Your Feelings: Core or Imported?

For me the main difference, as when you play Core Series, you got that feeling of integrity, of having one whole thing resonating to your playing. Imported PRS are great guitars, but don't produce this feeling. Dunno how they achieve that by the Core Series, maybe is the match of wood between the neck and the body, maybe it's a kind of glue. Even unplugged the feeling is different. Tremolo-wise, none of them is perfect - yesterday I tried a DGT - and the G String went out of tune right after I pushed down the trem...
 
The SE Standard Hollowbody has excellent jazz tone.

This might be one of the few exceptions that we could agree on imported quality being close to that of core. The SE HB & SE HBII series is in that ballpark.

For me the main difference, as when you play Core Series, you got that feeling of integrity, of having one whole thing resonating to your playing. Imported PRS are great guitars, but don't produce this feeling. Dunno how they achieve that by the Core Series, maybe is the match of wood between the neck and the body, maybe it's a kind of glue. Even unplugged the feeling is different. Tremolo-wise, none of them is perfect - yesterday I tried a DGT - and the G String went out of tune right after I pushed down the trem...

That may be true, but it's not alway easy to assess "the whole vs the sum of its parts" mindset. The individual parts sum makes up the whole, and perhaps the combination of all of the parts together is what makes a good guitar a keeper. I really don't think either the USA or imported PRS have a "lock" on what the future of PRS will be. The truth may simply be how well PRS protects its design and can make use of expiring copyrighted designs so that either core or imported PRS can continue to grow as an industry.

The growth of a business occurs kind of the same way we all plant seeds. You prepare the soil, dig a small hole, place the seedling in the hole. You water the seedlings, protecting them from too much heat, and warding off predators, bind them firmly to help them grow straight and strong, pull weeds, give them a little fertilizer, water some more. Soon, your seedlings will produce something that will feed your family.

I think Paul has likely held this mindset for his business since day one, and made good use of cultivating his business the same way a farmer cultivates a cash crop. Maybe I'm wrong, but the first step to farming/gardening is preparing the soil. The rest follows implicitly.

The other mindset is that of a fisherman who fishes off of a dock, who simply walks up to a body of water, puts some bait on his hook, and drops a line into the water, and then he waits. One is work, the latter is a so-called sport. When one can differentiate between those who fish, and those who cultivate, it becomes clear as to how one approaches the way we deal with people we meet, and become friends with.

As a side note, one of my former best friends (his career now over) used to test me prior to gigs and say, "Hey, Bob, is this a G-chord?" Very quickly I learned a good lesson. I'd say, in reply, "If you're teaching me, where do you normally put your fingers with a G-chord?" My buddy would laugh. I still think the guy was a good teacher and entertainer.

And after the gig, while we were putting away gear and preparing to make the drive home, we would share experiences of making sure we didn't neglect the guys in the audience who were there following their shifts "of serving and protecting."

To those folks, we held a special place for them, 1) because one of my brothers not only builds, but also protects, and 2) It was these folks who saw to it that we all made it home safely. They watched out for us, and for that reason, my time at our open mics was appreciated.

Didn't matter if we smelled like smoke, sweat, or men's cologne. Sure, the entire venue was "guilty" of smelling badly, but the band played well by comparison. We all did our part to be sure we protected the safety of those who attended.
 
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For me the main difference, as when you play Core Series, you got that feeling of integrity, of having one whole thing resonating to your playing. Imported PRS are great guitars, but don't produce this feeling. Dunno how they achieve that by the Core Series, maybe is the match of wood between the neck and the body, maybe it's a kind of glue. Even unplugged the feeling is different. Tremolo-wise, none of them is perfect - yesterday I tried a DGT - and the G String went out of tune right after I pushed down the trem...
I believe the reason is a different mindset in making USA guitars, matched by the best in woods, electronics, and the skill of the employees. I own and enjoy every level of PRS. It doesn’t matter (in my mind) what instrument you play as long as you get the sounds you want out of it. I happen to play my core the most these days, except for an older Se CU 24 that just has “it.” I do believe that the trem systems need to be broken in. I use the trem a lot, and all my guitars stay in tune well. Any guitar has to be set up for YOU. If the axe has it, a good luthier can set it up for you.
 
Attitude. How you pounce on a given guitar dictates its potential ‘awesome’. Pick it up and strum it like a wilted flower and you get ‘meh’. Grab it and beat on it like it owes you money and you will squeeze out coolness! Where the guitar is made has less to do with that factor than you as a player. I give you an SE...

I can’t believe how many times I’ve had to post this video to get the point across.
 
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I think the point is that everyone is different, and every guitar is different. Debates on entire model lines vs other entire model lines (SE vs Core, Fender vs Squier, Epiphone vs Gibson, single coils vs humbuckers, tubes vs solid state, etc) can yield some generalities, but those generalities often fall apart in a real situation. The answer is always "depends". And I get that these debates are like the bread and butter of online music forums, but dang, they're just so... tribalistic, academic, and filled with confirmation bias. Core PRS players swear by Core PRS guitars; Squier players go to their graves claiming that their Squier is better than a Fender; repeat ad nauseum. Other peoples' experiences and opinions are helpful at times, but they should never be a substitute for your own personal journey with music.
 
I think the point is that everyone is different, and every guitar is different. Debates on entire model lines vs other entire model lines (SE vs Core, Fender vs Squier, Epiphone vs Gibson, single coils vs humbuckers, tubes vs solid state, etc) can yield some generalities, but those generalities often fall apart in a real situation. The answer is always "depends". And I get that these debates are like the bread and butter of online music forums, but dang, they're just so... tribalistic, academic, and filled with confirmation bias. Core PRS players swear by Core PRS guitars; Squier players go to their graves claiming that their Squier is better than a Fender; repeat ad nauseum. Other peoples' experiences and opinions are helpful at times, but they should never be a substitute for your own personal journey with music.

I think one good case where tastes differ is in our own lifestyle choices regards guitar. Some of us are wild and outdoorsy folks, others are more reserved and appreciative of our "creature comforts." The way we differ is in our choice of guitars.

We often deal with everyday situations where we often need to make good decisions based on what information we're provided.

Say for example, you called your favorite local watering hole and needed to speak with the manager about making a reservation for an upcoming shindig. The manager says he can't talk to you just now because he's got a lot going on, but he'll be happy to speak with you once he's had a chance to read over and meditate your request that you can email to him.

You say OK, and realize that you could help the manager make better decisions by stating more specifics of your request. Then you realize that generalizations can often be narrowed down to specifics so that what you'd like to discuss can be done so without introducing things that might scatter the importance of your topics being spoken about.

With due respect, your request to open up this discussion into a wide generality may only scatter folks' ability to think clearly about the topic. Much like a crowd mentality, there are bound to be wide ranging opinions, thoughts and beliefs. The only time a crowd comes together in unity is when they have one main focus point they can all agree on. EDIT: Holy mackerel. Thank, Reub.

Perhaps we can agree that PRSi, either core or import, can be appreciated based on what we can afford, our personal expectation and standards of quality, and our gratitude for the versatility that any PRS provides, whether that PRS be something that can be tweaked or modified, or just perfect the way we received it.
 
I prefer the core instruments for more philosophical reasons.

I get the sense that the overseas operation is people working in a factory to deliver a product to a specification, where as the Stevensville factory is people who are actually interested in the instruments and/or craft.
 
A fuss was made by me about my SE(s) but my cores inspire some pretty messed up sh@t! When an instrument plays that effortlessly, you aren’t encumbered with ‘the fight’ and let’s your mind direct your hands in response to the stuff your band mates throw at you. This would be an example of Peyote Burger’s trippy jam fest, with the trusty CU24 leading the way...thru a loud as f@ck amp.
 
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A fuss was made by me about my SE(s) but my cores inspire some pretty messed up sh@t! When an instrument plays that effortlessly, you aren’t encumbered with ‘the fight’ and let’s your mind direct your hands in response to the stuff your band mates there at you. This would be an example of Peyote Burger’s trippy jam fest, with the trusty CU24 leading the way...thru a loud as f@ck amp.

I'll need to check this out sometime tomorrow. It's past my bedtime and I need to go poo and give the apartment a quick once-over clean-up before bed. You can ask me what I learned today about a meatball recipe Monday.
 
It makes sense that a higher quality guitar will not make you a better player; it only might inspire you to practice more which would improve your playing ability. Changing parts might improve the quality of the guitar, but still will not make you a better player. Inspiration and motivation to practice will.
Well a better guitar may not make you a better player, but I must say that these 2 Core PRS's I have make me sound/appear like I am a better player ;~))

1. I can slide much more easily than I can on my other guitars (Hwy 1 Strat and Eko Kadett, definitely different league, just like SE's)
2. Bar chords are easier for me to hit and hold properly
3. I can bend more easily and more smoothly
4. I get better tones from both the woods and the pups
5. I am much more comfortable using the trem because I am much more confident that doing so will not require a retuning, and it just feels better
6. I can move around the board (from not to note, not like the slides in first item here) more easily, which allows me to hit things I could not hit before
7. I am inspired holding and playing a fine instrument like a PRS, which bolsters confidence

So I think the long and short of it is, playing a fine guitar can do more than " . . . inspire you to practice more . . .", it can also allow you to execute things that you may not have been able to master on lesser build instruments. At least in my case, it has allowed me to achieve new levels in my weak skill set that would have remained as is if I had simply continued with my other guitars. Now the PRS's inspiring me to play more also has helped my skill level, but I do not believe my "sound" or what I am attempting to play would have taken the leaps that it has had I simply stuck with the old git fiddles!

All that said, I am looking at buying some SE's to figure out which one I like the most, to help me decide what my first PS order will be considering there is zero chance I will be sitting down with a selection in person to be able to test. Maybe I will come to the conclusion that another CU24 or McCarty HBII is what my first spec'd PS will be, but I really don't want to start that spec process before I have played some more of the models, even if it is in SE version.

This whole thread is very helpful to read! Thanks for all your contributions and the original OP for initiating this discussion!!

Happy pickin'!
MW
 
Well a better guitar may not make you a better player, but I must say that these 2 Core PRS's I have make me sound/appear like I am a better player ;~))

1. I can slide much more easily than I can on my other guitars (Hwy 1 Strat and Eko Kadett, definitely different league, just like SE's)
2. Bar chords are easier for me to hit and hold properly
3. I can bend more easily and more smoothly
4. I get better tones from both the woods and the pups
5. I am much more comfortable using the trem because I am much more confident that doing so will not require a retuning, and it just feels better
6. I can move around the board (from not to note, not like the slides in first item here) more easily, which allows me to hit things I could not hit before
7. I am inspired holding and playing a fine instrument like a PRS, which bolsters confidence

So I think the long and short of it is, playing a fine guitar can do more than " . . . inspire you to practice more . . .", it can also allow you to execute things that you may not have been able to master on lesser build instruments. At least in my case, it has allowed me to achieve new levels in my weak skill set that would have remained as is if I had simply continued with my other guitars. Now the PRS's inspiring me to play more also has helped my skill level, but I do not believe my "sound" or what I am attempting to play would have taken the leaps that it has had I simply stuck with the old git fiddles!

All that said, I am looking at buying some SE's to figure out which one I like the most, to help me decide what my first PS order will be considering there is zero chance I will be sitting down with a selection in person to be able to test. Maybe I will come to the conclusion that another CU24 or McCarty HBII is what my first spec'd PS will be, but I really don't want to start that spec process before I have played some more of the models, even if it is in SE version.

This whole thread is very helpful to read! Thanks for all your contributions and the original OP for initiating this discussion!!

Happy pickin'!
MW

You've made that clear. However, unless the imported guitar has some drastic structural or functional issues, there should theoretically be no difference between a core or imported instrument's playability.

It may be, as one forum member had said previously, that core guitars have greater attention to detail and construction with higher standards of quality. The input is the materials and design. The process is the construction and labor put into the build of the guitar. The output is the finished product.

From input to output, the process essentially determines the quality of the guitar. Imported guitars input different materials and process with different time constraints using faster and cheaper labor to build.

The playability of either a core or imported guitar may very well be subjective to the owner. The owner may find that one of his SE's is on par with one of his core guitars, and from that assessment, the owner concludes that all SE's must be of equal value and playability.

However, sometimes we encounter instances where some owners are not happy with the build quality, for whatever reason, and they conclude that SE guitars do not have the playability factor that core guitars do.

So contingent on how happy owners are with their purchases, may be a deciding factor on how much agreement we might see regards the discussion of "stirring the pot" and core/imported PRSi.
 
A fuss was made by me about my SE(s) but my cores inspire some pretty messed up sh@t! When an instrument plays that effortlessly, you aren’t encumbered with ‘the fight’ and let’s your mind direct your hands in response to the stuff your band mates there at you. This would be an example of Peyote Burger’s trippy jam fest, with the trusty CU24 leading the way...thru a loud as f@ck amp.

Some ABB leanings there. I thought Mountain Jam bore some resemblance to Peyote Burger...listening to SoundCloud as I type...about 3:15 the groove begins and takes shape. This is actually quite enjoyable...I can see myself sitting on a seaside amphitheater listening to this...
 
Some ABB leanings there. I thought Mountain Jam bore some resemblance to Peyote Burger...listening to SoundCloud as I type...about 3:15 the groove begins and takes shape. This is actually quite enjoyable...I can see myself sitting on a seaside amphitheater listening to this...
Thanks Bob!
 
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