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1957 GT, 59' Burst compared to 2019 PRS by Tim Pierce & Howard Leese

marshall1987

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Jan 30, 2005
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3,278
Yeah that's a really good guitar shootout, however, listening to the different guitars and pickups on an iMac Pro w/ tiny little speakers, I couldn't distinguish any difference between the different guitars and pickups. I may connect my Beats Solo headphones any listen again.

I owned a 2003 PRS McCarty Brazilian back in 2004 and never bonded with the guitar at all. The McCarty humbucking pickups sounded compressed and lacked sparkle, detail, and brilliance as you normally obtain with a premium PAF replica or vintage PAF. The McCarty humbucking DCR measured around 8 kOhms as I recall.

Whether or not PRS sponsors Tim Pearce or not is moot. It was Howard Leese that played the different guitars and offered his personal assessment of each.

I was surprised to learn that Paul Kossoff's '59 Les Paul (owned by a private party) has an original old Seymour Duncan pickup installed decades ago in England when Kossoff owned the guitar. Howard Leese said that SD pickup is very hot.
 

au_rick

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Mar 18, 2010
Messages
871
As much as I rate PRS guitars, and that one sounds great, to me the '59 has that "je ne sais quoi" in the neck position that only a burst will ever have
YMMV :hank
 

hogy

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Nov 4, 2005
Messages
715
Listening on a real system, they don't really sound that similar.

And, is anybody familiar with that '59 and especially that '57? They look really, uhm, clean.


That video is strange...
 
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AA00475Bassman

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Apr 26, 2016
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I'm more confused after listening , I really feel these Pepsi test's are pointless I'm certainly not going to form a opinion from someone playing a demo I would need to play both . I yet to play a PRS I want to buy !
 

Daytripper67

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May 15, 2015
Messages
166
Listening on a real system, they don't really sound that similar.

And, is anybody familiar with that '59 and especially that '57? They look really, uhm, clean.


That video is strange...

Howard says in the video that he traded a Pick up truck for the 59 in the late 70s.
 

korus

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Jan 18, 2003
Messages
636
Both '57 and '59 have Grovers. Even Kossof's '59 has Grovers. That make them all closer to tone of PRS. And surely the closest they get is at the start of the clip played, produced and mixed by Tim - almost no gain, mixed with 'adjusted' EQs to bring them closer etc.

It is always the same - modern guitar has greater difference in tone neck vs bridge than stock originals, neck on modern is always a bit muddier than neck on originals and bridge on modern is always thinner than bridge on originals. Modern always have spankier tone with more treble less mids, and in this clip also. Vintage original vs modern timbre has always been very close, almost the same tone for almost all of general population. Modern guitars have wood and electronics similar enough. Hardware on modern is wrong - wrong alloys, and too hard.

However, play it loud at gig level and there is no comparison. Modern is always inferior to stock original. But, nice try this clip.
 

marshall1987

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Jan 30, 2005
Messages
3,278
Listening on a real system, they don't really sound that similar.

And, is anybody familiar with that '59 and especially that '57? They look really, uhm, clean.


That video is strange...

Just a hunch....Norm's
 

El Gringo

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Apr 8, 2015
Messages
5,657
I'm more confused after listening , I really feel these Pepsi test's are pointless I'm certainly not going to form a opinion from someone playing a demo I would need to play both . I yet to play a PRS I want to buy !
I have yet to play a PRS as well and I really don't care to either ( I know I should open my mind and try one , but I just don't have any desire as the Les Paul does everything I want )
 

asapmaz

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Jun 19, 2003
Messages
302
I just don't understand why two well-respected musicians would even imply that this is a real test comparing "50's" guitars to modern PRS...
 

JPP-1

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Jul 11, 2006
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1,336
I listened to the vid through ATC's in a treated room and also though reference electrostatic headphones. Both I'd consider accurate transducers. The first clips sound overly processed and lack any kind of depth. The later clips are a little better. Bottom line the guitars sound more similar than not. Interesting video I guess.

What I don't understand is why some people get so defensive when videos are posted that don't seem to vindicate a point of view that there is some great tonal chasm either between Les Paul and PRS or new and vintage Les Pauls, etc. As if is wasn't about Jimmy, Duane, Eric or Pete but rather the tool they used.

Back to the video, while each guitar in that video has its unique tone, there is no easily identifiable qualitative difference between them. I could make stuff up, attack the recording gear, the amp, pretend my ears or so cultured that they can discern nuances that even elude canines but I think I'd just be kidding myself.

And really, what difference does it make anyway? I like Les Pauls, I like my Les Pauls. I don't want a PRS. No video will persuade me otherwise. I don't feel my Les Pauls are less good. I'm not threatened by some video that I feel a need to discredit it. At the end of the day, maybe the PRS aren't tonally as shallow, flat, uninspiring and derivative as I liked to believe even if their styling still is.
 

AA00475Bassman

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Apr 26, 2016
Messages
3,769
As I said yesterday I'm confused this video is something ........ Red Green show the faux Burst really looks like my 98 R8

Confused
 

sws1

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Joined
Dec 4, 2001
Messages
2,846
It's marketing...plain and simple. Doesn't need to be accurate...just needs to sell PRS guitars.

The internet puts too much faith in many of these YT videos done by people with hundreds of thousands of followers.
 
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