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
