Ibanez AR420 or PRS SE Custom 24

Slartibartfarst42

I'm going to have a bit of a clear out of my guitars so I'm going to sell my Gibson Les Paul Studio, Fender Standard Stratocaster (HSH) and Yamaha TRBX304. The only electric I'm keeping is my PRS SE 'Floyd' Custom 24 but the funds from the three I'm selling will be going to buy just one guitar. My current PRS has hot pickups in it from The Creamery so I'd like my new guitar to have a more vintage feel as I'd like it to go from a Santana type tone to early 80's Metal (think Saxon). After a great deal of consideration I have it down to just two:

Ibanez AR420 or PRS SE Custom 24 (this time with a standard trem)

I can get the AR420 for £450 while the PRS would be £750 so there's a significant price difference straight away and while the AR420 pickups MAY be good enough for what I want, the stock items in the PRS almost certainly won't do the tones I'm after as they'll be voiced too modern so that's the thick end of another £200. Where's the problem you may well ask?

The problem is that I'm currently living in the Falklands so this has to be done in the two weeks I'm in the UK in August, effectively meaning that I'll have to make a decision on this before I get there. The PRS isn't an issue as I've already owned a few and I absolutely love them so the only issue there is the price. The difficulty is the AR420 as I've never played one before. It looks good and the spec is impressive and it will have at least a £300 price advantage so here are my questions:

1. How does the build quality of the AR420 compare to the PRS SE Custom 24? I know that the PRS is superb so if the Ibanez is weaker in this area, where are the differences? Is the PRS £300 better?
2. Are the stock pickups on the AR420 good enough to do everything I want and stay articulate?
3. I've read the AR420 is neck heavy and that doesn't sound good for playing while standing up at a gig. How pronounced is this problem? Would just a few small weights glued into the electronics cavity solve the problem?

In an ideal world I'd wait and play them both but if I need to order new pickups, that will need to be done at least a month before I get to the UK and only one of these options will need a change of pickups for certain. There's also the issue that the guitars I'm looking at might not be in the store if I wait until August, especially as the PRS I'm looking at is a limited edition. The safe bet is to spend the extra £300-£500 and get the PRS but if the AR420 is as well built as the PRS, has good pickups and it's head heavy nature isn't much of an issue, the Ibanez all of a sudden looks like stunning value.

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Funkfingers

Which exact year and version is your Gibson?

Unless the Gibson is an absolute stinker, I see no advantage to selling it to finance either of the new guitars on your shopping list. Instead, I would change out the Gibson 490R and 498T humbuckers for something with a more convincingly *vintage feel*, as you put it. 

Slartibartfarst42

The Gibson Les Paul is a 2013 Studio with the slim 60's neckand the stock pickups have already gone. The bridge pickup is now closely modelled on the 498T but with the harsh upper mids tamed a little while the neck pickup is much better than the 490R and is made with an A2 magnet and 42.5AWG wire. The Fender has a Creamery Classic '83 in the bridge, Creamery '59 in the neck and a DiMarzio Area 63 in the middle. I like both guitars and both are in mint condition but both are in the same sort of area as my PRS. Now I could just swap the pickups out but I find I much prefer the PRS to play. The Fender neck is a tad thick and the Les Paul I just don't find as comfortable so i reasoned that if I'm going to have one Metal and one more vintage, I might as well switch to a guitar I actually like as much as the PRS. Evidently another PRS will do this and the Ibanez, as well as having an impressive spec, boasts a neck that has similar dimensions to my PRS. Don't get me wrong, thje Fender and Gibson are really in mint condition and the Les Paul especially looks like it's still new and in the dealer but I rarely play them as I simply prefer the PRS. If I'm not drawn to play them, why keep them? I'll be in the UK for a couple of weeks in August so I'll put them up for sale before I get there and if they don't go to someone privately, the shop will get them in P/X. Somebody is going to get an amazing guitar whatever they buy but I think my time with them is sadly over.