And you thought this was done... :-).

Ugh! After using my PRS more, I noticed a pronounced hum. Once I noticed it, it was driving me crazy...it would go away when I touched metal on the guitar, except that touching the pickup height screw on the neck pickup made it even louder!

This all coincided with my band gig imploding.

So to cut to the chase, the PRS has gone back and I'll be getting a 2013 Les Paul Standard Plus in it's place. They had a closeout deal going on with a demo model that was really hard to ignore :-). If this works out, my faded LP Studio will go on Ebay. That will make my wife happy - only 2 guitars instead of 3.

In the end, the PRS was going to be my gigging guitar. One guitar would give me the tonal variety I needed on stage. It was also super light and comfortable to play. Honestly though, as far as tone goes, the LP is more appealing to me for humbucker tone.

So once the band gig vaporized, my need for this guitar went away too. Add to that the hum issue, I didn't need any more hints that this guitar wasn't for me at this point in time.

I'm aware of the issues that Gibson has with tuning stability and strings binding in the nut, but I know how to deal with them...it's a known quanity.

If this guitar doesn't work out, I will send it back and crawl back into my hole with the 2 guitars I have at the moment :-). Buying guitars is supposed to be fun, isn't it? :-).

If another band gig arises for me, I will definitely consider a PRS again. There's no arguing the quality and playability (hum issue aside...that appears to be an anomoly). Perhaps it's a generational thing - all of my guitar heroes played fenders and gibsons, so that's the tone the appeals to me.


Another interesting aside if you've made it this far...it's pretty sad that it's become more appealing to shop for a guitar online that in the store. My last trip to Guitar Center here was eye opening. The guitars I picked up were so man handled, they should have been sold as "used" IMO. The selection was also very limited. Smaller mom and pop shops only seem to carry lower end models. It is more economical and less frustrating for me to buy online and compare guitars...even if it means having to pay return shipping! Places like Sweetwater know what they are doing...good for them.