Well it's been a while since I've played a PC-1 but I've logged a few hours on them
The main thing is of course the sustainer, and as you're familiar with that I'll just skip over that one.
The main thing that jumps out at me with the PC-1 is that the neck is quite thick for a superstrat. It's full and round and smooth. Not Jeff Beck huge, but still enough to raise an eyebrow if you're expecting a wizard neck
I like the
maple fingerboard myself, but these days I'd get lost without the inlays. it didn't seem particularly well protected either, kinda oiled/satin feel to the
whole neck.
The Floyd is top notch original stuff, and obviously stays in tune very well, I think it's got a crisper tone to it than an Edge trem. Overall the sounds are great, the Super 3 in the bridge is very loud and kinda overpoweres the HS-2 in the middle slot though, but that always happens really doesn't it? It's got a very middley tone to it, nice and full so you don't have to feel guilty about scooping some mids from the amp
On construction, 3 things of note.
- It's a USA jackson so it's hard to fault the overall construction
- The tops I've seen have always been gorgeous ones, I mean PRS artist grade at best, 10 top at worst. but often what I'd call popcorn quilt, still incredibly figured but not to my personal taste, I prefer a nive even flame or tubular quilt
- They're not as good as they used to be OK slight lie there, but the woods used have changed as far as I know. Originally they were figured maple on koa, these days it's maple on mahogany, so it you're picky, you'll need to hunt out a very very old one.
Basically, every time I see one, I make arrangements to go in and shop for it, try it out, umm and ahh over it and then decide not to buy it, but I can never pass up the opportunity to go and play it for a couple of hours.
If Ibanez vanished off the face of the earth I would quite possibly end up playing the PC-1 in lieu of the JEM, but even though they're guitars of the highestorder, they don't have that x-factor that makes
me want to switch. But, I've never been a
Def Leppard fan, and I live way too close to their home town of Sheffield (drove through it on my way home today) to have any chance of escaping the association, shallow yes, but I will admit it's a factor in the whole equation
