Been a PRS fan since my first one back in '87. Still head over heels for it after more than 35 years together, one of my all-time favorite guitars.
Wrote this post on the PRS forum a few years ago.
https://forums.prsguitars.com/threa...at-made-you-want-to-own-one.29396/post-373699
One thing most PRSi seem to have in common is liveliness, which IMO seems more about the neck in a guitar than the body.
Wood suppliers famously thought Paul was nuts for using a rubber mallet to evaluate wood for his guitars in the early days.
But those early guitars are some of the most lively and sweet-sounding you'll ever play.
Every piece of wood is a little different, and I think at PRS they still pay more attention to musicality in the neck wood than most makers do.
Also, every PRS guitar has a long tenon neck - even the bolt-ons. (Not 100% sure about that for the S2 and SE lines though.)
I don't favor super thin neck profiles myself, but the PRS Wide-Thin is not uncomfortably thin for me.
Their Wide-Fat isn't what I'd call chunky either; they are all slight variations of the Pattern neck - which for my hands is perfect.
DGT has its own unique neck profile; feels thicker than its carve because of jumbo frets I think.
Never had any issues with the fretboard radius, but I've never grown accustomed to flat thin necks either.
I especially love the PRS tremolo. Very smooth, precise, and stable.
Some of the PRS humbuckers are mighty good too.
I have the original T&B set in my '87. Aggressive yet chimey. Liked them so much that I got the '1985' reissue set to put in another PRS.
The 57/08 set is one of my absolute favorite modern production PAF sets. Some special 3D magic to these; the 59/09s have just a touch of it too.
The stock McCarty pickups, like many A4 hums, seem tame at first, then transform with a fierce new personality at battle volume. Jeckyll & Hyde.
The (core) Starla humbuckers have a goodly dose of Gretsch-ness in their DNA.
I own the '87, a CE22, an all-korina McCarty with Brazilian board, another McCarty with 57/08s, a Starla, a 20th Anniversary Custom22, and a DGT.
There isn't a single one in the bunch that's less than excellent.
In fact the only PRS I ever owned and sold was a 30th Anniversary SE model. All others remain with me to this day.
A few pics
Kinghawk, my Starla. Great for blues, a solid workingman's guitar. Tone is halfway between an LP Special and a Gretsch CVT.
Tigereye, a DGT with a 10-top. Came to me with custom wound pickups. You don't often see a PRS with double creams.
Miss Scarlet, a McCarty. All-korina neck & body, 75-year-old (now 90!) Brazilian rosewood for the fretboard came from the reserves at CF Martin.
Made in 2007, held back for 8 years because of legal issues with the old growth Brazilian. Finally sold as NOS in 2015, marked 'FOR US ONLY.'
My other McCarty, this one has the 57/08s. Remarkable vintage sepiatone voicing, just makes you want to drink bourbon and play the blues til dawn. Seductive and highly addictive. I named her Lilith.
Oriole, a 20th Anniversary Custom22. Has the BKP Polymath set now. Used to have Duncan Antiquities; they were a bit too honky in this guitar.
Detail of the swirly bird Anniversary inlays.
Aquamarine Spitfire, a CE with 5-way rotary. Got the '1985' reissue pickups for it so I could quit gigging my '87 yet still have those familiar tones on tap. Named for the color and its responsive/aggressive personality. Not a 10-top but pretty nonetheless.
Finally there's Midnight Angel, my first-ever PRS. This guitar feels more like a creative collaborator than a mere tool. Now retired from gigging. Decades later, she still inspires me every time I pick her up. Not fancy to look at but man, can she sing!
