PRS 408 Standard - Inform me please

Jack_

I'm finding it hard to get much info on the PRS 408 Standard's that were released in 2012.

Does anyone know how much they retailed for? I'm mainly looking at the Standard Mahogany ones, not ones with flashy maple tops which appear to retail for much more?

How much would you expect to pay for one used?

Gassage

A slightly cheaper model, obviously aimed at Hygenists and Peridontical specialists.

Blueingreen

I was open to the possibility of one of these for a while and had an eye on the market.  I was really looking for a lightweight DGT and thought one of these might be an acceptable substitute. The one I came closest to buying was being sold by Guitars4you, so Mark may be able to chip in.  Only the faff of trading in over distance prevented the deal going ahead.

Asking prices are all over the place, which makes it hard to know what they actually go for.  IIRC Mark was looking for £1699, which I thought was a very attractive price from a reputable dealer.

Pluses for me on these were that they are generally lighter than other PRS; I believe have the DGT type jumbo frets; and they sounded very good on some Youtube demos.  There were trem and hardtail options: my impression is that the hardtails outnumbered the trems. I wanted a trem.

Minuses: it's subjective, but I wasn't completely sold on the looks, and they only seem to come with birds, not moons.  More seriously, the pickup system means that the pickups in effect can't be swapped out.  Maybe no biggie if you like the sound of the guitar and are sure it's a keeper.  I also got the impression that after an initial spell of euphoria surrounding these in the PRS fanboi community there was a bit of a reaction against that, which might hurt resale values.  That may be to your benefit if it means you can pick one up at a good price though.

guitars4you

At the time the new price was around £2200 and as @Blueingreen states I sold one for around £1699 last time - I like them and the simplicity of an all mahogany version - same build quality and performance as a fancier version with 'all the colour coded bumpers, wing mirrors and leather seats' but in a straight forward package - I know @Twinfan is  a big fan of this pick-up spec - I think any use model today for less than £1600 with case and tags Plus clean working order is a star buy - New price today with that spec and features and post Brexit pricing would be well over £2500

Jack_

Blueingreen said:

I was open to the possibility of one of these for a while and had an eye on the market.  I was really looking for a lightweight DGT and thought one of these might be an acceptable substitute. The one I came closest to buying was being sold by Guitars4you, so Mark may be able to chip in.  Only the faff of trading in over distance prevented the deal going ahead.

Asking prices are all over the place, which makes it hard to know what they actually go for.  IIRC Mark was looking for £1699, which I thought was a very attractive price from a reputable dealer.

Pluses for me on these were that they are generally lighter than other PRS; I believe have the DGT type jumbo frets; and they sounded very good on some Youtube demos.  There were trem and hardtail options: my impression is that the hardtails outnumbered the trems. I wanted a trem.

Minuses: it's subjective, but I wasn't completely sold on the looks, and they only seem to come with birds, not moons.  More seriously, the pickup system means that the pickups in effect can't be swapped out.  Maybe no biggie if you like the sound of the guitar and are sure it's a keeper.  I also got the impression that after an initial spell of euphoria surrounding these in the PRS fanboi community there was a bit of a reaction against that, which might hurt resale values.  That may be to your benefit if it means you can pick one up at a good price though.

I like birds, I don't often change out stock pick-ups, but the main attraction for me with the Standard's is just the solid slab of mahogany, with no flashy maple top, and obviously it varies from guitar to guitar, but some of them have beautiful natural grain lines.

Jack_

guitars4you said:

At the time the new price was around £2200 and as @Blueingreen states I sold one for around £1699 last time - I like them and the simplicity of an all mahogany version - same build quality and performance as a fancier version with 'all the colour coded bumpers, wing mirrors and leather seats' but in a straight forward package - I know @Twinfan is  a big fan of this pick-up spec - I think any use model today for less than £1600 with case and tags Plus clean working order is a star buy - New price today with that spec and features and post Brexit pricing would be well over £2500

Thanks @guitars4you, does trem or stoptail change anything?

Jack_

Also, they appear really versatile, but I see demo's from blues guys, and modern progressive guys, at opposite ends of the spectrum really, so how much does the neck profile or the trem impact what it's best at?

I own a LP and a Strat, so ideally I'm looking for something that leans more towards the modern/progressive sound than the classic sound.

Powerslave

Great guitars in my experience, and a bit of sleeper for PRS. Most dealers didn't embrace 408's in general and they never really caught on. The notable exception to this would be Sound Affects in Ormskirk who became a bit of a 408 oasis.

Unless you really want to be buy from a dealer and endure a 500 quid mark-up or so, they can be had for almost criminal pricing on a private sale.

There's currently one on Gumtree in Lancashire which looks like a really fine slab of mahogany.

I had one of these - a 2013 in Vintage Mahogany with hybrid hardware - and foolishly allowed GAS to convince me to move it along. I've been on the look-out to buy it back ever since - anyone ?

Probably a little darker / thicker sounding than the usual 'hog and maple pairing (but a little subjective from guitar to guitar, of course). The 408 pickups and associated switching system are incredibly versatile, and offer a modern twist on a vintage tone. I found mine capable of reproducing a tone reminiscent of Joe B's on Mountain Time from The RAH in 2009, and had ridiculously great sustain.

My only "complaint" as such was the use of the 3-way blade switch - probably not an issue for most people, but I prefer the McCarty 3-way toggle (mini-toggles, of course, are a feature of the 408 pickup system).

guitars4you

Jack_ said:

guitars4you said:

At the time the new price was around £2200 and as @Blueingreen states I sold one for around £1699 last time - I like them and the simplicity of an all mahogany version - same build quality and performance as a fancier version with 'all the colour coded bumpers, wing mirrors and leather seats' but in a straight forward package - I know @Twinfan is  a big fan of this pick-up spec - I think any use model today for less than £1600 with case and tags Plus clean working order is a star buy - New price today with that spec and features and post Brexit pricing would be well over £2500

Thanks @guitars4you, does trem or stoptail change anything?

no difference in value - just which you prefer - generally more trem models about

monkey42

There's a plain Jane one on eBay currently. No affiliation but seems a good price

prh777

I was quite taken with this demo.



some great instrumental tunes on the album and very much a mixture of gain sounds on there (usually low - mid)

Powerslave

monkey42 said:

There's a plain Jane one on eBay currently. No affiliation but seems a good price

As per my Gumtree reference, but note the price difference (presumably to offset fees).

Strat54

monkey42 said:

There's a plain Jane one on eBay currently. No affiliation but seems a good price

It was on last week at £1150 and now its moved up north to a new seller who possibly didn't like his purchase and has decided to price it at £1295. Plain Jane PRS are ALWAYS a problem to sell on. They're fine by me but 99% of PRS owners expect Flame/quilt maple. 

SimpleSimon

I have the 408's in my Brent Mason and they are frankly stunning sounding pickups. Great clean or overdriven and split sounds are very impressive with no real drop in out put. Simon Mcbride is a big 408 user, check out some clips of him demoing the 408......,

Jack_

Strat54 said:

monkey42 said:

There's a plain Jane one on eBay currently. No affiliation but seems a good price

It was on last week at £1150 and now its moved up north to a new seller who possibly didn't like his purchase and has decided to price it at £1295. Plain Jane PRS are ALWAYS a problem to sell on. They're fine by me but 99% of PRS owners expect Flame/quilt maple. 

I've asked about this.

In the mean time, what is a good price for a CU24 10 Top? There's one on my doorstep for £1200 and it's tempting me - not my favourite colour, but not the worst either.

guitars4you

Jack_ said:

Strat54 said:

monkey42 said:

There's a plain Jane one on eBay currently. No affiliation but seems a good price

It was on last week at £1150 and now its moved up north to a new seller who possibly didn't like his purchase and has decided to price it at £1295. Plain Jane PRS are ALWAYS a problem to sell on. They're fine by me but 99% of PRS owners expect Flame/quilt maple. 

I've asked about this.

In the mean time, what is a good price for a CU24 10 Top? There's one on my doorstep for £1200 and it's tempting me - not my favourite colour, but not the worst either.

depends on 10 top and bird inlays - also condition, fret wear, case and tags - plus age - so advise further

thomasross20

JESUS, that video... 10 million years worth of talk and 1 ns worth of playing.

Jack_

guitars4you said:

Jack_ said:

Strat54 said:

monkey42 said:

There's a plain Jane one on eBay currently. No affiliation but seems a good price

It was on last week at £1150 and now its moved up north to a new seller who possibly didn't like his purchase and has decided to price it at £1295. Plain Jane PRS are ALWAYS a problem to sell on. They're fine by me but 99% of PRS owners expect Flame/quilt maple. 

I've asked about this.

In the mean time, what is a good price for a CU24 10 Top? There's one on my doorstep for £1200 and it's tempting me - not my favourite colour, but not the worst either.

depends on 10 top and bird inlays - also condition, fret wear, case and tags - plus age - so advise further

https://www.gumtree.com/p/guitar-instrument/£1200-weekend-sale-usa-prs-custom-24-10-top-burn-almond-birds-split-coil.-/1210506877

EDIT: Contacted him, he doesn't have the tags or anything, plus I'd prefer a newer blade switch to the older toggle, so I'm out of this one.

Jack_

Strat54 said:

monkey42 said:

There's a plain Jane one on eBay currently. No affiliation but seems a good price

It was on last week at £1150 and now its moved up north to a new seller who possibly didn't like his purchase and has decided to price it at £1295. Plain Jane PRS are ALWAYS a problem to sell on. They're fine by me but 99% of PRS owners expect Flame/quilt maple. 

Seems a bit ridiculous though that we're talking about half the price of a flame/quilt, just because it's a plain-top?

I spoke to the guy, apparently he bought it to replace his McCarty, but I'm treading with caution, but he said he is open to offers.

It has a wide-fat neck, which I'm not sure is the best option for me... How fat is this profile?

Strat54

The Custom 24 is okay, nice finish Burnt Almond, you won't go far wrong at that price and no tags aren't an issue on a PRS at that price. 
Wide fat....not especially fat. Not like a baseball bat neck....chunky not clubby. Probably about 0.88 deep at 1st fret to .94 at 12th.

guitars4you

Jack_ said:

Strat54 said:

monkey42 said:

There's a plain Jane one on eBay currently. No affiliation but seems a good price

It was on last week at £1150 and now its moved up north to a new seller who possibly didn't like his purchase and has decided to price it at £1295. Plain Jane PRS are ALWAYS a problem to sell on. They're fine by me but 99% of PRS owners expect Flame/quilt maple. 

Seems a bit ridiculous though that we're talking about half the price of a flame/quilt, just because it's a plain-top?

I spoke to the guy, apparently he bought it to replace his McCarty, but I'm treading with caution, but he said he is open to offers.

It has a wide-fat neck, which I'm not sure is the best option for me... How fat is this profile?

nothing wrong with that if you can get it for around £1200 - states regular profile on his listing - won't be wide/fat on a 24 model, generally not found on CU24's