go for a semi-hollow that can sound nice (albeit soft) unplugged, can cover acoustic, jazz, blues, rock, and pretty much everything else. I think some semi-hollows are more hollow than others, and if they get TOO hollow, then I think they may not sound as good for true hard rock tones, but the Dot Studio is actually pretty small / thin, not a lot of hollowed out space in the body, which I think helps it sound like a solid body LP or something when I rock out. As much as I am raving bout the versatility of my Epiphone Dot Studio, I would not buy another (unless I had a very low budget) because of overall build quality not being ideal, but I think the concept is superb, and I bet the PRS semi-hollow nails it and addresses that concern, so that might very well be me "desert island" pick if I only get one guitar. But, full disclosure, I have not had the pleasure to play one yet.

Ken
 
Lots of good advice in the thread already. For jazz and blues, I'd stay away from the 24 fret models. If your budget is $700 USD, you're locked into an SE model. That said, I get amazing jazz and blues tones with my DGT. My Hollowbody Spruce also does an incredible job in those areas, too. Enjoy your search and your new guitar!
 
Lots of good advice in the thread already. For jazz and blues, I'd stay away from the 24 fret models. If your budget is $700 USD, you're locked into an SE model. That said, I get amazing jazz and blues tones with my DGT. My Hollowbody Spruce also does an incredible job in those areas, too. Enjoy your search and your new guitar!


so guys, I am thinking about the SE 245 as it is the only model with 22 frets I think. Other than that, i hear the fret board is wider than a strat, tele, even a les paul? anyone?
 
so guys, I am thinking about the SE 245 as it is the only model with 22 frets I think. Other than that, i hear the fret board is wider than a strat, tele, even a les paul? anyone?

I think it is the same as a Les Paul (1 11/16”). Which is wider than a Strat or Tele. For me, wider is better for first position playing. What sort of music instruction are you getting? Live lessons? On line? What?
 
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I think it is the same as a Les Paul (1 11/16”). Which is wider than a Strat or Tele. For me, wider is better for first position playing. What sort of music instruction are you getting? Live lessons? On line? What?

I actually have a les paul by epiphone right now. which i am about to return due to many reasons, build quality, constantly out of tune, frets were buzzing even after rod adjustment, and needed over 100 dollar of set up. which is redicilous i bought this at 599 out the door. its a custom pro...anyway lesson im just self teaching, youtubers, friends tell me learn chords first whihch is what im doing. im playing witht he pentatonic scales as well. learning a few easy songs i found on the web including slow blues song. I have below average small hands, but i can use the epiphone fine. its harder to grip, but easier to press frets...the strate and tele were just so fast to move....but im dead set on a prs...so..
 
I'd look to an se245 on the prs line. I'll also be unpopular and suggest a Gibson les paul melody maker. Yeah the finish feels cheap, but one thing Gibson does right is make p90s. I played one of these the other day and it just sounded sick. High gain, low gain, clean you name it.
 
so guys, I am thinking about the SE 245 as it is the only model with 22 frets I think. Other than that, i hear the fret board is wider than a strat, tele, even a les paul? anyone?

The 245, Bernie Marsden and ZM are all 22 fretters...

Wide board but... I can go quite easily between my Bernie and Strat than I could the SE Custom 24 which had a wide thin neck (And which I sold).
 
The 245, Bernie Marsden and ZM are all 22 fretters...

Wide board but... I can go quite easily between my Bernie and Strat than I could the SE Custom 24 which had a wide thin neck (And which I sold).

Hi guys, went to the store and tried on most of the guitars mentioned, but did not see a 245. I however, not dude to price concerns but I actually liked the profile of the opeth and the singlecut SE. the action was fine, and the tone was just as good to ym beginners ears. can you guys tell me more about the singlecut? what is it? custom 24 was good too.tried on santana, not sure if it was the price that turned me off or the color, but i didnt like it too much. \\

recently i found a guy selling a 245 se PRS on craigslist for 400 supposedly MINT, good deal? let me knowboys!
 
tremonti?

Does the Mark Tremonti SE fit this category too, 22 frets and the bluesy vibe? I notice it can be had for a bit cheaper. I played one and it felt good, a bit lighter than the 245, and seemed a bit smaller in the neck.

What do you guys think of it in comparison to the 245, ZM, and Marsden?
 
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