Bare Knuckle Pickups Forum
Forum Ringside => Guitars, Amps and Effects => Topic started by: PPPMAT on September 02, 2010, 10:49:05 AM
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Hi Guys - following on from my 'who makes the best strat' thread I ordered an anniversary 305 at a decent price in Sapphire smokeburst and it has arrived!
Fit and finish - exemplary PRS quality. Difficult to see how a guitar can be of better quality than this. The finish is perfect. The extra bits on the anniversary model - 3D like birds and eagle headstock are all nice touches but are quite subtle which is nice. The smokeburst finish is quite dark and gives a blue like hue. Its not a bling guitar at all - quite utilitarian in appearance to be honest. No falme maple tops here but yuo can see the Alder grain through the finish.
Playability - the neck is a 'standard' shape which is like a wide fat but with a thinner nut width. I have a singlecut trem with this neck and its excellent. Set up intonation etc spot on and the brilliant trem works as well as you could hope.
Feel and sound - Interestingly, and I suppose obviously it doesn't feel like a strat. The body is slightly thicker than a strat and a bit lighter. It feels much more modern (which it is). Sounds obvious but you really do feel that you are picking up an instrument designed in a completely different age which is neither good or bad but different.
SOund wise the waters muddy even further. Does it sound like a strat? well yes and no. It sounds like 3 single coils alright but I find it quite a bit different to my favourite fender. It has more power and a lot more bottom end. It has a complexity to the tone that particularly on the bridge is more a cross beyween a strat bridge and a P-90. Wind up the gain and it handles it much better than my strart will but the whiole feel and vibe of the guitar is a very different experience.
It is an excellent guitar - rreally really good and like nothing I currently own. Yes it sounds like a strat but it definately has its own thing going on. If you want excellent single coil tones that handle gain well then this is a belter. If you want that late 50's early 60's sound then its quite different.
So best strat in the world? well no - because its kind of like a strat but kind of not........ really
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Sounds great but..... pics or it doesn't exist! :D
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Pics to follow :)
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Interesting stuff... doesn't sound quite like my sort of geetar though :lol:
Let's see them pics :D
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A few pics - not great ones though but gives you an idea
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p.s. photos best opened in a new window. A random picture of my sunburst 22 which is also an awesome guitar but in a different way............... 8)
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Looks great! I've seen the sapphire smokeburst on mahogany and wasn't too keen, but it looks much better on alder.
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What headstock was on the Anniv? Santana or regular PRS?
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I think it's a regular headstock with rosewood veneer and "25th" eagle inlay.
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I think it's a regular headstock with rosewood veneer and "25th" eagle inlay.
Yes - it is. There are also only 305 of these world wide so relatively rare even for a PRS
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Would the pickup cavities take a trio of Apaches?
Just wondering :lol:
Congrats by the way, I'm sure this one is loads of fun!
I hope he comes up with something more aiming at the Tele user ...
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not my bag, but a pretty cool axe I must say
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Not for me but looks good. Have fun playing it. I do like your custom 22 though!
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I think it's a regular headstock with rosewood veneer and "25th" eagle inlay.
Not a maple veneer? Actually, doesn't matter... if it's the normal PRS headstock that's cool as I loathe the Santana one!!
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You can't retrofit any pups which is a major downside........it is definately a rosewood veneer on the headstock. Thanks for the comments - its great fun and sounds awesome!
Having had a bit more time with it - it really doesn't feel like a strat. The sounds are top drawer though and I really like it. PRS guitars definately have their own feel and its squarely in that camp........ 8)
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Very nice axe! I've never tried a single coil equipped PRS. A PRS has it's own thing going, for sure.
Just out of curiosity, have you detached the pickups yet? Maybe the bobbins themselves are standard. But if it sounds great, why bother 8) A BKP rewind is an option though, if you want to change it.
-Zaned
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Hmm... I think I'm with Gwem on this one... does look very nice, but not quite my thing looks-wise :lol:
I like the finish, but it's venturing too far into that "trying to be a strat but not managing it" territority that I can't seem to get over for certain guitars. Probably if I owned it myself, and liked the feel/sound, I could cure myself of this strat-snobbery in just a few months! :lol:
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Hmm... I think I'm with Gwem on this one... does look very nice, but not quite my thing looks-wise :lol:
I like the finish, but it's venturing too far into that "trying to be a strat but not managing it" territority that I can't seem to get over for certain guitars. Probably if I owned it myself, and liked the feel/sound, I could cure myself of this strat-snobbery in just a few months! :lol:
I know what you mean - as I've said though it doesn't feel like a strat and if they have tried to make it look and feel like one they haven't tried very hard - three a side tuners, set neck, angled headstock, thicker body all make it very different. It does sound like a strat though.......
I think the pups under the covers are more or less standard sized single coils - unusual decision to make a guitar like this and not be able to swap them out if you want....I take the point about a rewind though 8)
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I read somewhere that the 513/305 pickups started out as PRS bass pickups, but I don't know how they're actually constructed.