P90-loaded guitar

[fredrikn]

Looking for a guitar with P90 pickups, and have narrowed it down to either

PRS SE 245 Soapbar

or

Gibson Les Paul '60s Tribute 2016 T

Which one would you recommend?

 

[seanseanhd]

i bought the gibson. great guitar you can't go wrong with either. The PRS SE is an awesome line of guitars i have 2 custom 24"s

 

[ED_P]

I'm willing to spend $100 to blindly buy an effect pedal that I haven't tried in person, but when it comes to how much either of those guitars cost, I would try both in person before deciding.

PRS has the edge in Build Quality and Quality Control. Personally I could never warm up to PRS guitars, even after owning a Custom 22 and a McCarty. The SG with P90's is a classic, but we've all read here the ups and downs of Gibson in the last year.

 

[Tommy Biggs]

Nice. p90s are very expressive.
What amp are you running?

 

[edwarddavis]

I would go with the prs se . I also would consider a used reverend jetstream or other model
Awesome playing and sounding guitars

 

[Rod]

I've had both the guitars you're lookin at.. Get the Gibson... A much bigger bolder sound.. Great for live band use. Better wood as well. The satin finish Gibsons sound great. Highly recommended.

 

[fredrikn]

Nice. p90s are very expressive.
What amp are you running?

Using a Kemper.

 

[MangoMango]

I would go with the prs se . I also would consider a used reverend jetstream or other model
Awesome playing and sounding guitars

+1 on Reverend. I know it was not one of the two choices you've narrowed to but they are THE best P-90s to many who've played them.

 

[doublescale1]

I've had both the guitars you're lookin at.. Get the Gibson... A much bigger bolder sound.. Great for live band use. Better wood as well. The satin finish Gibsons sound great. Highly recommended.

Have to agree with Rod 100% - I picked up a super clean used '09, '50's Tribute, Black Satin finish Les Paul w/2XP90's - great, great sounding Les Paul (the P90's never get woofie on the low end and all the top end sparkle is there, they are single coils after all). It had a very mildly relic'd thing (a little tiny thin line of finish worn off to see the mahogany underneath on the inside, back edge of the top bout, is all). I can't undersell how great this guitar sounds, and it's new enough as a used guitar to have been through the Gibson factory pleck process - it's supposed to be "relic'd" but from the front, it does not look like it, but the satin finish does look like it's just an old Gibson that has not seen a polish cloth in a long while. Now, I also got a PRS SE Single Cut Soapbar 2XP90 - used it was $299. It's every bit as good as the Gibson LP Special I had. You can't do any better for a p*ssed-off mahogany slab guitar, really, it's a very simple formula for a guitar. But even for a Korean build, it's got all the PRS brand basics, killer neck, clean frets, perfect graphite nut, very tight finish, and the hardware is good enough that you don't have to start changing stuff out as soon as you bring it home. So shop with your ears, but think about giving these two particular models an audition - great value guitars, from opposite ends of the build spectrum, that deliver great feel and the tone.

 

[HoboMan]

I haven't played either eight months ago I would have said absolutely get the Gibson.
Now I would try both before buying if possible.

A PRS SE Custom 24 Floyd recently replaced my Gibson Les Pauls as my main gigging guitars.
The SE Floyd is so damn good I just bought another as a backup so now I don't even bring a Gibson as a backup to the gigs.

 

[Dale]

Gibson. I dislike the small fretwire on the PRS.

 

[Stratobuc]

Does it have to be those? Check out Reverend. You may save some money. Great P-90's on my PA-1.

 

[Beakertwang]

Another +1 for Reverend.

Well built, terrific P90s and really versatile with the bass contour control.

 

[LordByron]

Another big +1 for Reverend. I absolutely love my Jetstream 390! (And, yes, the bass countour circuit is awesome!)
Reverend Jetstream 390 and Reverend Tricky Gomez by ByronMGSanford, on Flickr

Another P-90 loaded guitar I have that I absolutely love is my Gibson Midtown. It's sporting a pretty hot set of Lollar P-90s, and let me tell you, it is ready to ROCK!

Gibson '11 Midtown with Lollar P90s by ByronMGSanford, on Flickr

If you a ready to buy a guitar of a lifetime, though, get a Novo Serus J. Hand-crafted by Dennis Fano (formerly of Fano Guitars). This is THE best guitar I have ever played. Period. End of sentence. The Amalfitano P-90s are absolutely perfect. The Mastery bridge gives it sustain for days. The tempered pine body and tempered maple neck resonate like a cello when payed. It is just jaw-dropping in pretty much every way. I would NEVER sell it. In fact, when I die they are either going to have to bury me with it or litterally pry it out of my cold, dead hands! ;^)

New Guitar Day: Novo Serus J in Sonic Blue by ByronMGSanford, on Flickr

 

[seanseanhd]

i run a Peavey 6505 Plus head with the band and a 6505 Plus combo in the practice room i also have a Carvin vintage 50 and the P90's sound great in all amps. Surprisingly good at high gain on the 6505. I have always preferred the clarity of single coils over humbuckers.

 

[Sensates]

I liked mostly of the SE Soapbar Semihollow tha I owned but I hated that stoptail bridge.

Now rockin a 2013 50s Tribute with P90s. Remember to take out those pcb boards and replace with good quality 500k pots (big difference), those P90s are GOOD!

 

[SPROING!]

They're ok.

 

[jbd3]

I know it's frustrating when you ask a question like you did, and TGP says, "play both before you decide!" But the truth is, when you're able to play both, it's usually pretty easy to decide. Mainly for me it comes down to how the neck feels in my hand--shape, finish, frets, etc. If you're not wild about the p'ups, there are probably a dozen amazing deals on used boutique P90s on TGP right now. Lollars are tough to beat, unless you want noiseless, in which case check out Bardens or Fralins. So I'd put feel before tone; tone's easier to change!

PRS quality control and consistency is amazing. The SE line is, in my experience, absolutely the best value in electric guitars. Truly second to none. The SE semi-hollow is great, too.

But Gibsons--yeah, quality control is all over the map! But, I won't pretend it doesn't matter that they say "Gibson" on the headstock. Right now I've got a half-dozen Les Pauls. And a couple other Gibsons, too.... And only one PRS. But I've played some Gibs that were dogs; PRS puts the dogs down before they leave the factory (even the Korea factory).

Happy hunting!

 

[qblue]

I have the Les Paul Studio '60s Tribute in Worn Ebony from 2012. It is a stunning guitar for playability and sound. Its light and resonant as the body is weight-relieved. I fell in love with it in 2012. But I bought it used about a year later. You won't be disappointed. The P90's are a little noisy but the sound is all in your face LP and raucous, which cleans up with a volume reduction.

 

[PCDL1]

If you are in the UK/Europe there's a place doing a great deal on new 2013 model Gibson SG 50's Tributes - reduced from £699 to £399. I picked one up recently.....great guitar and the best price I've seen for a new Gibson -

http://www.guitarguitar.co.uk/electric_guitars_detail.asp?stock=12111615013958