Paul Reed Smith Guitars Hollowbody Spruce

Early 2008 Hollowbody Spruce. My model has no piezo; just a volume, tone and 3-way switch. The finish is a beautiful McCarty Tobacco Burst with the standard PRS stop tailpiece. Everything is solid quality and the locking tuners are a dream to use.

Also, the PRS Wide/Fat neck carve is the most comfortable I've ever played.

I bought this guitar to play jazz. I play with Fender amps most of the time.

When I first got the guitar, I liked the sound, but wasn't in love with it. That changed after a month or two, when I installed .11 gauge flatwounds (Thomastik-Infeld Swings). Before, the sound was a little treble-heavy for me, but now it's so fat and warm and big! Tons of dynamics and oh-so beefy! It's now the best-sounding guitar I have ever played (although I have heard others that I liked just as much, I have not played them myself).

The McCarty pickups are a little bright--as I said, the guitar was too bright for me at first--but this guitar (and my other PRS) have the most versatile tone controls I've ever used. The control is useable through 100% of its range. And not just useable, but great-sounding!

Thanks to the superior tone control, this guitar is REASONABLY versatile. It lacks a couple features which would add to the versatility, such as coil taps or separate volume controls for each pickup. The guitar's basic sound is so good, though, that I am perfectly happy getting different tones using only my hands and the two knobs available.

I don't use it with distortion much so I can't really tell you if the guitar handles it well.

One final note: Unlike some other reviewers, I don't think this guitar's sound has anything in common with a 335. I have an Ibanez AF-73 (with Seth Lover pickups), which is a 335 clone, and have played and heard many actual 335s. To me, the 335 has a nasally midrange which is very prominent, and a little more bass response. The PRS, on the other hand, is more tonally balanced and "alive" feeling and sounding, at least to me.

No flaws from the factory. The setup was great, although after I slapped some 11s on there, I lowered the action a bit. It plays incredibly--again better than any other guitar I've ever played.

The finish is beautiful, of course.

What can I say? Perfect, as far as I'm concerned.

This instrument exudes quality. Nothing to say, it's just a solid piece of gear.

Never dealt with the company directly.

I've been playing for about 10 years. Over the course of that time, I've owned a Squire Strat, a Fender Telesonic, a Carvin DC-127, two Ibanez Artcores, this PRS and a PRS McCarty Korina. The HB Spruce is hands down my favorite.

The only problem I have with this guitar is that it does NOT balance well. Until I discovered a solution, I had to press my right arm against the top of the body so that it would stay somewhat stable. Of course this was a horrible detriment to my technique. Eventually I taped a 16 ounce weight to the end of the strap. Now it's perfect, I just have to be a little careful when taking the strap on and off. The guitar is so light that even with the extra weight, it feels lighter than my solidbodies.

If I hadn't been able to balance the guitar, I would be trying to sell it right now. It's that serious a flaw. But since I solved it, I'm still going to give it a good score overall!

Mine is 2008 Hollowbody Spruce with birds and piezo. This one is not with archtop mics but with the other ones, I believe its PRS McCarty humbuckers. Vintage sunburst ->looks killer! Tunung machine works very well, strings are easy and quick to change.

I play many styles and I have 13 guitars (Les Pauls, Strats, Telecasters, Prs McCarty, etc..). This one I use when I need 335 type of sound or an electric and acoustic guitar in same song.
Main amp is Bogner Shiva, sometimes others too (Koch, Fender,etc) I have TC Electronics G-system and then some distortion/overdrive stomp boxes.

Tone is very thick and warm. Not like strat, more like 335. Piezo is just Excellent! I use wound g-string and it sounds more like acoustic that way. It's not the guitar for all situations, but since I have others, I don't mind. Mics works well, not too dark and works with more distortion too. I won't feedback easily, even with higher volumes

Setup was percect when I got it in January 2008 (5 months ago). Top is 10-, but the looks isn't main thing for me. I know how I want my guitar to be set up, and this is just piece of cake.

Don't know about this yet. No problems so far.

No need for contact yet...

I've played for 20 years and I work with guitar professionally. If it were stolen or lost, I'd buy a new one. I'm just afraid I would not find one as good as this one. Favourite feature is piezo, but I love the electric too. It's not cheap, but nothing this good is. I live in Sweden and I had to pick it from Sam Ash Custom Guitars myself, but it was worth it! (no thanks to Sam Ash, I hate that place...)

The spruce top hollowbody represents to me the apex of modern guitar craftsmanship. Aesthetically it is pretty much in a league of its own. For me, it's like looking at a strat and asking myself if any changes could be made to make it better - i don't think there are. The hardware is solid, and the build is delicate and sturdy at the same time. It's incredibly light, which I happen to really like, and I have found the balance to be great. I wouldn't mind having one more tone knob on there, as the electrinics are pretty minimal (one tone, one volume, and a three way toggle - I have the Hollowbody I version). I especially like the very simple bridge, and never have to adjust the intonation! The spruce top is beautiful to behold.

I play roots americana music, rock, and blues with a little jazz, and I got 'Birdie' because I was looking for something with that highly harmonic hollowbody sound that was a new guitar. I've found the sound to be well-rounded, and very unique on the bridge pickup with great note definition and a kind of natural resonant drive all at the same time. This thing basically sounds great. The spruce top adds a warmth that only spruce can deliver, and might I add that I'm pretty sure this is a full hollowbody (no center block, just a small block where the bridge screws in). Great resonance and sustain, it just comes alive in your hands. I got it set up because the actions was a tad low with some buzzing, but it's fine with the higher action, which I need for some slide playing anyways.

The finish is extremely delicate. I'm always careful with it, but it picks up little dings from even the most minor contact. At breaks in the studio or at rehearsal I'll look down and notice a new little ding all the time when I didn't feel it bump anything. I've already taken it to my setup guy once to have a ding filled in. Hey, maybe I'm just not being careful enough, but I don't seem to remember this happening with my old strat. Other than my beef with the finish, which I'm sure is probably light on the spruce top for sonic reasons, this guitar is built with impeccable craftsmanship.

I've really wailed on this thing and never have I broken a string or thought I was pushing it's limits with huge bends. The hardware is solid. Like I said before, it's both delicate and sturdy at the same time. The strap buttons are so huge that it was kind of a pain to get the strap on there the first few times, but I don't worry about the guitar falling off. I do and will continue to gig with it without a backup.

had the guitar since october and have had no problems

Incredible. A very sweet piece of axe.

Ordered new from PRS. Gorgeous vintage natural finish. The locking tuners are fantastic. My guitar stays in tune with no worries during the gig. I don't have the piezo, and I don't think I'd want it, but I would like to try it out sometime. PUPs are PRS Archtop, which are about medium output I'd say. I've ordered some Duncan '59's to put in for a little hotter output.

I play mainly jazz and this guitar suits that perfectly. I get a tone similar to Steve Cardenas, although the guitar has it's own sound. I believe Steve uses a 335. This guitar also sounds amazing for blues. The pickups and hollow nature of this guitar make TS type OD's VERY smooth, and with good volume you can really control the feedback with musical results. I use the guitar with a Roland Cube 60 for jazz and an Ampeg R-12 Reverberocket tube amp for rock. I like everything about the guitar: looks, neck, feel, sound, build quality. I won't be selling this one.

This guitar meets all the PRS hype. Perfect intonation. I'm using the adjustable bridge and .11 guage strings. Great action.

No problems at all. Quality parts all around.

Haven't needed it yet. I think I have a 2 or three year warranty. I'd have to check.

I'm an experienced player, and I would re-buy this guitar in a heartbeat if it were lost, stolen, or damaged. The finest instrument I've owned, hands down. Incredible sound and playablity. Honestly, this is the best investment I've ever made to my sound.

Mine is a late '90s version... before they added the piezo. I actually prefer it this way. Less is more, IMO. Spruce top, mahogany back and sides.

It's obviously very hard to "rate" a sound unless there's a benchmark to measure it against. However, to my ear, this guitar is very musical. Played clean, the middle position (both humbuckers) is very rich, deep, and woody. Very good for blues and some types of jazz. I bought it thinking that I would get a good 335 sound. Not exactly, but it has a special, very "PRS" sound all its own. A little more modern, I suppose, and much brighter. I don't use the neck p/u too often, but with the tone rolled off, it offers some nice bebop tones. The bridge position is just killer. For several months, I played this through a TS9 into a Twin, and didn't seem to turn many heads. It wasn't until I pulled out my 50 watt JCM 900 that it seemed to really find its voice. Since then, I constantly get comments about my tone (most people think its the amp, but it's really the marriage of the guiter and amp that just seems to delve deeper into people's souls). And as others have mentioned, in high-gain territory, this baby will be on the edge of feedback chaos (in a very, very good way). Keep your right palm on the strings so that you can coax the right overtones at the right time. Do it correctly and you will command the attention of everyone in the audience. So, in summary, great woody jazz and clean blues tones, but once you add some crunch, it's all about the bridge p/u. Through a Marshall - killer.

Perfect, of course. That is one thing PRS is known for. Easy 10.

As someone mentioned, this guitar is VERY light - the neck is actually a little heavier than the body which takes some getting used to. Also, I believe the body is completely hollow (no solid centerpiece). Therefore, it gives the impression of being very delicate. That's the nature of the beast - nothing due to worksmanship. Also, I've had one experience with the neck p/u cutting out on me (it only happened once, but I'm sure it was the guitar).

Never dealt with PRS.

I've been playing for about 20 years, and always on Strats. I highly reccommend this axe for those looking for a good, rich, woody tone played clean, and a very midrange focused, thick sound with crunch. If you're looking to use this in more hard rock settings, you will knock'em dead on that bridge p/u. BUT, be prepared to face the feedback issue. In the right hands, it adds a certain dimension that is indispensible. In the wrong hands, it can cause a train wreck!

Its almost a year old, born oct '03, mcarty archtop pickups, tobacco burst, w/ locking tuners - the only reason i give a 9 is because it only comes with a volume and tone control, im pretty picky about that, but, once i started playing the guitar i realized, with this guitar.. it doesnt really matter.. its all increadible... did i meantion its increadably lite?

I play mostly rock, a little jazz, blues, ect. and i play through a vox valvetronix 212. this guitar can provide everything you could really want/ should want. very full rich sound, nothing tinny or thin. great tone/ sustain under full distortion, have no fears about excessive feedback, this baby sustains. one of the quietest guitars i own. This guitar also makes it very easy to dial up good tone. I recomend playing on medium- heavy strings, the heavier the strings the fuller the tone,, i have found.

action, fit all perfect, no dead notes, holds its tune great, intonation perfect, pickups adjusted to perfection .. no flaws to be found

great stuff, the pots work seemlessly, no noise, everything seems very solid

im the 2nd owner.. and im pretty sure PRS only can deal w/ the original owners

this is the 10th guitar me and my dad have collected, and by far the most increadible, i have heard rumors before i purchased this PRS that they are highly over rated, i remember the first thing i said to my friend was that the rumor is completely false, PRSs are well renounded for a reason... quality... I chose this guitar because i knew that if i were to get a new guitar i would want a hollowbody, and i knew that spruce is an incredeably resounding wood, so when i read up about the PRS hollowbody i knew that was the one i was going to get. .... this guitar makes me want to play more.... not much else to say...

2003 PRS McCarty Hollowbody Spruce
22 frets
Piezo system
Archtop Pickups
Mahogany back, sides, neck, Indian rosewood fretboard, Spruce top
Antique burst finish
Ebony tuners w/ PRS locking tuners

The tone for this guitar is absolutely perfect, rich, woody, smooth tone. With amp overdrive or TS-9, the tone is so good with easily controlled feedback. I had a McCarty solidbody, but this hollowbody is what a McCarty is really about. Very versatile for blues, rock, jazz, fusion. I play blues rock and it is exactly the tone I was hoping it would be. The archtop pickups are similar to seymour duncan antiquities in output - just right !!! not to hot/muddy not to thin - perfect.

PRS guitars are always outstanding quality. The spruce top, to me, looks every bit as good as a curly maple top, but with the added benefit of warm tone.

Excellent!!!

Excellent!!!

I've played guitar for 28 years and I own a Gibson Les Paul Classic, Fender Strat Ultra, Carvin Tele. I must always be with this guitar or another one identical. I love everything about it, but especially the tone, tone, tone! Playability is great. The other nice feature is the weight - only 5.5 lbs - feels so good, can play for hours! Its the best PRS model in my opinion. Its my new favorite guitar.

The only problem with the features of this guitar is that there is only one volume and one tone knob. My guitar came with the piezo pickup which can be played seperately, mixed or in stereo with the magnetic pickups. The locking low-mass tuners making changing strings easy, and rarely go out of tune. As far as tone woods go, you can't get any better than solid spruce, mahogany and brazilian rosewood. In came with a leather case(crushed vevlet interior), extra parts(screws, a wrench etc....) and a PRS dvd. The hardware and everything else is top of the line.

There are literally a million possibilities between the piezo/magnetic pickups, amp settings and any effects I might use. This guitar has a great clean, lush tone. It has a very even mix of lows, highs and mids, though tends to be a little brighter than I expect, I am often susprised how bright it sounds through an amp like a polytone. I use various fender tube amps and newer polytones and it's remarkable how similar the guitar sounds through these every different amps. I have also found the volume knob to be very sensitive, any position has a very different tone the lower volumes sounding more acoustic. The piezo really does sound exactly like a bigger flat-top acoustic(amplified by a piezo). I have never liked how piezos have sounded on flat-tops and I don't use it alone on my PRS much but mixed with the magentic pickup, its GREAT. As a whole, this guitars tone has a clarity the most electric guitars lack.

Perfect, I examined it very closely and never found a problem. Quailty control isn't a problem for PRS.

Like a Rock. (Did I mention it's built like a rock?) I must admit I haven't yet "wailed" on it live(rock) but it just feels solid, I'd never bring a backup.(maybe for the polytone)

Never had to contact PRS.

These guitars aren't cheap, but I can honestly say I got what I paid for. Other mass producers, Gibson in paticular, are selling guitars that simply aren't as good for the same amount of money. Anyone who is paying $2,000-$3,500 for a 175 or 335 is getting robbed!(Demand and reputation has raised the price, not quailty or input costs) They are nice guitars but they are made out of plywood and frankly plywood doesn't have the harmonic quailties of solid spruce(humans have know this for hundreds of years now). Aesthetically, it is a beautiful instrument. I would probably buy another if i had to part with it, or I'd have a similar handmade instrument built. If you are planing on purchasing a new, top-line-guitar, you need to try this model before you make a decision.

Bien. Lo unico (aunque a mi no me molesta) es que solo tiene un boton para volumen y tono de las dos pastillas en vez de uno para cada una.
Venia con funda dura de cuero. Impresionante funda, es como un guante
no puedo imaginar nada mejor para guardarla.

Impresionante, increible, redondisimo. Yo toco blues y jazz. Nunca he tocado heavy. Tengo tambien una Gibson 335 Studio y una G&L Asat Special. Creo que ya no las voy a necesitar. Esta guitarra vale para tocar lo que sea. En agudos consigues un impresionante sonido blues madera (tipo Gibson Firebird usado por Clarence Gatemouth Brown). En medios tienes un tono mas tipo Les Paul, y en graves un redondisimo y autentico sonido de guitarra de caja. Mi guitarra tiene el puente piezo electrico. Creo que este timbre solo me va a servir mezclado con el de las pastillas, porque el solo suena como a guitarra espa?ola electrificada.
Puede sonar a cualquier tipo de Gibson, desde L-5 a Firebird pasando por Les Paul, hasta Grescht o Guild o lo que quieras.
Aunque tengo la guitarra solo desde hace unas dos semanas, creo que el sonido piezo puro no lo usare.
La he probado con varios amplis: Koch, mi Mesa Boogie,Rocktron Taboo Artist (pedalera con preamplificador) conectado a mi mesa de mezclas, Peavey. Da igual a donde conectes la guitarra, suena a gloria en todos.
No provoca nada de ruido, y no se acopla (feedback) a menos que tu quieras.
En resumen, es como tener muchas guitarras (de las mejores) en una sola.
La puntuo con un 10 porque no hay mas, si no, le daba un 15. MARAVILLOSA.

La guitarra venia de fabrica muy bien ajustada, aunque con alguna tonteria, por ejemplo, las tuercas de los switch un poco flojas.
Traia un juego de cuerdas 11-50 con la tercera entorchada. Las cambie inmediatamente por unas Gibson Vintage 11-50, suenan mas contundentes, pero creo que con un juego del 10-46 sonaria un poco fina, con poco cuerpo, pero mas incisiva, quizas algun dia lo pruebe.
Las cuerdas vienen ajustadas con una buena altura hasta el diapason, para mi, lo mejor del mundo, no me gusta que esten muy pegadas al mastil.
La afinacion es impresionante. No se escapa ni un armonico. Perfecta.
Las pastillas, en cambio, las tuve que ajustar un poco, porque cojen mas se?al de las cuerdas finas (sin entorchar) que de las gordas.
Ideal para fingerpicking: Blind Blake, Bach, Robert Johnson, Taj Mahal, Pat Metheny etc.

La tengo desde hace poco. No se si es delicada. Hay que tener el cuidado normal para un instrumento de caja, pero parece dura y muy fiable.
Los botones de enganchar la correa son muy gordos, no creo que nunca se me caiga.
La usare en todos mis conciertos. No necesito mas guitarras.

Muy muy bien. La compre a traves de Internet en USA, en Willcutt Guitar Shoppe. Me atendio Brandon (gracias por todo) a traves de e-mail. Desde que les ingrese el dinero hasta que la tenia en casa (Madrid) solo paso una semana.
Aqui en Madrid, valia casi tres veces mas que en Willcutt, y tardaban casi un a?o en entregarmela.
Creo que no necesitare mas guitarras, pero si alguna vez compro otra, sera en esta tienda.

Llevo tocando unos 25 a?os y muchos tipos de musica: Blues, Rock, Pop, BeBop, Bossa.
Nada mas cogerla, me enamore perdidamente de ella. Aunque tiene un mastil un poco mas ancho de lo que estoy acostumbrado, no tarde nada en tocar con absoluta comodidad.
Lo dice todo el mundo, y es verdad. Esta guitarra es una joya, hecha con mucho cari?o, y sirve para tocar cualquier tipo de musica.

My PRS was made a few years ago and I got a gret del on it because it was dropped in the store and had a few very minor dings. One thing about this insturment: it's fairly delicate, you gotta be careful with it(that should'nt come as a suprise to anyone who owns a guitar as expensive as this one). I give the feature a seven because it has only one vol. knob. Some players may like this but I personally prefer the versatility of a vol. knob for each pickup. My only other quib with this insturment: the volume control really takes off the high end when you roll it back. Again, some players may like this but I certainly don't and I am currently looking into getting the volume pot replaced. Other than that this guitar has every feature you need. It stays in tune well and it plays great. Another reviewer said he didn't think the spruce top model looked as nice as the maple ones...I disagree. To me this guitar has a much more "woody" and "natural" look to it than some "AAAAA++++++" whatever topped guiatrs do.

In my opinion this guitar sounds incredibly unique. I used to own a les paul and I currently own an L-5 and this guitar is somewhere inbetween. You can coax it into controlled feedback very easily but it doesn't speal at high volumes like my L-5. I have tried a bunch of the McCarty hollowbodies and I think the spruce top model sounds the best. Honestly, I tried a full depth hollowbody version with a maple top and my small spruce top version kicked it's ass. It sounded way fuller and fatter and still retained some of the maple version's top end zing. I remarkable guitar in every respect.

Well this guitar came stock with a string set of tens on it and really low action: it sounded awful. Once I raised the action and pout a set of 13's on it it sounded great. A word of warning about this guitar: it sounds like a piece of shit with the standard light gague strings/low action combo. You must put some substancial strings on it it make it sound good. Trust me...

Very reliable insturment but again, not incredibily durable. I have dropped it a few times and it has left minor dings on it. You gotta be careful with this guitar.

A really wonderful guitar. If you're looking for something that sounds like a paul inbred with a L-5, plays beautifully, looks great, and stays it tune look no further. If you like to play Yngwne Malmsteen with .08 gague strings, forget it. This guitar sucks for that type of stuff.