PRS Budget Guitar - I don't get it!!

[Lev]

I've been reading about this new PRS Mira for the "budget conscious" guitarist! It seems like a great guitar but at $1700 (with bird inlays) it's more expensive than the USA Fender Artist series & in the same ball park as a Les Paul Classic. Hardly Budget in my book

http://www.harmony-central.com/articles/reviews/prs_mira/

[Brian Krashpad]

Agreed, though if I were to get it I'd get dots anyhow, which I assume'd be cheaper, as I've always disliked birdies on a guitar neck.

Expensiveness is relative of course, for the PRS crowd $1700 or $1600 is probably not much.

[Radioboy950]

No...not quite "budget" in my book, but I've never played a PRS.

Are they more marketing hype, or are they that great ??

[Adrian30]

I've played a Santana SE and compared it to an Epi SG Vintage G-400. I liked the feel and sound of Epi better.

[hubberjub]

PRS does not represent a good value. They use nice looking woods and that's about it. All of their guitars are CNC made just like Epiphone and Squire guitars (or Gibson and Fender for that matter). Back in the day they used to be handmade. Now they just turn out as many guitars as they can. The neck has a stupid heel that hinders your playing in the higher registers. I'm sorry for going off. Check out the rant section at www.edromanguitars.com for more information on why you shouldn't bother with a PRS.

[Brian Krashpad]

No...not quite "budget" in my book, but I've never played a PRS.

Are they more marketing hype, or are they that great ??

I've only played one, one of the US-made non-SE's, when I was testing out an amp I was buying. It had a wide-thin neck, which I hated.

[Brian Krashpad]

PRS does not represent a good value. They use nice looking woods and that's about it. All of their guitars are CNC made just like Epiphone and Squire guitars (or Gibson and Fender for that matter). Back in the day they used to be handmade. Now they just turn out as many guitars as they can. The neck has a stupid heel that hinders your playing in the higher registers. I'm sorry for going off. Check out the rant section at www.edromanguitars.com for more information on why you shouldn't bother with a PRS.

But keep in mind that Ed Roman is totally full of shit and has been slapped down by Ernie Ball for counterfeiting.

I don't particularly like PRS, but from everything I've seen about Ed Roman, I actively dislike the guy and discount anything he says automatically.

[mrmudcat]

Oh how you beat me to it Brian!!:thwap:

I dont believe anything said that comes from that side of vegas.(insert legal; disclaimer here for you lawyers):bravo: )

[Spudman]

The showroom at the Ibanez importer has about 20 PRS guitars always hanging up on display. They started carrying them around 2001. I always try them out when I go in the store and to this day I have never played one that made me go "wow, I've got to have this." I actually like the Ibanez SZ more than any PRS I've tried.

[hubberjub]

Don't get me wrong, I don't feel that Ed Roman is an authority on anything. I just think he's a grumpy old man. I do agree with his views on PRS.

[aeolian]

On another board I visit a couple of people said that they are really impressed by the PRS Mira, specially the coil tap which they claim actually gave useful single coil tones.

The Mira may indeed be 'budget' in the PRS line of guitars. I'll give you an example. Santa Cruz makes excellent acoustic guitars, it makes a guitar designated D/PW (Dreadnaught/Pre-War). The basis is a dreadnaught guitar after the style of the Pre-War Martin with no ornamentation, just good old guitar-building workmanship and wood. It is so it can keep the cost down. This guitar cost over $2500 new. Their other guitars can be over $5000 easily.

I first learned about PRS just over 10 years ago. Because they were such eye candy I was fascinated by them. I found a guitar store that has them and went there one day to try them out. I played a couple of them and was so unimpressed that I have since had no desire to own one.

[abraxas]

OK... I wouldn't imagine myself defending Paul's guitars, but here goes...

When being critical about "guitars without character" we must always ask ourselves what the context is.

For example, a PRS may have little "character" in relation to a... let's say, Fender '51 reissue Tele. But the undeniable truth is that PRS guitars have merits that make them desirable by a large number of pro players. The attention to detail is usually very high, especially the fretwork. Also, for some (not so) peculiar reason, PRS guitars tent to cut through the mix better than guitars "with more character". The same is true for Anderson guitars, for instance. Have you checked the price tag on these?

So, all is sweet when you're noodling away with your cheaper guitar by yourself, but in the context of a band or in recording, PRS is a choice of many pros for the reasons I stated above. And, finally, I don't believe PRS are badly priced in relation to high end Gibsons for instance.

Personally, I only like a few PRS guitars, like the simple PRS CE Mahogany, a workhorse guitar that you could get for about 1500 euros in Europe. Also the Johnny Hiland model and the Swamp Ash are interesting guitars. I've heard good things about the Mira but haven't tested it yet.

It's not just marketing hype and nice looks. And not being totally handmade anymore really means nothing for the final product, except in the way of mojo. If you want a handmade high end guitar, get a Hamer. ;)