I’ve had my eye on a PRS guitar for several years. Not just for their playability. They have incredibly beautiful finishes. Sadly, they were priced for professionals or rich kids. They start at 3k and up.
Most of the great guitar brands started with one passionate Luthier. Christian Frederick Martin started it all. Orville Gibson built the first Gibson Guitars. Les Paul. Leo Fender and his Fender Telecaster Guitars. All built great brands many, many decades ago. It’s kind of cool to see somebody alive today start a new brand. Paul Reed Smith began as a Luthier making custom guitars and has been at it for awhile. His company just keeps expanding.
I wasn’t interested in the PRS SE guitars. They were the first budget priced line. Built in Korea to PRS specs. They were good electric guitars for anyone that wanted to spend $575 to $700. Comparable to the better Fender Squiers (the J5 and Classic Vibe) but more expensive. The PRS SE’s do have a very nice PRS finish.
Last year PRS introduced their American Made S2 line. Priced around $1200 to $1500. About what a Fender American Standard Strat costs. I got interested when they introduced the S2 semi-hollow body a couple months ago. I got the Mira in vintage cherry. Except I got the PRS inlay birds on the neck instead of dots. Only weighs 6lbs 2 oz and is so easy to play. I wanted a hard tail bridge. They sell other S2 models with a whammy bar for those that require one.
I may sell my Jimmy Vaughan Tex-Mex Signature Strat I bought 6 months ago. I just find it awkward to play. It weighs 7 1/2 lbs, and the body just doesn’t feel as good in my arms. The PRS has a sculpted body and weighs over a pound less. It’s got Coil-tap so I can play single coil or humbucker with the pull of a switch.
I won’t rush into selling the Strat. I may use it if I take some blues lessons. But for now it’s in the case. My PRS is the one I have out and play every day.
I love Paul Reed Smith guitars. I hate you for owning one before I could own one. :mad:
Srsly, grats on that purchase. It looks like a heckuva guitar. I didn’t realize that PRS was making semi-hollows. Since I’m having a hard time getting my hands on an old Charvel Surfcaster (I curse the poverty that didn’t allow me to purchase one new back in '94!), maybe I’ll look into one of these.
No problems so far. I cranked the volume up and the Semi-hollow didn’t give me any feedback. That can be a problem with some semi-hollow. Can’t say how the PRS would hold up with shredding. I’d use my solid body Strat if I needed to do that.
here’s a good review of the S2 Mira, Semi-hollow The demo of the split-coil settings is awesome.
Sure wish I could play like that guy. Maybe in another year, I’ll get there.
I’m not plugging the Mira. They have quite a few models in the S2 line. There’s quite a few reviews of all of them on youtube.
Weight is a big concern for me. I have back problems from playing basketball in high school and college. Sweetwater is one of the few dealers that weighs all their guitars and posts the numbers. I bought the lightest weight Jimmy Vaughn they had in stock 6 months ago. But at 7 1/2 pounds that’s still pretty heavy. 6 lbs 2 oz almost feels like a acoustic around my neck. Much more comfortable.
Yep, one of my old college buddies has been a sales engineer at Sweetwater for 15 years now.
When I bought a guitar from him last summer, they had two of what I wanted (lefty American Standard Telecaster in sparkle red). One was 7lbs. 13oz, the other was 7lbs. 3oz. Needless to say, I went with Mr. Ten Ounces Lighter.
I only partially own my PRS. I spread it out over three payments. I could have gone with 0% interest for 36 months but I don’t like long term credit. I prefer saving up and then using 90 day credit.
One odd thing. Is PRS has the neck pickup screwed down almost flush with the guitar body. The bridge pickup is noticeably higher. It’s not just my guitar. I looked at several S2’s on Sweetwater and they are all like that. PRS claims their guitars are ready to play straight from the factory.
Mine does sound balanced why I switch on both pickups. I can’t see any reason to change it for now. Maybe eventually, when I’m in Nashville I’ll get one of the better shops to fine tune it a bit. I try to get over there and listen to music at least once or twice a year.
That’s not unreasonable. The neck pickup will naturally “hear” a louder (and more bass-heavy) signal than the bridge pickup due to increased string excursion there. To achieve any kind of balance, the bridge pickup needs to be much hotter, quite a bit closer to the strings, or some combination of the two.
As was discussed in another thread, Jerry Garcia’s hippie-sandwich guitar, Tiger, was something like 13.5 lbs. Yet another example of how I just don’t get that guy and his playing.
7 1/2 pounds is a decently light guitar. I’ve had a 6 lb electric, but it was a bit too light for me. Average Fender guitars are in the 7 - 8 lb range, with some exceptions.
Bottom line is that it sounds like you know you need a lighter guitar, and this one fills the bill - coolness!
Personally, I am with OneCentStamp - PRSi (for some reason, PRS fans will sometimes use that to denote the plural - perhaps “PRS’s” was too much to type) are very, very well-crafted guitars, but I have never played one I have bonded with. But I haven’t played a Mira for any length of time and that one looks really great. I built a Tele that was meant to look like a 50’s LP Special with a finish like that and it looks pretty similar to that Mira.
And you mention light acoustics - man, sometime you should play my old, little Gibson. They were only made for a couple of years because they were built so lightly that Gibson got a bit concerned about their durability - although mine has lasted over 80 years at this point. But it must weigh ~3lbs, tops. As I like to say, pulling a quote from the book Clapton’s Guitar, it is less a light guitar and more of a heavy idea of a guitar
Congrats! I have been drooling over PRS’ acoustic line, specifically the limited edition Redwood models in the link. Unfortunately, the kids are too old to sell on Ebay, I need my car for work and my Amex is a business card and I’d have to pay it off too soon. Maybe i can pimp out SWMBO… Of course, you wouldn’t find enough of me to do a DNA sample if I even remotely suggested that to her.
I’ve played a few of their acoustics. If you are serious, I could steer you to better. Really well made, but there are other small-batch acoustic makers out there whose guitars consistently play better, IMHO. But then again, PRS acoustics are in the family of “Modern Tone” acoustics, like Taylors, Olsons, Goodall’s and even Somogyi’s (which start at $25,000 I think) - bright and ringy. I am much more of a “Vintage Tone” dry, mahogany thump kinda guy, i.e., Gibson-y and mahogany Martin-y. Different beast.
I live in the boonies and the likelihood I’ll even get my hands on most of the guitars I want are remote, and even if I could I couldn’t afford them (One Ryan Signature and never mind the expense!). I’d love to try out a McPherson 12 string but I’m really afraid of liking it so much that I would never pick up my humble Seagull again. That’s part of the reason I’m learning to build my own, not because I have any expectation that I’ll ever be at Kevin Ryan or Rick Toone’s level, but I figure I can at least build a $2500 guitar for less than a $1000 in parts and make it sound better than factory, and to know that I can.
I live in a big city and finding a good selection of top grade guitars is difficult. We have a very small Guitar Center store. They carry a limited stock of the more popular guitars. They can order anything but they want cash up front. You can’t just say, hey I want to try out a PRS S2 and see how it feels in my hands. You have to order it and pay for it. Hoping it’s what you want.
I had to rely on several youtube reviews and Sweetwater to make my PRS purchase. The semi-hollow S2 was just released in late July and no one here had any of the models in stock.
The manufactor date on my guitar was around Aug 24 and I bought it Sept 6. The paint was barely dry. A lot of times music stores have older stock. The Strat I bought new in April 2014 was actually built in late 2012. That’s a long time to just sit in a warehouse.
Welcome to America outside of New York, LA, San Francisco and maybe Chicago. Buy-it to try-it, but only with a good return policy.
I dig that Mira, very nice - the “raw beef” color is awesome. I’m not overly fond of the pickguard shape, but perhaps that’s just me.
And, yes, I’ve never had the chance to bond with a PRS, but most of their line is in nosebleed territory, and stores only stock the nosebleed models. Given the chance, the ones I’ve picked up were sweet.
Maybe in another year, I’ll get there.
I spread it out over three payments. I could have gone with 0% interest for 36 months but I don’t like long term credit. I prefer saving up and then using 90 day credit.
Of course, you wouldn’t find enough of me to do a DNA sample if I even remotely suggested that to her.
A lot of times music stores have older stock. The Strat I bought new in April 2014 was actually built in late 2012. That’s a long time to just sit in a warehouse.