Anyone have a PRS?

[AngusYoung01]

I'm looking to eventually buy a Custom 24, anyone here have a good experience with PRS guitars?

My teacher has two singlecuts - Pre Lawsuit I believe- and he swears by them.... possibly what has made me have a sudden craving for one  :D

[Stevepage]

I have a Standard 24. Made in 1990 so it's pre-factory and has a brazilian rosewood fretboard. It's a very very nice guitar. One of the best i've ever played. Very very versatile and plays reeeally smooth. Like a Les Paul with that slight stratocaster 'snap'.

The pre-factory models are considered to be 'better' than those made from 1995 onwards due to differences in construction. I haven't played enough PRS' to agree with this but many think so.

deffinatly look into playing any you can find.

[Antag]

Yep, I have a Singlecut (pre lawsuit) & a Custom 24.  Both are gorgeous guitars that are very nice to play.

Covetted a custom 24 for several years - more than once I passed the chance to buy then regretted it bitterly afterwards.  Eventually I bought a really nice blue matteo model.

The Singlecut I got used just before the lawsuit.  It's also a really nice guitar to play.  I swapped out the zebra Dragon II pickups for a Nailbomb bridge/VHII neck.  It's a really versatile guitar that can cover most bases.

Some important specs/options to consider:
Neck profile: Wide/Thin or Standard on Cu24, Wide/Thin or Wide/Fat on Cu22, Wide/Fat on SC
Selector: Rotary 5-way selector, or 3-way toggle + push/pull coil split.
Bridge: Trem or Stop Tail
Cosmetics: Birds or Dots (they call them "Moons" but let's face it, they're common old dots :)), Colour, flame or quilt, 10 top (costs extra), Artist Pack (costs a LOT extra), covered/black/zebra pickups - all these things contibute to the look of the guitar.  If you're spending this kind of money you want it to be perfect & some combinations just don't look at all nice to my eye.  If you search for long enough, you CAN find the one that's perfect for YOU.


IMO the 3-way toggle + push/pull coil split is MUCH better than the 5-way rotary.  The rotary is fiddly to use, & positions 2/4 are almost indistinguishable from each other (& neither are particularly good).  The 3-way + push/pull gives you 6 combinations, all of which are distinct & useable.

I love the Wide/Thin neck, but the Wide/Fat on the SC is very comfortable - despite being very chunky.  The Standard profile was my least favourite & put me off buying at least one Cu24 that was in every other aspect perfect

The PRS trem is quite good too.  Not sure what they make their nuts out of but I've yet to have any tuning problems (even after heavy trem use) on either of my PRS'.  They're really solid, well made guitars.

Finally, don't buy unseen - even for guitars of this quality.  There are occasional "duds" out there (though a lot fewer & further between than, say, Gibson).  As with all guitar purchases, don't get over-excited when you see something that takes your fancy - inspect it very closely & give it a good play before diving in :)

[AngusYoung01]

Sweet thanks  :D

And yeh, thats exactly what I'm looking for - and have found  

Or so I think I'm looking for, I need to try the WT and WF necks, but atm its looking like;

3 Way toggle plus coil tap
Blue Matteau
24 Fret
Trem
And Birds (Or course)


I've been so used to playing the neck of my SG (which is quite chunky) but now its starting to seem a bit thick for certain things, so a WT may be more appropriate. Is it thicker than Ibanez ones?

[viking]

Hey!I've got a PRS Custom 22 w/trem.It feels so nice and easy to play with..The neck ,a Wide-Thin,is so well set up that you wonder why others (brands)don't do the same..I swapped the Dragons2 for a calibrated set of BNK Mules.I would like to have the 3 way toggle though..But it seems to me ,soundwise,that there is not enough Mahogany and/or too much Maple in these Customs...But it's their signature sound ,so,try it first (as always).Anyway,the workmanship is excellent and the woods are beautiful.It's a "dream guitar" for me. 8)

[AngusYoung01]

Definitely!

Plus, atm I have an all mahogany guitar, so that tonal spectrum s covered  :D

[March]

I have a Custom 24 with a wide thin neck and a Standard 24 with a standard profile (both 20th Anni's). Both are excellent guitars. The wide thin is the faster neck but the standard profile seems to be a little more comfortable for my tastes.

As with any guitar, try as many as you can before you buy (if possible) and get the one that 'speak' to you.

[Pauldem]

I'd say the WT is thicker than my 2 S Series necks, which actually makes it more comfortable in my case.

Is it just my PRS, or do they prefer to be played standing up?

[badgermark]

What are the scale length on your average PRS? I'm all for getting a good guitar sometime next year, and the Les Paul in my sights is hindered by the 24.75" neck. I've found out I'm a Fender neck guy  :lol:

[WezV]

PRS's are 25" - its also my favorite scale length, just a good compromise between gibson and fender

[Antag]

...so a WT may be more appropriate. Is it thicker than Ibanez ones?

The wide/thin probably measures thicker than an Ibanez wizard II, but the Wide/Thin is more "C" shaped (i.e. rounded) than the Ibanez necks which are more "U" shaped (i.e. flatter across the back).  So it doesn't feel substantially thicker because there's less "meat" on its "shoulders".

Hope that makes sense :)

Note also that PRS use a 10" fretboard radius (same as your Gibson probably), wheras Ibanez use a 16" (i.e. very flat) radius - you can do monster bends on it, but it won't be as comfortable as a 10" radius for chording.

[WezV]

gibsons fretboards are 12" radius - yet again PRS go for the middle ground between fender and gibson

[Antag]

gibsons fretboards are 12" radius - yet again PRS go for the middle ground between fender and gibson

Interesting, I didn' t know that, always thought they were 10".

Anyway, my point stands that the PRS 10" radius isn't anything like as flat as the 16" that Ibanez put on their necks :)

[TwilightOdyssey]

PhilKing has a few PRS guitars. You might wanna PM him.

[Jonesy76]

I've had a bit of a thing with PRS guitars (I've had a few!) but I somehow always go back to my Gibsons.  I guess I'm just happy with a Gibson neck and scale length, but then I'm not one for stupid skinny necks that my huge hands can wrap twice around!  I loved my Custom 24 Artist pack with the Brazillian fretboard and the red tiger top.....killer flame!  It got sold though when my Legra needed paying for!

If you can get it go for the Artist pack ones as they're a million times tastier and hold value better should you have a change of heart sometime in the future......lets be honest....most of us do! :roll:   I'm also not afraid to buy from the States with PRS as they're consistantly good guitars unlike Gibsons which seem to vary from instrument to instrument!