Well, PRS is not the guitar for me

[freethought]

Don't get the wrong idea. I recently purchased a PRS SE-EG, one of their lower end guitars in tobacco sunburst. The outfit I bought it from has a rather generous return policy. Instrument came a few days ago and I have been playing with it to see if it's has the right feel. My review is as follows:

The guitar is well made, absolutely no doubt of that. Nicely finished with a tobacco sunburst finish. Rosewood fingerboard with circular abalone inlays. It would not discourage someone from buying this guitar or any other from PRS. Guitar has nice low action.

Sound and intonation are also excellent. I would like to hear the bridge pickup ( a humbucker) with a little more "bite". That's really neither here nor there. One could easily replace the pickup with some other make.

The neck has one feature I did like, its thickness face-to-back. So many guitar makers tend to make these metal or "thrash" guitars where the necks are thin face-to-back which drives me nuts. This PRS had a neck that filled my grip and was comfortable.

What is the negative? The neck width. I have these big thick fingers and I need space for them to move accurately or with any speed. This one was too narrow.
In some respect I am sort of disappointed. Kind of hoped this instrument would be a keeper. I just want one with the right feel to it.

Oh well. That's life I guess.

[aint_no_life_nowhere]

1. I like wide necks too

although I actually like the "shred" guitar necks like the Ibanez wizard, which has a nearly flat fretboard radius and a slim back contour. But even the "shred machine" Ibanez, Jackson, Charvel, Fender Talons, etc. aren't quite wide enough for me, as they usually are at 1 11/16 inch nut width. I have somewhat small hands but I find that a wide neck with wider string spacing is easier and faster than a narrow neck of most standard electric guitars (which seems even narrower when you spend a lot of time playing on the neck of a classical guitar).

You might try something like USA Custom Guitars, where you can order both a guitar neck and body to your specifications. You can even get it as wide as 1 7/8 inches and have the back contour as fat or as slim as you want and shaped the way you want (U-shaped like a shred guitar, C-shaped like Gibsons, V-shaped, soft V, etc.). The only problem is that it will be a bolt-on style neck (like Fenders) as opposed to a set neck or neck through body. I think the PRS guitars might be set necks but I'm not sure. This supposedly affects sustain but some claim that it isn't a factor if the neck heel and the body's neck pocket are a real tight match (which a custom maker is supposed to get right). And if you do most of the assembly yourself, it probably won't cost you that much more than a moderately priced brand name guitar.

Here's a link:

http://www.usacustomguitars.com/