PRS SC245 vs Gibson Les Paul

[Gargamel647]

funny thing...when I played a SC with 57/08s and compared it to a Bernie and SE 245, I actually liked the 57/08s the least. In the interest of disclosure, all of those guitars were at GC

I put 57/08's in mine and hated them. I switched them out for a Seymour Duncan JB/jazz. Now my PRS breaths fire!!! I always go for my Les Paul's first. If I don't feel like playing a heavy guitar then I grab my SG or PRS.

 

[nutsauce]

I have a Stripped 58 with 57/08's and I love the tone. I did not like the McCarty pickups in my McKorina, so I swapped them out for a set of 57/08's. Now that McCarty sounds incredible. I will never own another PRS without putting 57/08's in it. Seriously, give them another listen.

Yeah, my McCarty had 57/08's and I loved the tone of that guitar. Wish I could have kept it, but it, my Nash Esquire and my R6 all became a down payment on this. Oh well...it drives great but the tone is nothing like my R6. And it's not even as pretty as some PRS guitars I've seen!!

 

[gilmourjunkie]

Yeah, my McCarty had 57/08's and I loved the tone of that guitar. Wish I could have kept it, but it, my Nash Esquire and my R6 all became a down payment on this. Oh well...it drives great but the tone is nothing like my R6. And it's not even as pretty as some PRS guitars I've seen!!

Awesome looking ride

 

[nutsauce]

Thanks gilmourjunkie...I do miss those guitars though. And they never got me a speeding ticket ( :

 

[Deus Vult]

new bridge pickup incoming

 

[VictorB]

new bridge pickup incoming

What is it?!?

 

[Deus Vult]

What is it?!?

This isn't it.

While I'm waiting I decided to install some of the old pickups I had laying around. I tried the BB2 that came out of my R8. It was an improvement over the 245 pickups, but not good enough. So for now, my SC i sporting a Zhangbucker Pagey 2 pickup.

I left the neck pup alone. And in fact, I think it might be the best neck pickup I've ever played...even better than my beloved Crossroads. I've never had a neck HB clean up so well.

 

[Tim Plains]

Chambered mahogany body with maple cap

I assume you know 245s are more like weight relieved. I have an x-ray pic if you haven't seen it already. 250s are full out chambered.

I have a Stripped 58 with 57/08's and I love the tone. I did not like the McCarty pickups in my McKorina, so I swapped them out for a set of 57/08's. Now that McCarty sounds incredible. I will never own another PRS without putting 57/08's in it. Seriously, give them another listen.

I have a McCarty and a Custom 24 with 57/08s. Both Private Stocks (I would post a picture but then Fenn would just call me a snob ), both stock, and both different but I like them almost equally with a slight edge to the McCartys. There are other differences between the two guitars, I know, that will affect tone but I think most of it comes from the pickups. Maybe the McCartys in Private Stock guitars are different than the regular ones? I think they are the same, though.

 

[Deus Vult]

can't say Ive seen that pic, Tim. It definitely feels chambered....and it vibrates like it's chambered. Beats me.

 

[Tim Plains]

I used to have a shot of the 250 but must have deleted it.

 

[Deus Vult]

replacement bridge hath arrived. But what is it? And better yet, when will I get it installed?

 

[Deus Vult]

Ok, the new bridge pickup has been installed: WCR Godwood. At first I wasn't impressed- despite its description as the fattest of WCR's offerings, it really made th guitar sound thin and ice-picky. But with some tweaking of the heights, the pots and my EP booster....wowie wow wow. I think I can now consider my 245 fixed. This thing just smokes through the YJM. It even sounded pretty good through my buddy's Micro Terror.

Here's some crappy iPhone vids from this evening.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dQgFtSoWZzQ

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hkclCyAJ7e4

 

[CivoLee]

This is how I've always seen it...

Gibson Les Paul:

Brash, in your face, but still classy nonetheless.

PRS Singlecut:

Also classy yet powerful, but with more sophistication and sleeker overall.

For my part, I'd rather have the former, though I can understand why some people choose the latter. I think PRS are better at doublecuts myself, but that's just my opinion. YMMV and all that.

Carry on.

 

[StratGT]

^^^^It's funny that you would use a car analogy to describe the difference between PRS and Gibson guitars....I know people that own Chrsyler 300's and fancy BMW's and they've all had problems with both of those cars, some had major problems.

Keep in mind I like PRS guitars, however my advice would be to try the PRS guitar, make a decision then look for a used one...they have an interesting resale valve here in my neck of the woods. Their $3000 price tag will usually sell for $1500 a year later in the used market...in perfect condition with the case. Why is this?? Aren't they the best built guitar?? One guy at the store said...PRS offers 5 different sounds, a Les Paul has the sound. Lol

Just this weekend I went to a few guitar stores looking for yet another axe, I wanted a PRS and since it's one of the few guitars that I don't have I figured why not.

Here's my dilemma...I couldn't get around the fact that the sound of a $2200 PRS guitar was not any better than a basic LP Studio, nor did I see this axe "fitting" into my guitar collection. I have a US Strat, US Tele, a Les Paul, and a US G&L Asat. I walked out of the store with a great quality used Gretsch Jet complete with a Bigsby. BTW, the Gretsch sounds different than all my other guitars and covers that rockabilly tone so well.

People looking for a PRS guitar must be looking for a tone that they don't already have. PRS should have offered a budget guitar from day one, then let their customers move up to a better quality instrument. In other words...build a strong customer base. There must be a reason why there are so many PRS guitars for sale on the used market.

 

[Deus Vult]

^^^^It's funny that you would use a car analogy to describe the difference between PRS and Gibson guitars....I know people that own Chrsyler 300's and fancy BMW's and they've all had problems with both of those cars, some had major problems.

Keep in mind I like PRS guitars, however my advice would be to try the PRS guitar, make a decision then look for a used one...they have an interesting resale valve here in my neck of the woods. Their $3000 price tag will usually sell for $1500 a year later in the used market...in perfect condition with the case. Why is this?? Aren't they the best built guitar?? One guy at the store said...PRS offers 5 different sounds, a Les Paul has the sound. Lol

Just this weekend I went to a few guitar stores looking for yet another axe, I wanted a PRS and since it's one of the few guitars that I don't have I figured why not.

Here's my dilemma...I couldn't get around the fact that the sound of a $2200 PRS guitar was not any better than a basic LP Studio, nor did I see this axe "fitting" into my guitar collection. I have a US Strat, US Tele, a Les Paul, and a US G&L Asat. I walked out of the store with a great quality used Gretsch Jet complete with a Bigsby. BTW, the Gretsch sounds different than all my other guitars and covers that rockabilly tone so well.

People looking for a PRS guitar must be looking for a tone that they don't already have. PRS should have offered a budget guitar from day one, then let their customers move up to a better quality instrument. In other words...build a strong customer base. There must be a reason why there are so many PRS guitars for sale on the used market.

i think PRS does have its own client base, even if it is smaller than a company like Gibson. And I think that proportionately, there are far more Gibsons and Fenders for sale than PRS- at least around here. I do agree though that PRS do seem to have lower resale value (yay for me!).

One of the guys I jam with was playing my SC this weekend and I jokingly said "PRS makes guitars that look and feel amazing, but sound pretty boring".

The common complaint is that a PRS sounds "sterile". Even the fanboys on the PRS forum agree- though several of them are complete apologists in that they think sterile is a synonym for modern. I read a post the other day that said something like:

The 57/08s are based off PAFs. But they aren't PAFs. But they retain what I like the best about PAFs. In fact, I think they're better.

It is very interesting to me how PRS guys don't seem to stray from the brand whereas Gibson guys have no problem slapping Duncans, Wizz or Throbaks in their LPs.

 

[StratGT]

For my guitars:

I tend to stick with stock pickups in my guitars until I hear something that's more to my liking. Recently I replaced my noiseless Strat pickups with David Allen Hot 54's/ 59, turns out it was a great decision...it's very Strat vintage sounding.

I find Gibson pickups to be very good overall, but for me I always look for that original PAF tone from a Gibson. Whatever G&L is doing seems to work extremely well since I never change anything on the G&L's that I've owned.

When I first played a PRS Standard back in '92 I loved the guitar until I plugged it in. I found the HFS pickups to be very compressed and too hot overall...it seemed like the guitar couldn't breath, especially compared to how it sounded unplugged. The only reason I didn't buy it back in '92 was I felt for an $1800 guitar I shouldn't have to replace the pickups. Their newer 57/08 pickups are very good and a major improvement. For some reason whenever I look at a PRS I tend to refer to their old '92 brochure and the original PRS marketing where they're comparing their products as a better alternative to a Gibson. So I always looked for a Gibson tone when playing a PRS, but never found it. One PRS that I really liked was the old bolt-on maple neck model...I guess they stopped making those. PRS guitars have their own tone which PRS should be marketing along with their build quality.

What I would like to see from PRS is a basic lower priced American made Les Paul Studio Tribute styled guitar...no frills, no fancy bird inlays, no locking tuners, no high gloss finish styled guitar priced in the $700 to $800 range. I find their US guitars to be so expensive...I'd worry about it getting stolen.

When I talked the store owner regarding which guitars are in the most demand and selling the best...ironically, he said allot of people look for simplicity, feel and tone so they walk out with a Telecaster...go figure. Lol

 

[MikeyTheCat]

What I would like to see from PRS is a basic lower priced American made Les Paul Studio Tribute styled guitar...no frills, no fancy bird inlays, no locking tuners, no high gloss finish styled guitar priced in the $700 to $800 range. I find their US guitars to be so expensive...I'd worry about it getting stolen.

Well there is the S2 line which meets the criteria of a good quality basic guitar. Personally I hope PRS never go the sub-1K threshold for an American made guitar unless they can keep the quality of at least the S2s. Let Gibson own that and all that goes with it.

 

[Deus Vult]

Well there is the S2 line which meets the criteria of a good quality basic guitar. Personally I hope PRS never go the sub-1K threshold for an American made guitar unless they can keep the quality of at least the S2s. Let Gibson own that and all that goes with it.

personally, i wasnt impressed by the S2 Cu24s I played. They offered nothing over the SE imho other than having the made in the USA stamp. I also would have a hard time spending $1400 on a US made guitar that doesnt come with a HSC.

 

[MikeyTheCat]

That's fine, but I haven't been impressed by SEs enough to buy one or the sub 2K Gibsons. Ten years back I couldn't have imagined any player buying them, but now they sell like hot cakes. But I was impressed by the S2 that was dropped into my lap. Different strokes and all that, and I generally prefer to buy my own cases.

 

[Deus Vult]

You need to get together with MLP member Tim Plains.

i'm a historic snob, but i've played sub-$2k Gibsons that were worth buying. Even some of the sub-$1k ones have been good players. I played a new LP MM with p90s a few weeks ago that sounded great. If I hadn't bought the PRS I probably would have walked out with it.