PRS guitars - Lost their appeal?

[Moshe]

Is Paul Reed Smith guitars washed up? I remember when these were one of THE guitars to own. I just dont hear about them anymore...

 

[hubberjub]

They aren't bad guitars. There are just better guitars for the money.

 

[Fab4]

I've had a couple three PRS guitars and I keep selling them...still, I like the David Grissom model with the nitro finish and the two volume controls. I love the body shape. The Custom 22 I had was the most beautiful object I've ever owned, but I could never hang with just the master volume and tone...that's why the Grissom is appealing.

 

[Rx Tone]

Washed up?...ummmm....no...
They're some of the highest quality U.S.A. made guitars.

They aren't bad guitars. There are just better guitars for the money.

"better" in what way? Which ones are better and why?

 

[mrmudcat]

"better" in what way? Which ones are better and why?


Carvin comes to mind!!!:master:




PRS as well as Gibson are really getting on the overpriced bandwagon!


My cali carve top carvin came in at under $1500 built to my specs ............PRS would of charged about $3000-4000 :thwap:


I do want the prs swamp ash model but doubt ill be buying one anytime soon:whatever:


Have you checked out these guitars made in your own backyard,now id spend $3500-4000 on one of those voodoo custom:rockon:


They really are a great lil southern enviremently conscious company

http://www.neworleansguitar.com/

 

[M29]

I like mine

 

[mrmudcat]

I am in no way saying they are not great built guitars:beer:

It is getting harder and harder to find good american built guitars that are not overpriced:thwap:

Carvin is one of those companies but I know firsthand the electronics (pots, caps) are inferior to prs and others .......carvin pups I like!

 

[tot_Ou_tard]

Send me all your flotsam & jetsam.

 

[pes_laul]

I know what you mean, though they are some of the nicest guitars I've played. I think it was a custom 22 my friends dad had and it was probably the nicest guitar I've ever played.

 

[hubberjub]

Washed up?...ummmm....no...
They're some of the highest quality U.S.A. made guitars.




"better" in what way? Which ones are better and why?

I don't think they are washed up. They aren't the company they started out as. The guitars are beautiful. They have made some choices in terms of design that I don't care for. I know this is an Ed Roman complaint but it's legit. The neck heel is inexcusable. There's no reason it should be as big as it is. The hardware has also gone downhill. The original bridge they used was by Manne but now they use a much cheaper unit. My all time favorite PRS was the EG series from the early 90's. It was handmade in the US and was cheap. They were great guitars. They still make great guitars but many companies are building superior guitars that far undercut PRS prices. You aren't going to find them in the Musicians Friend catalog. Google luthiers in your area. You'll find someone who builds a quality product that costs way less that the equivalent PRS and you won't look like every other guitar player on the block. There is no reason that these threads should be taken so personally. It shouldn't be a crime for people to express their opinion. We're all here to have fun and further our playing.

 

[TS808]

All the folks I know who bought a PRS either loved them or hated them. It seems that the majority of people I know who didn't like PRS guitars were former strat players who bought a PRS and then went back to their strats.

PRS guitars are sweet, but in my opinion, way overpriced. Especially considering that the neck heel (as someone mentioned) is a real design flaw, as well as the fact that contrary to popular belief, most of the PRS models are not hand machined.

But I agree...you can get some guitars built to the same quality for much less. It seems that the major manufacturers, whether PRS, Gibson, and Fender, are doing their best to price themselves out of the market.

 

[Plank_Spanker]

I'll take heat for this but:

PRS builds a great guitar - that I wouldn't be caught dead with one on stage. For years, every one finger, two string power chord poser was on video and print making guitar faces with a PRS guitar..................and espousing their "solos are wanking, it's all about the song" excuse for their utter lack of talent. But they had their PRS endorsements...............................

Call it vanity, but I will never play a PRS. My mind equates them with all of the talentless morons that played them and droned on with the "solos are wanking" ( I suck but I'm in a magazine) mantra.

********Putting on flame proof suit now********************

 

[markb]

I'll take heat for this but:

PRS builds a great guitar - that I wouldn't be caught dead with one on stage. For years, every one finger, two string power chord poser was on video and print making guitar faces with a PRS guitar..................and espousing their "solos are wanking, it's all about the song" excuse for their utter lack of talent. But they had their PRS endorsements...............................

Call it vanity, but I will never play a PRS. My mind equates them with all of the talentless morons that played them and droned on with the "solos are wanking" ( I suck but I'm in a magazine) mantra.

********Putting on flame proof suit now********************

But other than that, they're OK, right?

 

[wingsdad]

I don't think they are washed up. They aren't the company they started out as. ...

They've even resorted to a series of 'affordable' Asian imports, the SE series...now you can have a PRS that's on a par with a Chinese, Indonesian or Korean Samick, Cort, Ibanez or Epiphone...

 

[Spudman]

I think they are beautiful looking and sounding guitars. However, I have played close to 25 brand new top of the line PRS guitars and didn't get a single bonding urge with any of them. But then...I tried the SE import model and found it to be a better set up and playing instrument than any of the 25. Go figure. That's my 2 cents worth.

I don't know if they are loosing it or not. Some people really like them and that's great. I'm sure they will always have a market but with the current economy they might not be moving the number of units they have in the past.

And for what it's worth...I always see many many used PRS guitars for sale. I'm not sure what that means. It's just something I've noticed.

 

[helliott]

Count me as one of the people wondering. I have a CE-22 and 24, and like them both. But when I challenged myself to figure out which of my axes I'd use in a new band, I settled on the US Strat. And am very happy. The PRS 22 sits on the stand in case I break a string in midsong. Not a noble place, but the Strat with S-1 switching and a ballsy amph gives me more choices.

 

[M29]

I still like mine.

 

[oldguy]

I would love to have one.........I would also love to have a new Carvin California carved top. There are so many excellent guitar and amph builders out there right now it's staggering. Along with many established builders.....but it depends on what you want and how much you can afford.
I say go with what you can afford and what you like..........

 

[Jimi75]

I haven't played a lot of PRS guitars, but those that I played where good guitars. A friend of mine has a CE22 and there's nothing wrong with this guitar. A few years back I have played the Swamp Ash model and it was a great guitar with great sound. PRS might be expensive, but they have kept up their quality all the time also with the SE series. PRS never had quality issues. I don't know if all the endorsement they gave to younger bands was "perfect" publicity though, on the other hand it is normal for a company to do marketing and increase the turn over - I think PRS was successful with their strategy.

For a Strat player like me, a PRS can not substitue the Strat and deliver Paul sounds in one. But never say never, PRs is always worth a check when being in a guitar store.

 

[tot_Ou_tard]

Call it vanity, but I will never play a PRS. My mind equates them with all of the talentless morons that played them and droned on with the "solos are wanking" ( I suck but I'm in a magazine) mantra.

Did the talentless morons have a decent guitar to not **** on?

 

[abraxas]

I don't see PRS guitars as being washed up. They are still one of the first choices for any professional player who needs humbuckers for their sound. And, contrary to Gibsons, PRS guitars have NEVER had any ups or downs in quality.

The Mira as well as the affortable SE series (I've got one), are very well positioned in the marketplace. I don't care much for flashy carved tops and the like, let alone bird inlays, but I can understand the appeal for some people.

I'd take a PRS over a similarly priced Gibson anyday. YMMV and most probably will.

 

[duhvoodooman]

A guy I worked with for a while had a couple of the high-end PRS's and I got to play two of them. They were both gorgeous and the build quality was obviously excellent, but neither excited me from a playing standpoint. Don't know what was missing, exactly--just didn't seem to have much personality, for lack of a better term. Interestingly, he rarely played them either....mostly because he was a LP guy (and owned 10 of 'em, all Gibbies ). If I was going to pay over $1000 for a solid-body electric guitar, it would be that Carvin Cali Carved-Top that's been mentioned here a couple of times. The high-end PRS's just seem too expensive to me....as do Gibson Les Paul's in general.

That said, I've read consistently excellent things about the SE series. I see the prices have gone up some, but most still seem to street in the $500 - $700 range. Not cheap, but certainly reasonable in today's market for a good instrument. Though Asian-made like so many other brands offer in cheaper guitars, there are certainly significant differences based upon materials, mfg. processes, workmanship, inspection, set-up, etc. People who own the SE guitars generally seem very, very pleased with them, so PRS seems to be playing the Asian-made product game very effectively.

 

[marnold]

That denim Modern Eagle II sure is sexy, but it's also six grand.

 

[tot_Ou_tard]

That denim Modern Eagle II sure is sexy, but it's also six grand.

I find six grand sexier.

 

[oldguy]

I liked it until I saw the back shot of the neck heel..........

 

[Fab4]

I liked it until I saw the back shot of the neck heel..........

Y'know, I've heard that rant about the PRS neck heel before...(for the record, I think Ed Roman is largely FOS and mostly interested in selling his own line of guitars to people who don't know what they're looking at or for, but I digress)...and I don't really understand the fuss.

I've had three PRSs - a Custom 22, a Single Cut and a CE24. I ultimately didn't like the Wide Fat neck on the Custom 22 and Single Cut and the lack of a second volume control on the the CE24, that's why they moved on. BUT, I've never had an issue with the neck heel.

Sure it could be all nice and smoothed out and that might be better, but I've never really noticed it as I play. One of the reason I got the CE24 was to get a 24-fret neck, so I do play up there on a regular basis. On the flip side, I have an ESP with a very smooth neck heel, but it wasn't a major selling point for me.

As a player and owner of a wide range of guitars, with all kinds of neck/body connections, it just seems to me like the Grand PRS Neck Heel Controversy is a non-issue that one well-known curmudgeon put out in the marketplace to diss a competitive manufacturer. You may feel differently, of course, but it hasn't kept PRS from selling a lot of instruments to everyday players like me and to others who can pretty much afford any guitar they want.

 

[M29]

I don't find the neck heel a problem either. I don't even notice it unless I look at the back. It does look odd but it is a non issue as far as I am concerned.
It seems that I read or heard that they extended the heel because of a lack of tone in a certain frequency range or something like that and that it added to the sustain.

M29

 

[Robert]

I haven't yet played a PRS that has much appeal, but then again, I haven't played very many of these. Must be some good ones in the lot if you know in which pile to look.

 

[oldguy]

Y'know, I've heard that rant about the PRS neck heel before...(for the record, I think Ed Roman is largely FOS and mostly interested in selling his own line of guitars to people who don't know what they're looking at or for, but I digress)...and I don't really understand the fuss.

I've had three PRSs - a Custom 22, a Single Cut and a CE24. I ultimately didn't like the Wide Fat neck on the Custom 22 and Single Cut and the lack of a second volume control on the the CE24, that's why they moved on. BUT, I've never had an issue with the neck heel.

Sure it could be all nice and smoothed out and that might be better, but I've never really noticed it as I play. One of the reason I got the CE24 was to get a 24-fret neck, so I do play up there on a regular basis. On the flip side, I have an ESP with a very smooth neck heel, but it wasn't a major selling point for me.



As a player and owner of a wide range of guitars, with all kinds of neck/body connections, it just seems to me like the Grand PRS Neck Heel Controversy is a non-issue that one well-known curmudgeon put out in the marketplace to diss a competitive manufacturer. You may feel differently, of course, but it hasn't kept PRS from selling a lot of instruments to everyday players like me and to others who can pretty much afford any guitar they want.

I didn't consider it a rant..........it may play great....I didn't know there was a "Grand PRS Neck Heel Controversy"........I'm not affiliated with Ed Roman in any way..........I'm glad you can afford pretty much any guitar you want.......and if that's the instrument that speaks to you, I applaud you for owning it and playing it........but personally...........I just think it's ugly.

 

[Fab4]

I didn't consider it a rant..........it may play great....I didn't know there was a "Grand PRS Neck Heel Controversy"........I'm not affiliated with Ed Roman in any way..........I'm glad you can afford pretty much any guitar you want.......and if that's the instrument that speaks to you, I applaud you for owning it and playing it........but personally...........I just think it's ugly.

I didn't mean to imply that YOU were ranting. I first heard of the neck heel thing on Ed Roman's website in the "Rants" section on his website, so it is eternally a "rant" in my mind, and in other places on the web beyond this forum it has turned into a bona fide rant......I think it plays great but that's just me, you may feel differently (as I said)......see "Rants" above......I didn't think or mean to suggest that you are affiliated with Ed Roman. I only mentioned him because that's where I first heard about the PRS neck heel change......I said I was an everyday player and that "others" who can afford any guitar they want choose PRS - Al DiMeola, Carlos Santana and David Grissom come to my mind as examples.....what speaks to me may not speak to you. That's part of the fun......beauty, as always, is in the eye of the beholder.

To each his or her own and more power to ya!