Oh okay, NOW I understand PRS!

DougB415

DougB415

Power User
My wife has always had a love affair with PRS guitars, where I've been more of a traditionalist. Give me a Lester and a Tele, call it a day. She got me a goldtop SE 245 back in 2014, but I couldn't bond with it. Then during lockdown we started watching a lot more concerts on our large screen TV and we noticed that a lot of guys are using PRS gear in jam bands these days. I really liked the tones I was hearing and started doing some research. One day I found a YT video about the SE Custom 24-08 in Eriza Verde and I jokingly told me wife, "Hey, here's your new PRS!" She looked at it and said, "OMG, that is beautiful!" and started watching the rest of the video. That's when I started getting interested, because the tones were fantastic. We watched more videos on that model and I was really getting GAS. I went to our local shop, they had the sunburst model in stock, but all 3 of their Eriza Verde models had sold immediately. I asked if they could check on the availability.

I came back the next day and they said that they had talked to PRS and that particular model had sold way better than PRS had anticipated and the soonest they could get me one was 2022. What? So I looked online and the only place that had one in stock was MF. I ordered it last Thursday and it arrived on Saturday. Wow, what a guitar! The combination of this guitar and the Axe-Fx III gives me the perfect rig. Of course there is one little catch - it's my Christmas present, so I have to give it back to my wife to put wrap up and put under the tree. So I'm enjoying it as much as I can right now!

 
Andy Eagle said:
New SEs are very good for the money and so much better there they were just a few years ago.
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+1. My SE24 Standard is a great guitar. Needed a little nut work out of the box, which the shop that sold it performed for $15. Same with my SE245. Got them both a couple years ago.
 
Now my wife has me looking at the SE HB II w/ piezo. And yeah, another beautiful PRS that sounds great! But the wow factor for me is the weight; under 7 lbs? My back would love that. The 24-08 already is so much better than my Gibsons in tone and weight, maybe it’s time to let them go?
 
DougB415 said:
Now my wife has me looking at the SE HB II w/ piezo. And yeah, another beautiful PRS that sounds great! But the wow factor for me is the weight; under 7 lbs? My back would love that. The 24-08 already is so much better than my Gibsons in tone and weight, maybe it’s time to let them go?
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The 245 I have is fairly light as well, and it sounds HUGE with tons of punch in the low end and great sustain. My LP Studio went up for sale after I got it....
 
fcs101 said:
Have you ever checked out a DGT? I love versatile guitars, and the tones this guy gets out of his DGT are crazy
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I have a 2008 Goldtop DGT and it love it. It’s just the right weight and balance, holds pitch, and sounds like an old Gibson. Grissom and PRS did a great job designing it.

Joe Bfstplk said:
The 245 I have is fairly light as well, and it sounds HUGE with tons of punch in the low end and great sustain.
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As does mine.

The newer design Studio is a SSH monster with humbuckers. The Narrowfield pickups are really good. It was my grab and go for years.

Their 509 is a monster if you like guitars that target the Strat sound with a HSH configuration. It’s got a very believable single-coil sound. It’s what I grab if I want the Strat-like guitar with some humbucker capabilities.

I also have a PRS Special 22 Semi-Hollow that’s super light and comfortable that covers a lot of sonic ground. It’s my grab and go guitar around the house for playing unplugged, and the first I grab when going to play. It’s the ES-335/Les Paul side of the 509-type guitars and can do a realistic Strat but shines with the fatter humbucker sounds. It really comes alive when the air starts moving.

I’d repurchase any of them in a heartbeat.
 
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Congrats on your PRS! You will really be in love if you are not already. Like a fine wine the appreciation will get better with age.

Here are 4 out of 6 of my guitars. 2001 Custom 24 with McCarty Electronics, 2021 Mark Holcomb 7-String, 2004 Blue Ridge BR-180, and a handmade 4 string bass given to me by a great friend of mine.

My wife complains a bit because this is our Den LOL. There is a piano right next to my guitars, a Roland V-Drum set and my bar is full of recording equipment including my FM3, Laptop, and Midi Keyboard. I am surprised she hasn't kicked me out of the house yet. I did write her about 20 songs when we were dating and after we were married, so I guess she has a soft place in her heart to tolerate it. :)

I also have my first guitar, 1998 Alverez and a 1990's Yamaha TRB 5. I love my PRS so much that it took me 20 years to purchase another one and that is only because of the extra string. That was the excuse to my wife. She said, "I can't stop you from buying what makes you happy."
 
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PRS guitars are just too good to even need to explain it anymore. The quality and playability is beyond question. I have unintentionally become pretty much a PRS guy, nearly exclusively on electric, even though I have other great guitars. For whatever reason, they are the first thing I reach for when I want to play. Nothing wrong with the others, but the PRS guitars are just that good. In much the same way as my EBMM Stingray bass nudged anything else to the side, the PRS guitars have come to own the first call status here.

Congrats on yours! Not too far to Christmas….
 
The SE' s are awesome value for money especially on the second hand market I've bought Tremonti SE , a Zach Myres SE, an EG SE , Custom 22 SE , single cut 22 fret se with dragon 2 pups fitted by me , all second hand immaculate for about £300 over the years , these compare very well to my custom 24 ( 10 top ) which is my main guitar , but the EG is my strat type guitar with an gilmour pup in the bridge.

G \../
 
Coincidentally, my S2 satin is lighter than my current group of Core models (including a semi-hollow) and the only PRS lighter was my hollowbody piezo. They are all pretty nice.

There's a used PS custom 22 ultralight that I am mildly curious about.
 
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