Quality of PRS vs Suhr

Looooove my CU24 30th Anniversary in Faded Whale Blue. Hands down the most versatile and "feels good" instrument I've ever played.
In a moment of carelessness, my bass guitar fell on it and dinged the finish, so I have to send it back to PRS to fix it, but I hear they have a quick turnaround.
 
As many others said PRS uses pots that seem to have like no resistance. I hate them. I have played many PRS and owned a 25th anniversary 513 for a short time but was a beautiful guitar as are almost every PRS I have ever seen but they just don't speak to me. My Suhr on the other hand speaks to me so much I have to tell her to shut up. I have owned one other Suhr and she spoke to me too. All I currently play is Suhr and Tom Anderson. The PRS sounded fine and looked killer but I have not missed her once since selling her
 
Scias great food for thought - when I go for a new guitar I would like it sound great, be versatile, feel great to play and great to look at. Suhr Moderns had caught my eye although these are obviously quite different to PRS offerings. I will look at the pricing on Suhrs to see where I would be aiming. The general shape of the PRS appeals - but Suhr offers lots too.

I recognise this type of choice is a first world problem. I will enjoy the process including learning from valuable insights from people like you - thanks very much! Gilesy

Yeah first world problem but in my opinion it's easy to think that the sound is the only thing that matters, and that is true when it comes to recording or playing live. But when it comes to actually playing guitar, you are going to play and practice more and enjoy it more if you also have a guitar that looks sexy and it attracts you to play it. And even more so if it feels good as well. This will all translate into you eventually becoming even more comfortable and enjoy the guitar more, and probably have a positive effect on your actual playing and writing. Mark Holcomb said something like this in an interview I think.
 
It looks like with PRS I am going to be limited to a Custom 24 in the core line rather than private stock, given these are the only left handers available. If I were making this investment, given I am looking for a beautiful sounding, feeling and looking instrument, I would plump for the US-made non-S2 version.

I think I need to get my self to a local guitar store that stocks left handers of each of the PRS and Suhr to see how they feel.

Keep the opinions and experiences of each coming....they are really helpful.

Cheers Gilesy
 
Always helps having hands on time on when possible. With all the PRS talk here and seeing some really nice massive collections went out with the intent of bringing one home. Sadly after finally trying/playing various models quickly came to the conclusion they simply are not for me. Good luck in your search!
 
Always helps having hands on time on when possible. With all the PRS talk here and seeing some really nice massive collections went out with the intent of bringing one home. Sadly after finally trying/playing various models quickly came to the conclusion they simply are not for me. Good luck in your search!
Agreed - giving them a play is what is needed. G
 
Why so my man? what do you like about it, and how does it compare to your other guitars? cheers Gilesy

Build quality, playability...it feels and plays so nice....

I recently sold my 2009 Les Paul Standard, as I never really picked it up after buying the Custom 24.

Their USA core line is pretty solid. I don't think there many issues with "quality".
 
Late to the party on this but as a former PRS player (CU22, CU24 trem, SC trem) I can attest to their quality! It's pretty much what I judge a guitar's playability by and if it stands up to that then it's worth picking up.

The main problem with PRS these days, personally is their price... their US line has become over inflated. A typical 10 top is not that great so you have to look at a private stock guitar that's twice as expensive to get a top that looks the way it should. They are a great playing guitar but when you have to shell out 3-4K, that's a chunk of real estate!
 
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The proper Custom 24s are the highest quality built guitar you can get. Suhr is also high quality but I've seen problems like them coming with wrong pickups and air bubbles in the finish.
 
Late to the party on this but as a former PRS player (CU22, CU24 trem, SC trem) I can attest to their quality! It's pretty much what I judge a guitar's playability by and if it stands up to that then it's worth picking up.

The main problem with PRS these days, personally is their price... their US line has become over inflated. A typical 10 top is not that great so you have to look at a private stock guitar that's twice as expensive to get a top that looks the way it should. They are a great playing guitar but when you have to shell out 3-4K, that's a chunk of real estate!
Hi Sixstring

Interesting your comment about the 10 Tops....on the left-hand only guitar website I have been checking out over the course of the last year or two, I would agree there is quite a lot of variability in tops, and in fact some of the 10s did not look as good as the non-10s (at least in the pictures). Given wood is a natural material this is hardly surprising but it reinforces the need to choose on an instrument by instrument basis.

Saying that though, there have been some awfully pretty core-range guitars available. The ones particularly catching my eye are L/H 30th Anniversary Custom 24's...looks fab in Violet (and nice nod to Mr Prince, one of musical heroes), Black Gold or Azul (the colour of the guitar in my erarlier post).

Cheers Gilesy
 
I've owned two prs and I now own a Suhr modern. One prs was stolen, the other I bought and later sold. Never any quality or build issues with my Prs' custom 22s. At the end of the day, I just couldn't get the tone I wanted. Eventually switched to Gibsons and found what I was looking for.

No issues with prs guitars, but the scale length is such a signature thing to their sound that I just couldn't bond with.

My Suhr modern has a fender scale length. Again, no issues in build quality and it's an excellent guitar. I only use it on gigs where I need to cover a lot of sonic ground in one guitar.

At the end of the day, Les Paul's are where my ears and hands go.
 
I've owned two prs and I now own a Suhr modern. One prs was stolen, the other I bought and later sold. Never any quality or build issues with my Prs' custom 22s. At the end of the day, I just couldn't get the tone I wanted. Eventually switched to Gibsons and found what I was looking for.

No issues with prs guitars, but the scale length is such a signature thing to their sound that I just couldn't bond with.

My Suhr modern has a fender scale length. Again, no issues in build quality and it's an excellent guitar. I only use it on gigs where I need to cover a lot of sonic ground in one guitar.

At the end of the day, Les Paul's are where my ears and hands go.

I always wanted a good Paul but could never find one that played for me. I went through 15 or so when I was in the market then picked up a PRS SC and boom it played right off the wall. I hear what your saying about scale length it does contribute to the sonic tember and feel of the guitar.
 
Hi Sixstring

Interesting your comment about the 10 Tops....on the left-hand only guitar website I have been checking out over the course of the last year or two, I would agree there is quite a lot of variability in tops, and in fact some of the 10s did not look as good as the non-10s (at least in the pictures). Given wood is a natural material this is hardly surprising but it reinforces the need to choose on an instrument by instrument basis.

Saying that though, there have been some awfully pretty core-range guitars available. The ones particularly catching my eye are L/H 30th Anniversary Custom 24's...looks fab in Violet (and nice nod to Mr Prince, one of musical heroes), Black Gold or Azul (the colour of the guitar in my erarlier post).

Cheers Gilesy

Hey Gilesy, I would say maybe check out some of the custom guitar builders on your side of the pond, see if you can pick up something that is comparable to a PRS. Being a lefty already has you at the disadvantage with selection. Going with a custom builder you would more than likely have a better wood selection and you could have a say with the electronics. PRS guitars are really good but you have to hunt to find a really good top and hunt eve longer to find a lefty with a good top :D.

Here is a pic of a CU22 I used to own and this one had a really good top on it.
 
One thing I've noticed however though is that PRS guitars absolutely smell better than any other guitar out there :D

I thought I was the only one to notice! My 513s case smells JUST like a box of Kix cereal!!! My other PRS cases don't have that smell so...
 
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