PRS Bernie Marsden vs Epiphone Bonamassa?

[BazC]

I'm after a vintage style dual humbucker guitar on a relatively tight budget and I've pretty much narrowed it down to these two models. I tried them both in a shop a few days ago and liked them both so I'm struggling to choose between them. The Epi has the better spec - Burstbuckers, Grover tuners, CTS pots, hard case etc but the PRS seemed slightly better quality and is a much prettier guitar - love the vintage sunburst but I'm not crazy about Pelham Blue.

I play 50's/60's blues so would probably replace the pickups on the PRS for something more vintage and characterful.

Any thoughts? My head says buy the Epi but my heart says PRS!

[Telerocker]

Follow your heart. The PRS is a wellmade guitar and a smart looker. Does PRS do a Marsden in Pelham? I wouldn't mind that colour, but each to his own. I wouldn't say the Burstbuckers in the Epi are a bonus. I dislike them totally. But since you're here you might want to swap the pickups in your future guitar for genuine Mules. 

[BazC]

No Pelham Blue on the PRS, I was referring to the Bonamassa which is only available in Pelham Blue. It looks OK. But I'd much prefer it in a nice burst! You're probably right about following my heart though, the Bonamassa is better on paper but I'm not sure I'd ever bond with it. On the other hand if I do buy the Epi and decided to replace the Burstbuckers I could at least sell them to help pay for some BKPs!

As for new pickups for the Bernie - maybe Mules but I'd also consider Stormy Monday's :)

Thanks for your input!

[Telerocker]

No Pelham Blue on the PRS, I was referring to the Bonamassa which is only available in Pelham Blue. It looks OK. But I'd much prefer it in a nice burst! You're probably right about following my heart though, the Bonamassa is better on paper but I'm not sure I'd ever bond with it. On the other hand if I do buy the Epi and decided to replace the Burstbuckers I could at least sell them to help pay for some BKPs!

As for new pickups for the Bernie - maybe Mules but I'd also consider Stormy Monday's :)

Thanks for your input!

Stormy's are nice too.
(Pelham Blue is indeed a Gibson-colour, I was a bit puzzled bec the Bonamassa was introduced as a goldtop.)

[AndyR]

Out of those two (I can't quite believe I'm saying this - no-one's EVER heard me say a sentence like this!!!)... ahem...  I'd choose the PRS...

And pickups, yes, Stormy Mondays.

[BazC]

(Pelham Blue is indeed a Gibson-colour, I was a bit puzzled bec the Bonamassa was introduced as a goldtop.)

Yup, I wish it was still available in that colour (I'm a traditionalist!) still prefer a nice burst though :)

[BazC]

Out of those two (I can't quite believe I'm saying this - no-one's EVER heard me say a sentence like this!!!)... ahem...  I'd choose the PRS...

Why the PRS - I won't tell anybody, promise!

[AndyR]

Out of those two (I can't quite believe I'm saying this - no-one's EVER heard me say a sentence like this!!!)... ahem...  I'd choose the PRS...

Why the PRS - I won't tell anybody, promise!

It's pretty much on looks, to tell the truth!

I'm kinda with you on the Pelham Blue - especially when mixed with black on that model. Even the discontinued gold-top looks a bit odd to me with black on it. If it was a nice looking burst of some sort I might be thinking "I wonder what that plays like?", instead of, er, "yeah wotever..."

But the PRS looks rather tasteful to me - not just the finish, the whole thing looks really nicely stated (and I found pics where people had replaced the pickups with covered ones - that looked VERY tasteful)... so I'd be thinking "I hope this plays as well as it looks..."

However, I do have experience of handling both Epiphones and PRSs in roughly that price-range a few years ago (I owned the Epiphone already, was trying the PRSs... and bought a Tokai Love Rock instead)... and I suspect there's a far greater chance of me bonding with a PRS than I would an Epiphone. I have a couple of Epiphones in the loft - one LP one SG - they both did gigs years ago, served me well... but they never really "spoke to me".

[BazC]

Yup that's pretty much how I feel, I found both guitars played really nicely but somehow I wanted to play the Bernie, the Bonamassa - not so much. Actually I've never had a great desire for a PRS before, always thought they were superb guitars but a bit flashy for my taste. They're making some very tasteful instruments now though. Love the S2s with the scratch plates!

[oldfoxy]

Well I have a Bernie and it is a really nice guitar. Frets were a little low for me so bad some bigger Dunlops fitted. Added a riff raff bridge and mule neck with nickel covers, changed pots and cap at the same time and it now sings and feels much nicer. Stock pups are a bit lacking in character but not bad

[BazC]

Thanks for the info! Yes I thought the pickups were pretty good when I tried it, I'd probably change them in time but I don't think I'd be in a rush.

[Telerocker]

Those S2's are probably better guitars, but I prefer the looks of the Marsden.

[BazC]

Those S2's are probably better guitars, but I prefer the looks of the Marsden.

S2s are out of my price range anyway but I do think they have a funky vibe, especially the single cutaways. The Bernie does look very cool too, especially with covered hum buckers!

[Slartibartfarst42]

I'd have no hesitation at all in getting the PRS out of those two but I may be biased. A while ago I was looking at getting a cheap singlecut but felt a Gibson would be too expensive. I went to the shop with the clear intention of buying an Epiphone but started by playing a Gibson just to give me a point of comparison. The Epiphones were seriously disappointing in comparison, feeling cheaper, more lightweight and lacking tone. I tried a few and they were all the same. The LTD Eclipse was also disappointing but certainly better put together than the Epi. The PRS was a revelation. It didn't quite have that vibe of a Gibson but compared to any of the Epiphones it was certainly superior in terms of quality. I suppose the thing is that the Epiphone felt like a poor man's Gibson while the PRS just felt like a quality instrument, regardless of it being an SE. I'd also bet that the PRS will hold its value better than the Epiphone. I'm dithering at the moment between a Jackson DK2MQ and a PRS SE Floyd Custom 24 and a although very similar prices new, a quick search on Ebay suggests that the PRS will be worth £100 more than the Jackson in a few years time.

[BazC]

I suppose the thing is that the Epiphone felt like a poor man's Gibson while the PRS just felt like a quality instrument, regardless of it being an SE.

Yup, I hadn't thought of it quite like that but there may be something in that. The Epi Bonamassa is one of the best Epiphones and felt quite similar to the Bernie, neck was maybe a tad fatter but they both felt like quality instruments, I'm really not sure why I'm leaning towards the Bernie. One thing I did like is you can see the Bernie is made of some nice slabs of mahogany (three pieces I think) whereas anything could be hiding under that black paint on the Epiphone!