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

[Budda]

Rick is correct.

 

[Rex Rox]

The problem arises from quantitative vs qualitative judgements.

Example how is the upper fret access on any PRS guitar? Pretty bad compared to many other guitars. How versatile are they tone wise? Not very compared to many others. Quantitative judgements yield less buyer's remorse and eliminate the need to convince yourself that your $5000+ guitar was worth what you spent on it.

I.e. not their business

Unless they are trying to provide advice that might benefit you somehow. Which you can of course always ignore.

The internet and forums have given every moron with a cell phone a voice, and that was never going to be a recipe for reliable advice on anything.

Sorry but that is way too much of a blanket statement and if true would nullify your own advice by rendering it unreliable.

 

[Rick]

The problem arises from quantitative vs qualitative judgements.

Example how is the upper fret access on any PRS guitar? Pretty bad compared to many other guitars. How versatile are they tone wise? Not very compared to many others. Quantitative judgements yield less buyer's remorse and eliminate the need to convince yourself that your $5000+ guitar was worth what you spent on it.



Unless they are trying to provide advice that might benefit you somehow. Which you can of course always ignore.



Sorry but that is way too much of a blanket statement and if true would nullify your own advice by rendering it unreliable.

Some highly regarded guitarists disagree with your assessments of PRS instruments. Does that make you wrong? No. It’s an opinion. Form your own, and don’t call people “fanboi” when they disagree with you. Value is in the fulfillment of what the buyer wants. One person can’t dictate that to another. There’s a world of difference between “this isn’t worth that” and “this isn’t worth that to me”when assessing something.

Try the guitar (modeler, amp, car, computer, or anything else) and base your opinion on that. What I or you think about it is as likely to be wrong as right for the next guy. To make that even more dicey, many opinions you read online are by people who may have never used the gear, even when they say they have, and are regurgitations of the regurgitated things they’ve read. There are no validations. It makes the comments of very little real use. The point of my comment is to like what you like, don’t be steered by the masses, or take the derogatory comments as gospel. They’re not. Nor are the positive ones. Take them all with a grain of salt and take the time to find your own “right” answer.

The best benefit of forums is really in the “how to” help we can all provide one another. That’s proven stuff, useful and works the same for everyone.

 

[Rex Rox]

Value is in the fulfillment of what the buyer wants.

That is qualitative value.

Fanboi's are those that get upset when you make quantitative arguments that they can't accept due to their qualitative attachment/entrenchment and instead malign the provider of the rational, quantitative argument.

You obviously own PRS and are happy with it. I am happy for you. I have met plenty of guitarists that think they need to own a PRS and play it on stage to look legit. How you play makes you legit not the guitar you play. Again that is a quantitative judgement.

 

[Sixstring]

No man can tell another what to spend his hard earned money on! It really comes down to personal preference. If someone want to spend 5k or 500k on a guitar that is for them to decide!

Personally I don't have the means and even if I did I highly doubt that I would part with such money on a guitar... to speculative for my taste anything more than a few thousand bucks and I'm just not interested.

 

[Rick]

That is qualitative value.

Fanboi's are those that get upset when you make quantitative arguments that they can't accept due to their qualitative attachment/entrenchment and instead malign the provider of the rational, quantitative argument.

You obviously own PRS and are happy with it. I am happy for you. I have met plenty of guitarists that think they need to own a PRS and play it on stage to look legit. How you play makes you legit not the guitar you play. Again that is a quantitative judgement.

I own PRS, and Gibson, Fender, Taylor, Carvin, EBMM, and others. Great ones in every brand. I’ve also sold off guitars from all of those brands that didn’t do it for me. Some became the main guitar for others. Who can say?

It’s easy to assume too much, which is among the common results of only seeing online comments. Again, a failing of the medium. No matter the words you tie to it, you’re saying the same thing. I’m not disagreeing that there is value to taking in others’ experience. I’m saying you can’t apply that globally, or make the assumption that those with a different experience are wrong. The biggest point is that a person who takes the “gospel according to User X” as reliable may be leaving their best guitar untried.

Make up your own mind, and know.

 

[Michael R]

I just got a new PRS SE Swamp Ash Special in yesterday.
It was horrible. Weighed a ton, action way too low, input jack was loose, rolled edges did not exist and the wide/thin neck profile was nowhere near wide/thin.
It's going back to GC. No Mojo on that one for sure.
I have three other PRS S2 models, a Standard 24 and two Mc carty 594's (DC & SC) they all play and sound great but so does my USA Gibson LP and USA Fender strat.
It seems my only guitars that have mojo are the US made ones......go figure?

 

[Rex Rox]

Make up your own mind, and know.

Totally agree with one caveat - do your best to make quantitative decisions to arrive at the knowing whenever possible. That will always lead to less regret in my experience.

 

[HerrSquid]

I have some older SE's, (early aughts if memory serves) and one of them I really like, and two are okay but could really use some attention to their nut slots. That aside, there's nothing wrong with them. Right in between the SEs and Cores is the S2 line, built in the Maryland factory using simplified construction and some imported hardware and electronics. I have an S2 thinline (IMHO their take on a Gibson SG), and I love that guitar. I think the S2s are worth a look if you think the SEs are too cheap and the Cores too expensive.

 

[rog]

I don't dislike Rhett as much as some people on this forum do, but he's a bit of a hipster, and that's where I think he's coming from when he talks about "vibe". He's adamant that Suhr's just don't have it - I own a Suhr, and it's the best instrument that I've ever owned.

I think the guy in the video hit it on the head when he said these people feel like there needs to be a range of quality (some good, some not so good) so that the one they get stands out above the rest, that there has to be a zero sum game involved. Utter nonsense. A great instrument is a great instrument, regardless of what any other instruments are, and I kind of feel like 10 instruments that are all from the same line should have a somewhat consistent sound.

 

[AtomicJeff]

Rhett <snip> He's adamant that Suhr's just don't have it - I own a Suhr, and it's the best instrument that I've ever owned.

Rhett should tell that to Pete Thorn, who has plenty of mojo with his signature model Suhr.

 

[Frodebro]

I read the comments on the youtube video, in full disclosue I didn't watch the video. But the comments talk about how brilliant the DGT SE is. To each their own, but there is a PRS SE DGT Goldtop boxed in my foyer waiting for me to drop off at FedEx to return. It was AWFUL. The QC didn't seem bad but the tuners were terrible, and the pickups were beyond terrible. I guess having all Fralin pickups on my other guitars has spoiled me. I tried numerous presets and adjustments and the pickups sounded tinny, thin and weak. I can't believe that even DG could make them sound good. I finally unplugged the DGT and plugged in a Thinline Tele with Fralin Humbuckers and even my wife from upstairs knew instantly that I had changed guitars and that the difference in sound was beyond noticeable. Just my two cents. I hope others get much enjoyment out of the SE DGT. Not me.

All of your other guitars have Fralins, which leads me to assume that they did not all come from the factory with those pickups. If the only thing I don't like about a guitar is the pickups and/or tuners, I would keep the guitar and replace the offending bits.

 

[sprint]

All of your other guitars have Fralins, which leads me to assume that they did not all come from the factory with those pickups. If the only thing I don't like about a guitar is the pickups and/or tuners, I would keep the guitar and replace the offending bits.

+1, but for leftys, it's often not straight forward to find the reversed parts (ie bridge), so those of us who play in correct orientation () need good stock hw as it could take a long while to effectively mod.

 

[skolacki]

I just got a new PRS SE Swamp Ash Special in yesterday.
It was horrible. Weighed a ton, action way too low, input jack was loose, rolled edges did not exist and the wide/thin neck profile was nowhere near wide/thin.
It's going back to GC. No Mojo on that one for sure.
I have three other PRS S2 models, a Standard 24 and two Mc carty 594's (DC & SC) they all play and sound great but so does my USA Gibson LP and USA Fender strat.
It seems my only guitars that have mojo are the US made ones......go figure?

Those Swamp Ash guitars look great. With the economy lines some of the guitars are going to be stinkers. Also true in the high dollar guitars but the percentage will be better. I have a couple rules when it comes to buying guitars. I need to know the weight and I’m not settling for a stock photo. Also with the lower lines I assume I may need new electronics and maybe tuners.

As for PRS I’ve had 3. A 2006 US Singlecut trem 10 top which is a very nice guitar, easily my best. Also a Korean SE245 Soapbar I’ll never part with. It’s a great guitar. Really. And I bought a used SE Paul’s guitar that played excellent. But there was some glue squeeze out they missed at the neck joint. I liked it at first but then found I didn’t like the core tone of it. Sold that one. The SE’s I see in the local GC all seem ok to me. Compared to other makes in the same range the PRS are certainly not worse and I think they’re better. As for the $3k plus guitars, never going to do that. I’ll get by fine without all the bling. I like the S2 line and might pick one up. That asymmetric bevel bugs me but I like that they’re US built with 1 piece backs and solid tops.

 

[SpudMan]

All of your other guitars have Fralins, which leads me to assume that they did not all come from the factory with those pickups. If the only thing I don't like about a guitar is the pickups and/or tuners, I would keep the guitar and replace the offending bits.

Actually, full disclosure, up to this point all of my guitars are Warmoth partscaster builds. Basically, I have HH, SSS, P90 and Tele Bridge, etc., but all Fender type partscasters. I really want to add some more variety to my pickup/tone options. Things like a true hollow body for more Jazz type sounds, and a LP or LP like guitar.
I am still looking at a 2005 Gibson LP in a local shop, but waiting/hoping the consignment seller will come down a bit more on price. It is in good condition, but IMHO needs a bit of TLC to get it into the shape I would be happy with. It is all original, but has a black back of body and neck.
As to PRS, the SE line is called PRS, but to refer to what skolacki said, compared to other guitars in that range, it is similar, but that is because Cort Guitars factory makes most of the Korean manufactured guitars in that price range.
And in summary on the PRS SE DGT that I just returned; it felt like a toy to me. So while the pickups and tuners were HORRIBLE, overall it just didn't feel like a guitar I want to own. My Warmoth builds have spoiled me as they feel so solid and with the Fralin pickups they just sound great. I am very happy with them but this time I am trying not to build and rather find an off the shelf guitar. I might have to rethink that and go back to working on a Warmoth build, or perhaps a Precision Guitar build.
In the expensive, for me, price range, I am eyeing the Ibanez AS2000 or JSM100 hollow bodies.
Not being able to pick up and play and feel due to the dearth of local inventory here, or anywhere for that matter these days, makes the purchasing decision more difficult.

 

[Budda]

@SpudMan sounds like you should look for a well loved core prs (as new as possible) vs SE’s…

 

[SpudMan]

@SpudMan sounds like you should look for a well loved core prs (as new as possible) vs SE’s…

Would be nice, but finding one local would be difficult. I don't like ordering sight unseen.

 

[Snowdogyyz]

I have nothing against PRS. I think they are beautiful instruments! A buddy of mine is a fanboy and convinced me to buy one. Bought a trampus green CE24. Again- beautiful instrument! Played fairly well. But between the 3 popping nut slots straight from the factory and the super dark pickups I just couldn’t keep it. I find my EVH sigs are fairly dark but this CE24 was super dark. Sold it and just don’t see paying the huge prices for the really nice ones.

 

[Budda]

Would be nice, but finding one local would be difficult. I don't like ordering sight unseen.

Patience then.

Buy used from a store so you can return it (GC if in US)?

The nice thing with prs is that if you’ve tried one with a spec you like, the deviation across others with that spec is pretty slim.

Example: i have owned two core 594s. I would buy one blind because I know what will show up. I can see this being different when you dont have much experience with the models and neck shapes.

Edit: i see price being listed but… used PRS are generally 60%-70% of their new cost to start lol. You can find used cores for around $2k usd depending on your country, I imagine.

 

[Chewie5150]

I've played a $7000 PRS that I felt sounded kind of 'sterile' or just didnt wow me but man did it look beautiful. I bought a second hand S2 594 and it has the most 'mojo' out of all my guitars now. I find that with just about every guitar maker out there. Sometimes you want to like a guitar because of xyz but often end up bonding with a guitar because like in Harry Potter, sometimes the wand chooses you.