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Rhett Shull & PRS Guitars


IanHenry

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I found this video interesting, Rhett and his chum comparing several PRS's with his Les Paul.  I have to say, I agree with Rhett's point of view, whilst PRS's have excellent & consistent build quality, to me they are completely soulless.

  

 

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I think my favorite part is when he’s talking about the price of the hollow or semi hollow PRS, and he scoffs, and makes a face when told it’s $4500. Um your holding a Les Paul that cost about $7000 - 9000,  what a d-ouche.

Edited by Sgt. Pepper
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5 minutes ago, Karloff said:

no. they relic it so it looks like it's FROM '59

I got big Neanderthal thumbs that mashed the wrong keys. I fixed it.

Nice job on all your purchases. Fender amps are killer. I’ve had a few. Teles are great axes. I only played one Firebird, and it was one of the other styles, the Reverse, I guess it’s called.

Edited by Sgt. Pepper
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3 hours ago, IanHenry said:

 to me they are completely soulless.

  

I've never played or even held a PRS,  But really, I thought the SOUL was supposed to come from the PLAYER.  [wink]  And it's all pretty much a personal thing.  For me, the comparison would be between  a Martin  or any moderately priced dreadnought  acoustic and any TAKAMINE guitar I've pick up and noodled with. 

Something about their necks seemed uncomfortable to me.  Yet there are many who swear by them.  And that doesn't necessarily mean they're no good.  They seem well put together and solid in construction.  I seen the same thing in photography.  Idiotic arguments as to which is the better camera...?  Nikon, Canon, Pentax, Minolta, or which?  I used Canons mostly because My first SLR was a Canon which was a gift.  And I had a few extra lenses I bought over a few years which wouldn't fit any other make of camera and switching to say, Nikon would require an expense I wasn't willing to go through.  But you know what?

I've borrowed other makes of 35mm SLRs  and noticed NO DIFFERENCE in the quality of my photography.  No improvement, nor  decrease in quality.  Just a slight adjustment to each camera's differing functions.   Here's a little story involving that sort of thing that you may somehow make guitars fit in....

A professional photographer was invited to a dinner party held by some casual acquaintances.  He was asked to bring a portfolio of his work.  And before dinner the hostess was looking at the photos in the portfolio and said, "My, what beautiful pictures.  You must have a wonderful camera."  He just smiled and nodded his head.  But a bit later, at dinner, he remarked to the hostess, "I must say, this is a very delicious meal.  you must have a fantastic set of pots and pans."   [wink]

Whitefang

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59 minutes ago, Twang Gang said:

I never owned a PRS, and only played a couple for a short time.  I didn't care for them either.  But for Rhett or any others that don't think PRS guitars can express any soul I have just one word to say -  SANTANA.

I think Alex Lifeson plays them too. Hack.

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I have a PRS Santana SE. Great guitar. Plays and sounds great. I've played  Maryland made PRS guitars before. They are fantastic pieces of workmanship. But after all that I will admit that there's something a little generic about their sound. There doesn't seem to be a distinctive PRS sound like with a Tele, Strat, LP, Gretch etc.  

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21 minutes ago, saturn said:

I have a PRS Santana SE. Great guitar. Plays and sounds great. I've played  Maryland made PRS guitars before. They are fantastic pieces of workmanship. But after all that I will admit that there's something a little generic about their sound. There doesn't seem to be a distinctive PRS sound like with a Tele, Strat, LP, Gretch etc.  

With enough distortion/overdrive and a whole slew of other affects, if I played you or anyone 5 different guitars back to back, plugged into the same amp with the same amount of distortion and affects, do you think you could tell me what make and model it is being blindfolded? I know I couldn't.

Edited by Sgt. Pepper
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  • 2 months later...

My take:

#1 Players are used to things that sound like Fenders & Gibsons. Its what they know. They like what they know.

#2 Comparisons between Gibson & PRS are usually on the lines of PRS=consistency and Gibson=Inconsistency. 

Its unjust to blame any company for getting something right. I think PRS do have their own sound. I had a USA PRS. That said, I no longer have it & no longer have much interest in PRS guitars. And I prefer Gibsons. 

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On 1/11/2023 at 6:21 AM, IanHenry said:

I found this video interesting, Rhett and his chum comparing several PRS's with his Les Paul.  I have to say, I agree with Rhett's point of view, whilst PRS's have excellent & consistent build quality, to me they are completely soulless.

  

 

It's funny that this thread popped back up. I've been thinking about it for a week or so. initially I made a couple smarta$$ comments. Ian was extremely diplomatic & cool, when I apologized.  but since, I've gigged with my PRS Custom 24  several times.  It typically stays home for whatever reason. but I had a chance to listen to recordings of it & then my Goldtop at the same gig.  and I have to agree with Ian.   maybe it's partly due to what Merciful Evans said, in that our ears are accustomed to either Gibsons or Fenders.  the PRS guitars, I think the workmanship is 2nd to none. exceptional quality. everything is perfect. perfect action, you name it.  But ...

theres just something missing. they sound fine. they sound great even. but then I'll play my Les Paul or Tele and they just sound right ...  the PRS vs the Goldtop, it's like the difference between something being 2 dimensional versus 3 dimensional ...  anyway, thats my two cents worth. 

Edited by Karloff
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PRS have basically adopted the design philosophy of both Gibson and Fender, as have most guitar manufacturers to some extent the Silver Sky being a rather extreme example.

Personally, whenever I've played a PRS, I feel nothing and as 10PoundLester mentioned the same can be said, to some extent with Taylor acoustic.  There's absolutely nothing wrong with their guitars, the build quality and setup are superb, and they're very easy to play, but could that be where the problem lies?   Maybe they are just too impeccable.

Every Gibson is slightly different to the next supposedly identical model, maybe that's where half of the fun is!

I think sometimes things can be too perfect but maybe that's just me bearing in mind the car I drive is a Morgan with the associated hand-built imperfections, rather than teutonic perfection 🙂       

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The PRS guitars never interested me but if one were to take the plastic TONE knobs from a vintage Gibson and stick them on a PRS, perhaps that would give them the bit that's lacking.

335 knobs on the top, Les Paul on the bottom?

Does that Morgan have a Guzzi motor?

 

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