Any interest in a PRS 335/345/355 type guitar?

[DawgBone]

^^^This.

Or, the corollary question: What would a PRS "335" offer that isn't covered by the semi-hollow instruments PRS already makes (...other than a slightly larger body)?

Here's the problem as I see (and hear) it: A Gibson 335 -- and/or most of the clones, copies, and similar semi-hollow instruments offered by Gibson's competitors -- makes a legitimately nice guitar for playing jazz or rock.

But none of the PRS hollow or semi-hollow instruments I have ever heard sounded like a Gibson 335, and so they really don't seem like they would make a decent jazz guitar. There's something baked into the sound of PRS guitars, be they solid, semi-hollow, or hollow, that just screams "RAWK!" Presumably a lot of that comes from their pickups; it's a chirping, nasal attack to every note that lends itself perfectly to Soundgarden covers but sounds wholly inappropriate when blowing on "Au Privave" or "Blue Bossa". (Recent performances by John McLaughlin are Exhibit A in my PRS Guitars Suck For Jazz case.)

I play blues so you just kind of made my argument for me. None of what they are making right now are truly 335 like so a PRS ES style would be nice.

[Gitfiddler]

I play blues so you just kind of made my argument for me. None of what they are making right now are truly 335 like so a PRS ES style would be nice.

I also lean into mostly blues-based music. That said I love the unique sounds I get from a solid body PRS SC245 57/08.

Also check out the PRS Paul Jackson signature (JA-15) model. It's a hollowbody, but seems to satisfy both blues and jazz timbres quite well...for him. :-)

[DawgBone]

I also lean into mostly blues-based music. That said I love the unique sounds I get from a solid body PRS SC245 57/08.

Also check out the PRS Paul Jackson signature (JA-15) model. It's a hollowbody, but seems to satisfy both blues and jazz timbres quite well...for him. :-)

Interesting. I just saw Neil Schon with a similar 4 knob PRS and was trying to figure out what it was.

I like the better high fret access of a dual cutaway. It dawned on me the other day that if PRS offered a 335-esque guitar I would likely select it over a Gibson so this popped into my head. The 58/15 pickups sound good in their hollowbody ii but the tone isn't really the same and the guitar is kind of small and I am a large person. I think maybe they feel it does cover enough of that ground, and so have avoided a 335 shape for now.

[Oscar67]

The JA-15 is an incredible guitar. Took me 8 years to find one. Solid spruce top. Solid maple back. 53/10s. A private stock-style headstock. Ebony board. Flame maple neck and binding. Super easy to play. Never goes out of tune. Very versatile.

This vid really says it all.

[John A.]

^^^This.

Or, the corollary question: What would a PRS "335" offer that isn't covered by the semi-hollow instruments PRS already makes (...other than a slightly larger body)?

Here's the problem as I see (and hear) it: A Gibson 335 -- and/or most of the clones, copies, and similar semi-hollow instruments offered by Gibson's competitors -- makes a legitimately nice guitar for playing jazz or rock.

But none of the PRS hollow or semi-hollow instruments I have ever heard sounded like a Gibson 335, and so they really don't seem like they would make a decent jazz guitar. There's something baked into the sound of PRS guitars, be they solid, semi-hollow, or hollow, that just screams "RAWK!" Presumably a lot of that comes from their pickups; it's a chirping, nasal attack to every note that lends itself perfectly to Soundgarden covers but sounds wholly inappropriate when blowing on "Au Privave" or "Blue Bossa". (Recent performances by John McLaughlin are Exhibit A in my PRS Guitars Suck For Jazz case.)

I know some jazz players who use PRS guitars, and they sound like jazz to me. But only the 22 fret models. To my tastes, the 24-fret models don't sound right. As to whether any of them sound like a 335 or not, I'm sure some people can find overlap with what they look for in a 335, and some can't. I haven't played very many of them myself, so it's hard for me to comment broadly about the brand, but in general I think anything with a neck pickup (other than 24-fretters) can do jazz just fine, even if one guitar can't entirely emulate another.

I've owned a PRS CE24MT for ~25 years now, and it is a wonderful rock guitar...and a terrible jazz guitar.

24 frets, there's your problem right there. Neck pickup is too far toward the bridge, which hollows out the mids. Good for overdriven sounds, not so much for cleans.

Recently I've been working with another guitarist who owns an enviable collection of PRS instruments, at least 9 or 10 beautiful specimens, including 5 of the archtop f-hole models (I haven't looked closely to see whether any are the fully hollow instruments or if they're all semi-hollow...but some are thicker than others). And none of them sound like a 335, nor like they would work well for that archetypal Gibson jazz sound.

Wrong tool for the job.

I'll have to take your word for that, not having heard the guitars you describe.

[Bob_Ross]

only the 22 fret models. To my tastes, the 24-fret models don't sound right.
...[snip]...
24 frets, there's your problem right there. Neck pickup is too far toward the bridge, which hollows out the mids.

Yes, on ^^^that point we definitely agree. There's no way to get a 24-fret guitar to achieve that iconic ES-335/Les Paul neck pickup tone, because that sound is dependant on polepiece location relative to scale length.

[Greywolf]

The inside of an HBI/II and Archtop .. the Santana Semi is the same , Solid CNC Carved archtops on both .

[Greywolf]

One nice thing that PRS has that Gibson doesn't .. your choice of neck and fretboard materials.
The Santana has a 24 fret /24.5" 11" radius perfect for my hand.

Oh I'd love to see a Rosewood neck 335 ...and a decent trem .. I have bigbsy's Big and heavy ...and ugly

[Greywolf]

PS I still love my 335 .. 339, 356, LP , and SGs

[DawgBone]

In the late 1990’s - early 2000’s PRS offered the McCarty Archtop available with a carved spruce top or a carved maple top. They had deeper side depth but I do not recall the body dimensions. The lower bout dimensions of PRS Hollowbody guitars being built today vary between 13.5” - 14.5”.

The market was very small for that type of guitar though so they fell out of production. I doubt they would venture into laminate models. Pristine timber has always been their bag. The PRS McCarty double and single cut Private Stock are still available today.

A early 2000’s spruce top and maple top.

I don't think they'd need to venture into laminates. My Edwards is machine carved maple and the difference under amplification is pretty minimal.

[DawgBone]

One nice thing that PRS has that Gibson doesn't .. your choice of neck and fretboard materials.
The Santana has a 24 fret /24.5" 11" radius perfect for my hand.

Oh I'd love to see a Rosewood neck 335 ...and a decent trem .. I have bigbsy's Big and heavy ...and ugly

A rosewood neck would be killer. Or rosewood with an ebony board!

Hey, thanks for all your input in this thread, it is appreciated.

[CliffR]

Interesting. I just saw Neil Schon with a similar 4 knob PRS and was trying to figure out what it was..

Wasn't the PRS Neil Schon signature model was it?

PRS Guitars | Neal Schon Limited Run

(Only got 2 knobs though). I had the opportunity to try one of these a few years ago in a store. They kept it in a glass case, but I was friendly with the salesman, who played in a local cover band called Metal Shop. I was too naive and bad a player to appreciate it at the time.

[Christian Miller]

Wasn't the PRS Neil Schon signature model was it?

PRS Guitars | Neal Schon Limited Run

(Only got 2 knobs though). I had the opportunity to try one of these a few years ago in a store. They kept it in a glass case, but I was friendly with the salesman, who played in a local cover band called Metal Shop. I was too naive and bad a player to appreciate it at the time.

Is that the model that encourages you to sue other members of your band while you are still on tour with them?


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Greywolf]

there are a couple of Neils out there ..

[CliffR]

Is that the model that encourages you to sue other members of your band while you are still on tour with them?

Oof!

[Stringswinger]

I owned a PRS Custom 22 for a time and found it to be a fine jazz guitar. I have owned may semi hollows over the years and have found that I prefer to play a fully hollow or solid body guitar when it comes to electric guitars, so my answer to the question posed by Dawgbone is simply "no".

The best semi that I owned was a 2001 Gibson 335. There are days when I regret selling that one....

[DawgBone]

Wasn't the PRS Neil Schon signature model was it?

PRS Guitars | Neal Schon Limited Run

(Only got 2 knobs though). I had the opportunity to try one of these a few years ago in a store. They kept it in a glass case, but I was friendly with the salesman, who played in a local cover band called Metal Shop. I was too naive and bad a player to appreciate it at the time.

I dunno, I'll go check the video I saw. Thought it was 4 knobs but maybe not. Or modded.

[omphalopsychos]

I had two collings 335 copies. Then I got a Gibson 355. Sold the collings instantly. Then I got a Gibson 335 and sold the 355. I still kind of miss the 355 but the 335 is the king of those.

I will say I think I like my les paul more.

[58flame]

Not at all.

[Litterick]

Building semi-hollow guitars requires skills and tools that PRS is unlikely to possess. The demand for this type of guitar is low, and met by guitars manufactured in Asia and Canada. Tariffs probably will not make any difference.

[DawgBone]

I had two collings 335 copies. Then I got a Gibson 355. Sold the collings instantly. Then I got a Gibson 335 and sold the 355. I still kind of miss the 355 but the 335 is the king of those.

I will say I think I like my les paul more.

I love my LP copy but an ES style guitar suits my size and blues music just a little bit more. No interest in Collings since they are priced astronomically and are a smaller guitar.

As for the Neal Schon question, yeah I checked again and in his video it only has one tone/one vol. I can't live with that since there are a ton of nice sounds available if you blend both pickups and play with the tone control

[DawgBone]

Building semi-hollow guitars requires skills and tools that PRS is unlikely to possess. The demand for this type of guitar is low, and met by guitars manufactured in Asia and Canada. Tariffs probably will not make any difference.

Not sure where you get this idea since they are already building semi hollows already, albeit more along the lines of an LP. Also, PRS is one of the Neo Soul guitarist's instruments of choice and a 335 is also highly favored in that genre. It seems like a good time for them to produce one.

[John A.]

Not sure where you get this idea since they are already building semi hollows already, albeit more along the lines of an LP. Also, PRS is one of the Neo Soul guitarist's instruments of choice and a 335 is also highly favored in that genre. It seems like a good time for them to produce one.

Before they made their strat copy and now their tele sorta-copy I bet most people would have said PRS would never make a straight-up copy of another brand's guitars. Their niche was original designs that used Gibson and Fender as jumping-off points. But that has obviously changed with those guitars. I don't know what that portends for a 335-alike, but if they do make one I bet prices would be closer to Collings than Gibson. But I swim in much less expensive waters, so these are all hypotheticals to me.

[jads57]

I will say the PRS Hollow Body 2 was probably the most versatile of the bunch already mentioned here.
The problem was the neck size was too small for my tastes.

I ran into Paul Reed Smith at a local guitar shop some years back and explained this to him. His answer was to go to Private Stock.
Which started at $10k at that point in time.
My response was I’m a musician not a magician! He just laughed,so I went on back to Gibson Historic ‘ 58 ES-335

[DawgBone]

Before they made their strat copy and now their tele sorta-copy I bet most people would have said PRS would never make a straight-up copy of another brand's guitars. Their niche was original designs that used Gibson and Fender as jumping-off points. But that has obviously changed with those guitars. I don't know what that portends for a 335-alike, but if they do make one I bet prices would be closer to Collings than Gibson. But I swim in much less expensive waters, so these are all hypotheticals to me.

This was kind of my thought. I remember how people were laughing at the silver sky. I found it laughable too at the time but I don't think anyone is really laughing now. Yeah the pricing on his core line is steep but I can't see him not making an SE version that would crush most of the Epiphone line in terms of quality control and features. Tbh, if it were that high end guitar, eventually I do hope to have a 6-8k instrument, or at least dream of it, and I would be willing to spring the cash for something with that reputation. I love a nice Gibson but am just looking for something a little bit different. It's his chance to further cut into the market share of other makers. What else is left for him to make to do that?