A few questions about PRS guitars and custom-made guitars:
PRS guitars are popular now and they are certainly beautiful guitars, but they sure are expensive. Are they considered to be worth the money? Are you paying for the name and the looks? Or does the craftsmanship make it really worth it?
How do you buy a PRS guitar (or a custom guitar in general)? Even at a big store, they’ll only have a limited number to try. But on the web, there are a ton of combinations you can chose. So if you order a custom-made guitar, do you rely on the reputation of the maker that it will be ‘just right’? Certainly some options are cosmetic and not a big risk, but even at my local Guitar Center they don’t have all of the PRS models in stock – let alone all of the models in both whammy and hardtail options (for instance).
If you order a custom-made guitar, should you expect to pay full, MSRP price? If you order a model that is in the store, should you expect to pay less than MSRP (e.g. 70% MSRP)?
I hope WordMan will check in with one of his thorough and knowledgeable answers. In the meantime, here’s my two cents.
Yes, PRS guitars are expensive. What you are paying for is the name, the appearance, the materials, the craftsmanship, the whole package. Are they worth it? That is an entirely personal matter. My personal answer is no, because I find that my favorite guitars are generally stock Fenders with little or no modification. For many players, they are worth it.
As for buying one, that depends, I think, on whether you want a guitar that simply meets the high standards of playability and tone that PRS provides in all of its guitars, or a “holy grail” guitar that is magical in some way for you. If you have played enough PRS guitars that you are confident in their ability to satisfy you, you can order one from Musician’s Friend or someplace similar. If you’re in search of one magical guitar, you will need to play every one you can find until one particular guitar grabs you. This could take years, of course.
If you want to order a custom PRS, I think that puts you in the realm of their “Private Stock” line, which must be ordered through a retail store and are priced individually. I would imagine that you could negotiate a price on one of those with the store.
Okay **CM **- I have been playing 30 years and am a complete guitar geek (ETA - ah, I see my friend and fellow guitar guy **Crotalus **proceeds me - hello!). However, I have not owned a PRS, only played them in stores.
When asking “are they worth it?” you are really asking 3 questions - are they well made? Do they hold their value? and Are premium guitar prices reasonable?
Build Quality - generally considered top-notch, pretty much by far the best of the bigger-volume builders, unless you focus on Fender’s or Gibson’s Custom Shops.
Hold their Value? Not bad, with vintage ones becoming very collectible. From what I have seen of the selling of used PRSi (do NOT ask me why, but among PRS geeks online, the plural of PRS is “PRSi” in a cute nod to Greek or something…), you do okay.
Premium Guitar Prices reasonable? Well - put it this way: they are priced at what the market will bear. But they are a luxury good, like a Harley or a fine set of golf clubs and the markups are high. With PRSi (ugh), they have different levels of premium, super-premium and ridiculous just like F & G - the Private Stock line of custom-built PRS guitars are over the top, IMHO - gaudy furniture more than guitars and priced accordingly.
Yep - you have a couple of options: go someplace that has the guitar(s) you want to check out in question or do things via mail and place your bets. I know folks who do both - I certainly have. It all depends on your trust in the manufacturer (and PRS are known for high quality and consistency), the dealer (some stores have “personal shopper” type of folks who help you pick on line and mail it out to you) and your own hands and ears. Making sure you are comfortable with the return policies, etc. is key.
Honestly? No clue. I would assume that a guitar available in a setting that has a normal “% off MSRP” structure would be priced accordingly; a guitar being ordered custom built would likely not be priced that way. The best way to approach that, I have found, is to ask. Ask them “what is your pricing policy in general - is it a discount off MSRP? And if so, how does your policy vary with this type of guitar?” Get educated.
I own one and I have to say that you’re not just paying for the name. I didn’t buy mine from a shop* so it’s not exactly what I would have picked out (the neck is a tad small) but if the neck was stable (I’ll get to that) it would be pretty much perfect. Although it has humbuckers it has a five-way selector with two coil-tap settings which manage to stay humbucking but give proper Fenderish jangle capacity. It’s a bolt-on neck but there is no play in that at all (try an off the shelf Fender and say that) the (non-locking) whammy bar allows fairly adventurous stuff while being tone wise like a traditional Strat trem, but, it actually stays in tune.
The neck however can be used to predict the weather. The relief depends on the temperature and humidity and possibly the phase of the Moon, and the truss rod is so sensitive I make adjustments of about 1/32 of a turn to fix the action. Since it takes a few minutes for the neck to stabilise this can be a real chore to get right. Compare this with my Les Paul (which I tweaked once when I went from 009s to 010s) and the Tele which I probably last adjusted in 1979, and it doesn’t look good.
Once the action is right it’s a joy to play, until the wind changes when it either chokes out or goes good for bottleneck depending on what the Gulf Stream is doing.
I’m sure this isn’t a general problem with PRSs (PRSi? never heard that) the neck on mine is particularly small (shallow and not wide), I have played others and they were all rock solid.
I realise I’ve rambled a bit without really answering the OP. The off the shelf price for a quality USA built model here is about £2000** about the same as a Les Paul. That’s pretty good for a guitar that will outlive you.
The custom shop concept I really don’t get. Sure you can request the colour/pickup/neck-profile you want, but guitars are strange. While I’m sure none of the USA PRSs are duff you can’t know if it’s going to be The One. I can’t imagine buying a guitar before playing it. If you’re just going to hang it on the wall though. . .
Question three I don’t understand.
I acquired it through in a chain of events that involved drugs, used cars and UFOs but that’s a long story.
** it was last time I saw, the pound has dived a bit since then so bump that up a bit.
I’ve been playing, like Wordman, for quite a while. I also a hobbyist luthier. I’ve never owned a PRS, but I have played them, and their build quality is definitely top notch.
In his post, Wordman basically said everything I would’ve said except for this -
In my opinion, guitars are a very personal thing. In the 25+ years I’ve been playing, my tastes on what makes a “good” guitar for me have changed a great deal. In the beginning, my first cheap Memphis Les Paul knock-off was the greatest thing since sliced bread. Through the years, I’ve played and owned so many different guitars that I’ve lost count, but I learned quite a bit about what, to my hands and ears, makes a great guitar. For instance, I know I like soft-v shaped neck profiles. That kind of profile just fits my hands better. Also, I know I like the sound of Stratocasters better than Telecasters, and I know the reason why. It’s those kinds of learnings that help you pick out (or build) a great guitar - for YOU.
Anyway, all of that rambling is basically to say find out what feels comfortable to you. If you like the way a PRS sounds, feels, and plays, then that’s the guitar for you. There also may be a cheap guitar out there that does the same thing for you. You just need to get out there and play as many guitars as possible to learn what you like. A great guitar is one that makes you want to play it and as a result, makes you a better player - doesn’t matter who makes it.
That’s a great post, BigShooter. Same thing with buying guitars over the mail - the more you know what you like in a guitar and exactly why, the more likely you can reduce the risk that buying a guitar long distance and end up with one that works…
…which means that you, or any player, needs to decide how much they can trust your hands and ears - if you are a bit of a newer player, you probably shouldn’t trust yourself buying stuff long-distance…
Thanks a lot guys; I really appreciate the info! I was hoping I’d get more than just the questions I asked and the Dope did not disappoint.
The truth is that PRSi (yeah, ugh) are out of my price range, but I like them enough that I have always wondered what people thought of them. On one hand, I’ve been playing casually for 20 years (when did I get old?), but on the other hand, I don’t have much experience with quality guitars. My main electric is a Mexican strat from '92.
I’d like to upgrade to the $1200-1500 range, but I am not that interested in another Strat or even a Les Paul. I’d like to get something with humbuckers to get a thicker sound than my strat. I would also like to get something with a hardtail (no whammy).
If you’re not familiar with the USA Hamers you should check them out. They are first rate guitars that many compare favorably with Gibsons but are less expensive new and way undervalued used. I have a Studio that is pretty much a double cut Les Paul clone. The quality, sound and playability are all excellent. I sold my LP Custom after I bought my Hamer. Same basic construction as the Gibson, mahogany body with maple cap, 24.75 scale length, two humbuckers. Some have tune-o-matic style bridges and some have wrap around style. They usually sell pretty cheap on Ebay though I haven’t checked them lately.
Mail order places let you return a guitar for any reason within 30 days so just send it back if you don’t like it.
Schecter makes very nice guitars , some come with EMG pickups. They cost less than PRS since they are all made overseas. Also PRS has a cheaper line that is nice , I think they are made in Korea.
I agree with RH - Hamers are great values esp used on eBay. You might also check out Japanese Gibby replicas by Edwards, Tokai, etc. - some are also very well made.
No opinion on the Hamers, but I have a Schecter C-1 Classic that I love to death (yes, the inlay is godawful, but the C-1 Plus’s I played (same guitar, normal inlays) just weren’t as nice for some reason). Schecters have pretty much no resale value (much like Hamers), so keep a look out and you can find a deal.
Oh, and complete hijack: River Hippie, I know you are a guitar builder - it would be great to compare notes with you in BigShooter’s thread, or one of mine…
Sorry to continue the hijack but…
I’ve been following along with the linked threads and read pretty much all guitar threads here but don’t have too much to add as I’m a novice compared to you guys. I’m in the middle of my first guitar painting project and it’s not going well, too much cat hair floating around among other problems. See ya in the other threads!
and I have to say that you’re not just paying for the name. I didn’t buy mine from a shop* so it’s not exactly what I would have picked out (the neck is a tad small) but if the neck was stable (I’ll get to that) it would be pretty much perfect. Although it has humbuckers it has a five-way selector with two coil-tap settings which manage to stay humbucking but give proper Fenderish jangle capacity. It’s a bolt-on neck but there is no play in that at all (try an off the shelf Fender and say that) the (non-locking) whammy bar allows fairly adventurous stuff while being tone wise like a traditional Strat trem, but, it actually stays in tune.