PRS Dragon II - Do these ever really sell?

[christianm77]

It was partly a joke and partly a piece of genius branding. When introduced in 1987 the guitar had a couple of details that where uncommon for the time like routing under the floyd rose allowing you to bend upwards more

Steve Vai says he knew that that would quickly be copied by other guitar brands, but he wanted something that was so unique and outrageous that it wouldn't get copied ... and it's been the identifying feature of the Ibanez JEMs ever since

Thing is, Vai has style, no? (Well not sure about that time he painted himself silver, but)

That guitar does not look ridiculous when he plays it. Well ok it totally does, but he owns it.

He’s also a snappy dresser who knows how to accessorise. This is not a sentence you hear too much in guitar playing circles.

So the handle, it’s him. It’s probably not anyone else. Also - that hat? Same deal.

On the other hand, reserve true scorn for the Petrucci signature model is ..... I mean you called it Majesty? Really? Much much worse. It looks AWFUL, like a 90s SNES peripheral or something.

It’s dicey whenever a man over the age of 30 puts on an electric guitar, but I tell myself a 175 and a tele don’t look completely absurd. 335 too, is fine. Maybe in sunburst is ok.

[Jim Soloway]

I played a few hundred restaurant dinner gigs with one of these in my late 40's, early 50's.

[Tal_175]

This is also acceptable:

[joe2758]

Thing is, Vai has style...

That guitar does not look ridiculous when he plays it...

He’s also a snappy dresser who knows how to accessorise....

negative.

[fws6]

Big Zappa fan here and would be hard to do this kind of stuff on an archtop

[JazzyJim]

You just like the handle. Admit it.

Get a grip, man. You gotta let this handle thing go .

[christianm77]

Get a grip, man. You gotta let this handle thing go .

You’re just failing to grasp what I’m taking about

[christianm77]

negative.

Ok he looks ridiculous.

[christianm77]

I played a few hundred restaurant dinner gigs with one of these in my late 40's, early 50's.

Why are you telling me this????

Rule #34 never play a guitar where you don’t have to ask ‘but does it Djent?’ Seriously.

(Cos that meme never gets old.)

[lammie200]

...
THE SEAGULLS??? Why the seagulls??? Oh they’re meant to be generic birds. Whatever. Generic is right...

Architects were once exposed to the theory that buildings fall into two categories: Billboards and ducks. Billboards are your garden variety buildings that don't reference anything literal. They are advertisements for themselves. A blatant illustration would be a glass skyscraper. Ducks are buildings that reference other, more familiar, things literally. They are buildings that don't admit that they are buildings. An example would be a building that looks like a giant shoe, picnic basket, or duck, etc. The seagulls look like ducks to me.

BTW, I am sure that PRS guitars are great guitars. This one aesthetic choice is my only issue. It's a nit pick.

[Doug B]

It also shows far more taste and restraint in the appearance.

Doug

[Tal_175]

putting one in my 175 as we speak

Alternatively you can just install one of these on the side of the guitar. I think it suits archtops better.

[christianm77]

Alternatively you can just install one of these on the side of the guitar. I think it suits archtops better.

That’s amazing.

[christianm77]

[christianm77]

Architects were once exposed to the theory that buildings fall into two categories: Billboards and ducks. Billboards are your garden variety buildings that don't reference anything literal. They are advertisements for themselves. A blatant illustration would be a glass skyscraper. Ducks are buildings that reference other, more familiar, things literally. They are buildings that don't admit that they are buildings. An example would be a building that looks like a giant shoe, picnic basket, or duck, etc. The seagulls look like ducks to me.

BTW, I am sure that PRS guitars are great guitars. This one aesthetic choice is my only issue. It's a nit pick.

Bill-boards.

[lawson-stone]

Alternatively you can just install one of these on the side of the guitar. I think it suits archtops better.

Just what I need on my L5ces!!! Right after I finish sticking on those dragon fret markers I ordered from Jockomo...

[helios]

Paul Reed Smith created a market for himself with his obsession over QC--even his Korean made are very good!
His business was likely catapulted by the failures of Gibson & Fender during the 70's!

[rmpmcdermott]

I had a PRS Custom 22. It had a very good jazz tone, much like a good Les Paul. And it had the comfort of a Strat. For the price of the guitar in the Deacon's post above, one could get (IMO) a better guitar, but if that one floats your boat and you have the scratch, why not? Beauty is in the eyes of the beholder.

This.

The dragon inlay isn't really my thing, but why crap on something that someone else might like?

[Tal_175]

This.

The dragon inlay isn't really my thing, but why crap on something that someone else might like?

People aren't crapping on anything. They are making fun of dragon inlays and handles in guitars. They are doing that because it's fun. Everytime someone makes fun of something, they are making fun of something unusual that someone else might like. That's how it works. There is no intention to insult anyone.
I don't understand the sensitivity about this. So it's ok to make jokes about things, but as a society dragon inlays and handles in guitars are where we draw the line?

[rmpmcdermott]

People aren't crapping on anything. They are making fun of dragon inlays and handles in guitars. They are doing that because it's fun. Everytime someone makes fun of something, they are making fun of something unusual that someone might like. That's how it works.
I don't understand the sensitivity about this. So it's ok to make jokes about things, but as a society dragon inlays and handles in guitars are where we draw the line?

I don't speak for society, I speak for myself. And, personally, I don't think it's cool to make fun of things that other people enjoy. How about, instead, we post threads about things we DO enjoy. Like Tal Farlow and ES-175s?

Again, I'm just expressing a personal opinion. People are, of course, free to post about whatever they like (or don't like).

[Jim Soloway]

People aren't crapping on anything. They are making fun of dragon inlays and handles in guitars. They are doing that because it's fun. Everytime someone makes fun of something, they are making fun of something unusual that someone else might like. That's how it works. There is no intention to insult anyone.
I don't understand the sensitivity about this. So it's ok to make jokes about things, but as a society dragon inlays and handles in guitars are where we draw the line?

We are not "society". We are a special interest guitar forum. And for the most part, we try to be a fairly friendly special interest guitar forum. Just my personal opinion but I think there's more than ample space on the internet for sarcasm and negative humor. In this environment I think things work better when we are guided by a simple thought: "Is it true? Is it necessary? Is it kind?" Others are free to disagree but I try (not always successfully) to follow that basic guideline here.

[Just Russ]

I played a few hundred restaurant dinner gigs with one of these in my late 40's, early 50's.

Is that the RG7621? I used to have a 7620 and appreciated the reduced distance between strings, but the bridge didn't sit well with me over time (mostly because as a kid I couldn't afford to keep changing strings and when one would break, they'd all be out of tune) and I was always looking for the 7621 since it was a hard tail.

But they were pretty rare in Mississippi where the grasp of bands like Korn was fairly limited for a while.




Regarding the Dragon II, I always thought it was the best looking dragon because of the wings and, when I was fifteen or so, insisted that when I became a wealthy musician, I would get one. Now, older, not wealthy, and debatably a musician, I can see that I was just drawn to the shiny stuff. It didn't hurt that it was specifically called out in the movie Airheads as a pie-in-the-sky desire of the band's guitarist when they took a radio station hostage and made "crazy" demands.

Not to say that PRS isn't a good company or anything. I used to want a basic CE-22 when they were reasonably priced and tried bonding to some of the SE lines. I could see buying an SE version of their Hollowbody or Hollowbody II, but I would insist on two f-holes. ;-)

[Jim Soloway]

Is that the RG7621? I used to have a 7620 and appreciated the reduced distance between strings, but the bridge didn't sit well with me over time (mostly because as a kid I couldn't afford to keep changing strings and when one would break, they'd all be out of tune) and I was always looking for the 7621 since it was a hard tail.

But they were pretty rare in Mississippi where the grasp of bands like Korn was fairly limited for a while.

It's a 7421XL

[Tal_175]

We are not "society". We are a special interest guitar forum. And for the most part, we try to be a fairly friendly special interest guitar forum. Just my personal opinion but I think there's more than ample space on the internet for sarcasm and negative humor. In this environment I think things work better when we are guided by a simple thought: "Is it true? Is it necessary? Is it kind?" Others are free to disagree but I try (not always successfully) to follow that basic guideline here.

I guess we'll disagree. I don't agree that there should be absolute strict rules to follow with no reasonable discretion on the parts of the members.
It's not ok to insult or disrespect people individually or as a group in the forum. But if people lightly joke about a couple of demonstrably unusual features of a piece of gear (not people) in the gear part of the forum, there is no real reason for other members to jump to police them.

[Jim Soloway]

I guess we'll disagree. I don't agree that there should be absolute strict rules to follow with no reasonable discretion on the parts of the members.
It's not ok to insult or disrespect people individually or as a group in the forum. But if people lightly joke about a couple of demonstrably unusual features of a piece of gear (not people) in the gear part of the forum, there is no real reason for other members to jump to police them.

Just for the sake of clarity I never said a word about rules. In fact, I said it was just my opinion and how I try to filter my own behavior on this forum. If someone chooses to go another direction that's their right but they should not be surprised if others decide to exercise their own rights in response.