What is the deal with PRS guitars? Why are they so much darn $$$?

Cheap? Nah - never cheap. They're fantastic guitars (I have one ). Very well made, fantastic tone -- you can ride the line between a Paul & a Strat. Somewhat small-ish operation, still made in the USA.

 

BTW, mine was bought around '91 - a PRS Standard, retail $2000 or so, bought for $1200.

The $4000 guitars are likely either the Carlos Santana model(s), or one of their pretty collectables.

 

Here's a pic of my PRS Standard -- finished in clear cherry over a solid mahagony body (as being played by my brother )

 

A better pricture of the same model, grabbed from Elderly guitars...

 

I think ever since Carlos Santana started using custom made Paul Reed Smith guitars the prices went a bit higher as the demand went up for the instruments.

I myself lust after one, but I am quite content with my "vintage" 1971 Fender Telecaster.

 

I can't quite remember the whole story now, but I think it's something like this: Paul Reed Smith was a custom luthier - making one-off guitars on request. Santana bought one of these guitars, made it his main guitar, and boom... PRS was swamped with orders, and a company was born. This was quite some time ago... late 70s?

 

You might have that correct. I remember wanting a Gibson SG in 1971, because Carlos played one back then. But since my father was buying me the guitar as a present (for my 13th birthday) I was at the mercy of his imposed budget. The price of the SG was a bit more then my father would spend so I selected a Telecaster instead, and that is what I got. It didn't matter, since a year or two later I saw Roy Buchanan used a Telecaster and I was happy. By the time Carlos starting using PRS guitars they were not well known, and I do remember them to be quite expensive.

I tell myself every year that I am going to get myself a PRS guitar, but I always find something else to spend the money on.

Edit:

Here is a link to the Paul Reed Smith story and his website:

http://www.prsguitars.com/inside/story.html#1

 

Never cared for the design all that much. Then one day I came across this one in a pawn shop that needed a little TLC. Plugged it up and the sound was phenomenal. It's an '89 Classic Electric, more geared to the Fender-meets-LP scheme of things, with a bolt on neck and wired to get more of a single coil sound. Got a great deal on it so it came home with me.

I think the poor quality coming from companies like Gibson, Fender, Gretsch etc in the 70s paved the way for someone like Smith to provide quitars built with better quality. I do notice a lot of players of the above mentioned lines seem to have a not so kind opinion of PRS's. But you have to hand it to Smith for doing what he has done through the years, basically from scratch.

 

How long has Santana been using them? I know that Geddy Lee and Alex Lifeson of Rush have used them for some time.

 

A good friend of mine who used to play guitar in my band uses a PRS. I always hassled him about it because for me, there are no good guitars made after 1970 or so. I don't like the way PRS guitars look, their bodies seem WAY too small(though my main guitar is a Gretsch afterall), and I don't like the general vibe. However, I will say this:

A) For a modern guitar, they are EXTREMELY well made.

B) They sound good and are AMAZINGLY versatile in terms of tone.

C) They play like butter.


Just my two cents.

 

I have two PRS guitars, an '89 Classic Electric w/24 frets, and a 22 fret '96 Custom. Both are excellent guitars; well made and definitely worth the money that I paid for them.



Ed Hurdle
HeavyDistortion

 

Steve,

You must have bought all your guitars before the 1980s because PRS guitars took over the mantle of "premier American guitars" then: The PRS was THE guitar to buy those days. And deservedly so. In 1984, when I bought my first electric, the quality of Fender guitars was underwhelming, and the price of Gibsons was stratospheric. Everyone mooned over vintage Les Pauls and Strats and Teles, but 90% of those guitars had already found happy homes. The newer non-vintage Fenders and Gibsons I found for sale in my local music stores were pricey and mediocre-sounding. The best deal then was Japanese guitars like Ibanez and Aria: they sounded at least as good as the new Fenders and Gibsons for far less money.

Into this sad state affairs came PRS. Well made, good sounding guitars that, though not cheap, justified their cost. Only PRS and Leo Fender's G + L guitars came even close to being good-sounding new American electric guitars then. And the acoustic scene? Ugh! Even worse. The '80s were a terrible time for guitar players. PRS was the one the companies that changed that. For that, they have my respect.

$4100 is a lot of money, no argument there. But that's how much Gibson wants these days for its premium guitars. It's the high end market, not PRS that's at fault.

Larpy

 

I was drawn to their looks precisely because they look so different. I mean, every EVERY band has a Les Paul and Strat at hand. Quite honestly, they've become invisible to me (I know...sacrilege!).

I'd say for *any* vintage, they're well made.

This can't be emphasized enough: Les Pauls and Starts have very signature sounds. The Paul Reed is a bit of a chameleon; as prix says "versatile".

agreed!

 

Strats have that "strat" sound, and Paul's weight a ton. Lots of people wanted something different - the "best of both worlds".

And, as I said, some of us were (blasphemy!) tired of the strat & paul look.

 

Yes! Steve uses the 2-thumbs-up-Ed smilie!

Ah - I totally see where you're coming from in terms of a collector.

All of the guitars I've bought to date have been played and bashed and beated and loved, including my PRS. If I'd have bought a $1200 Strat back then, I'd have been petrified to play it.

 

Re: What is the deal with PRS guitars? Why are they so much $$$

Yeah, it's just insane to me that anyone would spend that kind of cash on a new PRS guitar.

 

There are 5-piece drum sets going for $4000-$5000 these days (just the drums... no hardware or cymbals). It all comes down to 1) really nice wood getting more scarce and 2) some companies (or models) require more of a hands-on approach to manufacturing, instead of using power tools. More labor = $$$$

 

Steve, Forget the PRS. Check out Jetguitars.com. I have two of them and they are much better the any PRS, IMHO. The body is chambered korina and is quite light. They are hand made and will only go up in value.

 

How about a burst?

 

But at the time (mid '80s), the PRS guitars were in that same price range. I remember them costing a bit over $1000. That was BIG money then, so I contented myself with an Ibanez and, later, a mid-70s Strat.

From my perspective as a mid-80s guitar shopper, yes, a '64 Strat could be found for $1000, but certainly not every day of the week. I remember seeing one or two a year for sale (I lived then in Austin, TX, a big guitar town). But a PRS could be had for about the same money ANY day of the week. And it was shiny new and available in lots of different finshes! What's more, as many have explained, it did things tonally that made it a genuine alternative to the Gibosn vs. Fender sound. At the time, it was an appealing guitar priced reasonably.

Those were the good old days, though they didn't seem that way at the time. Prices went ballistic soon after. I sorta understand the vintage prices now (they ARE wonderful guitars), but even new guitars now are stupid expensive. $4100 IS too much for a PRS, but doesn't Gibson want even more than that for a top of the line Les Paul now? In terms of quality of workmanship and sound, they're equivalent, so I suppose the PRS is no more overpriced than Gibsons are now.

Larpy

 

Now your talkin'!

I am sure a PRS is a fine instrument, but a guitar has to look right too, and for my money, you just posted a photo of THE quintesential electric guitar. Period. Bar none. Game over. End of story. Don't make me say it again.

IMHO, or course!

BGL

 

If you want a good deal on a guitar, always buy used.

I have a friend who collects (and plays semi-profesisonally) guitars and every few years he has an "everything must go" sale (which I don't understand). He always buys new (again, I don't understand), so he is the original owner.

I've bought two USA Hamers from him (which IMO are every bit as good as PRS, with flamed tops that are the equal of the PRS "10" tops) and a barely played 1991 Gibson Les Paul Standard, none of which cost me more than $900. Plus I found on Ebay (without looking very hard), a mint USA Hamer DuoTone, with Seymour Duncan Antiquity pickups, which I won for $810.

It is easy to find very nice used electric solidbodies for less than a grand. Unless you have to have something extra special (or can't stand the thought of buying used), I wouldn't pay more.