LP Studio vs Standard or Custom

[J.B.]

Bottom line with GUITARS is you HAVE to play them before you buy one, then make your decison.

Fixed.

True, but more so with Gibsons.

 

[J.B.]

I was joking about the the confusing thing, just making fun of Gibson with their lawsuits. But yes, PRS guitars are inconsistent in tone. Some sound great some are just dead. But i played a SC245 that to me, sounded as good as any Les Paul i have heard or played. And i remember me and Ivan were in GC one day playing the PRS Custom 24's and there was one that was CLEARLY better sounding in terms of output, bottom end, and just plain balls.

But what does "sound good" actually mean? What if your idea of sounding good is out of phase or coil tapped tones. How do LP's sound for that style? What if i wanted a clear lead tone for fusion without an overabundance of midrange or bottom end. Would i want a LP for that?
I have heard one too many world class players get incredible tones from PRS guitars that i chuckle when people trash them. But with PRS, Gibson, and any other company, you have to play before you pay. Wood doesn't always sound like how it's supposed to.

All very good points. For me with the PRS's, I had 4 different ones, and while I allways loved how they played, they allways sounded dead and lifeless to me. They didn't react to your picking very good and I could never pull pinch harmonics out of them good at all. I played probably 10 others in stores and found mostly the same things, with some clearly better than others. Then I played 4 others recently, a SC245, SC250, and 2 Custom 24's (one with the Artist package)....... I couldn't belive what I was hearing from the 24 Artist. It just knocked my socks off!! It was all I could think about all week. So, the next week I brought my 57RI LP and my Cameron to the store so I could play it again through my own amp, and compare it to a guitar that I knew had awsome tone. I compared them and it was no contest, the 57 stayed there and I went home with the PRS. I was afraid my ears could be decieving me on my drive home, but still today, it's probably my favorite guitar out of my 2 Charvels and my 68RI Lp Custom. I absolutely LOVE all my guitars, but for tone, feel, playability....the whole package, I think the PRS wins. Which I still can't believe.