PRS - Soapbar: New Guitar Day

[Lt. Bob]

I'm thinking about a couple of Lollar 'wide-ranges' in one of my axes and possibly some of their P90's in one I'm building.

[JD01]

PRS has just arrived at the office - it definitely doesn't look too much like a PRS but initially it seems to feel nice play. Gonna re-string it later and record some tones! Really want to see what it sounds like doubled with my Custom.

[JD01]

So, its arrived in the office - first few pics and observations.

First observations - I don't like the flame veneer (I assume its a veneer), its obviously not a AAA top so I'd prefer it was just a basic burst, in fact, I'd prefer it was just a block colour. I don't like the painted/lacquered neck, if I keep this guitar that might have to be sanded back, I like the pointy bits on the headstock even less now that before it arrived.

OK, that's the negative stuff. On the plus side:

Its in good nick, just a few ordinary scuffs and scratches.
No obvious wear on the frets.
Neck looks straight
All the hardware seems or decent quality and nothing is loose.
Despite what I said above, I like the look of it more now than when I ordered it - aside from the tacky veneer and the headstock it doesn't look too much like a PRS.
It feels nice in my hands, should be nice to play when its re-strung.
It came in a decent case (same case as I have for my custom).
Its got really cool vol and tone knobs - they're not smooth, they have squares cut out of them around the edge.

I think its great value at £200 considering I was unsure about getting a guitar with P90s.

PRS Top.jpg

PRS Back.jpg

[Greg_L]

Lol. Knurled speed knobs, you knob.

Looks like a PRS to me. Congrats, I guess?

On the plus side, it's got (hopefully) real P90s and it's built like a Gibson albeit with some of Gibson's weird idiosyncrasies sorted out with that hideous headstock. Nice case.

[JD01]

Lol. Knurled speed knobs, you knob.

Looks like a PRS to me. Congrats, I guess?

On the plus side, it's got (hopefully) real P90s and it's built like a Gibson albeit with some of Gibson's weird idiosyncrasies sorted out with that hideous headstock. Nice case.

Its built in big PRS factory in Korea which is pretty well regarded. I'd be surprised if they are completely shite pickups; the spec says they are Soapbar P90s. It feels well built for a cheap guitar.

Provided I get on with the way it plays and sounds it won't take much to turn it into a guitar that I also think looks nice.

[Greg_L]

I'm sure the pickup quality is good enough. I'm talking about the type of construction. Some "P90s" are actually made like mini stacked humbuckers. They're not P90s at all, they just look like it. The stacked coils do give a brighter attack sort of like one of those Strat-sized mini rail things, but they hum cancel like a humbucker. They don't sound like P90s, they just look like P90s.

Yours should be easy to determine - just listen for the noise. P90s are noisy.

[ido1957]

Yeah the Gibson headstock is a big flaw...your PRS has a straight feed - brilliant! Price is very reasonable based on features.
I have a "painted" LPC neck. My Strat has some thin satin-y feeling finish. I've no issue with either, and don't even notice it...
Nice upper range access on that PRS too. Looking forward to some tone samples and Happy New Guitar Day.

[ido1957]

Yours should be easy to determine - just listen for the noise. P90s are noisy.

Ah yes now I remember my old 55/74 Special was a noisy beast. got used to standing as far as possible away from the "noise zone" of my amp.

[Greg_L]

I have a "painted" LPC neck. My Strat has some thin satin-y feeling finish. I've no issue with either, and don't even notice it...

Same here. Painted, not painted, I don't care.

[Greg_L]

Ah yes now I remember my old 55/74 Special was a noisy beast. got used to standing as far as possible away from the "noise zone" of my amp.

Lol, right. When I'm recording my P90s or the Mosrite clone, I spin in a circle until I find the quiet spot...then stay there. It's usually about 45 degrees off axis from the cab.

[JD01]

I have a "painted" LPC neck. My Strat has some thin satin-y feeling finish. I've no issue with either, and don't even notice it...

Same here. Painted, not painted, I don't care.

I don't like painted necks at all. My Custom, my Ibanez, both my basses and my acoustic all have unpainted necks. The cheapest, shittest of the basses even has a sanded back neck.

[JD01]

So, I had a couple of hours with this yesterday evening and an hour with it this morning.

Its a really nice comfortable guitar to play.
String bends are so easy after the longer scale guitars I am used to.
Action on it is super low - little bit of fret buzz, but nothing I'm that bothered about.
Tuning stability seems great once I had stretched the strings in. I was really doing loads of big bends, hitting chords really hard and its great.
I find access to the upper frets a little restrictive, but that's just where the shorter scale length sits against my body as opposed to fret access on the guitar.

Very good buy at £200.

I'm gonna have to lower the action on my Custom again now, I raised it a fair bit a little while ago 'cos I was getting a little bit of fret buzz at the 3rd fret on the bottom E when playing in Drop D... but now I never play in Drop D and even if I do I can probably tolerate a tiny bit of fret buzz.

[rayc]

It looks great from behind!
I only have 1 painted neck jobbie - no issue there, I have 2 gloss covered necks and they're quite old - no probs.
I have an ultra cheap Tele copy that has a bare neck - no stain, nothing & that's fine too. I'm just not sensitive or nuanced enough to notice I reckon.

[JD01]

It looks great from behind!

It really is a hideously cheap looking top isn't it.

[rayc]

I'm not a fan of "quilted" veneers at the best of times, I'd be happy with block colour or whatever the wood actually looks like with a bit of tobacco burst but a two part quilted veneer that isn't even book matched? Nah, hey - if it play nicely and sounds good then NONE of the rest matters does it?

[JD01]

I'm not a fan of "quilted" veneers at the best of times, I'd be happy with block colour or whatever the wood actually looks like with a bit of tobacco burst but a two part quilted veneer that isn't even book matched? Nah, hey - if it play nicely and sounds good then NONE of the rest matters does it?

Suppose not, but that just makes a cheapo imitation top that's supposed to look "expensive" but does nothing but make the guitar look cheap so completely fucking pointless!

[Greg_L]

Suppose not, but that just makes a cheapo imitation top that's supposed to look "expensive" but does nothing but make the guitar look cheap so completely fucking pointless!

PRS is well known for their fancy frilly bookmatched flame tops. They're weekend rockstar lawyer guitars. And most of the time, on their higher end stuff, it does look very nice if you're into that sort of thing. PRS is very good about doing very good finishes. I guess they have to keep that sort of appearance for their low end stuff too.

[JD01]

Suppose not, but that just makes a cheapo imitation top that's supposed to look "expensive" but does nothing but make the guitar look cheap so completely fucking pointless!

PRS is well known for their fancy frilly bookmatched flame tops. They're weekend rockstar lawyer guitars. And most of the time, on their higher end stuff, it does look very nice if you're into that sort of thing. PRS is very good about doing very good finishes. I guess they have to keep that sort of appearance for their low end stuff too.

Well, if I ever have the time and patience, its gonna be disappearing behind a layer of paint.

Top end Les Pauls go for these frilly tops too. I really don't like them.

[muttley]

PRS is well known for their fancy frilly bookmatched flame tops. They're weekend rockstar lawyer guitars. And most of the time, on their higher end stuff, it does look very nice if you're into that sort of thing. PRS is very good about doing very good finishes. I guess they have to keep that sort of appearance for their low end stuff too.

Well, if I ever have the time and patience, its gonna be disappearing behind a layer of paint.

Top end Les Pauls go for these frilly tops too. I really don't like them.

I need to build guits for you cos most really want that stuff and its ridiculously expensive and harder to work and finish.....

[JD01]

Well, if I ever have the time and patience, its gonna be disappearing behind a layer of paint.

Top end Les Pauls go for these frilly tops too. I really don't like them.

I need to build guits for you cos most really want that stuff and its ridiculously expensive and harder to work and finish.....

That would be lovely, Mutt! But I won't be getting any more guitars built unless I decide to get a divorce!

One other thing about the PRS - It just feels light in your hands which gives it a perception of being a bit flimsy, even though its probably not. I was going back and forth between the PRS and my Custom and the Custom feels like a really good heavy chunk in comparison.