Bbach1 Posted June 18, 2006 Posted June 18, 2006 Been just taking my time thinking I'm going to buy a new guitar this year sometime. Not in a hurry. I've looked at a lot of stuff. Recently, I've been eyeing PRS as they seem to have a condsiderable following. Since I want a solid body and no trem, it narrows it down a bit as far as their models go. I've been looking at the McCarty's. They have a weird stoptail bridge that does not appear to leave any way to adjust intonation. The other thing I don't like are the plastic Klusen turners. So, who on this forum owns a PRS? Anyone have any thoughts on these? How are their pups? I'd appreciate any input. bbach Beauty is in the eye of the beer holder.
Tone Taster Posted June 18, 2006 Posted June 18, 2006 Suhr Guitars has got 'em beat. People are selling their PRS's and getting Suhrs I have owned a PRS for over 10 years and it has served me well, but I am scrapping it and building my own axe For the money you intend on spending on Mc Carty, you could do much better w/ a Suhr or your own axe I plugged my PRS into a high quality amp Then I plugged a G&L ASAT Tele, and the tone was WAAAAYYY better w/the ASAT If you are going to get a PRS, get one pre-94 when they made 'em by hand
Guitarzan Posted June 18, 2006 Posted June 18, 2006 my friend has a McCarty, i like it. i do find most of thier pickups to be a bit hot. but the McCarty is better. if you notice the stoptail is precompensated. they incluse info on tweaking it for intonation by using the setscrews on the stoptail. unless you change to a heavier set of strings thier should be no problems. i would like to see an adjustable saddle stoptail like fender uses on the tele/stratosonic or yamaha uses on the AES420. i do like the McCarty more than the custom 24 my buddy used to have. http://www.soundclick.com/bands/pagemusic.cfm?bandID=193274 rock it, i will
PBBPaul Posted June 18, 2006 Posted June 18, 2006 Like all things guitar, it is totally subjective and you'll get every manner of opinion if you ask. Personally, I have been hooked on PRS guitars since about 1990. I currently have two of them and my Custom 24 is my primary gigging guitar. I also own guitars from Gibson, Hamer, G&L, Ibanez, Epiphone and Gretsch. I have never played a guitar like my Custom 24. It is unbelievably stable. I seriously play a gig, put it away and pull it out two weeks later perfectly in tune. It just never needs tuning unless I break a string. It is perfectly put together. I also love the range of quality tones available. While it can emulate a Les Paul and a Strat reasonably well, it really has a voice all its own. I personally don't put a lot of stock in the "pre-'94/post-'94", arguments. My Standard is an '89 and my Custom is a '98 and they are equally well built. The only thing that really took some getting used to for me was the rotary pickup switch. Now however, other guitars seem too limited and cumbersome for changing tones on the fly. As always, play a bunch and buy what calls out to you. If you ever get to Wisconsin, let me know and you can play my road worn guitars. I'm also confident that you can get pretty much what you want from PRS. IOW, if you want a Custom with a stop-tail, or a McCarty with standard PRS locking tuners, I'm sure you can order one. BTW, I love the locking tuners. String changes can be done in under ten seconds. Our new and improved website Today's sample tune: Lonesome One
Guitarzan Posted June 18, 2006 Posted June 18, 2006 yeah i never did get the rotary knob, i never knew where i was on it. but then again i didn't actually own it and play it everyday. locking tuners should be required by law! since i have used them i hate changing strings without them. i would think a regular 5 way switch would be more intuitive, for me anyway. http://www.soundclick.com/bands/pagemusic.cfm?bandID=193274 rock it, i will
Dr. Ellwood Posted June 18, 2006 Posted June 18, 2006 I've got three a Custom 24, a McCarty and a CE22 and they are all great instruments, all with different characters and personality. I wouldn't give up any of them. Once you get used to using the rotary switch you wouldn't want to be without it! http://www.thestringnetwork.com
Tone Taster Posted June 18, 2006 Posted June 18, 2006 Originally posted by ellwood: Once you get used to using the rotary switch you wouldn't want to be without it! I do like the rotary switch Took a little while after being a strat cat for so long
Bbach1 Posted June 18, 2006 Author Posted June 18, 2006 Originally posted by yZeCounsel: Suhr Guitars has got 'em beat. People are selling their PRS's and getting Suhrs I have owned a PRS for over 10 years and it has served me well, but I am scrapping it and building my own axe For the money you intend on spending on Mc Carty, you could do much better w/ a Suhr or your own axe I plugged my PRS into a high quality amp Then I plugged a G&L ASAT Tele, and the tone was WAAAAYYY better w/the ASAT If you are going to get a PRS, get one pre-94 when they made 'em by hand Thanks yZe. I've never looked into Suhr. I'll check them out. I have owned a G&L ASAT and thought highly of it. That is one I should have kept but didn't. bbach Beauty is in the eye of the beer holder.
Bbach1 Posted June 18, 2006 Author Posted June 18, 2006 Originally posted by PBBPaul: IOW, if you want a Custom with a stop-tail, or a McCarty with standard PRS locking tuners, I'm sure you can order one. BTW, I love the locking tuners. String changes can be done in under ten seconds. Gotta love those locking tuners. I don't want to do a mod and end up with extra holes from the old tuners. I'm kinda intrigued by the McCarty. Living in ND often means buying without playing, which also means selling soon after when you find it wasn't quite what you are after. So, I'm just taking my time as asking a lot of questions. I do appreciate your input. bbach Beauty is in the eye of the beer holder.
Gabriel E. Posted June 18, 2006 Posted June 18, 2006 I have a '90 Custom and it's awesome. Super fat and loud. Very responsive. FYI they were never made entirely by hand. The tops were always carved by machine. My other fave guitar is a '71 tele but I had to do a bunch of stuff to it. The PRS is the only guitar I own that's totally stock. "You never can vouch for your own consciousness." - Norman Mailer
Tone Taster Posted June 18, 2006 Posted June 18, 2006 Originally posted by Bbach when I'm ready: Thanks yZe. I've never looked into Suhr. I'll check them out. I have owned a G&L ASAT and thought highly of it. That is one I should have kept but didn't. PRS pickups don't even touch Suhr's pickups Alot of cats are ripping out the PRS pickups and putting either Suhrs or Bare Knuckles in there PRS has gotten to big for their britches
Guitarzan Posted June 18, 2006 Posted June 18, 2006 i don't want to poop on PRS but maybe one of these would suit you.... i have never read a bad review, and i belive thier prices are dang good considering they have more hand work from what i read. TCM http://www.soundclick.com/bands/pagemusic.cfm?bandID=193274 rock it, i will
Guitarzan Posted June 18, 2006 Posted June 18, 2006 here is what i would get if i had the dough.. schwingggg http://www.soundclick.com/bands/pagemusic.cfm?bandID=193274 rock it, i will
Guitarzan Posted June 18, 2006 Posted June 18, 2006 once more another suggestion. hand built at great prices. MJ engineering ... more schwinnggg please sit down before clicking this link http://www.soundclick.com/bands/pagemusic.cfm?bandID=193274 rock it, i will
mdrs Posted June 18, 2006 Posted June 18, 2006 Roberto, If you like a Les Paul tone wise, try the PRS Custom 22 hardtail. It's a bit cleaner than any LP I've played, but it is close tonewise. I had a Custom 24, which played as well as any axe I've ever touched. But, it had that rotary switch, and a trem....I'm not a trem guy. It was able to get sounds close to a LP, and a Strat, however, which was cool. I have owned a bunch of PRS's. I really like my Santana II braz neck, and a Singlecut Braz neck that I have. Personally, I find PRS guitars to lack character, tone wise. To me, they sound very neutral, if you know what I mean. If you play with a lot of effects, PRS may be perfect. Played clean, straight thru a good tube amp, I generally find them dissapointing. Of course, this is very subjective, and only my opinion. I think that, hands down, PRS is making the best quality, and most beautiful electrics around. What are you playing now? What kind of music do you play? How advanced a player are you? What's your budget? Depending on these answers, we could talk some more!!! Don Don "There once was a note, Pure and Easy. Playing so free, like a breath rippling by." http://www.soundclick.com/bands/pagemusic.cfm?bandID=574296 http://www.myspace.com/imdrs
Scott Fraser Posted June 18, 2006 Posted June 18, 2006 < schwingggg>> Interesting, it has an "acoustic sound port" yet is described as solid, not semi-hollow. Any idea what's up with that round "F" hole? Scott Fraser Scott Fraser
Gabriel E. Posted June 18, 2006 Posted June 18, 2006 The pickups on PRSi are really good. I've never played a Suhr but the PRS is the only guitar I have that has stock pickups. It IS a somewhat neutral-sounding guitar. I think that has to do with the 25" scale length since other 25" guitars I've played sound similar. They respond really well to your playing and you can get a lot of different sounds by just altering the way you play. The HFS bridge pickup is really powerful. The guitar becomes a real monster when you crank it up with the bridge unit selected. "You never can vouch for your own consciousness." - Norman Mailer
Scott Fraser Posted June 18, 2006 Posted June 18, 2006 < Then I plugged a G&L ASAT Tele, and the tone was WAAAAYYY better w/the ASAT>> But that's really an apples & oranges comparison. They're in such different tone realms. Unless you're saying the PRS does humbucking tone much poorer than the ASAT does Tele tone. Scott Fraser Scott Fraser
Tone Taster Posted June 18, 2006 Posted June 18, 2006 Originally posted by Scott Fraser: < Then I plugged a G&L ASAT Tele, and the tone was WAAAAYYY better w/the ASAT>> But that's really an apples & oranges comparison. They're in such different tone realms. Unless you're saying the PRS does humbucking tone much poorer than the ASAT does Tele tone. Scott Fraser True on the A/O, It was the clean sound that really outshined the PRS. As far as crunch goes I didn't check it out I will admit, that the tapped coil on the PRS sounded fuller than a (forget which) custom strat pickup (i have a CE bolt on - 1995 w/ stock Dragons) The Dragons sound good, but I have found better
Scott Fraser Posted June 18, 2006 Posted June 18, 2006 <> And that's probably an area where most would go to a Fender-esque model anyway. There's a sort of low mid haziness on humbuckers that I find problematic with really clean tones, unless you're aiming for a dark woolly jazz sound. <> That's the Korean made PRS, isn't it? I think, given some of the high end names being tossed around in this thread, you'd have to be comparing one of the US PRS's. Has anybody done any extensive checking of the American PRS vs the Korean ones? Any conclusions? Is it like Gibson vs Epiphone? Scott Fraser Scott Fraser
Guitarzan Posted June 18, 2006 Posted June 18, 2006 SE (student edition)= korean CE= pure american but with a bolt on neck. http://www.soundclick.com/bands/pagemusic.cfm?bandID=193274 rock it, i will
Scott Fraser Posted June 18, 2006 Posted June 18, 2006 < CE= pure american but with a bolt on neck.>> OK, I get it. Yeah, didn't make too much sense otherwise, since the Dragons are not an option on the Korean models. Thanks for clarifying. Scott Fraser Scott Fraser
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