I went to GC last night just to check out some sale items. I saw a new PRS Johnny Highland model on the wall and had to try it to see what all the hype is about. I ran it thru a Fender Deluxe reissue and cranked it up a bit. The guitar had the push/pull knob for a splitter on the back pickup. I'll give them credit-it was a true humbucker to single coil sound. Les Paul to Strat with the flick of a switch. The neck was nice and felt almost frettless. But a price of $2850? They were ready to give me a 10% discount, but I wasn't sold yet.
What's the great appeal of these guitars for that kind of coin?

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Life is like a sh*t sandwich. The more bread you have, the less sh*t you have to eat.

They play very nicely and are very comfortable. Past that you're paying for a fretted coffee table. Very few guitars in the PRS lineup have actual paint. Personally I'm not impressed much by pretty wood and the idea of paying double a guitar's worth because of the look of the grain is kinda cheesy.

Agreed, Kain. Heavy grain is kinda cheesy.

I was surprised to see David Grissom plays a PRS. Thought he was a Tele player. Oh well.

I think personally the appeal falls under a few points:

1) They're well built high end guitars

2) They put a lot of detail in their guitars with the grain, inlays and bindings

3) I think the most important appeal for some people is that they aren't a Fender or a Gibson. Some people just want to be different and PRS is a high end line that let's people go another direction.

4) They also don't really have a distinct sound which let's people do what they want with them.

Just my opinion.

I don’t know.. I really been lookin at these hard lately. Very nice guitars, play like a dream. Sound awesome, and are some of the best looking examples of wood working I have seen in a long time…when you go to great lengths to construct a guitar out of a fine piece of wood, why in the world would you want to hide it beneath primer and paint or a solid finish. …. As far as the price I don’t think (of course excluding the private stock) that their not that expensive in comparison to some stuff out there.. There only half the price of most Gibson stuff. ( good stuff that is…) there comparable in price to fender custom shop stuff….yes there twice the price as a new American strat but also it is twice the Guitar… IMO….. why oh why would you not want a high end guitar for only a few buck more…… Gibson and Fender better watch out as this is one of the many companies out there that is offering the customer more than the same old B.S with nothing new but price hikes…

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(80’s Hair Metal) = A snapshot in time before Grunge ruined Rock & Roll forever!!!!

Ha! Hi Bill/wtcumm00. You made that post just while I was off finding another of your posts from Nevin1985's recent Les Paul thread:

http://www.fender.com/community/forums/ ... hp?t=38460

Over there you said:

And there we go: I guess that's at least half the answer to masterhacker's question at the top of this thread. I can think of several other makes that fill the Fender-meets-Gibson niche too...

Cheers - C

They are a damn nice guitar. To get a fender a the quality you will be getting a Custom Shop and similar cost. Any good non bolt on neck guitars gonna cost alot.

well all the above and more. The tremlo system is much better than fenders strat tremlo system. The guitar is a HH with a tremlo system which neither fender or gibson do. It has the best key elements of a gibson and fender to make it more versatile than either. Then there are the small things that neither fender nor gibson do like having a graphite nut to reduce friction on the strings. All the small things end up making the instrument very playable and versatile, as well as this it also holds its value really well, so if/when you sell it you will get your money back easily.
I do love fender telecasters, and if fender made a tele as versatile as a PRS Custom 24 for example, I would be over the moon, but they dont . Nvm

Hey Ceri……
Yeah after I made that post on the Gibson thread I took some time to think about what guitar really fit that bill…like you said there are a few but seemed to me PRS was at the top of that list…..for a gigging musician if you could only have one guitar to cover all you needed to do what would it be?????…Of course that answer is different for each musician but it something to really think about…Don’t get me wrong I love my fender Strats and my Gibson Les Pauls but really wish I could combine the best of the two to make a guitar that covers more of what I want to do……And I’m not the only one that thinks this way as is prevalent in the amount of signature models being made for stars, custom shop pieces being turned out every day and small time custom Guitar Luthiers out there staying in business around the big companies by building what their customers really want…….
In another thread we were talking about the weak pickups in the YJM strat….Straycat suggested trying some DiMarzio Fast Tracks pickups to get me closer to what im looking for sound wise….I believe I’m gonna’ try that before I throw down 3 grand on a New PRS, but the bottom line is I think the PRS is a very nice guitar and if I can keep the GAS at bay will pick one up some day.


Cheers Bill

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(80’s Hair Metal) = A snapshot in time before Grunge ruined Rock & Roll forever!!!!

i agree although i will be looking at an SE model until I can the money together for a custom 24

My 2 cents...I have a PRS SE Soapbar and it's absolutely fantastic...but much like Gibsons, USA Fenders, and top of the line PRS, I won't own any of the solely because of the cost for the name. I am pretty happy with not owning a guitar that was more than 500....except my Ovation which was slightly more than that...and I still make noise and love it.

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CREDO ELVEM IPSUM ETAIM VIVERE

Here are some A/B compressions of Teles. Strats and Les Paul’s next to the PRS

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EqMZWiI58Kw

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hTJq06whrRI

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8vlh2xuZFwk

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wvQ7WCgS ... re=related

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YcYi8tAxIeM

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(80’s Hair Metal) = A snapshot in time before Grunge ruined Rock & Roll forever!!!!

I have a PRS David Grissom model - gold top, love it!! Plays awesome, has a great sound to it - can do about anything I want to with it - I also have a ton of strats, and a Les Paul Standard as well - Im not comparing any of them, but gonna leave it at this...my PRS kicks $@!!!

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"Wait a minute, somethings wrong here!"

They are there for those who want them. They are lovely sounding and a dream to play but I can't stand the way they look personally.

CC

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Fender Stratocaster (parts build)
Fender Telecaster 72 Custom RI
Fender Telecoustic Deluxe
Gretsch Electromatic Pro-Jet
Gibson Les Paul Standard Plus
Gibson ES-135
Zenith Type-17
Marshall 70's JMP Superbass 100w
Blackstar HT-5

that's a sweet guitar, congrats! I like PRS too!

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2010 Gibson Les Paul Studio (Silverburst)
2007 Fender CD-60 (Sunburst)
G.A.S-ing for a Fender Stratocaster HSS with floyd rose