Hello Chaps!
I made a little bit of a boo-boo a few weeks ago and bought a Mesa Boogie Electra Dyne as a "spur of the moment" purchase . Don't get me wrong the amp is terrific, but it is just too heavy (weight) and loud for me. I have had both shoulders surgically repaired and must be really careful about what I lift. I bought it from my local music store which I have a very good relationship with, but have never had to return anything before. Just to be clear, there was nothing wrong with the amp, just my decision making. I bought it on a Saturday and got to spend all Sunday worrying about it. I spoke to the owner on the Monday and he was excellent and let me return it and put the money on to my account - nothing wrong with the amp so no chance of a refund, I think he was excellent letting me return it in the first place.
I went back to the store yesterday and had a chat with one of the salesman and said "You know what I've got already, what should I get to go with it" (check my sig for what I've got already). He suggested trying out a PRS. I tried out the following:
-Custom 24
-Custom 22
-McCarty Limited Edition with 57/08 pups
-513
Simply put, I found the Custom 24 and 22 pickups too hot for my tastes and didn't bond with them - they went back on display straight away . I've been salivating over the McCarty in there for months - it's one of the limited editions they produced in 2008 with the special pups and the charcoal burst over quilt . I was expecting great things from this guitar and just couldn't bond with it. I was disappointed with the pickups and the neck just didn't feel right in my hand. I've got a Les Paul with Bareknuckle Mules in it and I think that the McCarty wasn't in the same ballpark as the Les Paul, but too similar to give me a different flavour. It was also a lot of money, which I suspect was for the cosmetics than anything else.
The 513 was a different matter. I actually went home and got my amp and pedals to try this out properly and I ended up using the money on account for the guitar. I suspect this guitar splits opinion quite regularly, but thought I would share my thoughts on it.
Cosmetically - the guitar is a thing of beauty. It's a flame maple 10 top in McCarty Tobacco Burst. However, the pickups are simply butt ugly and spoil the appearance of what is otherwise a work of art. There is no hiding this matter, they are foul.
Construction - typical PRS, faultless. What has blown me away is how much the guitar rings acoustically. It outperforms all of my other guitars in this respect and feels alive in the hands. I'm sure this is why the guitar sustains so well.
Playability - this is where the guitar really starts to shine. The neck is terrific, it's labelled as a Wide Fat, but so was the McCarty and that felt completely different to this. This neck sits in the palm of my hand perfectly, in fact, better than any of my other guitars. I am not a quick player by any stretch of the imagination but my hands move over this neck so comfortably it's untrue.
Sounds - Okay, THIS is why you buy a 513. Before I start waxing lyrical I wish to point out that if you're looking for a Les Paul/Strat hybrid, look elsewhere, this guitar is not it. It doesn't have the meat of a Les Paul, nor the twang and shimmer of a good strat. However, what it does have are terrific singlecoil / vintage humbucker / modern humbucker sounds from one guitar. Each setting is extremely responsive to touch and volume/tone control settings. For the covers band player (which I'm one of) this is an absolute God-send. Barring broken strings, you could go the whole gig on one guitar, covering the whole gamut of typical guitar sounds. What impressed me further was a very useable semi-hollow sound. I'm not kidding when I say how much this guitar resonates and it does allow you to pull off this impossible feat. Pair this guitar with a good tube amp, in my case a Lonestar Special, and you are set.
Suffice it to say, as a player very much in the vintage camp, I never expected to see one of these hanging on my wall. I suppose the moral is "never say never" and don't dismiss something because it doesn't seem right. Until you plug it in, or plug into it, you're never going to know for sure.
I wouldn't mind hearing from other 513 owners as to their thoughts on these fine instruments.
I made a little bit of a boo-boo a few weeks ago and bought a Mesa Boogie Electra Dyne as a "spur of the moment" purchase . Don't get me wrong the amp is terrific, but it is just too heavy (weight) and loud for me. I have had both shoulders surgically repaired and must be really careful about what I lift. I bought it from my local music store which I have a very good relationship with, but have never had to return anything before. Just to be clear, there was nothing wrong with the amp, just my decision making. I bought it on a Saturday and got to spend all Sunday worrying about it. I spoke to the owner on the Monday and he was excellent and let me return it and put the money on to my account - nothing wrong with the amp so no chance of a refund, I think he was excellent letting me return it in the first place.
I went back to the store yesterday and had a chat with one of the salesman and said "You know what I've got already, what should I get to go with it" (check my sig for what I've got already). He suggested trying out a PRS. I tried out the following:
-Custom 24
-Custom 22
-McCarty Limited Edition with 57/08 pups
-513
Simply put, I found the Custom 24 and 22 pickups too hot for my tastes and didn't bond with them - they went back on display straight away . I've been salivating over the McCarty in there for months - it's one of the limited editions they produced in 2008 with the special pups and the charcoal burst over quilt . I was expecting great things from this guitar and just couldn't bond with it. I was disappointed with the pickups and the neck just didn't feel right in my hand. I've got a Les Paul with Bareknuckle Mules in it and I think that the McCarty wasn't in the same ballpark as the Les Paul, but too similar to give me a different flavour. It was also a lot of money, which I suspect was for the cosmetics than anything else.
The 513 was a different matter. I actually went home and got my amp and pedals to try this out properly and I ended up using the money on account for the guitar. I suspect this guitar splits opinion quite regularly, but thought I would share my thoughts on it.
Cosmetically - the guitar is a thing of beauty. It's a flame maple 10 top in McCarty Tobacco Burst. However, the pickups are simply butt ugly and spoil the appearance of what is otherwise a work of art. There is no hiding this matter, they are foul.
Construction - typical PRS, faultless. What has blown me away is how much the guitar rings acoustically. It outperforms all of my other guitars in this respect and feels alive in the hands. I'm sure this is why the guitar sustains so well.
Playability - this is where the guitar really starts to shine. The neck is terrific, it's labelled as a Wide Fat, but so was the McCarty and that felt completely different to this. This neck sits in the palm of my hand perfectly, in fact, better than any of my other guitars. I am not a quick player by any stretch of the imagination but my hands move over this neck so comfortably it's untrue.
Sounds - Okay, THIS is why you buy a 513. Before I start waxing lyrical I wish to point out that if you're looking for a Les Paul/Strat hybrid, look elsewhere, this guitar is not it. It doesn't have the meat of a Les Paul, nor the twang and shimmer of a good strat. However, what it does have are terrific singlecoil / vintage humbucker / modern humbucker sounds from one guitar. Each setting is extremely responsive to touch and volume/tone control settings. For the covers band player (which I'm one of) this is an absolute God-send. Barring broken strings, you could go the whole gig on one guitar, covering the whole gamut of typical guitar sounds. What impressed me further was a very useable semi-hollow sound. I'm not kidding when I say how much this guitar resonates and it does allow you to pull off this impossible feat. Pair this guitar with a good tube amp, in my case a Lonestar Special, and you are set.
Suffice it to say, as a player very much in the vintage camp, I never expected to see one of these hanging on my wall. I suppose the moral is "never say never" and don't dismiss something because it doesn't seem right. Until you plug it in, or plug into it, you're never going to know for sure.
I wouldn't mind hearing from other 513 owners as to their thoughts on these fine instruments.
