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@Bogwhoppit - was it you that wanted my Standard 22? I can't remember.
"Take these three items, some WD-40, a vise grip, and a roll of duct tape. Any man worth his salt can fix almost any problem with this stuff alone." - Walt Kowalski
"Only two things are infinite - the universe, and human stupidity. And I'm not sure about the universe." - Albert Einstein
There are just more of them, more S2 and SE line as well, not to mention all the used ones are normally in great condition so it means you need to price even lower to sell one.
Great time to buy a PRS if you always wanted one or to try one.
There was a lot of hype about PRS 15 or 20 or so years ago. They were relatively new. Magazines were full of how wonderful they were. Nice maple tops were really popular as well. As a result I think a lot of people (me included) went out and bought them based on all the reviews and hype. I'd seen all the magazine reviews and how pretty they looked and wanted a PRS. When I got the money to buy a nice guitar I didn't even try any Gibsons or Fenders - I just went out looking for a PRS. Over a 9 year period I bought 6 US PRS - although I don't think I had any more than 2 at any one time. That level of hype seems to have dissipated now, and the flash maple tops are not as fashionable.
There are also quite a few people who bought them back in the day who have moved on and are getting rid of them. @ICBM says he's selling his last one. I sold my last one last year. Now I'm a bit older and more experienced I tend to try guitars for myself without the prejudices of magazines telling me what is the latest greatest thing, and I've come to the conclusion that a decent Gibson sounds better to me for humbucker sounds, and a good Fender is better for single coil sounds. I don't think we're alone in that. I've seen enough comments to suggest other PRS owners have done the same and there seems to be a lot more supply second hand than there is demand.
They are very well built guitars but there is something about them that doesn't quite do it for me tonally. I still love the look of them but I don't really see myself getting another, although I am tempted when I see a guitar advertised for £1000 that would have been advertised for £1450 a few years ago.
How can that be the case during a "strong recovery"?
Will the thread now be moved to Speakers Corner?
I have never owned a PRS guitar. I did once pick one up in a shop.
According to a dealer I was talking to, Fender has cut Custom Shop production, Gibson produce a 'better' R whatever every year to bolster demand and PRS have introduced the S2s - presumably because they believe there are more sales to be had in that price bracket.
The 'boutique' market (I'm really not a fan of that phrase, but it seems widely used) is saturated. There are Andersons in the Classifieds on here at Fender Deluxe Series prices.
It seems to me that all these companies are waiting for demand to return to pre-recession levels - something which I'm unconvinced will happen. The 'stock' of guitar players is diminishing as fewer kids take up the instrument - and high housing costs put a break on most people's spending in their 30s and 40s these days. Older players will either give up or die.
I have met PRS - he is a remarkable man; full of energy and passion. I believe he may be the last truly great 'mass market' guitar builder.
I think the high-end future will be very different in 20 years time. The Monteliones of this world will survive - the big boys will inevitably have to scale down their operations, or go out of business.
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There's a separate discussion to be had about where do new younger PRS buyers come from...
@ICBM Not that I remember ? I was looking at the 513s at the time.
I am amazed at some of the prices some people ask for on the Facebook group though, I've seen some asking £2k for a single cut...you can buy a new one for less from the states.
I have 3 PRS, don't plan to get rid of any one of them but then all 3 came to less than a single Gibson R9 so that's value for money for the guitar you get.