PRS Lovefest

[themike]

I still don't get the "overpriced" sentiment. I mean, most models are $1500 to $2700, and that's for a USA made guitar with high quality hardware, fantastic materials, tons of options, and just about a guaranty that 99% of the time the guitar's fretwork and tonality will be awesome (love or hate, PRS has some of, if not the best, QC/QA in the industry).

Compare that to Schecter or Agile that put out guitars in the $800 to $1000 range that are still pretty hit or miss, use mediocre parts, and might arrive with some issues. The same can be said about Gibson, Fender, and Ibanez guitars in the $1000 to $1500 range.

Exactly. Its the whole misconception about since they use CNC machines or work in a larger "factory" the quality is the same as other guitars who are made over seas with less than stellar QC when in reality you are getting a hand made guitar at production prices.

And I can't comment on Carvin because I dont have experience with them or their woods, but I can tell you the wood PRS buys from all over the world is the highest of high quality, while also properly adhiring to all the legalities of the US as well as the woods respective countries. That can't be cheap

 

[themike]

This is what I am doing with my SE

I kinda wish I got a model with an ebony fingerboard though.

Grab a bottle of this and go to town! It looks great and is super easy (also cheap!): STEWMAC.COM : Black Fingerboard Stain

 

[ExousRulez]

Grab a bottle of this and go to town! It looks great and is super easy (also cheap!): STEWMAC.COM : Black Fingerboard Stain

Its not just the look though! I like the smoothness of ebony compared to rosewood, especially when its not high quality rosewood. I would love a Torero with either a regular PRS trem or a schaller hannes/hipshot bridge, diamond inlays and maybe even a piezo system. I wish more guitar makers could have like "semi custom" models so for example I would be able to buy a top from a certain model, a body from a certain model, a neck/fingerboard/frets from a certain model and a bridge. I would LOVE the torero if it didn't have the floyd and had inlays!

 

[ExousRulez]

Also, how would I use the stain over the inlays on the guitar?

 

[gunch]

I think most of the haters are just jealous that they don't have one.

Or they're still butt-mad at radio rock and nu metal bands whoring them in the early 00's

I used to feel the same way until I realized why all those radio rock douches used PRSi: PRSi are some damned fine machines.

A metallic finished CE is still on my short list, If I were to score one I could die a happy man.

 

[purpledc]

You know I dont hate PRS. In fact I really like them. I wouldnt mind having one. My ultimate would be one of them purple throwbacks that come with the extra Set of pickups. I have no problem with their build quality and I think they have one of the better reputations in the business. There are only three things that concern me about prs guitars.

1. Price- We could go back and forth all day one whether they cost too much or not. IMHO some of their guitars are actually priced very well while others I think are a face rape.

2. The ever evolving neck heel. Short heel - Love it. Long heel- dislike it. Long shelf heel- Really? They can claim its for stability all they want but really how many of the old heels have you guys seen fail? not many for me. And it cant be so bad if they still will make some models with the old one.

3. 10 tops. IMHO they are too hit and miss. In the 80's and 90s a Ten top got me weak in the knees. Now not so much. Sometimes I will see 10 tops that look like they really didnt deserve the title. And what surprises me even more is that sometimes Ill see a newer PRS that ISNT a 10 top but looks nicer than the 10 top its hanging next to. All in all I think the qualifications of what a 10 top is and should be have gone down. Either that or they have multiple people grading wood and they have very different standards.

Aside from these things I think they kick ass. But I dont think they are beyond criticism. Not even my beloved Carvin is above criticism. Im not a PRS hater. But im not a fanboy either. And even though I fully admit that I am in fact a Carvin Fanboy, I can admit they have put out lemons and have fucked shit up. They are humans, It happens. Hell thats why I dont own my first carvin build anymore. The difference between me and some Is that I will give credit where it is due and I can also have a realistic opinion no matter what brand is being discussed. And no, I am not referring to anyone on this forum.

 

[JStraitiff]

i have personally been on both sides of the spectrum regarding PRS. At one point i loved them and wanted a custom 24 so bad. Unfortunately most of it is aesthetic appeal. I wasnt extremely impressed with it when i went to play one. I have a few main problems with them.

1) Scale length: They are mostly short scale lengths like 24 3/4" or something like that.

2) Price: They are very expensive. The SE's are okay and i would consider owning one but there arent as many options on them.

3) Tops: In my opinion PRS has the absolute best color options for tops. Eriza Verde melts me. Except that PRS does the worst job i have ever seen bookmatching. I swear some of the pieces must be from different trees. They might as well put a piece of binding down the center of the guitar because there is always a huge noticeable line.

 

[Adam Of Angels]

Some folks like when the figure lines of flamed maple don't match up.

 

[ExousRulez]

i have personally been on both sides of the spectrum regarding PRS. At one point i loved them and wanted a custom 24 so bad. Unfortunately most of it is aesthetic appeal. I wasnt extremely impressed with it when i went to play one. I have a few main problems with them.

1) Scale length: They are mostly short scale lengths like 24 3/4" or something like that.

2) Price: They are very expensive. The SE's are okay and i would consider owning one but there arent as many options on them.

3) Tops: In my opinion PRS has the absolute best color options for tops. Eriza Verde melts me. Except that PRS does the worst job i have ever seen bookmatching. I swear some of the pieces must be from different trees. They might as well put a piece of binding down the center of the guitar because there is always a huge noticeable line.

25 scale actually. I prefer it to 25 1/2 because it fits my hands better and the 10 inch radius is really comfortable compared to flatter radius guitars.

 

[Rap Hat]

I think PRS does an excellent job bookmatching where it's applicable or required, fwiw. Look at the previous page: Out of all the pics on it, I can only see one instance where the top might not have a perfect or near perfect bookmatch, and that's most likely because of the angle/lighting.

Sometimes it looks off in pics because of how 3D the grain is. My CE22 has an okay flame and when viewed at a certain angle some of the flame seems to disappear on one side, making it look non-bookmatched. Then you view it another way and it pops out double and shows the excellent bookmatch.

 

[Danukenator]

Just as a general commentary on PRS's. I've enjoyed all of the ones I've played at my local store. An SE model was actually shockingly good for the price, I think that was the Soapbar. The others were a Custom 22 or 24 (don't remember) a Singlecut and a hollowbody. Both the Custom and Single cut rocked, played like butter, though were set up for a more medium action. The Hollow body seemed a little sketchy. The toggle didn't feel secure and had a little give to it on the sides, perhaps it just needed to be tightened but it seemed like the route/hole was a little too large? Overall, I'd say I liked them but don't think I'd jump at one given what else is available in their price range.

On a side note about this thread in general, while remaining neutral, both sides of this are getting a little heated. The title clearly states this is a place to talk about PRS not a club for the fans. People with, what I believe to be, some reasonably expressed opinions are getting treated as haters.

My point being, if someone doesn't believe something is worth the money or blah blah blah, let them hold that opinion unless it is an obvious attempt to spread misinformation. And don't write off someone's opinion as hating. Being part of other forums, this behavior only leads to chunks of people that become slightly detached from the rest of the members (...Agile fans...but only sometimes).

 

[purpledc]

The only PRS sig I really don't like is Mikael Åkerfeldt's. I'd most likely not buy any guitarist's signature guitar, because personally that makes me feel like I'm playing somebody else's guitar. But to me his signature with the fucking massive Opeth 'O' on it is the worst of them all. I love Opeth, but that's just too much for me.

What about the nick cantenese? that thing with the red binding and the GIANT logo on it is a turn off. I think signature guitars no matter who makes them are tacky. Id take a Dime bag just to show support to a fallen hero but thats about it.

 

[purpledc]

3) Tops: In my opinion PRS has the absolute best color options for tops. Eriza Verde melts me. Except that PRS does the worst job i have ever seen bookmatching. I swear some of the pieces must be from different trees. They might as well put a piece of binding down the center of the guitar because there is always a huge noticeable line.

This I dont agree with. But because after learning how to build these things you realize that it almost impossible (its luck of the draw really) to match a flame top perfectly and even more so with a quilt top. You see the tops are matched before the shape of the guitar is cut. A thick piece of maple is split down the center and opened up. Then these two pieces are matched and glued to the body wood of the soon to be guitar. Then its put into a cnc and machined out. Two things are going to effect just how far the center line strays.

1. Is it a dished top like on many prs or is it a flat top? A flat top is ALWAYS going to be book matched better. The reason being the wood is cut and is and exact mirror image of the opposite piece. And even though you will remove some material its likely going to be under an 1/8 - 1/4" depending on the guitar and manufacturing method. Dishing a top means your going to cut deeper into the wood closest to the edge of the instrument. And as your doing that not only is the wood grain changing on the left side but also just as fast on the right. This can cause major differences after the guitar top was actually initially matched.


2. How deep the dish is if there is one. The deeper you go the more the center line is going to shift as the grain pattern of the wood shifts throughout the lumber and its almost impossible to tell when a major change in grain structure is taking place. A top can be perfectly matched and be completely different with the first cut of a router bit.



Bottom line is if you want a perfectly matched top you should still with a flat top guitar. And if you MUST have a carved top stick to flame as it is less noticeable when the center line starts to wander. The only reason why you see schecters and esp and even PRS SE guitars with what appears to be a better matched top is because they are dealing with paper thin veneers. These veneers are applied after the main shape of the body is cut out. In this case there is no wandering of the center line as the wood is so thin your almost guaranteed to get a mirror image of the opposite side.

 

[soliloquy]

/\ idk, on one hand, yes, that is true that maple caps are hard to book match. and veneers are matched afterwards, thus, they are more often than not, perfectly book matched.

however, (obviously i cant say ANY company name, regardless of origin of country), there are tons of guitar companies that do provide carved top maple caps that do have either a dished top, and they are constantly perfectly book matched, or at least, much better than PRS.

however, to me, that isn't really a deal breaker

 

[purpledc]

/\ idk, on one hand, yes, that is true that maple caps are hard to book match. and veneers are matched afterwards, thus, they are more often than not, perfectly book matched.

however, (obviously i cant say ANY company name, regardless of origin of country), there are tons of guitar companies that do provide carved top maple caps that do have either a dished top, and they are constantly perfectly book matched, or at least, much better than PRS.

however, to me, that isn't really a deal breaker

I dont think its necessarily hard to book match a top. In reality its pretty damn easy. Split wood in half, open like book, match the left to its mirror image on the right and your set. But You simply never know whats going to happen after that blade starts cutting into the wood. The only thing that can make one companies guitars better than another in this department is how many units they decide to scrap or paint a solid color due to the grain change.

 

[technomancer]

 

[themike]

What about the nick cantenese? that thing with the red binding and the GIANT logo on it is a turn off.

 

[soliloquy]

 

[themike]

I know - but that model is discontinued. The one I posted is the current Cantese model...

 

[Adeamus]

I figured after Mike was posting in here with HIS awesome PTC job I had to chime in with mine. All the guys at the PTC are god damn guitar ninjas. The thing about guys like James akak "Skitchy" over there is that they work on normal guitars all year long, so when you approach them with a really weird idea (Like a routed Peizo for Mikes' guitar, or my obvious Kaoss pad) they are all going to love the idea and do everything they can to exceed your expectations.


So, I think my plan for my next guitar is to do a Graphtech Ghost Peizo/MIDI-hex floyd rose, a sustaniac, and if I can jam a kaoss pad on it I sure will.

You're in a band, you want attention, the PTC will help you get it.