whats your take on this prs?

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mikeanniston

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whats everyone's take on the prs se custom's? just wondering... ive played one a little while back in the guitar store and remembering it being a nice guitar.. does anyone have one? whats your input on it? i like a heavier tone, but not a shitty tone. just to see where im comin from i play out of a jcm 900 also an 800, i switch back and forth. i like chiodos/just surrender/story of the yearish guitar tones. (haha i know everyone has their own taste, so please dont bash me!) i just want to know from someone who has had alot of playtime with these guitars, how they really sound? im really interested in getting one, i love the way they look and with a prs you cant realllly go wrong... or can you?
 
The craftsmanship on PRS's is impeccable. The details are all well thought out and exceptionally executed. Their consistency is incredible. If you like a model of PRS, you will like any guitar of that model.

And their guitars do absolutely NOTHING for me. To my ear, they are a lot like Taylors, which is to say that while I've never heard one which sounded bad, I've also never heard one which I thought sounded great. They are, in a word, soulless. Other words would be boring, bland, and dull (in the uninteresting sense of the word, not the dead tone sense). To me, they are just too damn clean sounding, even when they are distorted to hell and back.

But please don't take any of that as being any kind of a disparagement of their guitars. I don't like them, but their is nothing WRONG with them.

(Oh, and they have the worst warranty situation in the industry, at least if you are in the USA. All work must go back to the factory, where it will be for a LONG time if you get your guitar back, and my understanding is they usually just replace the guitar. Even Fender does a better job at warranty fulfillment.)


Light

"Cowards can never be moral."
M.K. Gandhi
 
the wood they use is really gorgeous. thats all the experience i have with PRS haha, just looking at them.
 
Last two guitars I bought were PRS. A Standard 22 Satin Mahogany with birds and A Mateo Blue CE22.
I played every single guitar in the shop (GC Hollywood), and If you don't have the price for a CE, the SE seems to sound "similar" and play pretty well.

My personal suggestion is save up for a CE22, but barring that, get your SE set up right away if you get it. PRS has done a good job on their foreign models, minus a few quirks, so as long as you play at least 3 different SE's, you're bound to find a great one.

I play through a JCM2000 rewired British version with a custom voiced JCM900 cab, and it's the sound I've always wanted. I have Mesas, Vox's, carvins, and PCs full of effects, but nothing has come close to the powerhouse sound of the 2000. I'll go and play my les paul through it, and it sounds good, but a PRS through a Mesa is a tonal dream come true.
 
I used to play and sell PRS guitars. I'd agree with Light on this one. They're gorgeous instruments, but to me, thats where the nicety ends. You're paying top dollar for, in my mind, a mass produced instrument. In the same price range, I'd look at Surh (top choice), McInturff (VERY close 2nd choice, and they're made locally in NC), or Anderson (lower 3rd choice). All of these instruments have a high degree of craftsmanship and handsmanship (is that a word) that I don't think PRS has.

I think the McInturffs would be closest to a PRS in styling. Check out www.indoorstorm.com... they used to be the 2nd or 3rd largest dealer in the states, there's a reason they don't carry them anymore, look at some of the other brands they've got.
 
rory said:
I used to play and sell PRS guitars. I'd agree with Light on this one. They're gorgeous instruments, but to me, thats where the nicety ends. You're paying top dollar for, in my mind, a mass produced instrument. In the same price range, I'd look at Surh (top choice), McInturff (VERY close 2nd choice, and they're made locally in NC), or Anderson (lower 3rd choice). All of these instruments have a high degree of craftsmanship and handsmanship (is that a word) that I don't think PRS has.

I think the McInturffs would be closest to a PRS in styling. Check out www.indoorstorm.com... they used to be the 2nd or 3rd largest dealer in the states, there's a reason they don't carry them anymore, look at some of the other brands they've got.
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McInturffs sounds amazing, and they had one at a shop in DC when I visited, but they were charging an insane amount for it. I picked PRS because of the action and the tone, something I'd never thought I'd do.
I usually go on looks (dumb but I have so many GTs already), but the salesman *HELPED* me not make a stupid impulse purchase, and from playing a large list of Gibsons, Epiphones, Ricks, Strats, Teles, Schecters, and more, I found the two PRSs that blew my mind.
I agree that they're not for most people, and if you're going on name, there are much better options, but for me, I found the two guitars I'd been looking for my entire career. YMMV, as always.
 
I agree with the Light. Nice stuff, I like a Std LP better, more character.
I do love my Taylor 615 though.
 
I'm gonna go out on a limb and question why we attach so much value to the brand? I understand basic economics about it, but everyone seems to have a preferential brand, and it seems that people might be missing out on some amazing instruments with that view. Are there things we as consumers are not aware of? (I know that's a yes, I just don't know what)

I know I sound like a PRS shill, but they were the guitars I thought rich wankers would buy for show value and not playability. Dragon III, i'm looking at you.

I've owned so many different brands I can't even remember, but each one had a unique voice, it's just matching that voice to the sounds in your head.
I wouldn't be surprised if a PRS works for the OP, but same goes for if he chose a Gibson or Abyss or anything else for that matter.

The more the merrier. Except Squier. Those are good for smashing when you're angry.

I just picture the audience when I play. They're not going to care so much if I'm playing a Les Paul Special, A PRS Custom 24, or a Schecter Blackjack, they're going to care if my guitar is feeding back and can't stay in tune. Name and visual affect come second in my mind.

Light, since you know a lot more than I do, mind going into why you feel that way about PRSs? I know you don't like the tone, and without a good setup it's damn generic, but are there anything besides craftsmanship issues?
I know they use the same pickups on most of their guitars now (the dragons) which makes for some poor matches, but since I'm so new to them I don't know much beyond that.
I'm starting to get full exposure to company lies, and PRS is not a beacon of truth and justice, just like every other company.
 
For whatever reason, I love Gibsons and hate PRS's, which makes no real sense but who cares. The knobs on a PRS are too close to the bridge and bug the crap out of me, plus, Santana and Nickelback play them, and don't get me started on how bad I think they both suck...I guess it would be nice to own a McCarty one with F-holes and a piezo in the bridge - now those I like...anything over about $1500 bucks tho and I'd be looking for a new place to live...

Any of you really spoiled folks :D in here ever play a McNaught? They supposedly run over $5,000 bucks, but I'm sure some you high class types consider that pocket change...The band Clutch used to be all vintage Gibson stuff, and then I saw them playing these beautiful guitars that I thought were PRS's, and they turned out to be these Mcnaughts, which are supposed to be amazing. The sight talks about them having unique "set-thru" neck designs that give them vast sustain...check em out at: http://mcnaughtguitars.com/
 
Fireal402 said:
Light, since you know a lot more than I do, mind going into why you feel that way about PRSs? I know you don't like the tone, and without a good setup it's damn generic, but are there anything besides craftsmanship issues?
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It isn't a craftsmanship issue. Their craftsmanship is impeccable. Their work is as good as anything out their. Their finish work is light years beyond (for instance) Gibson's (who may well have the worst finishes I've ever seen in a high end factory guitar - feel the binding sometime, and you'll notice a little bump where they scraped away the color coat from the binding without adding enough finish to level it). The tone is just boring. It doesn't have any personality to it. A Gibson LP may not be as precisely made as a PRS Single Cut, but the LP will have some soul to it.




I guess, a Gibson LP comes from the crotch, and they kind of sound like fucking - really good fucking at that (Strats and Teles too); PRS's come from the intellect, and sound like a MENSA meeting.


Light

"Cowards can never be moral."
M.K. Gandhi
 
Light said:
I guess, a Gibson LP comes from the crotch, and they kind of sound like fucking - really good fucking at that (Strats and Teles too); PRS's come from the intellect, and sound like a MENSA meeting.
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Light, I have to hand it to you.

Finally, a guitar "soul" description I can understand! :D
 
Playing a PRS is like getting a teeth-dragging blowjob from a gorgeous girl.

Playing a Gibson is like getting the hummer of your life from a not-so-pretty chubbo.

It all depends on what your priorites are.
 
I mostly agree with Light

about the PRS, anyway. I can't say I've ever seen a bad finish job on a Gibson, but then again I haven't looked that closely.

But I know what you mean about soul-less. But that's also how I feel about Ibanez, Schecter, ESP, and the like, including some Carvins (sorry APL). They are shredder guitars, which, much like shredders, are technically precise, but devoid of any 'soul'. The PRS are like surgical instruments.

If they were cars, the PRS would be one of those Bugatti supercars. they are exotically beautiful, go faster than anything else, any stick to corners like glue. But they still aren't like hopping in a '70 Boss Mustang and ripping through the countryside.

That being said, I did find a PRS, an SE no less, that I really liked. It kind of spoke to me, and I'm thinking about it.
 
Interesting that you mention Ibanez as one of the "soulless" models - I just got a RG321, which was new at $279, and for whatever reason, a lifetime of dislike for such guitars melted away when I played it...It sits next to my Gibby, looking like a homeless person would if sitting in a fancy restaurant with a bunch of snobs...I still love it, though. As far as shredders being soulless - I think of John Petrucci, an amazing player technically but who remains almost motionless while playing (!?!?) I'd have to say Steve Vai is without a doubt really feeling what he does when plays, and there are others... If I could spend 5-8 hrs a day just practicing, and developed the ability to play as good as these guys, I wonder if I too would appear to other musicians as "soulless". It's obvious, though, that someone like BB King pours more soul into his signature "bweep -doo" than many players do in their entire careers...
 
notCardio said:
That being said, I did find a PRS, an SE no less, that I really liked. It kind of spoke to me, and I'm thinking about it.
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just bought one myself today. an se custom w/trem, smoke gray photo flame.

i'm likin it a lot! :p

locking tuners are next. probably new pups and electronics later.

take the plunge man!

prs_se_2.jpg


secustom_grayblack.jpg
 
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hahah i love the relation of getting blowjobs to guitars. my two favorite things all in one topic! wow! haha :)
 
I've had a PRS Custom for about 2 years now and like it quite allot. It is not my number one guitar; I will still use my two vintage strats as my "go to guitars". When I decided to buy a set neck dual coil guitar I tried a bunch of Gibson Les Pauls but they all sounded constipated and dull compared to the PRS which was way more open sounding. I have never really played a Gibson that I liked, except for one old 335 which was unreal.
 
The odd thing is

the PRS I like isn't even an SE Custom, it's just a plain old SE Soapbar, but not because of the pickups. I really want the dual HB version, but they don't feel the same. :(
 
Buck62 said:
Playing a PRS is like getting a teeth-dragging blowjob from a gorgeous girl.

Playing a Gibson is like getting the hummer of your life from a not-so-pretty chubbo.

It all depends on what your priorites are.
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I don't know, Buck. If she drags her teeth just right, it just might BE the hummer of my life!



Light

"Cowards can never be moral."
M.K. Gandhi
 
Light said:
I don't know, Buck. If she drags her teeth just right, it just might BE the hummer of my life!
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Oh, yeah, teeth can be good - it's all in the technique. ;) :D
 
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