What's with the Love or Hate thing in regards to PRS Guitars?.....

[Jessie's ghost]

Re: What's with the Love or Hate thing in regards to PRS Guitars?.....

They seem like very nice guitars, but I've never felt the need for one. Some guitars just look like my guitar, but a PRS has just never seemed that way to me. They speak to others, though; nothing wrong with that.

 

[AudioWonderland]

Re: What's with the Love or Hate thing in regards to PRS Guitars?.....

This dude here is a pretty good example of the kind of PRS owner I was talking about....

Wow you are clueless on this one. I have,use and love both PRS and Gibson. From my chair the PRS naysayers outnumber the field about 100 to 1.

And since you pulled that comment completely out of context you must be reaching to support your view

 

[some_dude]

Re: What's with the Love or Hate thing in regards to PRS Guitars?.....

Wow you are clueless on this one. I have,use and love both PRS and Gibson. From my chair the PRS naysayers outnumber the field about 100 to 1.

And since you pulled that comment completely out of context you must be reaching to support your view

It's more a boredom thing. I have no intention of 'winning' this argument, thus staying within context gives me no particular advantage. Conversely, my not staying within context doesn't automatically mean you 'win' either... unless your goal is to win at nothing, in which case you can have it since it's always been yours to take.

 

[aleclee]

Re: What's with the Love or Hate thing in regards to PRS Guitars?.....

It's more a boredom thing. I have no intention of 'winning' this argument, thus staying within context gives me no particular advantage. Conversely, my not staying within context doesn't automatically mean you 'win' either... unless your goal is to win at nothing, in which case you can have it since it's always been yours to take.

Nice. You take a dump on someone's choice of guitar and then claim you're not arguing.

Where's your crown, King Nothin?

 

[Gearjoneser]

Re: What's with the Love or Hate thing in regards to PRS Guitars?.....

I like PRS guitars, but have to admit that even after owning 6 of them, I still grab for Gibsons and Fenders. But, I still love playing PRS guitars from time to time.

I think the ultimate answer is to assign them a sound that gives them their niche, so it's far out of Gibson or Fender land. If you buy them thinking they'll be the bridge between Gibson and Fender, as most purchasers do, you may be doing the wrong thing. I think it's better to either take a humbucking model and steer it far away via pickups, or to buy something like a P-90 or semi hollow version, so it's automatically different.

I have 2 McCarties, and have owned a few Custom 24 and 22's, and I've assigned them as my "heavy sounding guitars", whereas I keep the Gibsons as vintage and the Fenders as vintage.

I think one problem with PRS owners is that we don't hear enough about their pickup changes. People baby them and are afraid to break the solder connections for some reason. PRS guitars are great wood, so when you get into pickups, you really open up all the possibilities.

I'm thinking of keeping one of my McCarties as a "heavy guitar" with it's overwound C-5/59, but then putting something like Phat Cats in the other.

 

[some_dude]

Re: What's with the Love or Hate thing in regards to PRS Guitars?.....

Nice. You take a dump on someone's choice of guitar and then claim you're not arguing.

Where's your crown, King Nothin?

There's no argument because the my original statement is not up for debate.

And for the record, I didn't dump on anyone's choice of guitar. I dumped on people who constantly rag on others over their choice of guitar while claiming how much better a PRS is.

 

[JOEBACCA]

Re: What's with the Love or Hate thing in regards to PRS Guitars?.....

It's kinda funny how the affordability issue with PRS tends to come up a bit in this thread when in all actuality a used USA Made PRS CE22/ CE24 have been selling on Ebay for years in the $800-$1200 price range depending on the condition, wood quality, etc. And they are worth every penny when you can nab one for that price. And if for some reason you didn't like it....put it back up on Ebay and you'll get back what you paid for it.

 

[sosomething]

Re: What's with the Love or Hate thing in regards to PRS Guitars?.....

I haven't played one just because they seem too... perfect.

and not in a good way.

You've never played one because you've already formed an opinion based on... nothing?

That's solid. Stick with that.

I'm not telling you to go buy a PRS but geez, man....

 

[Gearjoneser]

Re: What's with the Love or Hate thing in regards to PRS Guitars?.....

Sometimes, I think the love/hate thing boils down to 'have owned/have not owned' factor. Most who have owned a PRS never hate them, whether they love them or not. The only hate comes from those who've never owned one, and may or may not have even picked one up.

I'll bet the opinions would change for everyone if someone handed them a free PRS that fit their requirements to a T. I'm pretty sure you wouldn't hear anything but glowing reviews then.

 

[phil_104]

Re: What's with the Love or Hate thing in regards to PRS Guitars?.....

I use to pitch arguments in threads like these, with passion and enthusiasm towards one side or another of the debate.

Now I've just stopped worrying about it, and play a lot more.

PRS are good guitars. Might just be what one is looking for. They sorta have their own vibe going. I could totally play one for a show, or have one as a long term guitar. Expensive, but worth the price if you're into that kind of stuff. They certainly have made their way to the high end guitar maker list, and keep making cool stuff. So yeah, interesting guitars, not for everyone, but then again, nothing is.

 

[formula73]

Re: What's with the Love or Hate thing in regards to PRS Guitars?.....

I don't like them, generally, because they feel more like a strat when standing, as opposed to the ridiculous body length of a V or Explorer, which pushes the neck (and upper frets) comfortably out past my ample love handles.

Seriously.

I also dislike the neck-out as opposed to neck-up feel of them. I've played a few and they were very nice guitars but they just didn't do it for me. I'll fight with a good LP for a good LP tone and a Tele for a Tele tone, but for the most part, I'm a V/Explorer guy when I need a generic, good-sounding humbucker tone. I have been ever since my teens-why change now?

 

[Gearjoneser]

Re: What's with the Love or Hate thing in regards to PRS Guitars?.....

I'll revert back to a simple hypothetical question. Forget price. Let's say you got invited to the PRS factory, got a tour of the factory, played each and every single model, and then Paul himself said "go ahead, pick one, it's free."

How many haters would you have then? None. And it's the same answer you'd get if you were invited to the Gibson, Fender, Martin, Taylor, Gretsch, Suhr, Hamer, or Anderson factories. You'd wake up, get mature really quick, and have a renewed appreciation for the company that just put a killer guitar in your hands. This is if you remove price from the equation for just a second.

 

[phil_104]

Re: What's with the Love or Hate thing in regards to PRS Guitars?.....

I'll revert back to a simple hypothetical question. Forget price. Let's say you got invited to the PRS factory, got a tour of the factory, played each and every single model, and then Paul himself said "go ahead, pick one, it's free."

How many haters would you have then? None. And it's the same answer you'd get if you were invited to the Gibson, Fender, Martin, Taylor, Gretsch, Suhr, Hamer, or Anderson factories. You'd wake up, get mature really quick, and have a renewed appreciation for the company that just put a killer guitar in your hands. This is if you remove price from the equation for just a second.

I agree 100%. There is another thread going on at the moment, where the argument is that Gibson is overpriced and Epiphone is better, and all that jazz ( I know, shocking...). Anyways, all that to say that I can't disagree with your statement. I wasn't a big PRS fan for a while, then I saved up, played a few, and came home with one. I have a lot of respect for them as guitar makers.

 

[formula73]

Re: What's with the Love or Hate thing in regards to PRS Guitars?.....

I agree 100%. There is another thread going on at the moment, where the argument is that Gibson is overpriced and Epiphone is better, and all that jazz ( I know, shocking...). Anyways, all that to say that I can't disagree with your statement. I wasn't a big PRS fan for a while, then I saved up, played a few, and came home with one. I have a lot of respect for them as guitar makers.

I haven't seen too many people say they suck in this thread, btw. Most of the detractors aren't bashing, just not loving. If Mr. Smith gave me my pick, I'd play it, sure, but I imagine I'd end up going back to an old standby after a while.

 

[John_L]

Re: What's with the Love or Hate thing in regards to PRS Guitars?.....

I think a lot of it is just fashion right now the fashion is for relicd and vintage guitars not slick modern guitars. The wheel will turn.

 

[open]

Re: What's with the Love or Hate thing in regards to PRS Guitars?.....

I would think that a good set of PAF's, and maybe a mag swap, ought to get some nice tones from them. I've swapped mags in every one of my Gibson PU's, so I wouldn't be adverse to doing that with a PRS.

That's what i did,i've put a set of 59's in one and Seth in the other.

 

[Funkfingers]

Re: What's with the Love or Hate thing in regards to PRS Guitars?.....

Does PRS make PAF's, or are all the bridges overwound or (God forbid) ceramic? What about their P-90's, vintage or hot?

I would think that a good set of PAF's, and maybe a mag swap, ought to get some nice tones from them. I've swapped mags in every one of my Gibson PU's, so I wouldn't be adverse to doing that with a PRS.

The PRS Artist, #7 and #8 bridge pickups are no more overwound than a Gibson '57 Classic Plus.

You'll love this, blueman. The P90s in American PRS guitars are Seymour Duncans! SP90-1n (neck) and SP90-3n (bridge). On a slight tangent, the P90 currently in my personal PRS SE One is an SD Antiquity.

 

[That90'sGuy]

Re: What's with the Love or Hate thing in regards to PRS Guitars?.....

If people are really concerned for the price, just shop for used ones. That's all I've done. I don't have 3 grand to spend on a single guitar and if I did, I wouldn't want to spend that kind of money on a guitar anyhow. I think I paid something like $1100 for my keeper McCarty.

As I said earlier, you can find good used MIA PRS under $1500 all day long. That's comparable to the good Gibsons (not the cheapo faded sh1t, but the actual Gibsons worth owning) in every way on the used price market. You get a more stable guitar and with a pickup change, one that sounds every bit as good as a Fender or Gibson. I cannot stress how bad the PRS pickups are; that's why so many people think it must be the guitars themselves that have no vibe to them. And yes, while I love the Duncan single coil pickups in my '56 RI and I've liked the Firebird pickups, the Duncan P90s in the McCarty Soapbar that I had were pretty horrendous. I think Paul Reed Smith has some great taste when it comes to design, but his love of muddy, bland and overwound pickups ruin his creations. And it's not just one model's pickups, it's the HFS/Vintage Bass stuff, it's the McCarty pickups, it's the McCarty Archtop pickups (....and on, and on, and on....). The only pickups I had in one of my McCarties that sounded halfway decent were the #4s and those are easily dominated by any Duncan/Dimarzio/Rio Grande/etc. Not a good track record. Truth be told, I haven't heard Paul's newer PAF style pickups, but given the past track record I'm not holding my breath on them being anything special.

 

[GuitarStv]

Re: What's with the Love or Hate thing in regards to PRS Guitars?.....

I'll revert back to a simple hypothetical question. Forget price. Let's say you got invited to the PRS factory, got a tour of the factory, played each and every single model, and then Paul himself said "go ahead, pick one, it's free."

How many haters would you have then? None. And it's the same answer you'd get if you were invited to the Gibson, Fender, Martin, Taylor, Gretsch, Suhr, Hamer, or Anderson factories. You'd wake up, get mature really quick, and have a renewed appreciation for the company that just put a killer guitar in your hands. This is if you remove price from the equation for just a second.

Quoted for Truth . . .

It always cracks me up that some people actively hate certain brands so much. I mean, I can understand not liking the way that a guitar sounds, or feeling that they don't play well, even disliking the cost of a guitar . . . but to just hate on something for the name is ridiculous. I think that telecasters are ugly guitars . . . but do I hate them? Would I turn down a free one? Of course not . . . I'd play the crap out of it because it's a free guitar.

 

[blueman335]

Re: What's with the Love or Hate thing in regards to PRS Guitars?.....

I cannot stress how bad the PRS pickups are; that's why so many people think it must be the guitars themselves that have no vibe to them...I haven't heard Paul's newer PAF style pickups, but given the past track record I'm not holding my breath on them being anything special.

I would have thought that with the significant Gibson influence in his designs, and his admiration for Ted McCarty (president during the 'golden years'), PRS would have put some great-sounding PAF's in most of their guitars.