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Ari
New member
That's interesting-I have a modern I'm selling and looking into this prs aswell. Maybe the short scale and prs playability is what I'm missing.
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Robby G
Member
I'm interested in the pickups. I have a custom 24 artist but do not love the stock pickups...sounds like I may jump in!! You say the pickups are hot and fat sounding?
yankeebulldog
New member
Yes, hot for PRS anyway. I like them much better than the Tremonti in my other guitar. To me it sounds like a much improved version of the HFS, still plenty of heat but clearer. Great cleans too.Robby G":1qp5lrs4 said:
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C1-ocaster
New member
Ari":3vjh4ogn said:
Yes, some lower cost guitars sometimes have really nice looking tops.
BUT, not all tops are equal in regards to the thickness of the top.
ESP makes LTD, which are lower cost guitars not made in japan.
Many LTD tops look better than many ESP tops, but the ESP maple caps are thicker and that costs more.
So with builders who use really beautiful tops the cost is higher.
Lower cost guitars often get a thin "veneer" of maple. They look great but aren't considered as high of a quality as thicker sculpted top.
Highest quality wood on a guitar would be a solid maple cap where the grain is continuous left to right.
With thinner tops they can do matched tops where the left and right are mirror images cause they are cut from the same piece of wood.
Most LP's don't have matched tops as they use thicker pieces for the top.
I recently got an ESP with a flame maple top and it's nice, but nothing really special.
It's thicker than many lower cost guitars are it's not matched either.
I've seen beautiful quilted matched maple tops on LTD's that put my flame to shame, it's a thinner top and the LTD costs a good bit less.
Does it matter?
Some say yes, and some say the thicker top actually adds to the tone where thinner veneers are more cosmetic, not enough wood to really make a difference.
But let your ears be the judge on that.
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Ari
New member
I meant within PRS they have much nicer tops for less money...
JimmyBlind
Active member
Ari":3ptwqf20 said:
Yup.
Whether a top looks good is down to subjective opinion I think. Subtle imperfection is what makes the guitar look unique.
I've owned a 10 top hollowbody PRS before & I owned a Horizon NTII at the same time. Honestly, I couldn't say that the PRS had a 'better' top. The ESP looked awesome and was less than half the price.
The grading of tops just seems to be a way of putting a premium on the guitars. For the price of a PRS, I wouldn't expect anything less than absolute flawless perfection.
yankeebulldog
New member
How's the top on that Suhr? Perfection for that price I hope?JimmyBlind":1e5o8bma said:
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Ari
New member
Lol the top is amazing actually! Yankee, forgive me-didn't mean to knock yours-hope you didn't take it that way-yours is beautiful! But haven't seen anything else like it, and guys are selling used prs in the classifieds for 1600-1700 with tops that are way nicer than all these prs floyd that GC and Sweetwater have in stock, so I'm waiting...
yankeebulldog
New member
lol, no, I wasn't offended, and I was referring to Jimmy's Suhr in his sig line, not yours.Ari":35r8eg42 said:
. I already have 4 other PRS with awesome tops, 2 of them Private Stock that I picked myself and 2 other Artist Grade. For me, paying approximately a $500-700 up charge on a new PRS for a possibly mediocre 10 top isn't worth it. I've seen plenty of non 10 tops that look about the same. Look at the ones at Wildwestguitars, do you see a $600 difference between the 10 tops and the 2 regulars they have in stock ?http://wildwestguitars.com/products/ele ... -custom-24
For this Custom 24 Floyd, I wanted something to use for my new metal band project that I wouldn't mind subjecting to wear and tear. Taking my Private Stocks out for more than just a special gig or 2 just isn't something I'm comfortable with.
Also, there are a lot of factors at play with PRSs top grading. Some years for 10 tops are better than others. Now with the artist package and wood library programs back in full swing, the maple they have left for the normal core line guitars, 10 tops and regular, seem a bit diluted to me. Since they don't offer this model as an Artist Package upgrade, you'd might as well wait for one to show up in dealer stock that has a good top that you like.
yankeebulldog
New member
JimmyBlind
Active member
yankeebulldog":1q8840tc said:How's the top on that Suhr? Perfection for that price I hope?
Well yeah. It's a unique, fully custom order guitar with the best flame maple top John could find for me at the time.
...as opposed to a custom-shop-priced standard guitar with a premium added based on someone else's idea of what a nice maple top is!
