PRS Hollowbody II - Smoked Orange

I bought this on a Ebay auction for $2250.

When I tell you this thing sounds INCREDIBLE, believe me. It does everything wonderfully. I have 21 guitars and nothing comes close this, not my Gibson, Fender or any of the others.

The only thing that I don't like about it is, that it is so beautiful and immaculate that I am scared to death of putting a scratch on it. So it spends 98% of its life in its fantastic leather hardshell case.

You should know what these guitars are but for those of you how do not, here goes. It is a hollowbody made of flamed maple on the top and back. Mahogany side rim and set neck. Rosewood fretboard with abalone bird inlays and McCarty archtop electronics. I know that a large part of thier production is done on computer controlled CNC machines for high tolerances but they are assembled by hand and the work is impeccable. The PRS line of guitars are the most sought after now because of thier beauty and craftmanship.

I liked this so much I bought a PRS custom 22 that I would feel more comfortable playing on a regular basis. Go and at least try one out if you can. They stopped making the Hollowbody I and I hope they stop making these so mine will only increase in value(awfully selfish).

This review was originally published on http://www.musicgearreview.com

Made in USA
Flame maple top and back
Mahogany neck
Rosewood fretboard with 22 frets
Bird inlays
PRS Phase II locking tuners
PRS pickups
Piezo
Hollow body with f-holes
Volume, tone, 3 way pickup selector, 3 way mini toggle for mag/mag piezo/piezo

Great FEATURES, not necessarily great guitar.


UTILIZATION

This guitar seems like it would be great. It's easy to play. It's a bit neck-heavy, which is annoying, but not enough to be a deal breaker. The deal breaking occurs with the overall flatness/dullness of the vibe. I know, it's incredibly intangible, and as a writer and an informed guitar owner and player I should be able to pinpoint exactly what it is about the guitar I don't like, but I can't. It just does not do it for me. This is one of the most blah instruments I've ever picked up. It's not bad, but it's not good either.

SOUNDS

It sounded ok, I guess. I've played much better sounding PRS guitars, and much better sounding hollowbodies. This guitar was really uninspiring to me. The piezo in my Parker and my buddy's Schecter sounded better than this one.

OVERALL OPINION

Have you ever heard the phrase "the whole is greater than the sum of its parts"? That doesn't apply here. In fact, just the opposite. The features are fantastic, and the guitar should by all accounts be incredible. But I just thought it was pretty dull overall. I don't know if I played a bad example of one - everything checked out just fine - but I was not impressed. I love hollowbody guitars, and I love a lot of PRS models, and I love piezo pickups, but this one just did not do it for me. It was set up well and everything... Who knows. I just think it's not a great buy for the money.