We've Reached a New Paradigm

[ThatRhythmMan]

I fully respect your experience and expertise but mine (admittedly much less than yours) is the opposite. Ive played and owned many, Ive only purchased their best guitars, As a cabinetmaker of 50yrs I profess no knowledge of guitar building at all but could see a flaw from a mile away. I have yet to see a Heritage (pre new owners) with any flaw. I play my '97 golden eagle (acoustic) right next to my buddys '60s gibson JS and fit finish playability and sound absolutely just as fine in every way acoustically or with floater according to him! Same thing with my 575 and S16. Ive heard the same thing from many Heritage owners, several right here. I still drool over the great old gibs epis etc, many that you have but I wouldnt trade my heritages for any...of course theirs always room for 1 more like mabey a '30s deluxe or picture frame L7, just sayin

I’ve never seen any Heritage guitars with major flaws, but I definitely wouldn’t say they have any tighter QC than Gibson based on my experience. I will say that of the most dead sounding acoustic archtops I’ve tried the worst have all been Heritage builds though. Some of theirs are quite good, but I’ve tried a few full acoustic builds by Heritage that sound about like an unplugged ES-335.

[Rickco]

I’ve never seen any Heritage guitars with major flaws, but I definitely wouldn’t say they have any tighter QC than Gibson based on my experience. I will say that of the most dead sounding acoustic archtops I’ve tried the worst have all been Heritage builds though. Some of theirs are quite good, but I’ve tried a few full acoustic builds by Heritage that sound about like an unplugged ES-335.

If I was surrounded by the guitars you have Id probably feel the same way! I would point out JD and Rich Severson have seemingly consistently high quality guitars from heritage for example.

[jazzloverfat]

I am genuinely curious who actually buys FCS, Tyler, Murphy Lab, PRS Private Stock and the likes... Working musicians of all kinds seem to gravitate towards real vintage instruments if they have the means, otherwise they seem fine with a good ol' production model. Hell, every time I see my teacher play cheap ass gear I get a lesson in humility. In the right hands, I doubt the audience will know any better or care if you play a Harley Benton or a Gibson...

Don't get me wrong, I like gear and the guitar as an art object (mass produced or hand made), sometimes I can be a snob when it comes to wood (and Epiphones) and I despise the fakery that is a relic'd guitar, but I am trying to keep things in perspective.

Going back to my original question, and at the risk of perpetuating the ol' cliche, do these fancy guitars - some of which can approach the cost of a small car - go to sheiks, dentists, lawyers and bitcoin investors? How many playing jazz guitarists can afford a Benedetto or even a Collings. At least with Jazz guitars you do see some of the fancy ones being played by musicians though I wouldn't be surprised if at least some of the players got their guitars as part of a brand ambassador deal.

[Oscar67]

I am genuinely curious who actually buys FCS, Tyler, Murphy Lab, PRS Private Stock and the likes...

In short: middle-aged hobby players. Kids left home, mortgage paid off, parents deceased, some money in the bank.

In the right hands, I doubt the audience will know any better or care if you play a Harley Benton or a Gibson...

I’m sure they won’t. In a live concert setting I doubt that even musicians could hear it if they were blindfolded. In some areas of music the audience might have certain expectations, like a Gibson in southern rock, an archtop in jazz, a Tele in country. But nobody would actually hear it if the guy in a Lynyrd tribute band plugged in a Tokai instead of a CS ‘59 reissue. However they’ll definitely notice it if the player is less inspired or is struggling with the instrument.

[wintermoon]

"In the right hands, I doubt the audience will know any better or care if you play a Harley Benton or a Gibson"

I've said it many times, I don't care if anyone in the audience knows the difference between one guitar/ amp or the other or if they care, I use good stuff because I can tell the difference,
I'm going for a certain sound and my guitar and amp get me there.

[Bob_Ross]

Sorry, I read "CE" as "SE." But STILL...

"But STILL" what?

The difference between an American-made PRS CE series and an offshore-made PRS SE series is palpable; the difference in price reflects more than simply the country-of-origin.

Is $2,100 for an American-made high quality solidbody electric guitar that definitely doesn't suck and will compare favorably with any other $2,100 solidbody electric guitar the "new paradigm"?

Or is $849 for an offshore-made decent quality solidbody electric guitar that doesn't totally suck and will compare favorably with any other $849 solidbody electric guitar the "new paradigm"?

It's hard to tell what your original point was, and after you acknowledged that you referred to the wrong instrument...it's still hard to tell what your point is!

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I will say this: It is unfortunate that PRS chose such similar model names for the two different series...because I am certain you're not the only person to mistake a CE for an SE, and that almost certainly is devaluing all the CE instruments out there.