Andre Flood on why some people think PRS guitars have no mojo

[Rex Rox]

Here have another.

 

[Frodebro]

Here have another.

Couldn't have done it without you.

 

[Rex Rox]

Couldn't have done it without you.

So glad to be of service! I racked up quite a few on here too. Never really cared one way or the other though.

 

[Mystic38]

I have both of those, and they're so fun to play and sound killer. My Studio is waiting to get packed up to go out to play tonight and the Semi-Hollow was out last week.

Mojo implies "magic is at work", and while some people don't find it with a particular brand it can still work for others.

I also have no issues with the word Mojo either... it represents to me "that certain something"

 

[David McCarroll]

well, here's Dave at The Saxon playing, yes, a DGT SE - I've seen him here probably a dozen times prior to the SE version of the guitar being released, and there is precious little to no discernible difference in the tone (allowing of course for the vagarities of some dude sitting in the crowd recording with who knows what, but yep, it sounds pretty spot on to me) from then to this clip - man, this guy can play, and with sooooo much MOJO

 

[David McCarroll]

I'm not really sure what a "value proposition" is when it comes to a guitar - how about this - if it inspires you to make great music, makes you smile, feel good and transports you to somewhere you want to be - that's value. I don't know that ticket price really has the slightest thing to do with that, really. I have a core DGT, it cost quite a lot, but it's a phenomenal guitar (really phenomenal) and when I play it for any decent length of time I find myself playing stuff that I just don't on any other guitar because it plain inspires me - it was worth every cent. I used to gig at a local pub with a 59 Strat and a $399 Squier Surfcaster.... on any given night there was an equal chance that I would play the Squier and the Strat would sit all night on its stand because the Squier is damn fun, the lipstick pickups sound awesome and what the heck, Charlie Sexton plays Strats with lipstick pickups and they sound great - mine did as well - yeah, that guitar was also worth every cent! Both fulfil my idea of a good value proposition but in rather different ways. Both also appear to have tons of that weird mojo thingy.

 

[Andy Eagle]

Everyone should just play what inspires them. The idea that a guitar can be too perfect is the BS and so is the word Mojo.

 

[scottp]

Thank you!

 

[SpudMan]

I hesitate to chime in again as this thread has been relatively toxic. That was not my intention in the beginning. All I was saying is that the DGT SE through the FM3, for me, seemed impossible to get the kind of thick, rich tone that I get from my Fralin pickups. I never intended to imply PRS guitars are not good, or worth the money. That is for each individual to decide.
I am now wondering if maybe DGT can get great tone from the SE DGT because there are other variables. Meaning sound/tone is made up of many different components. The guitar, the strings, the pick, the amplifier, effects pedals, the speakers, and I am sure there are others. Perhaps DGT can play an SE DGT and sound like DGT is due to his mastery of the combination of all the variables that go into making his sound. And then of course there is the other variable I forgot to mention, his fingers/technique.
Anyway, I regret that this thread wasn't more positive, and hope this comment will not incite any negative reactions. It is just a thought I have as to why I couldn't get good sound from the SE DGT and DGT can.

 

[Daveporter33765]

Anyway, I regret that this thread wasn't more positive, and hope this comment will not incite any negative reactions. It is just a thought I have as to why I couldn't get good sound from the SE DGT and DGT can.

Every advanced guitarist eventually finds a “sound” that becomes their “signature tone”. As you stated, that sound comes from the meshing of many variables...only one of which is the guitar itself. When I was a young guitarist in the 1960s, just starting out as a studio musician, I was present at recording sessions where a major artist was forced to use gear that was not their gear and not gear he/she would normally choose because some unexpected issue came up. What impressed me was how those experienced artists were able to obtain their “signature sound” with whatever gear they had available. That is a lesson that I never forgot and which taught me to be more concerned with my “chops” and less about the gear I had available at any particular moment. Today, top-end modelers like Fractal‘s make life so much easier…at any given moment we have every conceivable amp, cabinet and effects unit one could possibly want at our finger tips. The same goes for guitars, we have the largest number of extremely high quality guitars to pick from, not just at professional prices, but also at even low prices. So, it’s a great time to be a guitarist and there is no reason that everyone can have just the right gear for them…now all anyone has to do is build up their skills over time, and become a player with great “chops”!

 

[sprint]

this thread has been relatively toxic. That was not my intention in the beginning

I wouldn't sweat it, the original post was a vid appearing to be negative to PRS tho I'm not 100% sure as I could only stand to watch the 1st 30sec of it - if the vid is positive and I wrongly assumed the opposite, that's on Andre for giving it a click baity title that leads one in the negative direction (as does this thread's title) - so no worries, things were leaning a bit toward toxicity from the get-go. Some good discussion and info tabled tho.

 

[marsonic]

I wouldn't sweat it, the original post was a vid appearing to be negative to PRS tho I'm not 100% sure as I could only stand to watch the 1st 30sec of it - if the vid is positive and I wrongly assumed the opposite, that's on Andre for giving it a click baity title that leads one in the negative direction (as does this thread's title) - so no worries, things were leaning a bit toward toxicity from the get-go. Some good discussion and info tabled tho.

It was kinda mixed. The "too perfect" thing wasn't really a dig at PRS...more so the claim that having to wade through a bunch of "mediocre" examples of some model means that when you find one that you really like, you think you've got "a good one", which I think he called mojo. PRSs, to him, are so insanely consistent that you don't get that "I found this one" moment, and he thinks that's where the idea they don't have mojo comes from. IDK. That has not been my experience with SEs. But, as I've said, I'm as likely to blame the phase of the moon as anything else for why I like or don't like a guitar on a given day.

It's kinda like the old Spy vs. Spy comics/cartoons....the first time most people see it, they arbitrarily choose one of them to support and then never waver from that choice, even though there's literally no reason for someone to actually support one or the other - no story differences, no morality differences, no capability differences....but people really like it when their spy wins a comic.

FWIW, I was a black spy guy. I still can't tell you why - he just looked cooler.

IIRC, he also had some suggestions for PRSs product line that would make them appeal to him more. I think I disagreed with almost all of his suggestions.

 

[skolacki]

The way I see the SE line is that the odds of getting a dud are higher than what you would get from the Core or even the S2 lines. I have a SE MIK that I love. I bought a MII SE that just didn’t have it. It being ‘Mojo’, the controversial word that it seems to be. I sold that one.

 

[marsonic]

The way I see the SE line is that the odds of getting a dud are higher than what you would get from the Core or even the S2 lines. I have a SE MIK that I love. I bought a MII SE that just didn’t have it. It being ‘Mojo’, the controversial word that it seems to be. I sold that one.

I've never played an SE that I thought was worth the money.

FWIW, I've only ever played one S2 594. It was good enough that I felt like I didn't have to search for "a good one"....not that I could. When I bought it, I'm pretty sure it was the last one in GA.

 

[rossipedia]

The way I see the SE line is that the odds of getting a dud are higher than what you would get from the Core or even the S2 lines. I have a SE MIK that I love. I bought a MII SE that just didn’t have it. It being ‘Mojo’, the controversial word that it seems to be. I sold that one.

I'll be honest, aside from my Strandberg, I haven't met an Inonesian made guitar that I like. All my Korean models are top-tier though.

(And every time I bring this up, somebody accuses me of bigotry of some sort, lol)

 

[Frodebro]

I'll be honest, aside from my Strandberg, I haven't met an Inonesian made guitar that I like. All my Korean models are top-tier though.

(And every time I bring this up, somebody accuses me of bigotry of some sort, lol)

It all comes down to price points and specifications.

 

[sprint]

My Indonesian factory made Squier CV tele is great - I believe they could produce whatever level spec they are given, but often, it seems they are criticised for making cheap feeling/soundlng guitars, when they are mandated to make
cheap guitars by the companies that contract them, ... lol

 

[rossipedia]

It all comes down to price points and specifications.

I keep hearing that, and I'm not convinced. At least not yet. I have yet to find a MII guitar model that, to me, is as high quality as the same model previously produced by WMI in SK. Maybe that makes me too picky, idunno, or maybe it's all just anecdotal and a string of bad luck.

But I can't ignore my experiences, and every single Indo guitar I've ended up purchasing (aside from the previously mentioned Strandberg) has been returned in favor of a MIK counterpart.

Even the new Taiwan-made Jackson Pro Plus models have better fit and finish and fewer tuning / playability issues than any of the Indo guitars I've had my hands on.

Idunno, maybe I'm just a snob. But they definitely have a "feel" to them, which I don't like. I also can't stand the Floyd 1000 series, so maybe the problem really is with me

 

[Rex Rox]

So wait are some people actually saying that if you know what to look for you can find good guitar alternatives that cost much less than PRS?

I wonder where I heard that before? Some peeps just be silly and like their waffles with some waver I guess.

 

[Frodebro]

I keep hearing that, and I'm not convinced. At least not yet. I have yet to find a MII guitar model that, to me, is as high quality as the same model previously produced by WMI in SK. Maybe that makes me too picky, idunno, or maybe it's all just anecdotal and a string of bad luck.

But I can't ignore my experiences, and every single Indo guitar I've ended up purchasing (aside from the previously mentioned Strandberg) has been returned in favor of a MIK counterpart.

Even the new Taiwan-made Jackson Pro Plus models have better fit and finish and fewer tuning / playability issues than any of the Indo guitars I've had my hands on.

Idunno, maybe I'm just a snob. But they definitely have a "feel" to them, which I don't like. I also can't stand the Floyd 1000 series, so maybe the problem really is with me

In the early seventies, Japan was the source for lower priced guitars. But they upped their game, and the prices increased accordingly. So the torch was passed to Korea, who have been building the budget lines for decades. But they upped their game, and with that the prices increased. So the torch has been passed yet again to Indonesia. Eventually they will up their game as well, then another country will enter the fray.