I love this guitar. I have a Strat as well but since I puchased this PRS I can't put it down. It is like a fine tuned crafted instrument that has a total response all the way up the neck. The 24 frets are also very helpful as I find it easier access up the neck in running scales and patterns. I can also emulate just about any sound needed out of this guitar from country to rock to jazz. And the highs on this guitar have a bite to them that is so sweet on the warm setting, I can see why Carlos has made the PRS his main stay. I bought this guitar used for $1200 and it was money well spent. It is 10 years old and it looks brand new, the previous owner took great care in maintaining the guitar and had the neck calibrated and cept it treated to preseve the fretboard, it has the honey maple neck with rosewood fretboard and locking tuners and the 4 original pickups, it is the emarald green quilted look and it is a beautfull guitar . If your thinking about getting one I would highly recommend it, the neck is a little bit more narrow than the Strat, so if you have fat fingers that is something to consider, personally I found it advantagous for solo work and speed as my hands are not that big and its easier to get around the guitar. Also with the 24 fret model, I can use the GHS Boomers 010 gauge and it still plays so easy, I tryed the same strings on my Strat and they were a bit to stiff for my liking, so I would recommend the 24 fret, you wont be sorry, but you might regret buying the 22 fret down the line , like a friend of mine did just because he realizes now the added edge to the 24. But either way if you can find a deal on a 22 or 24 go for it and if you can afford a new one better yet, you will have a keeper for life. I have owned Gibson 335, American Standard Strat, Rickenbacker 360, and played Gibson Les Paul, but this guitar is my favorite!

What can be said about a PRS, they are beatiful to look at they have the wow factor and are great to play. There is a great amount of attention given to details which make this guitar a keeper for life.

My PRS is technically a Standard 22 with custom upgrades from 1996. It has a solid mahogany body with no maple top, just a beautiful "tobacco burst" stain. The neck is the wide fat carve with a rosewood top and bird inlays. It has the PRS tremolo bridge, the 5 way switch and original Dragon pickups. This guitar is by far and away the best guitar I have ever owned and the best playing guitar I have ever had in my hands. You can coax damn near any sound out of the thing with the 5-way switch - full on bridge pickup, full on neck and everything in between. I'm not going to say it sounds just like a strat, but it can definitely get jangly sounds and humbucking Les Paul sounds. I think the PRS is a perfect blend of two classic instruments, but it has a feel and sound all it's own which I love. It's warm, it's smooth, but it can be nasty too. It is the perfect guitar. Rock, jazz, blues - it's all in there, just bring it out with your fingers. It totally responds to your touch. There is not a single thing I would ever change on this guitar! As with any other guitar, you have to hold it to see if it feels right - not all PRS's are perfect, I've had my hands on a lot of them, but I am in love with the one I own. Now go out there and find your next best guitar - the PRS.

Custom 24 PRS 10 Top, 2004 model violin finish. This is my favorite guitar. It plays from Jazz to Metal to Blues to Rock. What a fantastic instrument, the locking tuners hold true, the vibrato system is a dream, the fretboard which is thin wide is just a pleasure to play. The pickups are incredible with bell like clarity playing clean to the raspy honk of gut busting distortion playing on the lead channel of my Bogner. Buy this guitar and never worry about getting another. This one has it all.

I absolutely love this guitar because the combination of top quality tone woods and string tension that falls right between the Gibson and Fender scales gives me the punchy tone, smooth highs and tight lows that I prefer. Of course, it also has killer looks with a sensual carved flamed maple 10-top that looks 3-dimensional. A work of art.

It took a while to get used to the 5-way rotary switch, but I use the neck-only or bridge-only settings the most, so it has not been a major issue (although a 5-position blade switch would be a nice alternative). This guitar also has a slightly wider fingerboard, which is great if you don't have pencil thin fingers. I prefer the wide-thin neck configuration because it provides the best balance between comfort and reach that a fatter neck would not (at least for my hands). The fit, finish and fretwork on this guitar is outstanding. Although I hardly use the trem, the guitar holds its tuning very well under normal use (I'm not a dive-bomber type of player). Although some people feel that the trem limits sustain a bit, I have not notice this at all. The fact that this is a set neck, mahogany/maple guitar with a tilt-back headstock and string through body bridge design (unlike a Floyd Rose) provides all the sustain I could ever need. Overall, I have found this guitar very flexible for a wide variety of styles, ranging from metal to blues and jazz. Turn down the tone control, dial in the neck pickup and you can get a very smooth jazz tone. In all settings, I find the string to string note definition very clear. Once again, I think the scale length really helps here.

Nearly 50 years ago I was the proud owner of a Gibson "gold top" Les Paul. It was a wonderful instrument.
Through various events that guitar got away from me.
The PRS single cut was my anwer to a disappointing search to revive a part of my past. The current Gibson's were no match for my lost guitar.

I love my Paul Reed Smith and find it to be superb in workmanship, beauty and most of all tone and action. The quality of this guitar reminds me of the way fine instruments used to be.

I can recommend Paul Reed Smith to anyone who is seeking a quality instrument. I have no negative comments to make about it.