I did it. I've betrayed Ibanez!!!

ChrisReedSmith · #1 08-02-2005, 08:25 PM

Well. After being loyal to the Ibanez brand and over almost a decade owning many Ibanez guitars. I finally decided to buy a PRS.

http://pg.photos.yahoo.com/ph/ibyrgd...dude/my_photos

I can't believe I did it. I'm sorry to say, it was pretty much impulse.
I mean I've always liked PRS's. I've always played with the thought of owning one. But I didn't think I'd get one anytime soon....
She's amazing. 05' Custom 22 10-top tortoise shell. Sounds amazing. Looks amazing.
I do agree this isn't quite a "10-top". But it is nice. I'd readily admit thats maybe a 7 or 8 at best. But it's only cosmetic. What made me finally buy one is the tone. It just sounds so clear and full.
Dont get me wrong I've loved my Ibanez guitars and honestly, they dont sound that bad compared to this guitar. But it does go an extra mile or 2. Or 5.
Im not a big fan of the bridge pickup. Not terrible, but not quite me. I'm hoping I can get maybe a Duncan JB with a chrome cover but Im not sure. I think I'd rather keep both chrome covered as oppose to open coils.
Anyway I got a great deal on it brand new. It sells at GC for 2800. I payed a great deal less being a GC employee.
Oh and the trem!!! I usually hate trems. And I dont even really plan on using it much. But DAMN is that stable!!! Its hard to knock this sucker out of tune. Fantastic guitar.

chris

Jemwielder · #2 08-02-2005, 08:36 PM

I've never been fond of PRS guitars, i never really liked the feel of the necks. I wouldn't mind getting a custom job done with an edge in it, but that's a lot of money lol

bduersch · #3 08-02-2005, 08:45 PM

Congrats, and welcome to the dark side!!

That's one sharp looking CU22--I've always been a big fan of the tortoise shell finish. (I've always kinda dug the PRS trem, too... I know it's not a Floyd, but it's still pretty stable)

--B

**jemsite** · #4 08-02-2005, 09:08 PM

sweet... i would not complain if someone left a CU22 at my doorstep

...glen

Flobanez · #5 08-02-2005, 09:22 PM

Nice PRS, man. Congrats.

**elcid** · #6 08-02-2005, 09:36 PM

Nice guitar man
My friend has the same one.
I'm not much of a PRS fan, but they are really nice guitars, I'd go as far to say really really nice

Don't feel so bad about betraying Ibanez, it's a little known secret I am down to 1 Ibanez, and there probably won't be many more in my future, except maybe a Universe.

David Ho · #7 08-02-2005, 10:25 PM

Nice Axe. Congrats!
What type of body wood is this one?

buddroyce · #8 08-02-2005, 10:35 PM

Nice guitar man. Great guitars but I never really got into them myself (even though I sell 'em at work). Still prefer my RG1880S and my RG8670 over all the PRS' I've tried over the years.

Is that a wide-fat or a wide-thin neck on it?

ChrisReedSmith · #9 08-03-2005, 01:45 AM

Thank you guys for the compliments!

Their Custom series are generally maple tops with mahogany backs. A classic combo of course. I believe thats what makes them different then the Standards, which are just solid mahogany I believe...

Im still surprised I did it. I have a distinct RG tattooed on my right forearm. Ive always been an RG guy. Completely different then a PRS. Then I bought an SZ, built alot like a PRS, and loved it. I got sucked in to the set-neck,maple topped mahogany type guitars.

Oh yea and its a wide-fat neck carve. Now I've never played one of their thin neck carves and now I'm afraid to because I might like it much more. And when it comes to spending over 2G's on a guitar I'd probably want that kind of a preference to be included.

With that said I still love how the guitar plays. Im starting to think I may(and man do I hope) that I'm gonna grow to like the fat carve better. To some degree I really like it at this moment because it's so radically different then what Im used to. I'm generally a pretty confused person as you can probably tell.

So I'm playing the PRS through my rig for probably a good 45 minutes. Diggin on it. And I suddenly decide to switch to my SZ520. And man. Wow. Again, I still love my Ibanez guitars and they sound great. But you know what the 1st thing that came to mind when I switched... "Toy". Thats almost how the SZ felt compared to the PRS. I also noticed right away how much sweeter chords sound on the PRS. I dont want to be bashing Ibanez in any way shape or form right now. Im just commenting on the differences I found in the 2 instruments. I would sure hope a guitar that costs more then my current entire collection would sound sweeter. Or else that crap would be heading right back to GC!!!

So Its late. Im ranting. And I have really bad writing skills. So I'll stop annoying you guys. But one last comment I'll make. At this point, and this could change, I would say the guitar was worth the money. I don't know how people can return these guitars. They seem addicting. I may be selling a few guitars soon so I'll keep you guys posted.

Once again thanks for the nice compliments. Good night!!

chris

fettouhi · #10 08-03-2005, 02:48 AM

Congratz dude, ENJOY

!

Regards

André

germX · #11 08-03-2005, 06:57 AM

i invested in a McCarty too but i keep going back to all my Ibanez guitars...

my PRS McCarty

the guitar which makes me glad i embrace Ibanez: my SZ2020

fettouhi · #12 08-03-2005, 08:05 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by germX

i invested in a McCarty too but i keep going back to all my Ibanez guitars...

my PRS McCarty

the guitar which makes me glad i embrace Ibanez: my SZ2020

The Ibanez headstock looks better IMHO

.

Regards

André

**jemaholic** · #13 08-03-2005, 10:35 AM

Interesting thread.
I too have never really liked PRS either, but the other day I sat down and played a hollowbody II in Matteo Blue with the piezo bridge......OMG!

Now I'm seriously considering selling off a few guitars for cash to grab one.
These are not cheap guitars, but man, do they play well!!!

Scott Smith · #14 08-03-2005, 11:32 AM

I dig PRS. They are built like tanks, very solid. I've owned 5 of them and traded every one. But lately I found myself missing them. Playing a buddys made me really miss one. So I put a Gibson ES335 up for trade on another site. Then decided to call an old friend, Jim Root, whos home now and ask him if he'd be interested in a trade. He use to play PRS onstage. He has wanted a 335 for some time so I went to his house and checked out his guitars. Man does that guy have ALOT of Fenders. Anyway I traded for one of his old Standards. It's a custom job. All black. 2 factory EMG's. 24 fret neck. 1 volume knob and 1 3 way Blade selector. Tone forever. I think it's tuned to C Sharp or some ungoddly tuning like that. Best part is on the back of the headstock. It's written "Custom Made for James Root #4". Under that is Paul's signature, in that same silver pen they use for the serial number. Really cool. I've always wanted one of his guitars. It's a beast...

Anyhoo, long story short, I like PRS...

I'm gonna edit this and tell you about the custom Ibanez he had. I know its off topic but I didn't want to start a new thread for this. He was between Jackson and PRS and Ibanez wanted him as an endorser so they sent him this guitar. It's a RG. It's a lighter red color, Jim said he saw it on one of Ibanez's basses and liked the color. It's satin finish though, not clearcoat. Same pickups as a JS. Stringthrough body. 24 frets. Matching headstock. Here's the cool part. It's a bare maple fretboard with no inlays. Looks very tough. Had the thick Skunk Stripe that ran to the top of the headstock, like the customs do. Never played. Mint as the day it shipped. He never put EMG's in it even. He wanted to trade me that one but I had to hold out for a PRS. Sorry to get off topic...

**jim777** · #15 08-03-2005, 12:04 PM

I love PRS guitars, they make some absolutely gorgeous stuff. I played one onstage for a few years as my main guitar, because it was so versatile. It never was really a "10" for anything though, so I let it go when I stopped playing out. It was very good for everything from jazz to punk, but not perfect for anything. (In retrospect, it was probably my amp at the time, not the CE24) They are fine guitars, and I love those tuners, I think they're the best out there. Congrats on a nice guitar!

jim