Are PRS Modern Eagles Any Good?

[mkh02]

Hey guys I am going to get a PRS after much deliberation after I have decided on either:

Custom 22: This one has a 10 top, Dragon II pickups and an addtional solid rosewood fingerboard and neck which seems quite an interesting addition.

http://i1198.photobucket.com/albums/aa446/mkh02/3425.jpg


Custom 24: Love the top on this one again its a 10 but also has a flamed maple headstock which is quite cool.

http://i1198.photobucket.com/albums/aa446/mkh02/3352n.jpg
http://i1198.photobucket.com/albums/aa446/mkh02/3352c.jpg


Finally..there is a PRS modern Eagle that looks quite nice. I don't really know much about the Modern Eagles but it looks awsome. It is also a 24 fret model but with a fixed bridge which is a nice half way between the 22 and 24 as I like 24 fret guitars but was really looking for a stop tail bridge to maintain the sustain and good tone.

http://i1198.photobucket.com/albums/aa446/mkh02/3239a.jpg
http://i1198.photobucket.com/albums/aa446/mkh02/3239n.jpg

Any thoughts guys...

Your opinions would be very much appreciated

Kind regards

M

[Ian Price]

In a word. Yes.

Dave (Twinfan) has one and it is stonkingly good. I've played it.

[Twinfan]

They're cr@p, don't buy one  ;)



Sounds like you want a stop tail, which rules out a Custom 24.  The Custom 22 has a thinner body than the McCarty and Modern Eagle, just something to be aware of.

I've seen the ME24 in the flesh and it's a stunning looking guitar.  I'm not a big fan of 24 fret necks as it moves the neck pickup away from the vintage sweet-spot.  Again, not wrong but it is diffferent to a Les Paul for example.

The ME has a nitro-cellulose finish, the Customs have poly.

What kind of tones are you after?  Anything else you need to know?

[mkh02]

Thanks for the replies guys.

At the moment I have 2 bands a Deep Purple Tribute and a Classic Rock Covers Band.

Obviously I have a Strat for Purple stuff as well as a Les Paul for other classic rock. On the heavier stuff ie Van Halen, Satiani, Vai, Iron Maiden and Ozzy I use my Ibanez JEM which I really like for balls out metal.

In regard to the PRS I am looking for a half way guitar between the Ibanez and Les Paul. More beef and gain than the Les Paul but not as Metally as the Ibanez.

This has put me in the ball park of the Custom 22 as from what I have researched is more Classic rock with better sustain and a thicker mid range sound due to the stop tail bridge.

Thing is that a do like versatility in guitars and enjoy noodling all over the fret board... although I love the Strat I sometimes wish I had those extra frets lol!

Thats one of the main reasons the Modern Eagles grabbed me. I am not really looking for a tremelo unit but like the idea of 24 frets. I also love that top on the guitar!! its awsome.

A part of me is also thinking about investment potential. When buying a guitar I do like to consider what would happen if I needed to sell it. I am thinking for the sake of an extra 1,000 I could get a better guitar that will hold its value better. (sad I know lol)

What you all think?

[Twinfan]

Never buy a guitar for an investment - it's an instrument, not a house or pile of shares  ;)

If you're looking at that ME, be prepared to lose money on it.  It's unusual, as it's a 24 fret guitar with a wood library top, but I know it's been for sale for a little while.  It's recently had a couple of price drops, but I think if you bought it today and tried to sell it later this year you'd lose £1000.

You say you want more beef and gain than a Les Paul, but a PRS won't do that - especially one with a solid rosewood neck.  They sit between a Tele and a Les Paul to my ears.

If you want 24 frets and a stop tail, what about a PRS Mira?

[Philly Q]

Are PRS Modern Eagles Any Good?

Nah, they're rubbish.  Get an Epiphone.







Sorry, but it did seem a strange question!  :P







Fortunately Twinfan is here as the voice of experience!  :D   Of course you're going to get a great guitar with the Modern Eagle, but you'll also get a great guitar with the Cu22, Cu24 or any other PRS for that matter.  Do you really want/need to be spending Modern Eagle money?

[nfe]

The one I played I thought was catastrophically overpriced, a nice feeling guitar, but felt - frankly - cheap.

That said, I played it a handful of times over a month or so (admittedly at work, and in many cases, probably whilst grumpy :lol:), and Dave here has one that gets played to death, I presume. As Dave has said though, with what you say you're looking for tone wise, I wouldn't have thought a PRS was the way to go?

[Twinfan]

Yep, I do play mine to death and I think it's an incredible instrument.

But I do think you're barking up the wrong tree for the tone you're after.

[mkh02]

I would have thought the PRS tone was spot on what I was looking for.

Of the ones I have played they have the comfort and playability of the Strat as opposed to the Les Paul which is horribly uncomfortable yet have an strong thick hard rock sound which is a lot more driven than the Les Paul which can be a bit light and a bit thin sometimes.

Certainly my mates Private Stock 22 that I have played is so much better than his Gibson R9's and R8 and Custom Shop Strats it is very noticable even to people who aren't aware of sonic differences between guitars.

Massive sustain, much more drive and the distortion is much thicker and heavier.

I suppose what sounds good to one person.....etc

I think the tone aside, PRS guitars are just beautiful... the only thing that comes close is a heavily flamed R9 in my opinion my mate has offered to sell me his for ages but they are just so uncomfortable. Yeah they sound good for what they do but they always feel like I am battling them to play them.

On the other hand the PRS seems to play itself...in fact if I plug it in and place it on the table it starts to play Steve Vai's juice on its own..

[Brow]

I can't comment on the ME stuff as I've never played 1 but I can comment on the PRS Vs Les Paul tone comment above:

I have a Custom 22 with BKP Abraxas (relatively high output PAF style pups) and a Gibson LP Standard with BKP Mules (8k PAF pickups) and the Les Paul is noticeibly (sp?) fatter/beefier tonewise than the PRS is. It's probably down to the much thinner body of the CU22 compared to the fatter LP body, but if you're looking for something with a fatter tone than an LP, I don't think a CU22 will be what you're looking for.

[Twinfan]

Exactly.  If your Les Paul sounds thin then that's really unusual!

What about looking at a used SC245 or SC250 PRS, or even the Tremonti Sig?

[HTH AMPS]

with the right pickups, you can get the guitar sounding as fat (or otherwise) as you want, imo.

buy a guitar that plays nice and speaks to you (not literally of course, that would be freaky)  :lol:

[dave_mc]

Never buy a guitar for an investment - it's an instrument, not a house or pile of shares  ;)

considering the mess we're in i'm not sure you should buy a house as an investment either :lol:

Or shares for that matter (unless you can afford to lose that money)...

[Philly Q]

Regarding the tonal requirements, is this more to do with pickup choices than anything else?   

I can see a Les Paul lacking "beef and gain" in the sense that the stock pickups are relatively low output - I watched the Jeff Beck Les Paul tribute DVD recently and I couldn't believe how thin and bright his LP sounded. 

But if you put the same pickups in a Custom 22 and a Les Paul the average LP is going to sound way fatter.  The PRS will probably feel better and be more resonant acoustically, but that big mass of mahogany and maple in an LP, coupled with some distortion, produces an amplified sound like nothing else.

[HairyChris]

I've had a stoptail Cu22 with RP pickups (sounded a monster), and currently own a Cu24 rosewood neck with Cold Sweats and a stock '87 Standard 24. Although I love the feel of the rosewood neck, the Standard is a proper player's guitar...  :)

None were particularly LP in tone, but all 3 were very resonant and lively guitars to play.

The ME24 looks very interesting!