The right PRS for a Recto...

[Heavyzandt]

Hey Durso. I've read a ton of your stuff and the least I can do is give you my thoughts. I have a PRS C24, birds and painted top, with a Tremol-no installed. It's nice and works great but adds one more variable. With it locked, it's just like having a stoptail. Whammy away when unscrewed. Just don't whammy away when screwed or possible destruction. The guitar souds great and I love the cleans to the crunch. I have other guitars but this is the only thing I consistently play everyday. It is a consideration if you can only find one with a whammy. Websearch Tremol-no and you'll find it. Good luck man.

 

[4Eyes]

You can't intonate the PRS fixed bridge...

I have a big surprise for u. U can set the intonation on the PRS fixed bridge :wink:

Intonation can be adjusted using the two allen set screws facing the tail end of the guitar.

(click on pic)

One of my friends owns PRS McCarty Rosewood (with stoptail bridge), very good instrument, and he didn't have any problems with intonation :wink:

 

[Moot]

You need THIS PRS.

It's my Singlecut. :lol:

 

[count_chocolat]

Well slap me silly, I never noticed those on my McCarty but they are there...

Nice singlecut there moot.

 

[jdurso]

is there a reason you would stay away from a fixed bridge on a 24 fret guitar?

no 8)

Yes,

You can't intonate the PRS fixed bridge...so depending on what string gauge you use that may be more or less of an issue for you. After market fixed bridges(never tried one) are an option but according to some folks the height and feel is not the same.

Check out http://www.tremol-no.com/ if you wanna lock up a floating bridge.

Aside from that there is no other reason.

i dont want a trem bridge because they're a pain to palm mute on (or at least they are for me)... im used to the tone-pros stop tail bridge which is a lot more comfortable for me than a trem bridge

 

[jdurso]

Well slap me silly, I never noticed those on my McCarty but they are there...

Nice singlecut there moot.

yeah they're also the same bridges on the Mira which was one of the most comfortable guitars ive played period. i think i'm going to shoot prs an email and see how possible it would be to get either a custom or standard 24 with the mccarty switching and the stoptail and how much $$$ that would run

 

[count_chocolat]

Dont bother contacting PRS they'll just refer you to a dealer.

You may want to check out: http://forums.birdsandmoons.com/forum/index.php?

 

[Rocky]

Again subjective, but I would pick the McCarty BECAUSE it's 22 frets..

So would I.

 

[fatoni]

The other four strings are present and will intonate correctly provided a conventionally gauged string set with a plain third (G) string is used. Use of a wound third string is not recommended with this bridge. When setting the action at the 12th fret the string height should be 2/32" on the treble side to 5/64" on the bass side.

...also taken from the prs site so if that action isnt for you or you play less than conventional strings, the bridge is not going to intonate correctly

 

[Kaz]

The other four strings are present and will intonate correctly provided a conventionally gauged string set with a plain third (G) string is used. Use of a wound third string is not recommended with this bridge. When setting the action at the 12th fret the string height should be 2/32" on the treble side to 5/64" on the bass side.

...also taken from the prs site so if that action isnt for you or you play less than conventional strings, the bridge is not going to intonate correctly

= why PRS stoptail SUUUUUUCKS. (Sorry to anyone who digs it).

I just don't get the fixed-intonation bridge...

 

[nathan28]

I've had my custom 24 ten top with birds for a while now and the hfs/vintage bass pikcups made me switch to passives from actives. I was worried getting a tremolo model, i was worried it wouldnt stay in tune, but prs knows how to make them, no tuning problems at all. It doesnt feel like a typical tremolo bridge either, its real comfortable.

 

[MJ Slaughter]

The other four strings are present and will intonate correctly provided a conventionally gauged string set with a plain third (G) string is used. Use of a wound third string is not recommended with this bridge. When setting the action at the 12th fret the string height should be 2/32" on the treble side to 5/64" on the bass side.

...also taken from the prs site so if that action isnt for you or you play less than conventional strings, the bridge is not going to intonate correctly

= why PRS stoptail SUUUUUUCKS. (Sorry to anyone who digs it).

I just don't get the fixed-intonation bridge...

I have a Custom 24 with trem and it is my most used guitar. For a hardtail I didn't care for the PRS stoptail either and wanted something other than a Les Paul, played those for decades. Went with the Dean USA Hardtail. Beautiful guitar that sounds and plays great. They use the jumbo frets so if you're use to the usual PRS frets it may take a day or so to get use to them. There is also a much cheaper Korean model but if you're considering PRS money then go USA on the Dean.

 

[Kaz]

My friend has one of those, a USA Hardtail. It's beautiful!

 

[jdurso]

My friend has one of those, a USA Hardtail. It's beautiful!

yeah they're gorgeous but i wasnt digging the pups in there, at least not through the recto or vht they had at this shop

so i went to gc today and played a few prs' or prsi if you prefer...

- definitely dug the feel of the McCarty and think i could get used to 22 frets.

- the custom 24 and ce24 definitely sounded all around the best to my ears through a roadster. i think for what i like the hfs are so killer because on dirty stuff its very much like an active pickup but with a much richer/organic tone and the cleans are just amazing through channel 2 fat. the trem bridge is something i maybe able to get used to as well but the comfort level isnt there as much as the McCarty

- the SC was killer sounding (and on your back those fckers are heavy) but the ones i played there were way out of my price range (3000+)

- i played a modern eagle for the hell of it (i love the satin denim finish). felt comfortable but sounded a little dead. great for clean and blues stuff but lacked clarity with the really heavy stuff plus the price tag was waaaayyyy too much

- played the Mira again and next to the McCarty it felt the most comfortable. it definitely has its own vibe sound wise... fenderish with the coil tap and vintage lp with the humbuckers. output isnt as much as i'd like but i feel like thats its vibe. if i wasnt looking for a "do it all" guitar i'd get that one just for its vibe

so after much demo'ing i feel like it may come down to a custom order if its not outrageous. i'm thinking something like the standard 24 satin (love the feel of satin on the neck), with the prs stoptail, 3 way toggle w/coil tap and the hfs/vb pups. either that or find a used McCarty and change the bridge pup to an hfs. i will give prs credit, all the guitars i played today sounded amazing. if i could only afford the mira i would get it hands down because i can compensate for the pups with the amp and eq pedal. hell i might even do that because financially it makes more sense.

 

[Kaz]

Ask your local wood pusher if he can track down a Standard or Custom the way you like it, cause a 'custom order' as opposed to special order will really cost you big bucks.,

 

[jdurso]

Ask your local wood pusher if he can track down a Standard or Custom the way you like it, cause a 'custom order' as opposed to special order will really cost you big bucks.,

yeah i'm gonna try. i actually just found a ce24 used that has the prs stoptail on craigslist... i emailed the guy and am waiting to hear back. best part is if he is willing to ship from SF, i can grab it for under 1k... so to be continued

 

[wastoid]

I would get a Custom 24 if I were you and just deal with the trem if I were you, and I own a 513 Rosewood.

What's your issue with the trem specifically? PRS trems are easier to deal with than FRs etc since they don't lock at the nut. They stay in tune quite well too. If it's the feel that bugs you, you can get one of those trem block locker things (forget the name) that basically makes it into a fixed bridge.

 

[jdurso]

I would get a Custom 24 if I were you and just deal with the trem if I were you, and I own a 513 Rosewood.

What's your issue with the trem specifically? PRS trems are easier to deal with than FRs etc since they don't lock at the nut. They stay in tune quite well too. If it's the feel that bugs you, you can get one of those trem block locker things (forget the name) that basically makes it into a fixed bridge.

it has to do with the way my hand lays when palm muting those chugga chugga riffs. the bridge on my ESP allows me to mute alot easier since its the tonepros stoptail... that extra length of string between the bridge and the tail piece is not existant on a trem which makes it a little awkward for me (but i could adjust my playing to it). also the trem brdige sits so **** close to the guitar whereas on my esp the stoptail is elevated slightly which again lends itself to comfort for my playing. so it has nothing to do with staying in tune and its not something the tremol-no can fix

 

[wastoid]

it has to do with the way my hand lays when palm muting those chugga chugga riffs. the bridge on my ESP allows me to mute alot easier since its the tonepros stoptail... that extra length of string between the bridge and the tail piece is not existant on a trem which makes it a little awkward for me (but i could adjust my playing to it). also the trem brdige sits so **** close to the guitar whereas on my esp the stoptail is elevated slightly which again lends itself to comfort for my playing. so it has nothing to do with staying in tune and its not something the tremol-no can fix

The extra length at the back doesn't matter; it doesn't affect where position where the strings slide over the bridge. The scale length is going to determine where you're palm muting, regardless of the bridge type. So maybe what you were experiencing when you tried and disliked a trem was just a difference in scale length? As someone else pointed out earlier in the thread, most PRS are 25" scale length with a few exceptions (one of which is the 513 actually) so it may feel a bit farther back to you regardless of whether or not you get one with a tremolo or a fixed bridge.

As for it sitting close to the guitar, that's just a setup issue. You have some leeway to raise the knife edges so it will float higher if you like.

 

[Kaz]

I would get a Custom 24 if I were you and just deal with the trem if I were you, and I own a 513 Rosewood.

What's your issue with the trem specifically? PRS trems are easier to deal with than FRs etc since they don't lock at the nut. They stay in tune quite well too. If it's the feel that bugs you, you can get one of those trem block locker things (forget the name) that basically makes it into a fixed bridge.

it has to do with the way my hand lays when palm muting those chugga chugga riffs. the bridge on my ESP allows me to mute alot easier since its the tonepros stoptail... that extra length of string between the bridge and the tail piece is not existant on a trem which makes it a little awkward for me (but i could adjust my playing to it). also the trem brdige sits so **** close to the guitar whereas on my esp the stoptail is elevated slightly which again lends itself to comfort for my playing. so it has nothing to do with staying in tune and its not something the tremol-no can fix

Durso, what ESP do you have, btw? Most of the hardtail ESPs are 24 3/4inch scale length so that may have a bit to do with that. I love palm muting on my EC-1000 but I find it's not much more difficult on the Cu24 trem. Takes getting used to I suppose.

And I'd move in on that CE24...what year?