PRS guitars

goblin59

Ok was looking at a post and a few people are recommending PRS guitars. I'm now curious as to what the huge deal is with them as they all seem extremely costly.

I'm not actually interested in buying one, but I just wanted to know what goes into them and what it is about PRS that people seem to love about them.
I'v played one or two PRS guitars but this was about 5 years ago, but i was only a beginner at the time so was in no position to judge guitars.

Seziertisch

Not so much a reply as such, but a discussion elsewhere of PRS guitars. A share of crap in there, but also some good posts. I imagine if this thread takes off the same ground will be retread.

http://www.gearslutz.com/board/instruments-guitar-bass-amps/202420-why-do-prs-guitars-dominate-classified-ads.html

Personally, I know a couple of guys that own PRS and after initially raving about them they have slowly gravitated back to "less versatile" instruments (Les Paul, Strat). They would say jack of all trades, master of none.

Im Only 71Kg

jack of all trades, master of none.

this is all you can say about PRS..they look great thats about it. overpriced too.

500x

Hi,

I am lucky enough to own (and have owned) a few nice guitars. Nothing mind-blowing, but some sweet instruments.

The guitar I use for rehearsing and the very few gigs I manage to play is a PRS Custom24. It just fits me. It's the best guitar I've played. I've had it for years. As far as I can remember, I bought it off a guy back in 2003 or so.

It's a 1994 model, with all the options (birds, 10top, etc etc). I guess when it was brand new it was a stunner. Now though, it has plenty of miles on the clock, chips and scratches, the lot. My point is, I didn't buy it because it was beautiful, it was just a fabulous guitar to play. I paid around €1000 for it, which in high-end guitar terms isn't a whole lot of cash.

Music and the instruments we play to make it is a completely subjective area; it's all about personal opinions and how things feel or sound to you, the individual. So, I'll say that personally I don't buy the 'jack of all trades' label that I've often heard applied to PRS guitars. They are not trying to be Strats, they are not trying to be Gibsons; they are PRS. A company that have been building instruments since the early 80s can't be still considered new kids on the block; they should be recognised not as 'Strat killers' or 'Les Paul Wanabes' or whatever, they are PRS guitars.

I have two Les Pauls and a Strat, as well as another PRS Singlecut. The Singlecut feels better to play than the Les Pauls, but the LPs have a thicker tone... which is I guess what they're famous for.

If I had the choice of keeping either my Les Paul Standard or my Singlecut, I'd keep the PRS. However, if it came to keeping my 59 Reissue Les Paul or the Singlecut, the PRS would be gone.

I've owned a very average PRS Custom22, which had all the options but simply didn't do it for me. I've had a PRS Custom22 Brazilian ltd model, which sounded absolutely stunning, but didn't really work for me... not sure why, but it just didn't 'fit'. You know what I mean.

The point of all this waffle?

PRS are expensive guitars, but their standard models sell used for around the same price as used Gibson Les Pauls, and for around the same as Customshop Strats. Some of them are great, and some of them are average. They probably have a better standard of quality control than some of the other big guys, but I find that even though lots are built well, not all of them play as good as they look. They've a reputation for being 'overpriced', and maybe they are when you buy one straight off the shelf. On the used market though, they can be had at more reasonable and comparable prices to the other high-end stuff.

If you find a PRS that you absolutely love and can’t put down, I think it’ll be a great deal to buy it no matter what the cost. Similarly, if you find a guitar costing €100 that feels right and fits you and makes you want to never put it down, that is as much as a bargain. For years and years I played a very beaten up explorer. I had better guitars than it that cost me lots more, but it was the one for me. I think you should first and foremost value a guitar in terms of how you like it, and then see if you can afford it. If you drop €2000 on a PRS your mates might think it as ‘overpriced’, but if it’s the thing that you’re going to make all your music on for the rest of your life, it was a bargain to you.

Best wishes,

Tony

Seziertisch

I think there is probably a certain element of this at play as well

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Louis_Cheskin#Sensation_transference

When you have guys like this endorsing your instruments, it can put a lot of people off

http://www.prsguitars.com/artists/profiles/chadkroeger/index.html

SteamboatMusic

Whatever about the higher priced guitars, that is all subjective.
The lower end PRS's, the SE range, is in my opinion and a lot of people's opinion, one of the best quality guitars between 500-800 euros.
ESP LTD are also worth mentioning.

jamezy

SteamboatMusic wrote: »

Whatever about the higher priced guitars, that is all subjective.
The lower end PRS's, the SE range, is in my opinion and a lot of people's opinion, one of the best quality guitars between 500-800 euros.
ESP LTD are also worth mentioning.

Would absolutely love an Custom 24 SE. The look really good but have never played one. I have a 25" scale Ibanez and the string tension feels awesome but it only has 22 frets.
ESP LTDs are usually lauded even on rival company forums.

flyswatter

Never played one but apparently Leo Fender prefers them to his more popular guitar brand.

I've heard the SE's are fantastic guitars, very well built.

Squidgy Black

I've played a couple of SE's, meh. Depends on what you're looking for really.

flyswatter

stetyrrell wrote: »

I've played a couple of SE's, meh. Depends on what you're looking for really.

What kind of sound do they suit?

Squidgy Black

They're kind of a mix between a les paul but something a little less..... heavy I guess, I'm not sure how to describe it.

I've tried the SE Custom 22 and Singlecut.

I personally prefer the feel of the les paul necks, especially on some of the epi's, and the thicker sound suits me more.

flyswatter

stetyrrell wrote: »

They're kind of a mix between a les paul but something a little less..... heavy I guess, I'm not sure how to describe it.

I've tried the SE Custom 22 and Singlecut.

I personally prefer the feel of the les paul necks, especially on some of the epi's, and the thicker sound suits me more.

Interesting, I wouldn't buy a Les Paul to be honest cos they are so overpriced and easily damaged and broken.

Is the neck bolted on like Fender guitars on PRS's?

Squidgy Black

Nope, they're set necks.

In regards to the les paul's, I've had and played a few lovely epiphone's, the standard can be got for around 200 quid and can play as well if not better than some of the gibson studio's, and the custom can be got for about 70 quid more, and they can be phenomenal. A few upgrades like the bridge, pickups and tuners and you've got an amazing guitar. But it all depends on that certain guitar, gibson and epiphone's quality control is all over the shop. Then again, fender isn't far off it now a days.

SteamboatMusic

stetyrrell wrote: »

In regards to the les paul's, I've had and played a few lovely epiphone's, the standard can be got for around 200 quid and can play as well if not better than some of the gibson studio's

I think you just inadvertantly answered Flyswatter's comment about gibsons being overpriced with your praise of Gibson.
Also I second Flyswatters comment, that Epiphone's are easily broken, the amount of broken neck epiphones we see for repair is insane. The necks are a severe weak point on those guitars.

Squidgy Black

SteamboatMusic wrote: »

I think you just inadvertantly answered Flyswatter's comment about gibsons being overpriced with your praise of Gibson.
Also I second Flyswatters comment, that Epiphone's are easily broken, the amount of broken neck epiphones we see for repair is insane. The necks are a severe weak point on those guitars.

I never praised gibson at all? I simply prefer les paul guitars, they're more my sound, but I would never praise gibson unless it's their high end gear like customs and high end custom shops.

I've heard of plenty of gibson's breaking, but not too many epiphones. Interesting to hear it actually, it must be a design fault in the style then?

dermo909

I'll start of by saying that prs guitars are only costly when you are concerned about money. If you want the best guitar for you then money wont really come into it. Yes I know 2/3k for a piece of wood with some frets on it is insane but if you make your living from music then your instrument has to be of a certain quality. I could make the same noise on a 100 euro guitar but it would'nt stand up to being used for very long. I actually bought a 200 euro electric last year for giving lessons and its annoying me already. The frets are bad, the electics are awful and the pickups are terrible.

I've owned a few USA made Paul Reed Smith guitars and they are quite different to the PRS SE models. The SE models are made overseas in Korea whereas the proper Paul Reed Smith guitars are made in the USA. There's no comparison really in my opinion. They may look the same but they are completely different animals. They feel different, look different, are made differently, have different quality materials/pickups/electrics/finishing etc. In a blind test I'd know a USA model straight away.

I gig a prs singlecut usually and I do that for a few reasons. It sounds amazing, feels amazing under my hands, plays great, stays in tune forever, reacts to my picking style etc but the most important thing is that its rock solid. I have no worries about bringing only one guitar to a gig. If I was playing an SE model, then I might have some worries about tuning or the reliabillity of the electrics. I would'nt feel right about it.

Usually the only people who ask why PRS are so expensive are people who have never played a proper one.