Thinkin' about tryin a PRS SC245

[derekmitts]

i'm a long time gibson historic player. my main guitars are a '58, '57 ri and i completely love my 58 but the 57 i'm not real happy with. anyway, i was thinking about checking out a sc245. anybody have any experience with them? i've never been real happy with the "quality" of gibson's guitars but the tone is undeniable when you get a good one. i would love to have that tone with the consistency and quality of prs. any feedback would be greatly appreciated.

thanks,
derek

[George Johnson]

The weight-relieved body and wide/fat (wee/flat) neck left me cold.

Many seem to like them though so don't mind me.

[wilerty]

You are in for a treat. The SC245 is the closest PRS to a LP sound that I have heard. It only comes with the wide fat neck, which is unfortunate for me, but PRS has done a great job giving the SC245 the mild sound and the SC250 the wild sound. It was very hard to find one to try for a while, but there seem to be a few more of them out there now. Enjoy ...

[vintage66]

So they're weight relieved? Hadn't heard that. I played one and really liked it-it was very lightweight, which I thought was cool. Do they do the swiss cheese Gibson thing?

[E-Rock]

My 245 is one of the best guitars I have ever played.
I have played MANY LPs, and none of them are as rewarding to play as the 245. I know I will get flamed for that
Here's the thing. The tone to my ears is as close to a LP as all the different LPs are to each other. If I plug it into my Germino and crank it up, I challenge anyone hear to tell me it isn't an LP. If I posted a clip and said "Here is my #### Les Paul into a Germino" everyone would reply... "Sounds great....killer LP tone....classic....etc"

Now, combine that with the neck being more comfy, better intonation, better finish, lighter etc and you have a winner in my book.

Flamesuit on.....

[vintage66]

Originally Posted by E-Rock

My 245 is one of the best guitars I have ever played.
I have played MANY LPs, and none of them are as rewarding to play as the 245. I know I will get flamed for that
Here's the thing. The tone to my ears is as close to a LP as all the different LPs are to each other. If I plug it into my Germino and crank it up, I challenge anyone hear to tell me it isn't an LP. If I posted a clip and said "Here is my #### Les Paul into a Germino" everyone would reply... "Sounds great....killer LP tone....classic....etc"

Now, combine that with the neck being more comfy, better intonation, better finish, lighter etc and you have a winner in my book.

Flamesuit on.....

I played one through a Marshall at a store and thought the same thing-sounds like a Les Paul and weighs about half what my '80 LP weighs. I want one. About the weight relief though...do they or don't they?

[vintage66]

Btw, the 245's a new model-a lot of the opinions about them not sounding like an LP are based on the older models with different pickups. I tried one of these right after the 245 and it was way different sounding-not to my liking.

[Sniper-V]

Don't expect a SC245 to "replace" a good LP.

PRS won't ever sound exactly like a Lester and vice versa.

That said, if you are looking for a another alternative to a LP...

I think the SC245 are killer guitars!

I would probably try and get one if I didn't already have 6 LPs and 2 SCs...(one SC's for sale right now too...)

[George Johnson]

Originally Posted by vintage66

About the weight relief though...do they or don't they?

They do.... but if you've played one and liked it you should get it. :AOK

[83stratman]

I just found out about the SC245 (where have I been?) and have been intrigued. I did hear about them being weight relieved, so i emailed PRS to confirm. Here is the response...

Subject: RE: SC245 question.


Hi Mike,

Thank you for your interest in Paul Reed Smith Guitars. Yes we weight
relive the SC245 guitars by channeling grooves in the mahogany under the maple cap. The grooves run in the direction from neck to bridge remove approximately 20-25% of the weight.

Any information regarding current pricing, options and availability of PRS guitars, parts or custom-built Private Stock guitars, can be obtained from your local PRS dealer. Here is a link to an authorized PRS dealer or distributor in your area: http://www.prsguitars.com/dealer.asp


Thank you for your continued support of Paul Reed Smith Guitars. I hope you find this information helpful, please let me know if you have any further questions.

Shawn Nuthall
Paul Reed Smith Guitars
Mgr. Customer Support
380 Log Canoe Circle
Stevensville, MD 21666

[grapeshot]

There were some xray photos posted in a thread on BaM showing what the weight relief looked like. It was really organized vs the swiss cheese holes that Gibson used to do (I understand they have changed how they weight relieve regular production Les Pauls). I have an SC245 icoming and am very excited. They are great guitars.

[Hipster Dofus]

I played one for an hour today. Light due to the weight relief. Played fantastic. It takes getting used to the controll layout since I do not have a reg LP right now. But the inbetween sounds were great, and so was the neck tone. I did not have my amp, but one of the HW 18 w Marshalls is close. I would really need my London to really do a fair tone report as thats what I have had for close to a year now. Having owned 3 Custom Shop pauls in the past, this played better all the way, as far as what I am looking for. The LP's all played fine as well, but just not like this.

Is it a LP killer.....Naa. Is it the closest thing PRS has to a LP....? Prolly. To be fair, it would take more than one of each to really make that kind of statement. ya know...10 LP's and 10 SC245's and a day to really get a feel for what thay both do....

I would need heavy strings as well. This one played TOO easy...LOL

I'm REALLY torn between one of these and waiting for the DGT.