Quality of PRS vs Suhr

Gilesy

Inspired
Hi all

Was in the guitar shop yesterday and inspected a PRS Custom. I was surprised at how flimsy and, dare I say, cheap the controls felt - the pick up selector switch did not feel like a quality item and there was no resistance at all in the volume or tone controls. Finally the bird inlays looked to be in a cheap looking plastic material, not impressive mother of pearl. The guitar in question (albeit right handed - I am a left hooker) was £1,500 new.

I had been thinking about maybe going for a left handed PRS Custom 30th Anniversary but on this inspection I was put off. This is a shame as in the pictures these models look stunning, and perhaps I expected more given the reputation of the brand.

Please could those in the know talk me through where the sweet spot is for quality in the PRS range (I am sure Private Stock is part of this - but would appreciate some help interpreting the model levels and the prices) and I would also be interested in your opinions as to how they compare to Suhr.

Look forward to hearing your views.

Cheers Gilesy
 
The easily moving pots are a PRS tradition, not a bad quality thing. Custom24 is their "the standard" model. I haven't seen bad workmanship in usa PRS's. I rather play my Suhr than my PRS, but that's because its a strat, not because of quality issues.
 
Strange my experience with PRS was totally different. i use to own a McCarty and it had really nice abalone dot inlays and the controls were fantastic. PRS seem to use low friction pots which live are really nice because it's a very rapid smooth turn.
I loved my McCarty, only sold it because I came across a Les Paul I just HAD to have.
I am actually in the process of trying to search out another McCarty now.
 
About 10 years ago I was on walkabout to find the perfect Les Paul. Pocket full of cash, I wandered the landscape stopping in every shop I could find.... Must have played 50 or more Les Pauls.... I wanted a quality instrument, made in USA (no offense to anyone - it's an economic thing). None of these Les Pauls spoke to me. I finally Walked into a shop in WI, knew the owner, and he talked me into trying a PRS 513. He had two beautiful ones on the wall. I played one for about an hour.... And it spoke to me. Big time. I bought it and I wouldn't trade it for anything else - I want another one. Admittedly, the 513 is toward the PRS high end (but still not custom). The neck is perfect (feels great to me) and the tonal range is immense. Beautiful workmanship, all around. My one complaint is that the volume and tone knobs are too smooth, and offer too little resistance. Sometimes the vibration of a live setting actually rotates the volume knob and I find myself obsessively adjusting. But this is a minor thing. I think PRS has some of the best workmanship outside of a "Custom shop". But it don't mean a thing if the guitar doesn't speak to YOU. I would encourage you to find your guitar (or guitars, as is more likely the case), and keep PRS in the mix of axes you sample.
 
Given the price of GBP 1.500 new, the OP is certainly talking about a model from the less expensive S2 series, which indeed does not have abalone inlays.
Hubertus

I think you might be right on that point.

The ones i have seen online which I fancied are in the photo below....

upload_2016-2-6_15-59-1.png

..and these do have abalone inlays, as well as binding around the body. this is marketed as a PRS 30th Anniversary, and is $4,400 - clearly more than the £1,500 i saw yesterday, so i guess your S2 hunch is right (I wasn't looking too closely, evidently).

Anyone able to enlighten me on the levels in the PRS range, plus how these stack up in your experience to Suhr quality and pricepoint?
 
also worth adding I play a stock US Standard Telecaster and US Standard Strat....that is my reference point.
 
Given the price of GBP 1.500 new, the OP is certainly talking about a model from the less expensive S2 series, which indeed does not have abalone inlays.
I think you're right.

S2's come nowhere close to a Suhr, but a core series PRS CU24 (or whatever model from the core & above line) is right about neck & neck with a custom Suhr in terms of workmanship. You might have more customized options with Suhr right off the bat (at a higher initial price point), but PRS is quick to match with artist & PS builds (also with a - sometimes severe - upcharge).

Apples & oranges, but both taste great!
 
Of all the custom made and high-end guitars I've played the PRS CU24 30th Anniversary is possibly my favorite playing guitar. It is unbelievably good. The first PRS I ever tried was from one of their lower line models and I thought to myself how uncomfortable it was and how even the low end Gibsons felt better, but the flagship CU24 is mind blowing. The 30th anniversary edition has a bit of icing on the cake as far as looks go, and the 85/15 pickups really do sound fantastic. I just wish they made the CU24 with an optional hardtail string through body like the Mark Holcomb sig guitar. Some people might like the tremolo on the Suhr's better, but as far as objective craftsmanship goes I think the two are very similar.

One thing I've noticed however though is that PRS guitars absolutely smell better than any other guitar out there :D
 
Of all the custom made and high-end guitars I've played the PRS CU24 30th Anniversary is possibly my favorite playing guitar. It is unbelievably good. The first PRS I ever tried was from one of their lower line models and I thought to myself how uncomfortable it was and how even the low end Gibsons felt better, but the flagship CU24 is mind blowing. The 30th anniversary edition has a bit of icing on the cake as far as looks go, and the 85/15 pickups really do sound fantastic. I just wish they made the CU24 with an optional hardtail string through body like the Mark Holcomb sig guitar. Some people might like the tremolo on the Suhr's better, but as far as objective craftsmanship goes I think the two are very similar.

One thing I've noticed however though is that PRS guitars absolutely smell better than any other guitar out there :D
Hi Nat

Smell was certainly not on my list of buying criteria - perhaps it should be!

How would you characterise the sound of the CU24 - would it give me good tonal differences to the tele and strat?
 
I also have both a Suhr and 3 PRS guitars (used to have 7, if that's any indicator of how I feel about them). Like another poster above, I had been on the search for a great Les Paul. Blah! They all had something I didn't like: terrible balance weight wise and muddy neck pickups. The shop owner at Wildwood Guitars (hey Steve!) put a PRS in my hands. It was a new (2003) PRS Singlecut Artist, and it was perfect. Tone, feel, balance, fit/finish, and beautiful as well. I have since had a love affair with McCarty's - there's more wood than a strat or CU24 making it sound beefier, but still articulate, and not as heavy as a Les Paul. My favorite playing guitar is my gold top McCarty that used to have P90's in it. I had it refit with mini humbuckers, and WOW! The neck PU is very low resistance (~5k) and sounds almost like a single coil with no noise. The bridge is fat and cutting at the same time.

The Suhr is amazing in its own way. I have an S2 (Suhr - not PRS). The in-between settings on the 5 way selector are pure sparkle - delicious. The bridge and neck positions are also impressive. Very tonally versatile too, and I had a coil tap added to the tone control so I could run the neck as a single coil. Sweet.

If I had to choose, there'd be no contest - PRS all the way! If you are encountering issues with the offshore-produced S2's, try a USA model, even a used one.
 
Hi Nat

Smell was certainly not on my list of buying criteria - perhaps it should be!

How would you characterise the sound of the CU24 - would it give me good tonal differences to the tele and strat?

Definitely a wider range of tonal differences I would say given the humbucker sound in neck middle and bridge positions, but the split coil positions give you something along the lines of a strat style single coil sound. I have an early 2000's Les Paul and I easily prefer the humbucker sound of the PRS. The contoured shape as well as the carved top on it has become my favorite guitar body design, and the neck/frets feel perfect playing with. I'm not sure how to characterize it, but it is spot on what I wanted and was looking for.

The newest album from Intervals showcases a lot of PRS tones if you want to hear some of their newer models in action. You can listen to it here...

The song track "I'm Awake" as well as others sounds a lot like the guitar in one of the split coil positions to me for mostly all of it. As a whole the album features a number of different tones capable of the PRS I believe though.
 
If I had to choose, there'd be no contest - PRS all the way! If you are encountering issues with the offshore-produced S2's, try a USA model, even a used one.

Just for clarification: The S2 models are made in the USA at a separate manufacturing line (Stevensville 2).
The SE models are made in South Korea.
 
Also noting from my above post the song track "Sweet Tooth" has a guitar riff that has a great split coil sound going on starting at 0:13.
 
Personally I've only tried some custom 24 models and cheaper versions at that. I would say that these guitar's tone outweighs their feel. i.e. personally I loved the quality of the tones coming from PRS pickups whether it was coil split or not, but the way the guitars actually felt to play left something to be desired. It may be because I enjoy and am used to strats/superstrats and the PRS models feel more like les pauls. It might be to do with the scale length or something but that's just my opinion. If you grew up with les pauls you might find that the feel of these guitars suits you well. But in terms of tones, even in the cheaper PRS range it's probably the best bang for the buck with the actual sound coming out of the thing that I've ever experienced. So I can assume the tone from the more expensive models are equally if not more impressive.

In terms of Suhr, I've tried the Guthrie Govan Rasmus model, and an all American Suhr Modern. For me personally, in terms of feel, they leave PRS in the dust. Admittedly they were both well over twice the price of the cheaper PRS, and in terms of tone, I would say that Suhr is not necessarily better. For me personally it's better, but it really depends on your taste. PRS has all the dynamics you could hope for and can provide an insane range of tones on the production custom 24, whether you like honky midrange, glassy scooped single coils, or just an even sound, the PRS seems to do it all. However the Suhr's also do that if you opt for the custom coil splitting. So my point is, you have a cheap option with PRS to get all the tones you could ever need, whereas with Suhr you can't get anything that cheap. Suhr generally has the advantage in terms of build quality, and feel, which judging from your experience, are far superior than PRS. But if you are only concerned about tone, I wouldn't say Suhr are too far ahead. Both brands knock it out of the park when it comes to tone. And I'm talking about their own branded pickups in both cases.

However PRS may be catching up, with their Modern Eagle and CE24 models, you now have the option of satin necks. I have never tried them on a PRS but they look great and might be a game changer for feel. But for me personally, Suhr already suits my needs and tastes and have done guitars like that for a long time. And also, Suhr are one of the few brands who whilst are very expensive, are actually honest about how much a satin finish costs relative to a gloss finish, and actually charge less for a satin finish in general.
 
Definitely a wider range of tonal differences I would say given the humbucker sound in neck middle and bridge positions, but the split coil positions give you something along the lines of a strat style single coil sound. I have an early 2000's Les Paul and I easily prefer the humbucker sound of the PRS. The contoured shape as well as the carved top on it has become my favorite guitar body design, and the neck/frets feel perfect playing with. I'm not sure how to characterize it, but it is spot on what I wanted and was looking for.

The newest album from Intervals showcases a lot of PRS tones if you want to hear some of their newer models in action. You can listen to it here...

The song track "I'm Awake" as well as others sounds a lot like the guitar in one of the split coil positions to me for mostly all of it. As a whole the album features a number of different tones capable of the PRS I believe though.

Nat thank you for taking the time - this is great guidance and I will give the link a listen tomorrow. I agree that the shape is factor - aesthetically the PRS looks beautiful and 'crafted' which is very attractive (and hence my OP about the surprise at the control quality). I would be looking for something different from the fenders and this looks like it would offer that.

Cheers Gilesy
 
I also have both a Suhr and 3 PRS guitars (used to have 7, if that's any indicator of how I feel about them). Like another poster above, I had been on the search for a great Les Paul. Blah! They all had something I didn't like: terrible balance weight wise and muddy neck pickups. The shop owner at Wildwood Guitars (hey Steve!) put a PRS in my hands. It was a new (2003) PRS Singlecut Artist, and it was perfect. Tone, feel, balance, fit/finish, and beautiful as well. I have since had a love affair with McCarty's - there's more wood than a strat or CU24 making it sound beefier, but still articulate, and not as heavy as a Les Paul. My favorite playing guitar is my gold top McCarty that used to have P90's in it. I had it refit with mini humbuckers, and WOW! The neck PU is very low resistance (~5k) and sounds almost like a single coil with no noise. The bridge is fat and cutting at the same time.

The Suhr is amazing in its own way. I have an S2 (Suhr - not PRS). The in-between settings on the 5 way selector are pure sparkle - delicious. The bridge and neck positions are also impressive. Very tonally versatile too, and I had a coil tap added to the tone control so I could run the neck as a single coil. Sweet.

If I had to choose, there'd be no contest - PRS all the way! If you are encountering issues with the offshore-produced S2's, try a USA model, even a used one.
I am going to take a look at the McCartys. Not sure they are available left handed but your description of the guitar recommends it! Cheers for taking the time. Gilesy
 
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Personally I've only tried some custom 24 models and cheaper versions at that. I would say that these guitar's tone outweighs their feel. i.e. personally I loved the quality of the tones coming from PRS pickups whether it was coil split or not, but the way the guitars actually felt to play left something to be desired. It may be because I enjoy and am used to strats/superstrats and the PRS models feel more like les pauls. It might be to do with the scale length or something but that's just my opinion. If you grew up with les pauls you might find that the feel of these guitars suits you well. But in terms of tones, even in the cheaper PRS range it's probably the best bang for the buck with the actual sound coming out of the thing that I've ever experienced. So I can assume the tone from the more expensive models are equally if not more impressive.

In terms of Suhr, I've tried the Guthrie Govan Rasmus model, and an all American Suhr Modern. For me personally, in terms of feel, they leave PRS in the dust. Admittedly they were both well over twice the price of the cheaper PRS, and in terms of tone, I would say that Suhr is not necessarily better. For me personally it's better, but it really depends on your taste. PRS has all the dynamics you could hope for and can provide an insane range of tones on the production custom 24, whether you like honky midrange, glassy scooped single coils, or just an even sound, the PRS seems to do it all. However the Suhr's also do that if you opt for the custom coil splitting. So my point is, you have a cheap option with PRS to get all the tones you could ever need, whereas with Suhr you can't get anything that cheap. Suhr generally has the advantage in terms of build quality, and feel, which judging from your experience, are far superior than PRS. But if you are only concerned about tone, I wouldn't say Suhr are too far ahead. Both brands knock it out of the park when it comes to tone. And I'm talking about their own branded pickups in both cases.

However PRS may be catching up, with their Modern Eagle and CE24 models, you now have the option of satin necks. I have never tried them on a PRS but they look great and might be a game changer for feel. But for me personally, Suhr already suits my needs and tastes and have done guitars like that for a long time. And also, Suhr are one of the few brands who whilst are very expensive, are actually honest about how much a satin finish costs relative to a gloss finish, and actually charge less for a satin finish in general.
Scias great food for thought - when I go for a new guitar I would like it sound great, be versatile, feel great to play and great to look at. Suhr Moderns had caught my eye although these are obviously quite different to PRS offerings. I will look at the pricing on Suhrs to see where I would be aiming. The general shape of the PRS appeals - but Suhr offers lots too.

I recognise this type of choice is a first world problem. I will enjoy the process including learning from valuable insights from people like you - thanks very much! Gilesy
 
I don't think you can go wrong with an actual PRS (not the SE or 2 models) or a Suhr. Both are high quality, well made guitars. I have two 513s as my main guitars, and they are more versatile than anything I have ever owned. You'll have to play them both and see what feels right in your hands and to your ears.

I'd be a tad skeptical of anyone saying either is significantly better than the other. At that level it will be much more how it feels to you than any real quality difference between makes. And remember, some of the most awesome music ever made, and some of the best solos you ever heard, were recorded on much less fancy, workman-like guitars. In truth, every guitar I own can sound better than I can play it. So pick something you like and make it sound good!
 
I don't think you can go wrong with an actual PRS (not the SE or 2 models) or a Suhr. Both are high quality, well made guitars. I have two 513s as my main guitars, and they are more versatile than anything I have ever owned. You'll have to play them both and see what feels right in your hands and to your ears.

I'd be a tad skeptical of anyone saying either is significantly better than the other. At that level it will be much more how it feels to you than any real quality difference between makes. And remember, some of the most awesome music ever made, and some of the best solos you ever heard, were recorded on much less fancy, workman-like guitars. In truth, every guitar I own can sound better than I can play it. So pick something you like and make it sound good!
Hey Rick

There is the truth - these fingers of mine can suck tone from any instrument and make the amazing sound average :);)
 
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