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Does anyone own a PRS Hollow Body II? Aside from the craftsmanship that goes into this and maybe the fact that it an additional piezo output which is a feature that guitar manufacturers like Carvin and Michael Kelly have been putting on their guitars for ages... $5399.00?
Aside from the steep price, extra frets and maybe versatality, if one has to choose between the Sadowsky and this one.... Or are these considered "custom" guitars.
Paul Reed Smith talks about PRS in terms of heirlooms in the video below. For a craftsman he sure has his salesmanship down pat, no doubt!
PRS Hollowbody II Figured 10 Top - Charcoal Burst | Sweetwater.com
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09-04-2015 09:26 AM
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I owned one for a while. Its nice. Its little. The neck was a little too full for its overall size. My wife liked it, she said it was her favorite guitar that I owned. Worth $5000? Not to me at all.
I see PRS the same as I saw Lexus and Infiniti when they came on the scene years back. They raised the cosmetic bar and all the other makers were forced to follow. Competition, most times is a great thing for the consumer.
PRS's wood choices and expert craftsmanship left a mark on the Guitar building industry. I think everyone else upped there game as a result.
JD
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Buy a used one and enjoy it. I've had two HBs, a couple of CU22s, and currently own a JA-15.
PRS are very high quality factory guitars, made in part by machines, but finished and detailed to an extreme degree of quality. In that paradigm they are exemplary and set a very high standard. Gibson could learn from them. However, they are (IMHO) extraordinarily overpriced when new, more so even than those produced by everybody's favorite punching bag American guitar company.
A used HB can be had for about $2K on the used market, and is well worth that price. They are common and have been supplied in various wood combos and shapes over the years (maple, 'hog, spruce, double and single cut etc.). They are neck heavy, if that matters to you. But they have expressive, woody tone; sensitive, useful controls; and pristine fret and nut work. They stay in tune and intonate perfectly. Not much to dislike from that perspective.
PRS guitars can, however, be somewhat soul-less, which is a hard to define phenomenon but is definitely one of the prevailing negative perceptions of their product if you scan the interwebs.
(And yes, I try to avoid listening to Mr. Smith himself bloviate, as he exhibits a cheese factor that I don't care to associate with his company's instruments.)Last edited by rpguitar; 09-04-2015 at 10:32 AM.
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Two years ago I got one used ( but is new ) that time the new guitar sale price is $4500.
Last edited by 999369; 09-04-2015 at 11:59 AM.
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you can get them used for under $2k if you're patient. However, even though from a Les Paul standpoint they are very resonant and have a good feel to them, IMO, they do not sound like an archtop.
For example, here's a clip of me playing a HB I with spruce top. It sounds very plain and uninspiring compared to playing my 175 or BK.
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For good Condition PRS HB-II " 10 Top " must be over $2k ++
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My HB-II 10-Top
HB-I 10-Top
HB-I & HB-II the Different is Rear ( the wood "Wood grain" same like Top " Front ")
Last edited by 999369; 09-04-2015 at 05:18 PM.
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If anyone comes across a used PRS Hollowbody II at the $2000 mark, as suggested above, give me a heads up!
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He keeps bringing back the heat...
Pt 1
Pt 2
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I got a quote from a PRS dealer: $10 000.00.
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Sounds thin and reedy to me.
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He makes it sound like he was the first luthier ever to use an ebony tailpiece. LOL. Nice guitars, but not for me. If I had ten grand to spend, there would be others ahead of it on the list.
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Nope,Gentlemen
those guitars sound deep and mellow
cheers
HBLast edited by Hyppolyte Bergamotte; 12-06-2015 at 01:15 PM.
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Although not my cup of tea, I know that PRS guitars are quality instruments. What I don't get is why companies like PRS don't list a more full list of specs for their products. I mean isn't something "nut width" an essential bit of information for someone to decide if they even want to pursue a product?
Last edited by lammie200; 12-07-2015 at 01:12 AM.
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I hear an acoustic touch in the sound that I like. Perhaps I'm less picky than some of the other members on this site, since I dig a wide variety of sounds ranging from reedy and stringy to es175 milkshake tones.
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"Milkshake tones." Nice.
PRS guitars have never been my cup of tea. I spent a couple of hours playing my old teacher's PRS archtops of some sort. McCarty? Hollowbody I? Hollowbody II? I can't recall except that it had a bridge and tailpiece instead of a stop tailpiece. It sat oddly on my lap, the sound was not what I would be looking for (but then what I am looking for is milkshake, dark semi-sweet chocolate with some chipotle and cinnamon...). The neck was quite nice (wide-thin, IIRC), the build quality seemed superb and the woods were lovely. It was a transparent green with lots of flame; I don't tend to care for much other than natural or sunburst, so that may have put me off a little bit from the start.
All that said, I have heard other people- including my old teacher- sound great on them.
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I think Paul Reed Smith designs some very excellent instruments for all around purposes. That said this instrument is definitely more in the L-5CES camp albeit smaller. It would be interesting to try in person but at this price point Gibson definitely wins!
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I have a PRS Custom 24. Super easy-playing guitar. Lovely, precise neck. Nowhere a dead spot. Perfect intonation. Great solid-body tones for rock and pop. Not really a jazz box, but doesn't wanna be.
But on these archtops, the pickups sound just a little hot for my tastes. Too bright, too hard. Not quite human...an odd thing to say...
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I think companies like PRS, Fender and Martin among others who tried getting into the semi and hollowbody markets misunderstand the market, and marketing in general.
First thing up is if you release a guitar in the price point range of an ES-175 you better have the feature set of a guitar in the L-4 / L-5 category.
Having a REALLY high end price tag of an L5 is just... foolish. I think D'Angelico is going to see that with their "materbuilt" models. They "should" (IMO) have discontinued the Asian models. Maybe it wouldn't have been a bad idea to go out and buy back all the Asian models they sold in recent years :-)
Just because a guitar has great eye candy features doesn't mean players will flock to it and gain wide acceptance in a genre.
Being known as a particular brand or type, it may be better to have a new brand name to differentiate yourself. Car and clothing makers have figured it out...
Cadillac/GM, Lexus/Toyota, Infiniti/Nissan, Accura/Honda.
Anyway, I too have no love for PRS guitars.
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Also sounds nothing like the OP to my ears.
Great player. Mark's playing a Ribbekke Half Ling nowadays.
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It may just be me but, Ive listened to these recordings several times and theres nothing about the tone that even begins to pique my interest! The playing is fine! The tone of these guitars is just not very pleasing to my ear. Its not that they sound bad, they just dont sound that good to my ear! Very generic sounds that I feel could be reproduced by your average $500 archtop with decent pickups! When I listen to a recording, I either hear something in the tone that Ill remember and it makes me want to find out what guitar, amp etc. was used to record the tune, or I completly forget what I just heard. Theres nothing I want to hear again in these recordings. . Im sure the build quality is typical PRS and quite good, but I just dont see the point in these as serious Jazz guitars. Having the ability to build first class guitars is fine, but if youre going to seriously try to do the archtop guitar build one better, it should at least have a noticeable difference. Just my two cents here, not trying to stir up any shit but these sound like the bologna of guitars! Bob
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Ah, but that's not it at all. PRS is not interested in offering PRS guitars to compete in the hollowbody market. They are looking to provide hollowbody options to the PRS market!
Originally Posted by GNAPPI
The people who buy these are diehard PRS fans. They want something special and unique, and think f-holes are sexy just like we do. These are guitars for the person who must have a PRS, no matter the style.
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Roger is correct. There are people who collect dragon inlay PRS guitars.
FWIW, I greatly applaud the fact that Paul Reed Smith has created one of the most successful guitar companies of the last 30 years. Go, Paul Reed Smith!
It happens to be the case that I have never, ever had a personal interest in a PRS guitar, but that is no matter. The guitars are very well made...just not instruments that do what I am looking for. To my ear, most of the PRS guitars begin with a Les Paul-ish template and go from there. I stopped being interested in Les Pauls about 35 years ago. I recognize their supremacy in their market niche, but I just don't do that thing anymore.
Here is a test: Do you greatly enjoy post-Santana Band Carlos Santana? If so, you will probably like PRS guitars. If you never listen to post-Abraxas Santana, OTOH, you probably aren't a candidate for either PRS--or for Mesa amps, either.
While I am at it...
What is your favorite Joe Walsh tone? Carlos Santana tone? Jimmy Page tone? Jimmy Page tone? Eric Clapton tone? Jimi Hendrix tone? (pick a song)
Mine: Funk 49. Soul Sacrifice (at Woodstock). Good Times Bad Times. Sleepy Time Time (Live Cream). Little Wing (Axis Bold As Love).
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That thought had not occurred to me. Thanks for shedding light on it. Now it all makes good sense. Originally Posted by rpguitar
A Private Stock JA-15 came down the pike as a used guitar in 2014. It sold for CAD5000 or thereabouts. I am sufficiently intrigued by the Private Stock Single-cut Archtop that I would keep an eye out for a used one down the road. I would pay $3500 to $3750 for one.
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proud of my PRS
HB
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