GAS attack

[Skinnyman]

I have serious GAS for a PRS SE Mira.

I don’t know why it’s suddenly come over me but I was idly wandering the ‘net the other night, as you do, a d YouTube decided to show me one of the PRS demo videos for it.

That then turned into an obsession with watching every video and reading every review.

And there’s no logic to this.

I don’t need a PRS Mira.

I have a very nice Strat, a lovely Mexican Tele, a gorgeous PRS SE Hollowbody and an absolutely spiffing K-Line.

I like them all and don’t want to get rid of any of them.

Sonically, I have all the bases covered. Single coil, P90s, ‘buckers; all catered for.

So why the lust for the Mira? It’s not especially pretty, it’s PRS’s take on an SG - and I’ve got no particular hankering for an SG.

Strange.

Please talk me out of this. If you had one or tried one and hated it, tell me. If you’ve had problems with PRS’s build quality, tell me. Explain to me that I’m not a professional guitarist and I can never make guitars sound the way they do in the demo videos.

I need to get rid of this obsession.

And that Starla looks pretty nice too...

 

Aaaaaaargh!

[ezbass]

If you want talking out of buying new gear, you’ve probably come to the wrong place. However, even as a PRS fan and previous owner of 3 different models, I struggle with the Mira and Starla from an aesthetic viewpoint. PRS are known for beautiful guitars, it’s their thing, even the old EG range (always wanted the 3 domino pickup model) still had that PRS visual magic. Having said all that, beauty is in the eye of the beholder and you obviously like them, which is all that matters. Build quality with PRSs is always stunning, no matter where they are made. Even the hardware on the cheapest SEs is stellar. I has an SE Singlecut and decided to upgrade the pickups. I fitted a pair of Seymour Duncan’s and then a pair of Bareknuckle’s. I ended up refitting the original ones as I thought they were the best of the 3.

That was not helpful was it? Sorry.

[Skinnyman]

15 minutes ago, ezbass said:

That was not helpful was it? Sorry.

Not in the slightest, lol.

Oddly, it’s the fact that they don’t follow the usual PRS aesthetic that appeals in this case. I like the idea of a “plain”, workaday PRS guitar.

I think I’d give the “let’s use the left over paint from the Ibanez guitars” metal paint finishes a miss but there’s something about the black Mira.

And the Vintage Cherry, come to that.

[ezbass]

That vintage cherry is rather pleasant, I must admit. I think it’s the pickup selector that I don’t like, a classic Gibson toggle would work so much better IMO.

[Skinnyman]

1 hour ago, ezbass said:

That vintage cherry is rather pleasant, I must admit.

That’s not helping

[ezbass]

9 hours ago, Skinnyman said:

That’s not helping

Can I direct you to my initial opening statement

11 hours ago, ezbass said:

If you want talking out of buying new gear, you’ve probably come to the wrong place. 

 

[leftybassman392]

Best of luck Skinz. Fortunately it's a problem I don't have, because unless they've changed their policy since I last looked, PRS don't make lefties.

 

Seriously, get a grip man. Think of the children; and the third world; and, umm, the polar ice cap. Then give yourself a sound thrashing with a wet fish. Better make it two just to be sure...

Might work, might not. Frankly, who cares: it'll make great viewing.

 

 

 

 

 

 

p.s. Hope this helps.

Edited April 18, 2021 by leftybassman392

[Skinnyman]

14 minutes ago, leftybassman392 said:

Best of luck Skinz. Fortunately it's a problem I don't have, because unless they've changed their policy since I last looked, PRS don't make lefties.

 

Seriously, get a grip man. Think of the children; and the third world; and, umm, the polar ice cap. Then give yourself a sound thrashing with a wet fish. Better make it two just to be sure...

Might work, might not. Frankly, who cares: it'll make great viewing.

 

 

 

 

 

 

p.s. Hope this helps.

My favourite Python sketch. Utterly stupid and hilarious  

And I don’t see why I should suffer alone;

https://prsguitars.com/electrics/model/se_custom_24_lefty_2021
 

 

[Dad3353]

1 hour ago, Skinnyman said:

...And I don’t see why I should suffer alone;

https://prsguitars.com/electrics/model/se_custom_24_lefty_2021

Cat among the pigeons, eh..? Go, Lefty; Go Go Go..! 

[NickD]

JFBI!

[leftybassman392]

11 hours ago, Dad3353 said:

Cat among the pigeons, eh..? Go, Lefty; Go Go Go..! 

I don't like it.

Note to @Skinnyman : see how easy that was?

[Skinnyman]

3 hours ago, NickD said:

JFBI!

Well, inevitably, I will.

But where’s the fun in just giving in without at least the semblance of a struggle?

And I think I’ve worked it out and the (visual) attraction seems to be the fact that’s it’s an unbound neck.

My local guitar shop has just reopened and they’re a PRS dealer so I’ll go in and see if I can have a noodle on one.

The risk being that I’ll end up with the rather lovely but much more expensive satin Vela S2 that they have in stock.

 

[NickD]

22 minutes ago, Skinnyman said:

Well, inevitably, I will.

But where’s the fun in just giving in without at least the semblance of a struggle?

 

There you go!

I've quit the pretending. I either know I will or know I won't, and if the item falls into the 'will' category I know that any internal debate/struggle is just some kind of mental fabrication to make me feel bad for wanting something, and just wastes time.

The only real questions I ask myself now are 'can I afford it?', 'do I mind losing a few quid if it doesn't pan out and I move it on?', and 'have I got the space?'.... anything else is just noise.

What the 'it won't make you play better' folks always miss is that every different instrument is full of different riffs and licks, and once discovered, you still have them in your arsenal whether on that instrument or on an instrument you've had around for years.... You're not buying a new guitar, you're exploring new approaches.

[Skinnyman]

3 hours ago, NickD said:

You're not buying a new guitar, you're exploring new approaches.

Now that’s what I mean!

Helpful, insightful and just the kind of self-justification I was looking for!

[leftybassman392]

[EdwardMarlowe]

On 19/04/2021 at 14:37, NickD said:

What the 'it won't make you play better' folks always miss is that every different instrument is full of different riffs and licks, and once discovered, you still have them in your arsenal whether on that instrument or on an instrument you've had around for years.... You're not buying a new guitar, you're exploring new approaches.

For years I bought into all that "palette of sounds" bollocks until I realised I just don't love me no humbuckers, I'm' not a big Gibson guy at all, and I'd rather have three Strats with minimal differences that I regularly played than six completely different guitars most of which ended up wall-hangers. The thing is, though, player experience is a big deal. I'm equally crap on every guitar I lift, but I'll stand different with a Strat or a Tele or a whatever. Even a different colour can put me in a different headspace (hell, how and what I play is as much about the shoes I'm wearing and how rock and roll I feel. As a wise man once said, "Like Trousers Like Brain"). Difference is in the feel under the fingers rather than the sound - and I agree, sometimes just feeling a difference under your hands is all it needs to try something else, new, different, seem to improve. 

On the matter of PRS, while I absolutely admire their quality and skill, only the Mira and the Starla actually really appeal to me. I'm not a figured woods guy, or a HB guy. I do rate an SG over a Les Paul, so that might well help. I'm unlikely to buy any of them, but those are the ones I could see me lifting to try given an opportunity. Were I putting together a 70s-punk project, they're the kid of guitar I'd go looking for - a step away from the obvious classics, SG-like (an SG is the only type of guitar I've ever managed to get that big 'Steve Jones' Bollocks Les Paul sound out of) but with enough of a difference to not be beholden to trad guitar hero imagery... almost an edge of the Soviet era Russian electrics you see on youtube. Stuff in a couple of pickups with a bit of a Brian Setzer feel and possibly a Bigsby for that agricultural equipment as weapon vibe.... 

The other PRS I really like visually is that run he did on the Strat as a sig model for that young fella - Meyer? (No feelings on him either way, never heard any of his stuff tbh). Clearly built on the old 90s era EG bolt on range that were PRS' first shot at a budget line (how I chuckled at a 'budget' guitar at £900 in 1994!), but with a closer Fender look. I can't say I'd buy one (at that sort of money I think I'd rather a Fender Custom Shop - not so much for the brand as the control over the spec), but I'd love the chance to play one, and I actually really enjoyed seeing someone else so passionate and knowledgeable about guitars show off their take on such an established classic. I have no doubt the Fender CS team quickly acquired and dissected one to see what they could learn from an objective take like that. 

PS OP: If you like it and you won't miss the money, just buy the damn thing and enjoy! 

[ezbass]

I’m starting to come around on the Mira, especially in the frost blue metallic (although the black and tort is nice too). The slider switch still grates, though. 

[Skinnyman]

Peach guitars seem to have bought up all the Antique White Starlas (discontinued colour) and are knocking them out for £449 rather than the RRP of £599.

Tempting but I just can’t get on with the colour. I’m leaning more towards the Mira in Cherry at the moment.

Or would be if I hadn’t just had to buy a new lawnmower.

Rock’n’roll, eh?

[leftybassman392]

@Skinnyman Have you considered a self-build?

 

[Skinnyman]

13 minutes ago, leftybassman392 said:

@Skinnyman Have you considered a self-build?

 

Tempting but that’s a little beyond my woodworking abilities

Is that Ned Steinberger’s original prototype? Be worth a lot of money, that.

[leftybassman392]

12 minutes ago, Skinnyman said:

 

Is that Ned Steinberger’s original prototype?

No. It's a plank of wood with a guitar pickup and assorted bits of metal thrown at it.

Depends how much you want to pay me for it...

[Skinnyman]

Haha!

I’m sure I couldn’t afford it!

I did have one of the current Spirit models and just couldn’t get on with it. The absence of the headstock just freaked me out somehow and I just couldn’t play it with any sort of fluidity.

 

[leftybassman392]

I know what you mean. My current bass is headless and I've had no issues with it (quite the contrary in fact), but I suspect a headless guitar would just feel weird (not to say unbalanced).

[EdwardMarlowe]

On 28/04/2021 at 11:27, ezbass said:

I’m starting to come around on the Mira, especially in the frost blue metallic (although the black and tort is nice too). The slider switch still grates, though. 

I can see the blade switch being a big plus point for those of us more F than G....  Wouldn't it also open up the option of all sorts of wiring too - like a six-way switch which out of phase/ coil taps and such in there? That could be pretty cool. I'd also be tempted to switch it out for two separate on/off minitoggles, though! 

On 01/05/2021 at 14:41, Skinnyman said:

Haha!

I’m sure I couldn’t afford it!

I did have one of the current Spirit models and just couldn’t get on with it. The absence of the headstock just freaked me out somehow and I just couldn’t play it with any sort of fluidity.

 

It does take getting used to. I bought one years ago as a 'travel' guitar, as it's the perfect mix of being compact without being an unplayable, small scale. Funny thing..... I always considered them pig ugly. Not my first choice of guitar, but having experience of one and enjoying how it played I have a whole new appreciation of the design. Really quite nice to play, too. 

[Skinnyman]

On 05/05/2021 at 13:21, EdwardMarlowe said:

It does take getting used to. I bought one years ago as a 'travel' guitar, as it's the perfect mix of being compact without being an unplayable, small scale. Funny thing..... I always considered them pig ugly. Not my first choice of guitar, but having experience of one and enjoying how it played I have a whole new appreciation of the design. Really quite nice to play, too. 

That’s why I bought mine - as a travel guitar that I could take as hand luggage. 

And for that it was great but I still found the absence of a headstock very disconcerting.

 

In other news, I got into my local guitar shop today and had a play with every PRS in the shop.

I fully intended to get either a Mira or Starla but the one I left with was an SE Custom 24 (a 2019 limited edition in bilious green with roasted maple neck).

The neck is just a joy to play and is what sold me on the guitar (and ignore the colour).

The Starla was a real disappointment. Initially looked good owing to the light weight but there’s a boominess to the tone that I couldn’t get rid of and which was there on a couple of different amps and irrespective of pickup selection.

The Mira was nice in a sort of SG-on-steroids sort of way and I would probably have got it if I hadnt picked up the Custom 24.

So, GAS attack has passed.

For now….