Paul Reed Smith

ecktronic

Mixing and Mastering.
Hey there. Im looking to buy a new guitar and im thinking of going down the PRS lane. My style of playing is moderately heavy (a bit heavier than Incubus or QOTSA) and i use a Marshall DSL50 through a 1960 4x12 cab. I am kinda agains the Fender types and more into the Gibson type guitars.
My current guitar is an Ibanez S series super strat style (the really thin guitar) with floyd rose.
Has anyone got any suggestons as to what kind of guitar might suit me?
I have a budget of around £1000 = $1594.

Any help would be great. I kinda like the Mccarty ones.
 
Carvin has the CT series which is designed to compete with the PRS. I don't know if it will have the price advantage over there, though.
 
You might be able to get a used McCarty for that in the States. I donno about overseas. I've played this one and it's a sweet guitar. I almost bought it, but I bought a new Custom 24 instead.
 
apl said:
Carvin has the CT series which is designed to compete with the PRS. I don't know if it will have the price advantage over there, though.

I second this suggestion, assuming the pricing works out for you overseas.

A
 
Before you get caught up in the "PRS hoopla", I strongly urge you to read up and get educated as to how much these guitars have waned in quality and cut corners for profit in the past 10 years.

Here's a great source....

http://www.anycities.com/andyhifi/musicians.htm


That being said, I think a great guitar for the money (which is readily available in the UK) is the Yamaha AES620. Gorgeous looks, excellent build-quality, great pickups, and an all-around great guitar. From what I've seen, every one of them is set up perfect right from the factory. All you gotta do is buy it and play it. Think of all the extra money you'll have to spend on another guitar or more gear, too! :)

This is one sweet guitar.....

http://www.abcsounds.co.uk/yamaha-electric-guitars/yamaha-aes-620-electric-guitar.htm

Go here and enlarge the pic, you'll be quite impressed!...

http://www.yamaha.com/yamahavgn/CDA...etail/0,6373,CNTID%3D24987%26CTID%3D,00.html#
 
Buck62 said:
Before you get caught up in the "PRS hoopla", I strongly urge you to read up and get educated as to how much these guitars have waned in quality and cut corners for profit in the past 10 years.

Before you buy into the PRS haters, I strongly urge you to go out and play some.

PRSs vary in quality from guitar to guitar, but that is true for any brand. I played many, many guitars before I bought my PRS. I played Gibsons, Fenders, G&Ls, and PRSs with every possible configuration. I played $2200 Les Pauls with serious binding and neck problems. I played $3000 PRS Artists that were dead and lifeless. I played American Fenders that were no better than my MIM tele. I played them all through my amp with my cable.

I also played a PRS Custom 24 that sounded and played better than any guitar I'd ever picked up. That's the one I bought. The top is far from perfect, but the sound and mojo were there.

The McCarty I linked to was also a fine guitar, but the non-adjustable bridge turned me off of it.

On the whole, the PRS guitars were all fine instruments - they seemed to be more consistent than the Gibsons and Fenders - but most of them, in my opinion, were not fine enough for the price.

Be wary of anyone who categorically endorses or dismisses any guitar maker. Also be wary of Ed Roman and people who quote him. People will take a kernel of truth and warp and distort it to serve their ends.

If you think you want a PRS, go out and play some. See if you find one that suits you. PRS still has the ability to build excellent instruments and sometimes they do.
 
apl said:
Carvin has the CT series which is designed to compete with the PRS. I don't know if it will have the price advantage over there, though.

Ok, I'm convinced that APL is a Carvin dealer or something! He plugs them all the time! :)
 
apl said:
Carvin has the CT series which is designed to compete with the PRS. I don't know if it will have the price advantage over there, though.

Aaron Cheney said:
I second this suggestion, assuming the pricing works out for you overseas.

A
I agree. The new PRS's are grossly overpriced. I think Carvin could meet the price range if overseas shipping doesn't blow it.
 
Well, I am a Fender/Gibson addict. I never liked the way the PRS played. Then they came out with the 20th anniversary model. I reall liked that one and bought it. It's a custom 24 (20th aniv.) with the wide/thin neck. It plays a lot like my SG supreme and sounds a little hotter then my Les paul. Overall, it's a great axe, but I still don't like the way the rest of the PRS line plays.
 
The PRS thing seems to be popular with the "heavy" crowd these days...
I'm older and definitely "old school".(classic rock and 70s' 80s' hard rock.
Let me just say this..... I frequent a local jam night that's real popular. We get a lot of different players there, young and old alike. When someone gets up with a gibson, you can tell it's a gibson without looking. The same goes for fender. But when someone is using a PRS, Ibanez,Schecter or one of these other brands it doesn't really sound "distinctive". Usually kind of generic as far as tone goes. Don't get me wrong...they really play well... fast fret boards, low buttery action, Some with very accurate tremelos. The build quality is there for sure.
It all depends on what sound you're looking for. Don't just judge the guitar by how it feels. Let you're EARS tell you what's right for you.
My advice is to find a good dealer who has a lot of brands. A test booth is ideal too. Ask to bring your amp in and try them all out. Make a day of it, and take your time.
 
the american made hamers are extremely well made and sound great. you might check into them. i can't remember for sure if they'll fall in your price range though and i don't feel like looking for them online right now either.
 
PRS makes a damn fine production guitar. I have probably owned thirty or more of them and each one was a great insturment. The attention to detail is outstanding. I've taken the factory tour, and there are real people making these things. My collection includes two PRS at this time, a Hollowbody I with piezo, and a Custom 22 Brazilian Limited Edition. The McCarty is more towards the Gibson LP vibe, while the Custom line is more modern. That said I still have my LP, Strat, and Tele as well as 2 custom guitars made by Ron Thorn, with a third on the way. http://www.thornguitars.com/ and another hand built by Jack Gretz. ALL my guitars get gigged.

Goldtopchas had a piece of great advice, "My advice is to find a good dealer who has a lot of brands. A test booth is ideal too. Ask to bring your amp in and try them all out. Make a day of it, and take your time."

Also donkeystyle is right that as far as bang for your buck, it's hard to beat a used american Hamer.
 
Ernie Ball Music Man John Petrucci Model w/7-string and piezo. If I'm off base...sorry...just an awsome guitar imho.
 
dirtythermos said:
PRSs vary in quality from guitar to guitar, but that is true for any brand.

Except Carvin. They are remarkably consistent from istrument to instrument.

And I'm not a dealer. They don't have dealers, so their price here in the US does not include distributor's, wholesaler's, or retailer's markups.

The do use overseas distributors and it adds substantially to the price.
 
dirtythermos said:
Before you buy into the PRS haters, I strongly urge you to go out and play some.

I don't "hate" PRS guitars. On the contrary, I think they're very good guitars! The problem is that they're way over-priced for what you get. Prices for them have gone up, up, up... despite the fact that they've gone from hand-made to machine-made, discontinued offering tremolo's and gone to all stop-tails (to make more profit) and have been slowly declining in quality for about a decade now. The "PRS" name has become more of a status symbol as of late, rather than a "player's guitar."

It's kind of like what happened to Harley Davidon motorcycles. They went from "bad-ass" to "expensive yuppie status symbol." But at least the Harley's got better in quality over the past decade. The opposite is true for PRS guitars.
 
Buck62 said:
I don't "hate" PRS guitars. On the contrary, I think they're very good guitars! The problem is that they're way over-priced for what you get. Prices for them have gone up, up, up... despite the fact that they've gone from hand-made to machine-made, discontinued offering tremolo's and gone to all stop-tails (to make more profit) and have been slowly declining in quality for about a decade now. The "PRS" name has become more of a status symbol as of late, rather than a "player's guitar."

It's kind of like what happened to Harley Davidon motorcycles. They went from "bad-ass" to "expensive yuppie status symbol." But at least the Harley's got better in quality over the past decade. The opposite is true for PRS guitars.

You really need to check your facts...PRS has NOT discontinued offering tremolo's. They are available on all models except for the Hollowbody series, and McCarty's, and Wildwood or Willcut's(I forget which) had a special run of McCarty's with trem done. As a matter of fact, there has never been a difference in price between trem/non-trem guitars. The "machine made" aspect is the original body/neck shaping and routing. EVERYTHING else is done by hand, As I said, I've been to the factory and seen it first hand. I don't know where you're getting your info, but it really is wrong.
 
if you like versitility, you might want to check out some Parkers... I've got one that just smokes every other guitar I've ever played. in tone as well, with custom dimarzios stock. I've recorded it though a dsl before and it rocked. check um out
 
SteveK said:
You really need to check your facts...PRS has NOT discontinued offering tremolo's. They are available on all models except for the Hollowbody series, and McCarty's, and Wildwood or Willcut's(I forget which) had a special run of McCarty's with trem done. As a matter of fact, there has never been a difference in price between trem/non-trem guitars. The "machine made" aspect is the original body/neck shaping and routing. EVERYTHING else is done by hand, As I said, I've been to the factory and seen it first hand. I don't know where you're getting your info, but it really is wrong.

You're right, I meat to say tune-o-matic bridges. They don't offer them anymore. That was a cost-cutting move. (Duh! ...on my part).

Here's some stats on PRS guitars in the right-hand column...

http://www.edromanguitars.com/tech/compare/qsg_prs.htm


There's more here...

http://www.anycities.com/andyhifi/musicians.htm

(Here's the quote of the paragraph on PRS guitars)

Paul Reed Smith Guitars

PRS guitars used to be handmade and reasonably priced, now they are entirely machine made and ridiculously overpriced, he has made many costcuts such as installing cheaper bridges (went from his famous tremolo to a cheap non adjustable stoptail - you can't properly adjust individual strings for intonation), they have great finishes - but you can't hear or play a finish. PRS inlays are outsourced to Pearlworks. For a lot less money you can buy a better guitar by Nik Huber, Carvin, Roger Giffin, Gene Baker Guitars, Bunker, Malden, Belman, Heritage, Gibson, Jaros Guitars, Guild, Terry McInturff, David Thomas McNaught, Dean USA, or Ed Roman. When PRS first came out, they were a great alternative to the Gibsons which had been lagging in quality, now Gibsons have improved and the Gibson Les Paul Standard Double Cut guitar is better than the PRS guitars. Also consider that PRS have lousy resale values while Gibsons retain theirs. At the handmade price ranges PRS is asking, you can afford much better McInturff or Giffin guitars or for less money you can get a real Gibson. Pre-1995 PRS were great, now they're merchandise for the wealthy. Most of the parts are outsourced. These overpriced guitars are the prime examples of guitars made for "hip lawyer wall decorations" with emphasis on finish and exclusive high prices instead of being instruments for working musicians. PRS customer service is nonexistant, unless you're a famous endorcee. PRS are for upper crust "Walter Mitty rock stars." PRS now sells imported rebadged OEM guitars from Korea at very high prices. The Korean made clones sold by Samick, Dillion, Phil Musical, and John Hornby Skewes actually have better hardware than PRS's USA assembled guitars. Check out these comments on PRS guitars: Peter's comments: "PRS are for yuppie collectors who are buying them for wall decorations, the pipedreamers who'll buy them to pull out of the closet once a month to play with, and the newbie rich kids aren't going to know or even care about such things for the uses they're buying them for - ego-trophies. But the working musicians out there and collectors of higher-end guitars do care. These wall decorations are nothing more than mediocre and are practically useless for serious hard real-world working-musician playing. It's more of a fashion decoration than a real guitar." (there are more comments on PRS on that webpage).


Look, I've played a good many PRS guitars, and they're very nice. But I also have a Samick Ultramatic UM-4 that plays every bit as good as a PRS, looks pretty darned close, and it sounds 90% as good for less than a third of the price. Now that's a good guitar for the money! I never said I hate PRS guitars. I never said they're bad guitars. All I'm saying is that they're way overpriced for what you get. A PRS guitar is a trophy guitar, not the guitar of your average gigging musician. It's as simple as that. It's not that I'm jealous because I can't afford a PRS, because I can, no problem. But why? It's not a very good value.
 
Back
Top