For you PRS folks- Please help

Stratman68

Stratman68

Axe-Master
Well, as you can see by my signature I am an old time Strat man. I am wanting to get some Humbuckers. PRS guitars always sound good to me. Problem is I cannot afford the Hi end Stuff.
I was hoping to maybe buy one of the lower ends and If I had to change the pups and tuners so be it-Still in my price range
Thanks for any help
 
Unfortunately that rules out the 513 which might make a nice "transition" guitar if you are used to playing strats. You'd have both single coil and humbucking tones at your disposal. I don't have any experience with the SE line but I don't remember reading anything bad about them. Best of luck in your search.
 
Well, I have been blessed to play and own several PRS guitars. I still have two (a Hollowbody II w/built in piezo, and my trusty old PRS Custom 24). I had a 513, but got rid of it. Great versatility, but way too much pick up noise for me. Stage lights created a super loud hum (like a cheap strat but way worse). The Custom 24 has a five position switch and gives great bite on the bridge pu, a strat chime on the bridge/middle, a sort of strat meets gibby on the mid, a strat neck pu sound on the mid/neck, and a smoky gibby neck tone on the neck pu. Very versatile. You might be able to find one used. I like the older ones better than the new stuff anyway. I have played a few of the SE's, and that might be a great option for you too. Although not a high end PRS, the SE is a very good guitar in it's own niche. I think it is better than Epiphone (low end gibby) or a lot of the lower end Fender stuff. You could also consider the SE and then drop some better pu's in it. I really like the Seymour Duncan Seth Lover pu's. They sound great to my ears. A trip to a well stocked guitar store should give you a few SE's to try. Another option might be a Parker Nightfly. It does not carry the billion dollar price tag, but does offer a very good guitar for the money. You would get the S / S / H configuration so you'd get some single coil bliss and some humbucker blast. Good luck with the search for the new toy. I hope this helped you.
 
I own a 513 10 Top with a wide fat neck. I'm totaly in love with everything about it. I can get Strat and LP like sounds out of it and more plus its so comfortable to play. I've seen 'em on ebay as low as $1700.00 I've owned mine for about 3 years and have never experienced any noise issues what so ever. You should try one out if you can It might be what your looking for. I've never played the SE model, but have never heard anything bad about 'em either.
 
I've owned two high end PRS and an SE. At a cursory glance and play, the high end and SE line will have a lot of similarities. The sound was close and the feel and neck carves were also close. It was almost plausible to say that the differences between the guitars were attributed to different woods that would be present in the same line of guitars. That said, after spending more time with each, the subtleties do come out. For instance, the US line has larger frets, less friction on the pots, and better hardware. Not that the SE has bad hardware. Stock pickups on the SE were good too. I think if you're going to play it through a good amp or the Axe II, it's going to sound good as is.
Are the differences worth the price difference? That's a tough question to answer. Like all guitars, you have to pick up a few and find the one that's built for you. The SE that I got sustained forever, was flawless in finish, fit, and fretwork, and was perfectly set up. Best of all, it cost a fifth of what my high end Singlecut cost. Was the high end PRS better? Yes. Five times better? No. Jmho.
 
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Forgot to add-I will not buy a guitar without adjustable saddles-Just an old vets preferences. I have some hand Arthritis so I do adjust the neck and all to every guitar I own. I am really anal about intonation although I know it's near impossible on a guitar I still need the ability to adjust it

Thanks a lot guys. I would be playinmg thru the AxexfII. I'm going to GC friday in the day. Maybe I'll get lucky. I am looking for the slimmer neck also-I know they are wide but that's OK. That's why I have shyed away from Gibsons. Although I am going to look at a Stduio Deluxe wjile I am at GC. Supposedly has the slim 60's neck. It's $1,200 which is a stretch but the lowest PRS USA I have seen even used was $2K+.
Onfe thanks and I will post back. If I end up with an Se, wellOK. It will mean I played it and I liked it. Changing pups is no biggie
Regards
Frank
 
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+1 on the Carvin Cali carve tops they are real close to a PRS. The build quality and playability are there without the huge price tag, though you need to do a Pup change IMHO. The string through bodies have adjustable bridge saddles as well as the trem systems awesome guitar for the money and I'm a PRS player.
 
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Im a PRS user, but dont know your budget or US prices.

Dare I suggest you look for a used CE? Being a mple bolt on neck makes it a touch more stratty - and as they were less when new than the CU range should be gettable at a decent used price - certainly are in the UK.

As for the 5 way, I think one of the positions (outside coils in parallel) is more tele middle position than strat - and it never gets that quack. There are things you can do - I added a push pull to tap the neck PS, giving me a decent Neck SC tone - and many retro fit a 3 way toggle and master coil tap.
 
Played a PRS SE Torero earlier this week (Floyd Rose, EMGs). Quality guitar, well-built, felt very solid.
 
Well, the other guitarist in my band shows up with a Paul Allender SE (bat inlays etc.) one day. He didn't know who this signature model was made for, however, liked it's tone and feel. So far, he's gigged it a bunch and it sounds great. For the price and quality it can't be beat. We joke around and whenever I decide to gig any of my "real" PRSi he grabs for his American strat; if I didn't already have a US made PRS, I'd have no problem buying one.
 
I just played a used PRS Custom 24 SE that sounded fantastic. It was just over $400 and I had to push myself out the door. I've had the bolt on USA PRS (forget model) with 5 position switch, smaller hollowbody spruce McCarty and regular McCarty. I don't have any of them any more. If I could get one back it would be the McCarty.

I also recently played a McCarty Soapbar that sounded great and played beautifully. I don't know where budget is, but the McCarty's can be had for $1300-1400 used. I could gig immediately with the Custom 24 SE though and that's way cheap.
 
I have a LOT of experience with PRS stuff. High end stuff is almost always top notch! Great design, well built, nice to play, quiet, well shielded and grounded etc etc.

I've played the SE lines as well, and save for a couple of the high end ones, I'd kinda advise you stay clear of 'em :/ They don't have the build quality or attention to detail, and they don't sound near as good. I do guitar repairs as a sideline, and the woods are also clearly cheaper than the high end PRS's :/
The torero like yek said, is an AWESOME guitar tho! Of all the SE's, I think that one was by far the best!

Try one tho, I know a LOT of people who use SE's and are happy with them. At the end of the day, if you can't tell the difference, go with it!

I'd also advise you go with carvin. I have 5 carvins, and even the lower end ones always shine WAAAAY above the PRS's in general. Check out a bolt or a bolt plus, those things sound GREAT!!! I have a couple and they sound 10 times better than my heavily modded strat. VERY nice to play, you can do custom stuff, and the prices are about 1/2-1/3 of the PRS's
 
The swamp ash special might be right down your alley. It's one of the cheaper PRS models and has an ash body and bolt-on maple neck with 3 narrowfield pickups. Tried it out and this combination works *really* well IMHO - bright and snappy response, maybe something like a Strat, Tele and PRS put into a blender! But not if you just want that thick traditional PRS/Les Paul sound.
 
I am amazed at all the replies. Much appreciated. I must state that my desire is to have my Strats be my strats and my (future) humbucker guitar to be completely different.I have been doing a lot reading and searching. Checking out the PRS and also the Carvin website. Tomorrow (Friday) is my day at GC. I will play many guitars tomorrow.
Again, Thanks so much
 
You might not be able to play a carvin at GC, they sell direct, so unless you go to a dealer, you might not experience one. They have a return policy and all that too, and have pretty good customer service and support, so give 'em a call or email and see what they have to say.

You should also check out washburn's nuno guitars....I'm a bit of a strat man myself (no pun intended :D) and I found that the nuno's give me that kind of snap and feel. I also like that they aren't too much when using the humbuckers. Overall great guitars ;) I've been trying to get my hands back on one for a while now :p lol
 
I can also praise Carvin. Not that i personally own any of there guitars yet....... But have played some as i live not too far away from the factory/store. A few years ago when they had their 60th anniversary they had a big open day. Live music from Carvin endorsers, got to meet Steve Vai, i'm not worthy lol. But they opened the factory for tours, very interesting and their attention to detail is awesome. Prices are really good seeing as you are getting a custom guitar to an extent.
 
My current guitar (I also have a 1980 Strat, a solid-body 1982 "Silverburst" LP Custom and a Yammy <whose pedigree I can't recall>) is a Carvin DC400 - flamed maple top, gold h/ware. Bought it 10 yrs ago and have pretty much used it exclusively. With the dual C22 hums, coil splitter, 3-way selector, Ebony fingerboard and neck-thru-body build, there's not much it can't do. I highly recommend Carvin for guitars.


I love the LP for rock - of any kind - but being a solid body, there's no way I can do a 4-hr gig with it.
 
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I have very little experience with PRS, but I won a PRS SE Custom 24 from the Carnival of Madness tour and it's horrible. My other guitars are an ESP Custom Shop Horizon, an LTD Viper Baritone, a Carvin 7-string, and a Fender Mexican Strat I picked up for $300. Every single one of my other guitars plays better and sounds better than the PRS. It's a hunk of trash by comparison. It feels hollow, I can't get the action low enough without it fretting out, and it sounds completely lifeless. I'll sell it to you for $200 + shipping. :D
 
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