So first off, thanks for the tip on "Glengarry Glen Ross". The scene where the guy comes in the next day because his wife was upset and his purchase was really good. Evil Netflix then recommended "Taxi Driver" which I had never seen - another good flick with a really young Robert De Niro, and then "Reservoir Dogs" - one of my personal faves!!
So I was successful in avoiding my guitars on Friday night :-).
Anyway, I have settled on keeping this guitar (cue applause!). I've realized that I can deal with the reach by changing the guitar's position. No biggie. The silky smooth fretboard, neck, and frets make up for any reach issues.
What really convinced me was I played the PRS a bit - bridge humbucker, neck humbucker, and so on. Then I picked up my LP and played some of the same stuff and had an immediate moment of "oh, that's what it's supposed to sound like!!". A bit dejected, I picked up my PRS, selected the same pickup and played the same riff, and it sounded almost identical. Flipped guitars again and now everything seemed on a pretty even keel...except I could kick in the coil splits at get a little edge in there.
It just goes to show you have to keep repeating the experiment until you see consistsency in results!
So now I can put the debate aside and just really learn what this puppy can do!
So thanks for your indulgance in helping me sort this out!
In the process, I discovered a cool movie!
Cheers!