A Guitar And Gear Support Forum

Okay, I got a significant bonus at work (~3 months salary), a smaller annual bonus (not much more than a paycheck) and some leftover corona government cheese so I got this thing used from a local musician.

I just got it home yesterday so I haven't yet had a lot of time with it (I haven't had a chance to play it with anybody else yet at all nor have I played it through any of my bigger amps yet, just the Katana, the Monoprice 5w, and thru the digital interface some). So these are all still kind of first impressions. Two of my other nicer electrics my only other "strats": A G&L USA S-500 and a Fender USA Strat so those are really my only point of comparison.

It feels and sounds great. The fingerboard feels great, I was worried the 7.5" radius would throw me off but I don't notice it at all really (not nearly as much as the 12" radius on the S-500 throws me at first). I was surprised at first to find the the tremolo was decked, but I guess that's how Mayer likes it. I prefer a little bit of float and of the three the S-500 trem feels the best/smoothest, then the strat, then the PRS, not that I use the trem a whole lot though and when I do I tend to just do a Bisby-esque waggle of it. Tuners are locking and seem nice although they have some kind of plastic or something key which matches the truss rod cover.

The finish is black although it's a slightly sparkly black which appears grey in some light--when you're playing the scoop in the lower cutaway reflects the light so it always looks grey there. The neck finish is a fairly thin nitro and feels nice, the neck carve feels very much like the Strat. I mean, the guitar feels very much like the Strat--I think it may be a little bit lighter, the frets are noticeably more rounded/smoother but otherwise it plays very much like the Strat. The G&L is the heaviest of the three by far, but it's a swamp ash body.

*So far* and with the caveat that I haven't exercised it that much yet, it sounds great. I have a set of Fender CS 69 pickups in the Strat which also sound great but these sound a little higher output and a little fuller (?) in every position. I rarely stray from the Neck and Neck-Center on the Strat, I think I'm more likely to use the other 3 on this guitar. 2 and 4 do have the "Quack" although it sounds a little different from the Strat, almost exaggerated. Sounds fantastic though.

All three are Strat-shaped so all three kind of disappear when you're playing them, but the PRS is the *easiest* to play. Not by a lot, but I'm guessing it's the especially well-maintained fret ends (and maybe smaller fret wire, not sure?) but it does feel very easy to play, not that the other two are difficult (they are probably the three easiest playing of my guitars with the possible exception of the Agile AD-3200MMC). I got it for a price that I think I could break even on if not make much, but at this point I don't intend to sell it.

A few pics:
I actually also got an early-80s MiJ Ibanez Roadstar II. I actually got that one from Dave Onorato, a guitar tech (and player) who sometimes shows up on the Rick Beato and Rhett Shull YouTube videos. It has a weird proprietary early-80s Ibanez trem with a busted part (on one of the t-nuts) and was missing the trem bar, but he was only asking $150 and these seem to go for $300-ish so it seemed like a good way to meet a minor internet personality and make a few bucks, assuming I don't want to play it (and I assume I won't want to play it, 80s shredder is not in my top 10 preferred guitar styles, but I'll try it out once I get it fixed).

Here's the Ibanez:

PS thanks to whoever added the ability to upload pics in-line! Makes this kind of stuff *so* much easier for me.

These are my *only* black guitars, went from owning 0 to owning 2 in about 30 minutes. Gotta remember to wear pants when I take pictures of these things.

I love my silver sky. Congrats!

I got the replacement part and put the Ibanez back together. Still need to do some more setup so everything feels right but it intonates and plays. Just want to get action and trem set up the way I like.

Excuse the (very) messy workspace.

so do you think it is up to the hype that is out there about this model ?

snarph wrote: ↑Mon Jul 13, 2020 1:32 pm so do you think it is up to the hype that is out there about this model ?

hmm. it's a very nice strat. i'm not sure how it compares to some others, but it is an extremely easy guitar to play in comfort terms. it also sounds very good to my ears, different from the american strat--not necessarily better but different and i'd be more inclined to use the bridge and 2 positions than i am on the real strat, the pickups are quite good. is it worth what it costs, especially new? i don't know. it's easier to play than my american strat but not like immensely easier--just marginally easier. if you like strats you will probably like it a lot although whether or not it's worth what it costs--that probably depends. i think of these things more in terms of how much have i put into it that i can't get back, and i think i could get back everything i put into it if i had to (with a little patience).

like i said though while it plays great it's *very* not blingy, especially for a prs.

Good answer