Which PRS for me?

Sounds like a Standard 24 would fit the bill very well. A McCarty would be a great choice too.

The Standard has more gain on tap, but it also has more clarity than the McCarty. Both would do you fine, I'm sure everyone will have a different opinion.

 

For some real clarity, check out a Swamp Ash Special or, if you prefer 24 frets, a Johnny Hiland model. Great guitars.

A McCarty is also a good place to look. Huge sounding instruments.

--chiba

 

I think the 2nd vid. is their new model the DGT, which is similar to a McCarty but w/ diff. specs...I have a McCarty & it fits your descriptions quite well...when you tap the p-ups, you get a nice snappy Strat sound, but a fat one, which is what I was after. A Custom or Standard, as mentioned however, will be a bit brighter/snappier in my experience. The McCarty is closer to an LP than a Custom or Standard, but really is it's own beast. Try some out & let your ears do the picking out!

 

Go play them all and find out what fits for you. What could be more fun than that? I've got a McCarty with Z-90s and I think it fits your high level requirements. but "your" tone is really in the details.

 

I love the tone I get from My 20th Anniversary CE24 with an antique yellow matched maple top

 

I'd go with one of the Korina Mcartys. Sounds like it would fit the bill perfectly.

 

I came to PRS, from a Tele and Strat background. I did not want anything sounding like a Les Paul. I currently play a Swamp Ash Special, Standard 22 and an SE Soapbar II maple. My next guitar will be a Korina McCartey or McSoapy. YMMV.

 

That first video is a Custom 22 with Dragon 2 pickups.
The second video, not sure what the first guitar being played is, but you can clearly hear Paul introduce the new McCarty 2 with the new MVC (master voice control) as the next guitar being demoed.

PRS guitars are extremely versatile oweing to Paul's original vision of carrying one guitar to a gig and playing it the whole night.
His lineup now offers more variety than the original 24 fret models.
From your description of your needs, there's lots to choose from in the PRS line:
Custom 22
Standard 22
McCarty
Swamp Ash Special...
probably more, but that's a great start.

 

Sounds like a Custom 22 would be your best bet to start out. Rest assured there will be more! They're addictive.

 

Custom 22:AOK

 

1st vid is a CU22......The 2nd vid Mike's playing a SC245 at first then changes over to a "New" McCarty II w/MVC. Take into consideration that Mike has tone ooozing from his fingers and also he's playing thru one of Paul's Private Stock amps. Not only does the guitars sound great,but that amp is to DIE FOR !!!!!! I get so sick of the PRSi being labeled as sterile,lacking this or that......I'm a pretty good judge of tone and they consistantly floor me as far as playability,fit/finish and tone!!!! Go play them all.....you won't need to sort thru 20 or 30 to find a "GOOD ONE" :AOK

 

Lots of good advice above :AOK.

I have a Custom 22 w/P90's and a maple neck - it can be spanky clean or it can growl and sizzle; tough to find that combination in one guitar. I also enjoy my IRW McCarty, this guitar is not only a tone monster but is a dream to play with the rosewood neck. Also worthy of note all my PRS'i are stock :moon, how many folks keep their Gibbys and Fenders stock, I rarely do? My third and last PRS is a Hollowbody w/Dragon II's, that guitar is a freakin monster and was a big surprize when after owning it for several years decided to actually plug it in to see if it worked and WOW....it's so understated being a 10 top and back so beautiful...one would assume it was just a pretty sounding little jazz box ....you should hear it playing a little ZZ top .

 

When I saw the word "growl" I thought of the Johnny Hiland. Here it is clean:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UDaaXwkV7mY

Here's some growl:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MXF7ljTSvvo

 

Sounds like you're describing a McCarty with P-90s.

 

All of the suggestions so far are great. Also check out the Singlecut Trem if you can find one. The best advice is to play a bunch of different models of theirs, find the one that feels and/or sounds the best for you, and go with that. If you love the feel but aren't too happy with the pickups, don't pass the guitar up. You can swap the pickups and have incredible results. I know lots of guys that have done this if they've been unhappy. A lot use WCRs.

 

The new DGT David Grissom is just starting to ship. This guitar is the culmination of a lot of R&D work, and fulfills its promise (just to be candid, I love all things PRS and own two really great ones). I'd strongly suggest a listen. Cool thing with PRS is all their models sound good, and as one poster mentioned, you don't have to run the racks to find a good one. (Just setup a Gibson EDS1275 Jimmy Page doubleneck the other day; why should a $8K guitar need two and a half hours worth of work to play properly?) Enjoy shopping!-Eric

 

Get anything with a rosewood neck.

I will possibly never buy another guitar without one.