Awesome. I met PRS in a bar in Tokyo about a year ago. Turns out he has a shop there, and he offered to take me over to it and show me what he was currently working on (a new ax for Carlos Santana). If you choose to go the custom route, you get to pick everything from the wood to the tuners. It would be a bucket list item for me, for sure.

This is my current #1:

Img probs

This is a thread I can support.

2008 Carvin DC400 with Claro Walnut Top - I need a better pic, there's a ton of figuring/color variations not showing ins this photo.
2017 Ernie Ball Music-Man Axis
1995 Washburn N4



2010 Larrive L-03RE

Wow, I always wanted to play, never have tried. Maybe if I go to jail or get too old to be as active as I want.

In because I do have a PRS I won as a trophy, don't know the model, it's signed by all the corvette racing team engineers... Anyway I don't have it on the wall as I guess I don't really know what it's worth.

Ballpark so I can know what I'm putting at some minor risk?

It's sort of priceless to me but still would like to know.

The acoustics are on another wall behind the drums. My favorite is the Les Paul. Or the Strat. Or the Tele. Those are all American. The PRS hollow body is an SE and the SG is an Epiphone.

Man it's been 10 years since I bought my last guitar.. a vintage 62 strat!

Always wanted a les paul or PRS, maybe that will be next.

I also have an esp MH300, Epiphone Emporer Swingster, a Taylor 910CE, an Ibanez acoustic, a Fender PLyte bass, a homemade fender strat lookalike, a 60s era Conn nylon, a few 1/2 size guitars for my kids, and my first Ibanez electric that needs a new neck.. and maybe another 1 or 2 in there hah.

cbr said:

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Wow, I always wanted to play, never have tried. Maybe if I go to jail or get too old to be as active as I want.

In because I do have a PRS I won as a trophy, don't know the model, it's signed by all the corvette racing team engineers... Anyway I don't have it on the wall as I guess I don't really know what it's worth.

Ballpark so I can know what I'm putting at some minor risk?

It's sort of priceless to me but still would like to know.

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Let's see a picture. If it's an American made PRS, you will see Paul Reed Smith's signature on the head. Most of them start around $2k, and they definitely get a lot more expensive than that. If it's a Korean made, it will likely say SE on the head and is in $600-1000 typically.

62strat said:

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Man it's been 10 years since I bought my last guitar.. a vintage 62 strat!

Always wanted a les paul or PRS, maybe that will be next.

I also have an esp MH300, Epiphone Emporer Swingster, a Taylor 910CE, an Ibanez acoustic, a Fender PLyte bass, a homemade fender strat lookalike, a 60s era Conn nylon, a few 1/2 size guitars for my kids, and my first Ibanez electric that needs a new neck.. and maybe another 1 or 2 in there hah.

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holy **** i'm really jealous of your taylor 910ce

Cromagnum said:

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Huge PRS fan here myself. I used to have a SE Singlecut, but sold it last year when I upgraded to a real one. I now have a Custom 22 10 Top in fire red burst with gold hardware.

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Beautiful. I've owned a few US Paul Reed Smiths over the years, when I played in bands. I can't justify having one at this time, so I have a few SE models instead. One day......

Adam Ag 98 said:

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This is a thread I can support.

2008 Carvin DC400 with Claro Walnut Top - I need a better pic, there's a ton of figuring/color variations not showing ins this photo.
2017 Ernie Ball Music-Man Axis
1995 Washburn N4



2010 Larrive L-03RE

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That Carvin is so old school/80s. I'd love to have one.

I used to have a Mexican Richie Sambora strat with the floyd rose tremolo, rose fretboard and the DiMarzio pickups. I begrudgingly sold it after college. Luckily I still know the owner and he lives near me.

It's a great guitar. These each have their strengths, but the carvin has the fastest neck of them all, easily.

digging tunnels said:

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62strat said:

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Man it's been 10 years since I bought my last guitar.. a vintage 62 strat!

Always wanted a les paul or PRS, maybe that will be next.

I also have an esp MH300, Epiphone Emporer Swingster, a Taylor 910CE, an Ibanez acoustic, a Fender PLyte bass, a homemade fender strat lookalike, a 60s era Conn nylon, a few 1/2 size guitars for my kids, and my first Ibanez electric that needs a new neck.. and maybe another 1 or 2 in there hah.

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holy **** i'm really jealous of your taylor 910ce

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Luckily I bought that a time when I was too dumb to realize I couldnt afford it! Hah. I would probably never buy that now.

I also knew a guy that got cost plus 10% at guitar center, so that saved me about a $1000.

I've had it for 15 years and probably only changed the strings once, elixirs. Man I swear anytime I pick it up and strum a chord, it just sounds like heaven.

cbr said:

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Wow, I always wanted to play, never have tried. Maybe if I go to jail or get too old to be as active as I want.

In because I do have a PRS I won as a trophy, don't know the model, it's signed by all the corvette racing team engineers... Anyway I don't have it on the wall as I guess I don't really know what it's worth.

Ballpark so I can know what I'm putting at some minor risk?

It's sort of priceless to me but still would like to know.

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Just go for it man. I stared learning to play ~4 years ago when I got married and lived in an apartment and couldn't play my drums.

Cromagnum said:

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cbr said:

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Wow, I always wanted to play, never have tried. Maybe if I go to jail or get too old to be as active as I want.

In because I do have a PRS I won as a trophy, don't know the model, it's signed by all the corvette racing team engineers... Anyway I don't have it on the wall as I guess I don't really know what it's worth.

Ballpark so I can know what I'm putting at some minor risk?

It's sort of priceless to me but still would like to know.

---

Let's see a picture. If it's an American made PRS, you will see Paul Reed Smith's signature on the head. Most of them start around $2k, and they definitely get a lot more expensive than that. If it's a Korean made, it will likely say SE on the head and is in $600-1000 typically.

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Thx for the help. I pulled it down. I'm going to hang it up again. It is a Korean one. But it is fine. Says h10921 fwiw.

This thread is giving me a stiffy

Are the elixirs that good? I've played them on guitars at the store but haven't been willing to spring for them. If they last that long, why not? Right?

Your answer may convince me to go buy a set.

Absolutely good. I use the phosphor bronze 80/20. They just sound so crisp. Plus they last a very long time. Definitely worth the $15

They definitely last if the guitar isn't played heavily. A regular set seems to get rusty over a few years with little activity, whereas those elixirs don't. Like I said, 15 years with my Taylor and I know I've only changed it a few times (definitely haven't changed them since I moved to CO 6 years ago). If you play a lot/everyday, I don't know that they would last years like my case, but for a guitar that's played maybe once a week or less often, spend it and you won't regret it cause it just seems you never have to change them.

On top of that, they just sound damn good on a Taylor, and make any guitar sound good really.

Fuzzy Dunlop said:

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Are the elixirs that good? I've played them on guitars at the store but haven't been willing to spring for them. If they last that long, why not? Right?

Your answer may convince me to go buy a set.

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Maybe they have improved but I was not a fan of them a few years ago. Strings still squeaked, and somehow I was dealing with static noise with these that I didn't have to fool with on any other string. I just use Ernie Ball Hybrid Slinky's now and change em out once or twice a year.

Thoughts on scalloped fretboards? I'm thinking about getting a Fender Yngwie Malmsteen Strat. It's been years since playing electric guitar & metal, but I'm intrigued by newer "pick slanting" techniques for speed & plan to unlearn old bad habits (using fingernail instead of picks).

Troy Grady is pretty incredible

My picking is weak sauce, even trying the pick slanting techniques. 25 years of playing makes it tough to unwind old habits. Unfortunately I just don't take the time to consistently practice technique.

I've never played a scalloped fret guitar. I've read it doesn't make you faster, just makes bends smoother since the pad of your finger is less likely to rub on the neck.

Personally I wouldn't spring for a scalloped fret to learn new techniques, only after I felt that was a next step in the process.

Ok quick question - no musical background whatsoever.

Do you learn music, then technique, then songs, and become an artist, or can you just try to learn a song at a time and become a fairly effective parrot?

If you practice diligently say 3-4 hours a week, what is a reasonable range of time frames where you might expect to become able to play a few tunes that don't sound like *****

cbr said:

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Ok quick question - no musical background whatsoever.

Do you learn music, then technique, then songs, and become an artist, or can you just try to learn a song at a time and become a fairly effective parrot?

If you practice diligently say 3-4 hours a week, what is a reasonable range of time frames where you might expect to become able to play a few tunes that don't sound like *****

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I never learned to read music. A Hal Bay chord book and a cheap acoustic got me started when I was in college. My three or four hours per day of practice drove my roommates crazy. Eventually, I started using tablature and playing be ear. Playing by ear is difficult for me because I struggle to pick out individual sounds when more than one instrument is playing. Just like if two people are talking at the same time I can barely decipher either side of the conversation. However, I've gotten better at it as I've gotten older.

It also helps to seek out other players that you can jam with to learn new things.

Eventually, I learned to play a song or songs similar to the original but I can't say I've ever learned a song note for note. One thing is that each guitar player has a particular style and as you listen to a band and learn their songs, you will hear players that "go back to the well" repeatedly. The phrasing or tempo or key may be different but you hear the same thing over and over in their music. SRV, Slash, etc have a style and with practice you can decipher it and learn it.

It does require a lot of practice that I don't really get to do anymore with work, family, etc but I still try and sit down a few hours per week to learn something new.

I know that is a rambling answer and maybe someone can be more concise but that is my experience.

SlackerAg said:

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Thoughts on scalloped fretboards? I'm thinking about getting a Fender Yngwie Malmsteen Strat. It's been years since playing electric guitar & metal, but I'm intrigued by newer "pick slanting" techniques for speed & plan to unlearn old bad habits (using fingernail instead of picks).

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Takes a very light touch. You WILL have tuning issues if you play a scalloped fretboard like a normal one because you will essentially bend your strings sharp.

Cromagnum said:

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cbr said:

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Ok quick question - no musical background whatsoever.

Do you learn music, then technique, then songs, and become an artist, or can you just try to learn a song at a time and become a fairly effective parrot?

If you practice diligently say 3-4 hours a week, what is a reasonable range of time frames where you might expect to become able to play a few tunes that don't sound like *****

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Focus on technique early. If you build bad habits to muddy your way through songs, you will plateau and your sound will always be sub par.

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that makes great sense, THANKS!

cbr said:

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Ok quick question - no musical background whatsoever.

Do you learn music, then technique, then songs, and become an artist, or can you just try to learn a song at a time and become a fairly effective parrot?

If you practice diligently say 3-4 hours a week, what is a reasonable range of time frames where you might expect to become able to play a few tunes that don't sound like *****

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I just picked up a guitar at ~13, my friend showed me iron man, and I was roughly able to play it/form the power chords right away. Then started learning some metallica riffs.. I don't even remember when I started actually strumming chords, but it was way later, after learning a lot of metallica and grunge riffs. I never took lessons. My mom is a music teacher, so I picked up some basic theory pretty easily/quickly. learned to read tab right away as well, but usually got frustrated with it having to look back and forth and turn pages. This was early/mid 90s, so there wasn't the slew of youtube vidoes of guys breaking down how to play songs or auto scrolling tab apps. Because of that, I mostly learned to play stuff by ear. I don't know if that is a skill you can learn though.

About 10-15 years in, I thought I plateau'd, but I definitely think I'm better now 25 years in. I was in a band playing regular weekend shows from about year 13-23, many of those a sole guitarist, so did a lot of jamming/soloing and that definitely helps, cause I'm always learning new songs (instead of just playing all the same old ones I like), and even played in a country band for a year recently which again expanded my repertoire and skill set.

As far as practicing, I think you can get pretty sufficient at playing a lot of songs within a year or so, playing a few hours a week.

But, if you just like strumming country songs, that's about as good as you'll ever get. If you are into more technical stuff like rock/metal, or even say something like dave matthews, you'll likely be a better player compared to if you just strummed eagles songs, you know what I mean? So that all depends on what you anticipate playing.

cbr said:

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Ok quick question - no musical background whatsoever.

Do you learn music, then technique, then songs, and become an artist, or can you just try to learn a song at a time and become a fairly effective parrot?

If you practice diligently say 3-4 hours a week, what is a reasonable range of time frames where you might expect to become able to play a few tunes that don't sound like *****

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If you're an adult, say over 30, it may be too late. Like starting to save for retirement at 55. But there is hope. Buy a Mexican Strat and search "how to play every song on Boston's first album" on YouTube. Seriously- 5 hours of that per week for a year, and you're off to the races. You must learn every lead, fill, rhythm, and acoustic part , and never complain about your fingers hurting.

I'd really like to have something like this



Les Paul Jr type thing with Telecaster electronics. I'd buy this particular model but the necks are kind of slim, and I like chunkier necks. I may just have to buy the parts to assemble one.

Bumping for insight on the purchase of a beginner guitar. What would be your go to purchase to start?

I'm thinking a better quality sounding guitar may entice me to stick with it rather than a cheaper one.

Should one jump into a Gibson acoustic electric price point or is it too soon for that?