PRS guitars

NelsonP

So,  I once played a PRS in the late 80s and whilst it was a nice player, it did nothing for me. Good but very clinical. Imo they are like the Audi of guitars. Good at lots of things but ultimately a bit dull and overpriced.

Some PRS's have a bit of mojo e.g. Miras and Velas. The gold top velas in particular look amazing.  But the standards, 22s, 24s, 594s etc are all a bit meh imo.

Paul Reed Smith doing TED talks about why his nuts are better than anyone else's just adds to the unease that I have...


Am I missing something?

skullfunkerry

I don’t think you’re missing anything; I feel exactly the same way about Les Pauls. I know that some people love them dearly, but they do absolutely nothing for me.

In a similar vein, I love superstrats, but some people wouldn’t touch one with a stolen pick

I did play a “proper” PRS once: I didn’t like it much, tbh. I owned an SE Holcomb for a while though and liked it a lot, especially the pickups which were absolutely monstrous.

fastonebaz

I feel the same about prs guitars. 

ICBM

NelsonP said:

Am I missing something?

In my opinion yes, but that is just my opinion… they’re great guitars, very well-built, highly playable and great sounding. (Though not always with the stock pickups.)

That said, I’m bigger fan of the ‘mid period’ models from after the introduction of the 22-fret necks and before they started to add too many Gibson-like features (singlecuts, four knobs, stopbar tailpieces etc) - so I probably like the ones you don’t.

I only like 22-fret, double-cut, trem models with moon or dot inlays and two knobs… but those suit me better than any other guitars. I don’t like the Mira, Starla etc.

I currently only own a Swamp Ash Special, but wouldn’t rule out another Custom, Standard etc.

BlueStrat

ICBM said:

NelsonP said:

Am I missing something?

In my opinion yes. 

In my opinion you are missing out. 

Our opinions are as valid as each other’s. 

I currently have four PRS, two core, one S2 and an SE acoustic. 

Flawless build, top draw components and I love PRS pickups and electronics. PRS playability is sublime. 

My current non PRS guitars are Fender and ESP. 

I don’t get the fuss about Gibson, Ric, Gretch or things like Bigsbys or relics but that’s just my opinion. 

But then I’m on my fourth Audi A6 in a row so what do I know…

pluckbuddy

For me it's a shame they didn't diversify earlier with other shapes and cheaper models before they got labelled as dentists' guitars. I prefer the look of their solid colour guitars myself. But fair play to them, a bit like Taylor in the acoustic market, they came along after the big boys and carved out their own slice of the market with something that's not a clone. I can appreciate that even if the guitars mostly don't appeal to me.

I did try out a second hand SE Santana model the other day and thought it was great for the price but it weighed the same as a small elephant so I didn't but it.

RaymondLin

A great guitar is a great guitar, and PRS makes some of the best quality guitars on the planet.  

This mojo thing…it’s just imperfection, some people call it character.  In my language, cameras, mojo is like an old vintage lens. Not very sharp, tons of CA, strange busy distracting bokeh.  You don’t want it in a marvel movie but people love it’s “character”.

PRS makes the guitars with very little mojo? Or that’s just a way saying they makes a great consistent guitar with excellent qualities in every respect with very little to complain about but humans doing the human thing…needs to find a flaw and say it doesn’t have mojo.  Nothing wrong with being great, it’s not lacking in mojo, it’s just excellent.

Winny_Pooh

Slight troll thread.... you last played one in the 80's?! 

Why not just try a few new ones in person.

Doesnt have to be blingy, an SE or S2 Mira will kick the arse of 99% of accordingly priced SGs for balance, comfort, playability and tone. 

Philly_Q

Nobody says you have to like them, but it's very difficult to argue with the build quality. 

As for Paul Reed Smith saying "his nuts are better than anyone else's", of course it's subjective, of course you don't have to agree, but it's not snake oil.  Every little tweak the man (and his team) put into their designs is carefully thought out and done for a reason, even when they're cutting costs to make more affordable models.

Cookiemonster

Honestly I felt the same about PRS. I was wrong. They are fantastic. I would now like a single cut. 

DrJazzTap

I would guess that the main thing with PRS guitars, are that the pickups have improved a lot since the 80s. Try a DGT if you want something a bit more vintagey sounding. 
I used to think they were like overly ornate furniture, pretty to look at but not really worth the price. Bought by doctors and dentists etc.

I know Paul can rub people up the wrong way. But i personally love his enthusiasm and attention to detail. I think its a hugely significant factor having a living namesake owner. Not only that but a first hand repair man and builder.
Gibson know they are the harley Davidson of guitars, so why bother to innovate iimho. Which means you're just paying to own a gibson. They know it, and the QC suffers for it.

chris78

I always find the dentist stuff hilarious.
Look at the price of a custom shop les Paul. £5-10k? 

The closest model would be a 594, circa £4K starting point with an s2 coating under 2k.

The 594 will stay in tune, have better pickups that don’t sound muddy and better upper fret access. The build quality will be off the scale.

Now for a working guitarist (not a dentist), would you rather than less versatile more poorly built Gibson? Doubt it.

Mojo means it’s not very good in my view. 

FWIW, I have some older collectible PRS and the new ones are better. They improve all the time because of relentless attention to detail.

Anyone writing them off when they last played one 30 years ago though is simply trolling.

slacker

I'm always a little negative regarding PRS guitars so I'll start by saying that they are extremely well made with a lot of attention to detail. Also Mr PRS  should be the CEO of gibson.imho.

I don't like them. I want to. There's something missing.

guitars4you

@NelsonP ;  You say you once played a PRS in the 80's - Despite some 'vintage' old school vibe that is now applied to late 80's models I'm not a fan of them - Feel or tone - I'm a big PRS fan - Sold many, played many, own 3 - Maybe like the Gibson range there is no one guitar that sums up the feel, tonal character and playability of the brand - A Custom 24 is a different beast to a 594 - Build quality and attention to detail sums up the brand

Obviously I don't know what you currently own and play and ditto about your playing style, so hard to suggest model a or model b - But well worth trying out a few other models - Granted you may not like one after a test drive or two 

Not sure where this dentist tag came from - When PRS first appeared on the scene they were sold to pro orientated musicians based on the whole hands playing experience that such a guitar offers - In the UK I recall early player/owners included Tony Hicks, Phil Hilbourne, Geoff Whitehorn - None of them are dentists

Finally, the guitar trade is lucky to have the likes of PRS who can stand up in the 'Steve Jobs' way and talk about guitars - He is knowledgable on many facets of the guitar industry old and new - Gibson/Fender/etc do not have an equivalent head of a company that can do this - In fact they probably never ever had such a 'front man' who can talk, play, design, and drive the company

NelsonP

I did also try out a vela a couple of years ago. It was a nice guitar but it still lacked something.

There's definitely a link between imperfection and mojo. I know this because I ended up with a Gibson Les Paul DC jr that had to have the nut filed so that the g string would stay in tune.

Rob1742

I think it just shows it is about opinions, as you say they are like the Audi of guitars. Personally I think Audis are excellent. 

theimageofall

I’ve had a few SE’s but just couldn’t take to them and moved them on. All shapes and sizes/models.

They left an itch though and I recently went for an S2 Vela in satin and boom - I understand what the fuss is about. Absolutely amazing guitar and probably one of the best I have ever played.

Really impressed and it has got me wanting other S2’s now.

richardhomer

I don’t think Paul Smith would necessarily object to the Audi comparison. Among his refinements are trems, locking machines, glued-in frets, rolled fingerboard edges, altered nut placement for better intonation, control ergonomics, consistent neck profiles, properly levelled frets, thin finishes, coil taps that sound good, treble bypass networks that work, industry-leading quality control, etc. I’m not suggesting these things are unique to PRS - but the sheer amount of detail he has chosen to concern himself with, has definitely lead the industry. I don’t think it’s overstating things to suggest that more or less any guitar we can buy today, has benefited from him influence on the industry.

I’ve met Paul a few times. He’s a larger than life character - and certainly a polarising one. On balance, I like him. He’s single-minded, somewhat opinionated - and highly driven. His knowledge of the history of the guitar is deep, as is his appreciation of great/classic guitars.

Compared to new Fender and Gibson CS instruments, it could be argued that PRS Core models represent decent value.

The one problem Paul Smith can’t escape, is that his instruments weren’t around when most classic guitar music was recorded. Inevitably, because Clapton/Hendrix/Page/Gilmour/Knopfler/Moore/whoever didn’t play one, they will never be ‘iconic’ in the way that Strats, Les Pauls, et al are. 

Whether they ‘work’ for a particular player is only something the individual can decide. 

NelsonP

Rob1742 said:

I think it just shows it is about opinions, as you say they are like the Audi of guitars. Personally I think Audis are excellent. 

I do actually own an Audi. It's very competent, doesn't go wrong much, fast, nicely engineered etc.

DaevidJ

Do they sound "sterile"/ "lacking" because we are hard coded to prefer the Gibson or Fender "sound"?

guitars4you

richardhomer said:

I don’t think Paul Smith would necessarily object to the Audi comparison. Among his refinements are trems, locking machines, glued-in frets, rolled fingerboard edges, altered nut placement for better intonation, control ergonomics, consistent neck profiles, properly levelled frets, thin finishes, coil taps that sound good, treble bypass networks that work, industry-leading quality control, etc. I’m not suggesting these things are unique to PRS - but the sheer amount of detail he has chosen to concern himself with, has definitely lead the industry. I don’t think it’s overstating things to suggest that more or less any guitar we can buy today, has benefited from him influence on the industry.

I’ve met Paul a few times. He’s a larger than life character - and certainly a polarising one. On balance, I like him. He’s single-minded, somewhat opinionated - and highly driven. His knowledge of the history of the guitar is deep, as is his appreciation of great/classic guitars.

Compared to new Fender and Gibson CS instruments, it could be argued that PRS Core models represent decent value.

The one problem Paul Smith can’t escape, is that his instruments weren’t around when most classic guitar music was recorded. Inevitably, because Clapton/Hendrix/Page/Gilmour/Knopfler/Moore/whoever didn’t play one, they will never be ‘iconic’ in the way that Strats, Les Pauls, et al are. 

Whether they ‘work’ for a particular player is only something the individual can decide. 

So true on all levels as per your above comments