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The best PRS Guitars reviews

The reviews Audiofanzine members found the most helpful.

PRS SE Santana (2010-2016)

« Decent budget axe. »
This review is for the very first series of Santana SE guitars, the ones that didn't even have PRS branded on them yet. Made in Korea Mahogany body - flat, not arched like a USA PRS Mahogany set in neck 22 nickel frets Diagonal line inlays 2 PRS SE Humbucker pickups PRS SE Stoptail bridge, one piece Volume, Tone, 2 way switch UTILIZATION The guitar is certainly easy to play, but it's not a shred beast. The neck feels like it is more suited for bluesy riffing and soulful solos. I guess that's fitting with the Santana name! The inlays are a nice touch - they are definitely unique. One thing I'm not a fan of is the bridge - it seems to intonate fine with 9s or 10s, but any hybrid sets, or using 8s or 11s tends to make the intonation suffer. There are no individual saddle adjustments, so the bridge only has a treble and bass side set screw to adjust the intonation. The metal used in the bridge also seems to be a cheaper pot metal, not cast, so it is the weak point of the guitar in my opinion. Another annoyance is the blocky neck heel - no hindrance, but it just doesn't feel like it belongs to a guitar with a PRS name. SOUNDS The guitar sounds surprisingly good for the price. The treble humbucker (PRS doesn't use the terms "bridge" or "neck" pickup) has a lot of definition, even on heavy gain settings and complex chords, and the neck pickup does the "violin tone" very well. Thick, ample warmth, and singing sustain are the name of the game here. One way I'd recommend to enhance the overall sound would be to get a PRS USA stoptail, like from the McCarty series, and put it on here instead of the supplied stock bridge. Another modification I'd recommend would be to change the pots, switch, and cap to something higher quality, like RS Guitarworks. OVERALL OPINION This review looks like a winning Vegas slot machine - straight 7s across the board. It's better than average, and is certainly no slouch for the price. The guitar is a good candidate for projects - buy it and then mod a few parts, and then you'll have a surefire budget winner on your hands.

by heads on fire 1 11/2/11
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PRS Singlecut Hollowbody I

« PRS electric that can get some good acoustic tones »
PRS is one of the highest quality American guitar makers still around. They have many high level users and players around the world appreciate their attention to detail and quality. This guitar is a hollowbody example of their popular single cut design. The neck is the standard PRS scale of 25 inches and has 22 frets. This gives a good balance between that of the Gibson and Fender scales. This model has the PRS wide/fat neck which is nice and wide and between a 50s Gibson neck and a 60s Gibson neck. The fretboard is made from rosewood and has PRS's signature bird inlays. The body is made from a mahogany back and side with a mahogany top. You can get a flamed maple top as an option. I use to dislike the bridges RPS used because of their lack of adjustability but now they have fully adjustable one piece stop tail bridges which are very nice but take some getting use to if you are use to a tune-o-matic setup. My model had the option Piezo system. It has PRS humbuckers in the neck and bridge along with the Piezo system build into the bridge. The controls are a volume and tone control and a 3 way toggle switch along with a mini switch and knob for the Piezo. The piezo mini switch selects between all piezo, no piezo and a blend of piezo and the knob for the piezo controls the stauration of the blend. There are two outputs on the guitar one for a blend of the electric signal and the piezo and one just for the Piezo. UTILIZATION PRS guitars play deceptively well. When you look at them on surface it is hard to imagine that this guitar can play as well as a shred guitar like a Jackson or ESP something that was build just for good playability but PRS manages to do it. Because of the hollowbody construction the guitar is very light but feels light without feeling flimsy. The neck fills your hand but is not too big. Even with the light body and big neck the guitar is not very neck heavy. The fully adjustable bridge is a welcome change from the bridges PRS use to use where they were set in their design. The single cut design means upper fret playability isnt the best but it is okay. PRS guitars normally have a big neck joint heel and this is no exception. SOUNDS You can get great Jazz tones from this guitar. It is not noisy at all so you can do high gain stuff with it too. The Piezo system adds even more versatility to the tone on this already very versatile guitar. With the piezo blend knob you can really manipulate your sound very nicely. Adding a bit of acoustic tone can thicken up and add clarity to your tone. The Piezo by itself on its own output does not sound very good. You will need some light effects to get a good acoustic sound out of the Piezo output. This guitar can do super high gain but it is not meant for it. This guitar is great for a Jazzy or bluesy tone. The tone you get will have an extra bit of a woody sound due to the hollow body. Remember this is a fully hollowbody not a semi-hollow with a tone block down the middle. OVERALL OPINION This guitar is good if you are looking for a high quality American made hollow body electric that comes with a decent Piezo system. If you are a creative guitar player looking for new sounds too add to your pallet this guitar is also good. Bending the Piezo sound with your normal electric sound can get you new unique tones that you would normally need a studio to produce. If you are looking for a versatile hollowbody and dont mind paying the price the this PRS model is probably the best thing out there.

by tjon901 1 7/13/11
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PRS SE Torero

« Affordable PRS for the metal player »
The PRS SE line is their line of overseas made guitars. These guitars have similar specs to the American made models but come with a lot lower price tag. This guitar is a more metal version of the PRS SE line. It comes with active EMG pickups. It has an 81 in the bridge and an 85 in the neck the Zakk Wylde combo. The guitar also comes with a Floyd Rose tremolo system. Playability wise this guitar plays as good as any PRS guitar. It has PRS's wide-thin neck profile which feels a lot like a 60s Gibson profile. The Floyd Rose is a well known design and once setup it will be locked in tune pretty much forever. The setneck joint is nice and slim so you can play all the way up on the neck. The heel is very nice and it is almost like a neck through guitar. The action was nice and low across the neck. With PRS's unique scale the intonation just feels right where ever you are on the neck. This model has a deeper cutaway on the bottom horn. You can tell this guitar was designed for modern players. With the EMG pickups this guitar is pretty much as heavy as you are going to get. The 81 in the bridge has been an iconic metal pickup for decades. It has a high end crunch and distortion that gives it clarity no matter how much gain you are using or how low you tune. The 85 in the neck is a great pickup too. It has a more fuller sound than the 81 so in the neck position you can get fat lead tones. The 85 is also good too in the bridge. With EMG's quick connect system you can easily swap these pickups position without soldering anything. The 85 in the bridge produces a super thick tone and cleans up better than the 81. Speaking of cleans if you do the 18v mod on the EMG's. With the 18v mod you run the pickups on two batteries instead of one. This provides a more organic tone with more headroom. This tone produces better cleans than stock EMG's and clean tones are usually the weakest part of the EMG sound. With this guitar PRS is making roads into the world of super strats. Normal players may start looking at their guitars as a good alternative to Prestige Ibanez guitars or ESP's. PRS is showing people that their guitars are not just for dentists and lawyers anymore.

by tjon901 1 7/8/11
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PRS Mark Tremonti Signature

« The Shredder's Singlecut »
This is the second iteration of the PRS Mark Tremonti signature model, adding some features that became necessary to Mark as he grew as a player over the years. The guitar sports -25” scale -22 frets -mahogany body and neck with rosewood fingerboard -Wide-thin Tremonti neck carve -PRS tremelo bridge -2 volume 2 tone configuration -2 humbucker configuration w/ PRS Tremonti pickups -3 way toggle between pickups, offering bridge, neck, and both -PRS Phase 2 locking tuners -Bird inlays UTILIZATION I like to call this guitar the ‘shredder’s’ Singlecut. The new neck carve is amazing, and much faster than the previous wide-fat design. The PRS tremolo is an amazing design, and offers a lot more options in expression, with NO sacrifice to tuning stability WHEN SETUP PROPERLY. This is a must with this guitar, and the only additional hassle. When setup correctly for your tuning and string gauge, this guitar will not go out of tune, no matter how much you work the tremolo. Otherwise, in layout and design, the guitar stayed about the same. Full control over intonation is again available with this bridge design, which was a must due to all the alternate tuning and varying string gauges that Mark uses. The new Phase II locking tuners are much easier to use than the previous design, and offer the same tuning stability and additional ease in restringing. SOUNDS From the original Tremonti model, the electronics and sound are the same. The PRS Tremonti treble is the hottest pickup offered by PRS, and thrives in a hard rock and metal application. Driving a Mesa rectifier, the sound is HUGE. The guitar marries clarity and depth in its sound, which can often be a difficult task with certain guitar/pickup configurations. The neck pickup, on the other hand, is very clean, and drives Mark’s clean sounds. Having heard any of his music (Creed or Alter Bridge), Mark’s clean sound has always been nothing short of beautiful. Between the two pickups, you can cover a lot of ground. OVERALL OPINION If you like the PRS Singlecut model, but want a more modern tone, this is your guitar. Players coming from a more ‘shred’ oriented background, such as Ibanez, will love the quick neck on this guitar. With the new changes, the Mark Tremonti Tremolo Singlecut is the perfect marriage of tone and play: the beautiful sound of a thick bodies mahogany PRS, with a quick neck and tremolo. Big and aggressive are the only way to explain the sound to expect.

by ibanez4life SZ! 1 4/13/11
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PRS SE Singlecut

« high quality for the buck! »
This is a PRS SE singlecut, in the antique white. Made in Korea. specs: 22 frets - wide fat neck carve mahogany body mahogany neck maple top w/maple veneer set neck rosewood fretboard 25" scale moon inlays PRS designed stoptail 2 PRS designed humbuckers 1 volume, 1 tone with a 3 way toggle UTILIZATION I have to say that the fretwork on these guitars are amazing! I would say 80% as good as any USA made guitar. And fretwork is to me, the most important thing in a guitar as it's expensive to change and a hassle to dress. The body is light also, I don't know if it's chambered but has a good balance. The way the set neck is done on these PRS singlecuts makes the upper fret access easier than it would be on a traditional LP type. It also has a stomach contour which I usually expect nowadays in modern guitars. The 1 volume and 1 tone and the 3 way switch are simple to use and make the guitar look sleek. The tuners are fine and stable. It's a stop tail bridge, the intonation is not adjustable. So that's a bit of a downer. My only beef is the neck, though I can play it comfortably, it is not what I'd prefer. I like a slightly thinner profile, this is *supposedly* (more on that later) PRS's wide fat neck carve which isn't PRS's most popular neck profile. The wide thin is definitely the most popular of all. SOUNDS I've played the singlecut through a bunch of different amps, from a koch studiotone to an egnater renegade to a fryette pitbull, through a voodoo amps witchdoctor. I have a good idea of this specific guitar sounds, though the amp DOES play a bigger role in how a guitar sounds than the actual guitar itself. neck pickup: This is probably my favorite tone I get out of the stock pickup. It's great, very smooth, clear and not muddy. I would think it's the perfect jazz pickup actually. Distorted it sounds a bit generic. It is smooth, and not sterile, but it has no real character of it's own either. Most PRS pickups in my experience have that sort of quality, where it's transparent, but too transparent where it's almost bland and flat. bridge pickup: The clean jangles a bit which is nice. It doesn't break up either. With distortion it sounds fluid and smooth also and could be a tad muddy if not EQ'ed properly from the amp. Though it can't get overly bright either. Overall the pickup is decent, both are very similar to PRS's actual pickups from my experience, where they're all smooth and fluid as a positive thing, but again, to my ears, because of that, it's just generic sounding to me with no significant character. the inbetween sound: I don't use this much. I don't really know anybody that does, but to me it sounds ok. The clarity of the bridge pickup is there, and so is the bass from the neck pickup. You would imagine the combination would be good though I find (as I do with most humbuckers in the middle position) that it's generally too bassy and doesn't cut through on clean or dirty with a drummer or a band. OVERALL OPINION Overall the guitar is excellently built. Very good fretwork, good weight, comfortable. I've played many many guitars, I've been playing for just over 10 years. My reviews are not comparisons, that's not how I like to judge guitars. I judge guitars on what I feel would suit as a guitar player, and critique the longevity of the product. The pickups are decent at best however. And the stoptail not being adjustable is a bit of a hindrance if specific players wanted to set the guitar up for lower or higher gauge strings. Though it is a great guitar for the money in terms of build quality. And PRS choosing their least popular neck profile as their ONLY profile available on these guitars? Not a good idea. I've also noticed, that though the SE necks vs the USA PRS guitars are different. If you took a USA PRS with an SE that both had wide fat necks or wide thin you can notice they're different. I don't know why that is, but it is. Just so you know!

by nickname009 1 3/27/11
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PRS CE 24 (1991-2008)

mooseherman's review
This guitar was made in the good old Us of A. It's incredibly well-crafted. It has an interesting combination of woods, a mahogany body, maple neck, and a rosewood fretboard. It features the PRS custom tremolo bridge, a nice alternative to the Floyd Rose. It has 24 frets and two great humbuckers (not sure the name). It features three knobs, one volume, one tone, and one that functions as a pickup selector switch. UTILIZATION This guitar is a dream to play. Getting a nice sound out of it shouldn't be tough for anyone, unless they really despise the sounds of a PRS. The top frets are very easy to reach and allow for some piercingly high notes. I've rarely been able to play in that register as easily as I can on this. It's a bit on the weightier side of the spectrum, but it's not going to break your back like a Gibson Les Paul might. Everything about this guitar is right on, the bridge and drivers are stable. I've heard someone describe the guitars as "butter in your hand", and I have to say it's a good analogy. SOUNDS This is where I'm a little torn on this guitar. I personally prefer bright, twangy sounds and popping R&B tones out of guitars, they fit my style. However, I'm also partial to really rocking out, and getting loud and crazy in the style of Crazy Horse, or even Sonic Youth. This guitar leans closer to the latter, but it doesn't have the raw crunch and power of, say, a Les Paul. It's more of a guitar for prog, metal, and really 80's style rock leads, though with the right amp combo it can sound good for more general rock too. If I had to say whether or not it suited my style, I'd probably say no. But I'd be doing the guitar a great disservice to say that it didn't sound good. As far as the tones it's going for, it's got them nailed. The leads and sustain are soaring. The more well-known guys who use these guitars (Santana, Brad Delp of Boston, Al Di Meola) all use them to great effect, and this guitar is one of their better models. I must say though, I'm not a fan of the clean tones at all, they seem boring and have no pop. OVERALL OPINION I like the way the guitar plays more than anything. It is more comfortable than almost any guitar I've played, especially when "shredding". I think that this guitar has been discontinued, since PRS's website no longer lists it and the only time I've seen it is used, so if you can find a remotely good deal on it, take advantage. I've tried a few PRS models, definitely liked this the best, so if the kind of sounds I talked about are your thing, you owe it to yourself to check it out.

by mooseherman 1 1/27/10
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PRS Santana I

mooseherman's review
This Paul Reed Smith guitar is an American made guitar, a Carlos Santana signature guitar that is supposedly built to his exact specifications. The guitar has a tremolo bridge and a mahogany neck with a rosewood fretboard. The guitar has two Santana humbucker pickups, a volume and tone knob, and a three way selector switch which is located far behind the bridge. The guitar has 24 frets. UTILIZATION This guitar plays really well, as do most guitars by PRS. It's a heavier guitar, not quite as heavy as a Les Paul but more weight than a Strat. The guitar feels and plays really well and isn't too difficult to move around. The guitar that I played was in great shape, stable, good action, and overall a comfortable instrument. Honestly though, I don't know if it's quite as comfortable as some nicer PRS's, which in my opinion, feel better than almost any electric guitar out there. SOUNDS This guitar, for some reason, doesn't seem real to me. By that I mean, I don't think that this is the actual guitar that Santana plays. I think that he endorsed this product purely for monetary reasons. PRS sells these for far cheaper than some of their other models, guitars which, in my opinion, are far superior. The tone just isn't there on this one, the other PRS's give you far better sustain overall, and they ring with a great middle range that really cuts through. They also set you free to really wail, this one just falls a little short with it's generally bland tone. I know I'm not going to sound exactly like Santana no matter what I buy, but I feel like this guitar does a pretty weak job in even approximating his sound. It just feels like a subpar guitar from an otherwise outstanding manufacturer. Since the PRS tones aren't exactly my favorite (but are quite nice in their own right), I can't endorse this one as much as the others. OVERALL OPINION This guitar, unlike most PRS's, isn't too expensive. I can't say I wouldn't recommend it to other people, especially since most of my peers wouldn't be able to buy a nicer PRS without some serious saving. However, I realized a long time ago that it would be worth it to eventually just buy a nicer one, it will pay off more in the long run. If it wasn't a PRS, and it didn't have Santana's name on it, I doubt I'd be so disappointed with it, which is why I'm giving it an overall high score. But it feels to me like PRS is putting out lesser instruments to increase their sales, and using Santana's name as a marketing ploy more than a sign of the instrument's quality.

by mooseherman 1 1/27/10
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PRS SE Mikael Akerfeldt

« Best guitar I ever had »
The PRS Mikael Akerfeldt guitar proved to be one of my best choices among my musical equipment. I've owned mine for five years now and I've used it to play all sorts of music with amazing results. It is an SE model, featuring a sort-of-Les Paul shaped body of maple wood with a particular shell print on it. The neck is maple, ebony fretboard (with a sort of satin in it that is actually helpful to avoid unwanted sliding), wide neck, 24 jumbo frets, and the typical PRS birds inlay (though I think this was one of the very first SE models to feature them). It has a tone knob, volume knob, a three way selector (positioned below the strings, as in a Stratocaster). All hardware and pickups are PRS designed: treble is the PRS SE HFS Treble, and bass is the PRS Vintage Bass, and the name describes perfectly the sound of this particular pickup. The bridge is a PRS Designed Tremolo, the tuner are the standard PRS Tuners, and the hardware is gold (which makes for a very classy look and requires a lot of care). UTILIZATION The guitar was excellent out of the box. With a beautiful action, a comfortable shape and a medium weight, it has been my companion on every gig for the last five years. As this is the custom model of Opeth's frontman, Mikael Akerfeld, the guitar is designed to cover his needs on the band. Luckily for everyone, these include fingerpicking, lead work, rhythmic work and frantic riffs, so the instrument is quite versatile per se. As stated before, the satin finish of the neck makes for a quite comfortable play. The very sharp bridge makes this guitar a sort of string snapping machine if you abuse the tremolo, so that's a minus. SOUNDS As it was made to cover Akerfeldt's needs on the band, the guitar works best for clean, dark tones, bluesy leads, and extra heavy riffs. The pickups can deal with 70's singer songwriter fingerstyle sounds as well as the most intense death metal distorsion. I've run this guitar through some VOX, Marshall, and Mesa models, and the sound has always maintained its characteristic bass darkness and richness. The tone may be a little lacking for things like classic rock and such, but the variety of music you can face with this guitar totally makes up for it. OVERALL OPINION I find this an extremely stylish, comfortable, and versatile instrument. Back in 2010, I tried at least twelve PRS guitars before getting this one, and I haven't regretted my decision for a second. I even tried other SE models and I found none as this good for fingerpicking. It is totally worth its price. The hardware has worn out a bit with time, and the knobs have to be cleaned with some regularity, but that's rather normal in Korean made guitars. The tuners are excellent too, they have rarely failed me. I would definitely make the same choice again.

by julian_r7 9/14/14
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PRS 50W Super Dallas Head

« It IS, indeed, Super! »
50W, EL34-based power stage, simple tone controls, and a truly useable master volume. This isn't your bedroom-volume noodler's amp...it's made to be unleashed and played at bar-gig volumes +. Build quality is pro-grade and though I don't have one of the ornate paisley or figured wood head cabinets, it's still beautiful. UTILIZATION Tone controls all work throughout their operating range with enough flexibility to tune to any cabinet and guitar combination. SOUNDS The delivery of Doug Sewell's unique design is in the tonal flexibility and reliable production of this tone night after night. It's a 50W, single channel amp so you have to expect to use it like one...dime the master, turn up the volume to your desired lead volume, turn down the guitar volume for crunch and clean. It's beautifully old school. With a Twin-like front end and EL34 power stage, it's not like most amps out there. Cleans are stunningly good. Crunch relies on your pickups to provide the drive or your pedalboard. Roll the guitar volume to 10 and it just growls! Matched with the right cab (PRS pine 2x12 for me) and it's magic. With the pedalboard up front, it takes Klon-like ODs perfectly and retains the clarity and punch regardless of how much gain you give it. Listen to Grissom and Haynes...they play these and yield different results, as do I. OVERALL OPINION Like so many review sites, 90%+ of the reviews are from casual music store lurkers that have never owned the device they're reviewing...much less used it in critical situations. In this case, I have. The PRS Super Dallas is my #1 amp and have recorded and gigged it solidly for the past 2 years. Despite the "it's too pretty and overpriced" flames, this amp delivers 10x over expectations. This is one of the most "sleeper" amps out there.

by Kerry.D 7/19/14
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PRS SE Custom 24 (2009)

« PRS SE Custom 24 »
It wasn't too long ago when PRS boomed in sales. To keep up with their demand they made their first line of off shore guitars in Korea and refer to them as the SE line. The SE is usually well marked on the headstock of the instrument. I saw this at my local Guitar Center and thought I would give it a shot. Brand new with a PRS factory gig bag the PRS SE Custom 24 sells for $679.99 What makes this instrument unique to me is the fact that it has a killer tremelo and whammy bar on it. This is uncommon to come stock on most Gibson or PRS guitars. Definitely a big plus. The maple trim around the guitar really sets of the visual appeal. It makes a cheaper imported instrument look like a higher end model. I feel the pickups are almost too diverse. The black and white Zebra striped bobbins definitely look cool, but the bridge is very bright and the neck is very bassy. I was able to roll the tone knob back too kill some of the brightness, but I am ultimately thinking about upgrading the pickups. No shortcuts taken here. The body is mahogany and the top is a maple veneer finished in sunburst to let just enough wood grain show through. 25' scale, the neck is thinner compared to a Gibson. 24 frets and the infamous PRS bird mother of pearl inlays. A sharp looking axe that plays like a dream. A big plus was the tremelo system yet I was a little letdown by the stock pickups. Definitely no shortage of the quality and craftsmanship you've learned to expect from Paul Reed Smith. This review was originally published on http://www.musicgearreview.com

by MGR/Billy 11/27/11
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PRS SE Custom Semi-Hollow

« PRS SE Custom Semi Hollow »
This is the SE Custom Semi Hollow model by Paul Reed Smith. Paul Read Smith has been making guitar since the 80s and has stressed quality over quantity. The SE is part of a newer import line from PRS. I found this locally and fell for the eye catching Blue Matteo finish. I didn't have a semi hollowbody guitar at the time so I felt it was worth checking out. The price was $599 and included a nice tweed PRS gigbag. It does the semi hollow tone well. Feedback is not an issue but it has a very fat sound to it. I like to play this through a slightly overdriven Fender Twin Reverb. The set neck is rare to see on an imported guitar. I feel that offers sustain to the design. The SE pickups sort of grew on me. At first I thought they were muddy, but I think I was just looking for an excuse to mod the guitar. I replaced the strings and got a nice setup and it plays and sounds great. I mentioned it needed a setup, but most guitars do. Climate changes and playing preferences I can't hold it against PRS. Beautiful. The blue finish and pointy cutaway remind me of Rickenbackers in a way. The top of the guitar is a mix of real maple and maple veneer (that is how they get the flame) the back of the guitar is mahogany. The neck is also mahogany and the fretboard is a wide rosewood board. Not sure if it is mine or the whole line, but the rosewood fretboard is gorgeous. Some guitars have a real thin ratty looking fingerboard, but this is deep and dark. PRS is known for their quality craftsmanship and this statement speaks true even on their import SE line. This review was originally published on http://www.musicgearreview.com

by MGR/Billy 3/17/11
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PRS SE Soapbar II Maple

« PRS SE Soapbar II Maple »
This is a beautiful, Tobacco Sunburst hi-gloss finish PRS student edition. The May 2007 Edition Guitar Player Magazine reviewed the best 35 guitars available for under $500.00. The PRS S.E. Soapbar II model received top honors, including the 'Editors Pick' and the best ratings for 'Sound', 'Vibe', 'Workmanship' and several other categories, as well as being selected as the preferred guitar by the Guitar Player Forum members brought in to review the 'roundup' of guitars. Every one of the 9 reviewers picked this guitar as their favorite guitar under $500.00. This guitar features: Solid mahogany body 22 fret set mahogany wide-fat neck curve 10 radius-rosewood fretboard. Has a beautiful top w/figured maple veneer, Moon inlays, 2 Special Design PRS Soapbar P90 pickups, 1 volume/1 tone and 3-way toggle pickup switch, 25 scale, PRS-designed stoptail bridge, and and the best gig bag imaginable. I've played for about 30 years as an amateur: rock, Jazz, R and B, praise and worship. This guitar can do it all. I bought this lightly used, 2007 PRS SE Soapbar II on ebay for $ 350 after seeing it reviewed in the May 2007 Guitar Player Magazine. It has a stunning, yet subtle high-quality tobacco sunburst finish,tiger striped top, with black back and neck. One of the lightest guitars I have ever played. Super-comfortable to play. It will not weigh you down like a Les Paul, yet still retains decent sustain, not LP-esque, but better than I expected from a guitar with single coils that retailed for less than $500.00. Fantastically warm, scooped-out neck pickup sounds great on the clean channel of my Peavey Delta Blues. The bridge pickup is snarly, surly, bites, growls, and will penetrate through your band mix. Tons of tone with these things. They have a meatier sound with more bottom end, than Strat single coils, and much higher output signal (volume and breakup), yet they retain more high end clarity than humbuckers. If you are not familiar with single coil P-90 pickups, you will get some minor humming in the bridge and neck positions. I wish it had individual tone pots for the two pups, and one thing PRS can do better is add a higher quality volume pot. When my amp volume is 12 0'clock or higher, the guitar volume will jump from zero to too Loud for bedroom playing. Not a linear increase, but I guess for $350, I shouldn't complain, but it is something to mention. No doubt the Koreans have done a great job in crafting this guitar, under PRS's watchful eyes. This guitar, while extremely light in weight, is built to gig. The gig bag is the best i have seen, but if youre gigging regularly, get a good hardshell case. Strap buttons and tuners are chrome, yet high quatity. I would use it on a gig w/o backup, without thinking about a backup. I would recommend this guitar for anyone who does not want to spend a grand or more on a guitar, but wants the same quality as one at 1/3rd the price. Awesome tonal qualities, from sensuous to snarling, this baby can do most genres, and do it well.It is a real Blues, Hard Rock, Jazz, Pop slugger. Metal Heads: Stick to your Humbuckers. This review was originally published on http://www.musicgearreview.com

by MGR/Wildheart1118 11/16/10
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