Paul Reed Smith Guitars EG Model

Mine is an EG-4, made in '90 or '91 in the old Virgina Avenue factory. HFS at bridge, 2 slanted Seymour Duncan SSL-2s. WD pots, 3 way switch, coil tap mini toggle for bridge humbucker, locking schaller (PRS)tuners. Nice lavender finish (resprayed). Wide thin neck carve, slab rosewood board, nice medium jumbos. Alder body, looks like 2 piece. OHSC.

I play praise and worship which is a real variety from country/gospel to heavy rock/metal. This guitar covers it all. With humbucker tapped at bridge it's a strat but better. Better because tuners stay in tune, tremolo doesn't go out of tune, better pickups, better pots, better neck (quartersawn maple)etc. etc. PRS discontinued the EG line in '95 because they were losing money on every guitar.Keep in mind all you strat lovers, this is only my opinion. Strats are great guitars. I prefer the PRS 25" scale and radius. Fretwork better (but newer American strats are nice too). But when I switch to bridge HB full, oh Lordy, Lordy. Absolutely crushing. Switch back to neck/middle, and clean Dire Straits strat tones. Very versatile. Very comfortable to play, strat like body contours.

I bought it used and tweaked it to my liking. Please learn to do your own set-ups folks. Jimi did. Plays wonderfully with 10s. Finish not great, but I like that. Mine was refinished which made it more affordable.

Tough, first class throughout. A workingman's PRS.

No idea.

Look what I payed for this guitar. I could have bought a USA strat for $600-$650. IMHO this guitar is far superior. This guitar is handmade to old PRS standards, just awesome. No one will steal it. How do you lose a guitar? Best strat type guitar I've ever had. Well my '59 hardtail was nice too.. but I bought that for $1300 back in '87. I bought this from Elderly in May of '05. It was on consignment. If the former owner reads this, please e-mail me, I'd love to know it's history..

It is an early 90's model, Humbucker/Single coil/Humbucker config., 1 volume, 1 tone(push/pull), PRS trem, graphite nut and PRS locking tuners. Came with a case.

I LOVE the way this guitar sounds. I'll admitt it right off, the reason I sought out a PRS is because I was a HUGE Rush fan and I loved Alex Lifeson's processed sound. I found it used, it was the only PRS I could have afforded at the time, played it, loved it. Two weeks later, I joined a band that played roots rock, southern rock and motown. The PRS just rocks no matter what I ask of it, it just fits. I use it with a pre-CBS Fender Showman Head with 2 15" JBL's, a Peavy Classic 30 and sometimes with a little Vox 15 watt Pathfinder. The single coil settings can hum a little in noisy situations, but nothing out of the ordinary. I get excellent strat tones from this axe!

The reviews for this guitar always say the same thing, it's a PRS. I think that says all that needs to be said about the action and set up. I've never played a PRS that wasn't just a pleasure to play and this guitar is a PRS. Mine is a sunburst with a black pickguard, just a beautiful guitar.

I bought this guitar in 1995 and it has been my main guitar since I bought it. I have gigged throughout that time heavily and it never let me down. The times I had a back up with me were few, but I never needed it. This guitar is my work horse, it gets used all the time, recording, gigs, rehearsals, jamming. I do not baby it and it still looks beautiful and is solid!

I have never dealt with them, but if they want to sponsor me...

I have been playing 23 years, and this guitar has been my everything for the last 8 years of that span. It is my Utopian axe. If I lost it, I would search high and low to replace it.

For people who have not seen it, this is a strat-styled guitar with an alder body and bolt-on maple neck. Electronics consist of three pickups Hum-Single-Hum controlled by one volume and one tone pots. Switching is done with a 5-way selector. This guitar was bought in 1996 at Guitar Center San Diego when they started to carry PRS.

Sound is the most valuable asset of this model. It really is a rock guitar that shines in both classic rock and metal. I play it through a Korg A4 multi-effect going out in stereo to a Mese Boogie 50 Caliber+ and a Vox AC15 with an on/off switch box. The pups are little bit noisy if the environment has a lot of neon lighting. They are also very well balanced. You can go from humbucker to single coil modes without any really discernible drop in volume. Coil-tapping mode is the exception, though, it produces a thinner sound than a Strat.
The bridge pickup is really the jewel in the crown for this guitar. Regardless of the setting of the amps or effects, it stays very focused and well-defined. You can slice through a brass section with it.
The combination of the three pickups produce a fairly versatile guitar. As far as I'm concerned, the EG falls in between the Strat and the Gibson SG. It can be both dynamic and gritty if you have the requisite skills. I love both the humbuckers and the single coil, but not the splits.

When I bought the guitar, action was set up as a bolt-on should be with the action fairly hight at the upper frets, and that's the way I use it. The only change I made is switch from 9's to 10's.
The wide-thin neck is very good. It feels like a Strat neck with a 25-inch scale. The frets are medium fat and smooth. Matching headstock comes with PRS locking tuners which work well. For those who like beautiful guitars, this is not a pretty axe. The alder body is poorly finished. I could not believe that something like this came out of the facility that makes beautiful guitars like the Customs and the Artists. You can see the wood grain under the black paint. Finish dings very easily. The 3-ply pickguard is well cut but poorly fitted. PRS tremolo, loaded with 4 springs, is tight but responsive. Hardware is very solid.

It develops a finish crack near the neck pocket about 2 years after purchase, but this guitar has been played in hundreds of gigs and it has never failed. Although a lot of players complain about loose neck, my EG has a very robust neck joint regardless of how hard I play. Maybe those who have problem with theirs have a mahogany body guitar. Solid tuning, great tones, tough hardware--this is a guitar you can take to any gig and play with complete confidence.

Never have to deal with them

30 years of playing have given me a preference for dynamic sounds such as those that a good Strat can produce. Of course, there are music that need the creamy sound that only a mahogany body/humbucker guitar can give. You have to have two different guitars for any gig. There's no way of getting around that. Beside the forementioned amps setup, my live gig consists of a Strat, Yamaha SG2000, and the EG. The Strat is for the songs that need the hollow and glassy sounds. The Yamaha SG takes care of the "heavy" duties. The EG is used for the more "processed" sounds.
I am a big fan of the Rolling Stones sounds, and this is where the EG does not have the voicing. I guess the only way to get the raw "Keith" tone is to go with a Tele.
By the way, don't pay more than $600 for this guitar. That's about how much it's worth to my ears. Great pickups, great tones, good neck. Everything else is bland.

approx'92-'93 22 frets bolt-on neck H/S/H pickups.Maple three-piece grey/black sunburst.Strat-like in set up with trem.Rosewood neck.V.nice PRS tuners.Pickups hfs humbuckers + single coil,both 'buckers tapped for split coil.5 way switch as strat.

This guitar has a priceless sound;from creamy neck humbucker to punching bridge,but split the coils and its like super strat with attitude,far richer!! I use Fender Blues Deluxe with jan philips tubes,clean tone to die for,but used with bluesbreaker/guvnor/boostkick; SRV/Albert Collins etc come pouring out.The 5 way switch + coil taps give such variety of tones, I can't think of another guitar that offers such quality and variety at this price!!

Only critizism, bolt-on neck prone to movement.Neck fast and comfortable. Good sustain from an axe that is much lighter than Gibson (for those Gary Moore moments)although rather unremarkable to look at.

Its a Prs,I think it stand a bombing, Have you seen how PRS test their necks?!!! I bet Gibson/Fender don't do it!! My guitar has had plenty of abuse/use and is getting better and better.

Have been playing for 30 years. Have wasted far too much money on guitar toys.This baby does it for me,I only own one guitar now and I have had many and tried all pickup options under the sun.The only thing that has come 60% close was a custom USA Strat,but even changing the nut, trem,pickups etc could not produce the quality of this instrument.No wonder they no longer make them,probably far tocostly to build for the price

1991. New squarer shape. Alder body, maple neck, 22-fret rosewood fretboard.Pickups are:Lidy Fralin singles in neck & mid & PRS Vintage Humbucker in bridge. Volume, twin tones, 5-way selector, PRS tremolo, Schaller non-locking tuners.

I play blues, rock & jazz. This baby is extremely versitile! It's not as dark as most PRS's I've played or owned. The Fralin noiseless singles are excellant!!!! VERY Full Rich tones. The only thing you would need outside effects for is metal. The out of phase in some of the switch positions really adds to the tone range. Here I like it all.

Great action fit & finish! Pickups were adjusted correctly, big juicey fretts w/ excellant fit & perfect finish. Hey, it may be a entry level PRS but it's a PRS & looks feel & acts like one!!!

10 years old & still going strong!!!!!

I have delt with PRS many time asking questions about used PRS's before buying & they BEND OVER BACKWARDS & that's to get you to buy a used one...WOW!! I have got to save my pennies & buy new someday!!!!

I will rate this 9.75 as nothing is perfect but this is an incredible deal!!! GET A PRS even if it's an EG there all great!

I believe this Guitar was made in 1988 or 1989. I bought it new in '89 for $800.It's black, It has 22 frets has a solid top(not sure of wood type). The standard strat electronics with one volume and two tone controls and three standard noisy single coils. these are not the Fralin pickups but PRS's own wound single coils and they give you the strat sound to a tee. I have never seen another EG with standard single coils. Also has the PRS trem bridge which is a brilliant piece of work and has held up beautifully over a decade of constant playing.
Has the standard PRS 25" scale which for a strat type guitar takes a little getting used to but works well.

This guitar plays just about any style you could throw at it.Just like the Strat it emulates. Although the scale difference makes the fretboard feel more compact and this like I said takes some getting used to. Especially if you are Fender player to begin with.It has a rosewood fretboard and this gives it a fairly dark and warm sound.The single coils are noisy on positions 1,3 and 5 but the natural humbucking of #2 and 4 are quiet. I can do a convincing " Riviera Paradise " in the #4 position. This guitar oozes great blues tone.
I use Fender combo's and Marshall amps. It really comes alive through the Fenders. Yet still can rock with a Marshall. It really isn't very usefull for real heavy rock and metal even with stompboxes and rack preamps it kind of mushes out at super high gain levels. But for your standard hard rock it works OK. It's strongest suit is definitely blues. A very expressive instrument.

Came with perfect setup from PRS and has had very little adjusting over the years. Just the usual intonating at string changes.I have used big guages and .008's and it handles them all fine.Really no flaws from the factory(ever seen a PRS with a factory flaw?)but after 12 years of play it's got some serious dings in the black finish. To me the wear looks cool. One night at a gig some j

1992 Alder Body, Mauve Finish (?!), White pickguard, Non-Locking Tuners, PRS Tremolo bridge, HFS Humbucker in the bridge, Seymour Duncan Single Coils in neck and middle, 25" scale neck, One volume knob, two tone knobs, 22 fret neck, 5 way switch.
It's an unusual EG as it has the seymour duncan single coils rather than the Fralins. I've never played the Lindy Fralins so I can't say which I like better. Mauve is definitely not a standard prs color... looks pretty cool if you're comfortable enough with you masculinity to be seen with it on stage. :)

I play a range of styles. Mostly funk, blues, and jammy rock (i.e. Little Feat). I play mostly with my fingers rather than a pick ala Mark Knopfler.
I love this guitar. It has been my main axe since I bought it in 1993 and it's never let me down. This guitar really pulls off the strat vibe well though hotter, meatier and with a more over-the-top sound. The sound is ideal for funk, blues, jazz and classic rock. The HFS (Hot fat and screams) humbucker is fantastic. It's meaty and rich and punchy and combines well with the middle pickup. I use mostly the #2 and #4 pickup settings for most stuff, the neck for jazz and some solos, and the humbucker when I really want to slam my amp.

This guitar was set up (action, intonation etc...) very nicely when I bought it and I haven't set it up in nearly 8 years (hundreds of gigs later!) save for a tweak on the truss rod here and there.
The only problem with this guitar is that the tone knobs are wired up incorrectly. There are two tone knobs. One is supposed to controll neck pu tone and and the other is supposed to control middle pu tone. On my guitar, they both control the tone of both pickups. Not a big deal for me and I've never gotten it fixed, but this slipped through PRS quality control...

I've played hundreds of gigs and a thousand+ band practices and studio sessions with this guitar and nothing has broken or worn out on me. Strap buttons, jack, tuners... all in great shape. I've never had the guitar set up or serviced in any way in 8 years. It's a rock.

Never called em...

I've been playing for 12 years. My other electric guitar is an american '62 strat reissue. That's also a nice guitar, but I find the PRS to be a superior instrument for my taste and style of playing. The PRS also has the added versatility of the fat humbucker and the easy access to the highest frets.
I play through a few old fenders (Deluxe Reverb, BF Bandmaster, Bandmaster Reverb, BF Bassman) and through a Boogie studio .22 and always come up with great sounds. Simple effects for me... fulldrive2, Qtron, Vox Wah, Compressor, EH Microsynth. I'll probably get another EG someday.

This is the PRS attempt at making a Strat-like, 3 pickup guitar. Made in 1992, this is one of the earlier EG's. It features a 2 piece alder body (Most later EG's use 3 piece construction), 3 Lindy Fralin silent single coil pickups, 1 volume, 1 tone control. The tone control has a pop-up feature that allows more upper midrange focus on the tone. Cool feature. Tuners never go out of tune. Neck is maple bolt-on with rosewood fingerboard. Frets are Jumbo sized.
Like most PRS guitars, it has all the features you'll need.

I play rock and blues, and have used this guitar extensively over several years in small and medium sized club settings. Typical of PRS guitars, there's no setting that sounds bad! It is VERY versatile across a wide range of strat-like tones, plus the cool set of tones delivered by the midrange selector on the tone control. Only complaint is that it lacks sustain in the upper registers.

Great fit, action, etc. Hey - it's a PRS!
One design quirk I noticed on this model in general is that the neck is TOO flexible and can cause the guitar to sound slightly de-tuned if you put and forward push or backward pull on the neck. While this is true of most guitars to some extent if you really push on the neck, it's MUCH easier - too easy really, on this model. It's a quirk you get used to pretty easily though.

Like a rock. I dropped it on stage once when the strap let go, and have generally NOT pampered this instrument. It's still in great shape in spite of it all!

Excellent (not that it matters now that the model is discontinued.)

An exceptionol value.

Contoured Alder body, Rosewood fretboard, bolt-on thin maple neck, 25 inch scale, 22 semi-jumbo frets, Passive electronics - H/S/S: HFS/Zero Hum/Zero Hum, 1 voulme 2 tone, PRS Tremolo, Dual cutaway. non-locking Schaller tuners, A 1991 model, made in U.S.A.

I play hard Pop/Rock and this is my main guitar. It's a very versatile guitar, I can get pretty much any sound out of it that I need, from hot humbucker sounds to "the Strat using postiton 4" single-coil sound. Very versatile. The natural sound is fairly bright, but not as bright as a humbucker equipped Strat. But definately brighter than a Les Paul. I play it through my Digitech RP-6, Sovtek MIG100 and a MESA Dual-Recto 4-12 cab. Sounds worthy of worship. Righteous.

Top quality. A PRS through and through. Routings and hardware top notch. Pickups AND action set at factory to PRS standards. The only adjustment I had to make is PRS ships all of thier guitars with .009's and I play .008's. That's it. The only thing I've done to the thing in 7 years is adjust the intonation. Other than that, haven't touched it.

I have giged with this thing for a couple of years now, with NO problems. No broken strings, it stays in tune and always sounds great. As I said before, the hardware is great and has held up well. The finish has not worn off at all, and I don't think it ever will. I use a few guitars when I play live, so I always have some kind of backup. But if I had only one guitar, I would have no problems playing with just this one.

E-mail'ed PRS for a new pickgaurd once (I scratched the old one), and never heard back from them. Wound up getting it myself, at a local indie repair shop.

I've been playing for 17 years and play a few other guitars. A Hamer Archtop Gold Top, an Epiphone Les Paul and an Epiphone G-1275. As I said before, my PRS is my main guitar. For alot of reasons. The most important is that it plays like butter. And it just feels great.