Gone off PRS

Haych

For years and years I lusted after PRS Guitars.  I had a catalogue once and I'd just stare at the pictures and dream about owning one.  A few years later I bought my first CE24 and it was like an achievement unlocked.  It looked nice and played nice but I found the 25" scale a bit alien, oh yeah and it sounded pants.

That one got sold and I did regret it I suppose.

A couple of years went by and I sold everything bar for a Martin acoustic and then the hankering for another electric took hold and I saw another used CE24 on the interweb.  It arrived and again looked great, played great and this time sounded great, but I was still having issues adjusting to the 25" scale, the string tension just felt wrong no matter what gauge and brand strings I used.

As it was my only leccy guitar for a long while I stuck with it and we got along pretty good in the end.  Add a few more years and a few other guitars enter my life, Strats and Les Paul type things - the usual y'know.  I'd pick these up and playing them was a joy, they didn't look as nice as the PRS and the setup wasn't as good but there was just something about all those guitars that the PRS just doesn't have.

I pick up the PRS and I enjoy playing it but it doesn't inspire me to play my best or with the same passion as the other guitars do.  I don't feel emotionally connected on a musical level with the PRS like I do with the others and compared to the others the scale of the PRS still doesn't feel right to me.

Don't get me wrong, I think PRS make a nice guitar, sometimes they look more like antique furniture than musical instruments but that's no bad thing.  I just don't think they are for me any more, as much as I hate to admit it.

That said, you'll find both my CE and SE PRSes for sale in the classifieds - it's a painful process but I see no point keeping a guitar that hasn't got that 'thing' (whatever it is).  It's kind of like making love to a beautiful woman (did Swiss Tony use this one?) who makes no reciprocal effort and has no passion.  Hopefully none of you know my ex-wife, though!

Anyone else ever wanted a guitar so bad but it ended up being not quite what you imagined?

jeztone2

That s me & Les Paul's. Got one in 2003, gigged it. was ok. But then I joined a 2 guitar band & the Telecaster seemed perfect. Tried a few other LP's. But have concluded they are not for me. Now I use PRS weirdly enough

guitarfishbay

Telecasters. I've tried twice and sometimes think about another, but ultimately I think I like 3 main types of guitar - Stratocaster, Les Paul, and 22 fret PRS CUs (inc CE etc).

Haych

Stratocaster and Les Pauls I agree with.  Telecasters have never really appealed to me - I've been playing guitar for 25 years (and I'm still crap) but I've never played a Telecaster, never even picked one up!

Weird eh?

octatonic

I can't play Les Pauls- they are an ergonomic nightmare.

I love the look.

I've come to terms with mostly being a strat/super strat guy- they aren't necessarily what I would prefer to be playing but I gravitate to them time and time again.

There is just something about the weight & ergonomics that works for me.

olafgarten

Didn't PRS make a fender scale custom 22 once?

richardhomer

octatonic;862059" said:

I can't play Les Pauls- they are an ergonomic nightmare.I love the look.

Exactly the same with me.

I've owned four over a 30+ year period - so it's not due to a lack of effort on my part....

ICBM

I played almost nothing but PRS for almost ten years, and owned five in that time, but I don't have a single one now. I don't think they're soulless or characterless or any of the other usual complaints - although I'm not a fan of flashy ones - I simply moved on from the type of sound they make. At the time when I started using them it was exactly what I was looking for, but I now find myself back where I started more or less, with Fender-type and Rickenbacker.

The only real regret I have is selling my old '65 Jaguar - I'll probably never see that one again and couldn't afford to buy it back anyway. I've never played another as good. I don't regret selling my PRSs at all and if I do ever want another, I know it won't be that hard to find another nice one.

TheMarlin

I used to hate tele's, love them now.

I just can't get on with Les Paul's, I've never had one in my hand that felt right (except @Gassage Gilmouresque Les Paul, which is nice!).

I just got an SG with P90's, that's cured that gas for the time being  Sorry, PRS leave me cold.

Marlin

Sassafras

Haych said:

Stratocaster and Les Pauls I agree with.  Telecasters have never really appealed to me - I've been playing guitar for 25 years (and I'm still crap) but I've never played a Telecaster, never even picked one up!

Weird eh?

Maybe it's time you tried a Tele. You might be surprised at how good they are.

Moltisanti

i had a PRS phase for about 5 years when i went through 8 of them, fantastically made instruments, and very consistent.

My tastes went to the tried and tested Les Paul...and surprisingly SG which is my favourite current guitar

frankus

Haych said:

It's kind of like making love to a beautiful woman (did Swiss Tony use this one?) who makes no reciprocal effort and has no passion. 

if it were like making love to a beautiful woman who makes no reciprocal effort and has no passion and freaks out when your contract comes to an end and says no you can't go to that Muay Thay competition to watch your coach and cancel your gym subscription while your about it... I know a .... a ... strat a bit like that.

Back on topic - I don't think one guitar can be all things - I think it's too much to ask unless you've one style and you've nailed your colours to the mast - which can be a great thing to do.       

thomasross20

Agree about Les Pauls being ergonomic nightmares. Also they can sound real muddy/mushy and too many knobs!

Some people just don't dig into their PRS' enough - be rough with it! I find them very consistent and they do sound great - ergonomically very pleasing. 

Strats are pretty cool but hate the volume knob being too close to the strings and the often large square heel and thinness of the sound. Suhr strats (Pro/Standard series) do a better job IMO. 

A PRS is an in-between strat & Les Paul sound. Or rather, it has its own sound. They're solidly built and pretty so I think people are scared of laying in - mine are absolute beasts tone-wise and everybody that's played them has said they're the best feeling guitars they've held (satin maple necks for the win!).

crunchman

I've had 6 US PRS and sold them all.  The DGT in my avatar was the last to go.

Technically I still own an SE Soapbar but my wife's younger brother borrowed that about 10 years ago, and still has it.

I just found that I preferred either a genuine LP or SG for humbuckers or a genuine Strat or Tele for single coil sounds.  There's something about the necks I don't quite get on with as well.  I much prefer the necks on my Gibsons and Fenders.

RaymondLin

PRS make 24.5", 25" and 25.5" scale guitars in various shapes and tops. Try one that suits you next time?

Neil

The trouble with PRS is that they seem to have so many electrical faults.

There is a bloke on this very forum that has written pages bemoaning the problems he has had with his.

thomasross20

Neil said:

The trouble with PRS is that they seem to have so many electrical faults.

There is a bloke on this very forum that has written pages bemoaning the problems he has had with his.

Oi!! Hahaha. 

I also had a green neck on my Suhr. 

I have no bloody luck!!

BGG

I had many PRS over the last twenty years, sold them on, bought a load of Les Pauls, starts, Suhrs, Tylers etc etc.

I currently own two PRS DGT's, a Tyler Burning Water, a Suhr Classic T (HSS + trem) , Gibson CS336, Fender CS HBS-1 relic.

The DGT's are my go to guitars and main gig guitars too, love them and they are both keepers.

stimpsonslostson

SGs for me. I idolised Angus, Tony & (Cream era) Eric.
So naturally I got an SG... Didn't find it comfortable- the whole guitar seems to be a few inches to the left of where I want it, so I sold it. This cycle has repeated again and again. I think I've had 5 now. (Currently I have none).
Love the look, love the sound. Don't get on with the feel.

Sarge

Yes I know that one only too well, I lusted after a Squier master series Esprit.
After years n years of reading hugely positive reciews I finally managed to land one, what a disappointment it was, it had only neen played for a few months then hung on a wall for 7 years prior to me buying it so was in excellent stock condition, yet it felt like it had been built by kids in preschool, never again!

Stevepage

It was the Gibson Gothic V for me. I always wanted one and finally got the opportunity to for a stupid good price. It was in great condition, came with a BKP Warpig and sounded fantastic. Unfortunately getting the fecking thing to intonate was impossible. I also felt like a berk playing it for some reason.