Help me chose my PRS

I think used PRS is smarter as well. You can look on The Gear Page forum for some pretty stellar deals to avoid crazy price hikes.

I love the s2 series guitars particularly the satin finish guitars which were my first experience with PRS - but I had a DGT for a minute and liked everything about it (glorious neck - everywhere the pattern regular felt "wrong" it felt "right") but I'm not a flame-lover so it had to go because I hated the look (please don't @ me). The pattern regular neck to me feels like the slim 1960s gibson neck if it were made by fender and it really gels with me. I've never played the 'pattern thin' because I thought the regular felt pretty thin (I know it's only a little thinner). The pattern vintage neck feels so close to a 1960s slim taper but I found it more comfortable, of course, YMMV.

PS - I was in after wide fat/wide thin/etc so I have no idea about those necks or the naming conventions/changes.
 
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Joe Bfstplk said:
My Custom 24 has Pattern Thin.
My Studio has Pattern.
Pretty big difference, IMHO.

Both play really well and fit in my hand well, but the Studio feels a bit more like a Les Paul and the Custom feels a bit more modern.

Not sure what the name is for the neck on my SE Standard 24, but if I had gone to the factory in Maryland and had them keep giving me guitars to try, this shape is the one I would pick. It is really close to the Custom 24's shape, but subtly different and just a bit nicer. It feels slightly rounder on the back side, and just fits perfectly....
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Well yes - pattern is the old wide fat. Pattern regular and pattern thin are much closer. I have a friend with a pattern thin that feels like a pattern regular. The hand carving on core models means fluctution. Have a peek at wildwood inventory to see what I mean.

Your standard 24 may have pattern regular.
 
Budda said:
OP, if possible it's best to go try some guitars out before spending the cash, unless you're comfortable shipping back to the dealer.
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I would.... BUT in this part of the world shops have only the bottom line of each guitar brand... It's too risky for them to have a guitar on the shelf for a long time...
 
skolacki said:
If you buy a Zach Meyers online make sure you see pics of the actual guitar. I’ve been watching these on Reverb. They do some odd stuff, like book matched veneer where one side shows a lot of figure and the other not so much. On the back, you’ll see 2 piece bodies but some are very unmatched with the joint placed wherever it landed. Otherwise for the price they look great. I might get one myself. Waiting for some more colors.
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Thanks man, fortunately this guitar is in a couple of shops nearby. I will go there to check.
 
I understand wanting new BUT your money will buy a pretty much mint secondhand US CU24. The difference in hardware and pickups alone are reason to do this. There are plenty to look at and with quality musical instruments there is nothing at all wrong with buying used .In the classical world this is the best choice.
Also let's be honest a relic PRS is one that has the hanging tag removed and placed in the case.
 
I'm with you @Andy Eagle BUT as I wrote on this side of the pond it's very difficult to find one and I wouldn't buy from the US (price increases with a "safe" shipping, risks on shipping) and then find out that
 
Andy Eagle said:
Also let's be honest a relic PRS is one that has the hanging tag removed and placed in the case.
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LOL! So true.

Funny story: my Studio 10 Top Orange Tiger came to me in September at a used price, despite the photos in the ad showing the hang tag and "birth date" in June 2021. When it arrived, the tag was missing. I called the dealer to ask them to send it if they could find it, and was told that it was a new guitar, and the reason it sold for the price it did was that, after taking the tag off for the photo shoot for the online ad, the photographer lost the card, and, being a PRS top tier dealer, they could not sell it as new. He suggested I register it with PRS for the warantee. I downloaded the ad's photos, so I have a photo of the hang tag....
 
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Disclaimer: I've never owned a PRS, or any super high end guitar, and of course this all is just my $0.00002. I've been playing a long time :)

A little bit ago I went PRS shopping locally.
Had my eye on a PRS S2 McCarty 594 in particular that I knew was in stock in my area.

Some of the things I was psyched for:
  • 4 knobs, to let you preset lead and verse tones and volumes for instance, and for the tone nuances balancing pickup volumes
  • Individual coil splits for each pickup
  • US made PRS quality and tone
  • Nice looking without the jaw-drop bling of higher end models
What I actually thought in the flesh:
  • Subtle tone variations by balancing pickup volumes weren't as effective as I hoped. Leaving one pickup up full, only the very top end of the other pickup's volume range gave much shading, below that it was effectively off. Being able to preset volume and tone separately for each pickup is still super useful though.
  • The coil split positions were nice but didn't blow me away, and they were quite a bit quieter than full humbucker. I'd hoped PRS had some magic here, but physics.
  • Reaffirmed my massive dislike of push-pull pot ergonomics, way awkward with a pick in your hand.
  • Nicely made, neck felt nice, but action didn't amaze me.
  • Nice looking, though I'm not that big a fan of gloss wood finishes. Not a deal breaker, or PRS is off the table.
Overall, nice guitar, but not inspiring enough to pay $1,899 for it new, especially given the lower than expected value offered for my Helix floor trade-in.

So then I tried a couple other PRSs they happened to have.

Zach Meyers - Meh

Full-fat Paul's Guitar - OK now you've got my attention, NICE guitar
  • Tone was in a different league from the S2.
  • Unexpectedly, so were the tuners, much higher ratio, more precise, great feel. Not that the 594 tuners were bad, but these were outstanding, an actual selling point.
  • Prefer these coil split mini-switches over push-pulls by a lot, but I knew that.
  • Wish it had 4 knobs, but I knew that.
  • A bit flashy for me, but very pretty. I could live with it :)
  • Can't afford one. I knew that, but there you have it.
 
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Diego said:
I'm with you @Andy Eagle BUT as I wrote on this side of the pond it's very difficult to find one and I wouldn't buy from the US (price increases with a "safe" shipping, risks on shipping) and then find out that
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I still vote take your time and find a S/H one for sale that you can examine, play and collect yourself . I'm in the UK and these come up if you'r looking . I have a CU22 that I picked up because it was good ,I wasn't even looking for one.
 
I dont know if this helps, I'm not a Facebook user - but I know there is some group on Facebook where PRS fans buy/sell. I know you're in UK and I have no idea if there are UK users there or what they've got for sell - but I've seen it referenced on other forums
 
baby dracula said:
I dont know if this helps, I'm not a Facebook user - but I know there is some group on Facebook where PRS fans buy/sell. I know you're in UK and I have no idea if there are UK users there or what they've got for sell - but I've seen it referenced on other forums
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Thanks, I'm in Italy not UK ;). I will check that FB group but maybe I found something nearby 🤞
 
Diego said:
Thanks, I'm in Italy not UK ;). I will check that FB group but maybe I found something nearby 🤞
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I was saying that I am in the UK and understand your problem . Stick to what you want and you will find one S/H and mint for you budget .
 
Greg Ferguson said:
They do make solid color core DGT with the maple cap, they’re just hard to find. I have a Goldtop that is a great guitar.

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I know they make solid colors, it's just I couldn't find one at the time. Wanted a gold one and put it on my list of things to buy but was told there wouldn't be one until June 2022 from most retailers.
 
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