Paul Reed Smith Guitars Johnny Hiland

Mine is a 2007 Model in Royal Blue, no 10 top. Features have been described below. I give it a 10 because it's so versatile. The coil tap on the neck pickup is the best sounding single coil from a humbucker I've ever heard. The bridge pickup is also very versatile. Never heard a bridge pickup that can go from shimmering clean to metal with great harmonics. The neck card is also great since you can't get a regular carve on a new CE 24.

Sound is very versatile. It's obviously built to get a more Fenderish clean sound with the maple neck and pickups. It does that sound really well. Hard to tell it's not a Tele with the coil tap engaged in the middle position. The neck single coil can get a good strat type tone with the tone rolled back a little. It's close, but not exact. Probably because of the 24 fret neck. With the full neck humbucker engaged it gets really good clean jazz type tones. The guitar can cover just about all the sounds of a regular PRS Custom or CE 24. I had an older CE 24 with the alder body and this thing does the Fender sound much better. Must be the pickups.

No issues to speak of but I did buy it used. I did have to tweak the truss rod a little, but I live in the great white north so a couple of adjustments a year is expected. Everything else was perfect. No issues with the finish or fretwork.

No issues expected. This is my 3rd PRS and never had any issues with any of them. Would always have a backup, but that's just an excuse to buy more PRSi. If I had to change one thing, it would be a mini toggle to replace the push-pull tone for the coil tap. I just think that's a more stabile setup.

I bought it used, but I've never had any issues with PRS custom support.

I've been playing for 17 years and owned lots of guitars. This one is certainly one of the most versatile. I wouldn't use it for metal, but I have a PRS Tremonti for that. For everything else, this can cover it. If I had to only take one guitar to a gig, this would be it.

2007 model. The 3-way toggle is great. The tone push-pull splits the neck pickup, and sounds nice. The 10-top cherry-burst is nice.
The bridge pickup delivers as advertised. It cleans up nicely when you turn the volume down, has the country spank, and rock sustain. I do like the pickups. The neck and frets feel nice.

Versatile, just as advertised. Plenty of sustain and fullness, yet clean enough to play country.

Major flaw: notes on the G string around the 12th fret die out prematurely. All the other Hiland models in the store did the same thing, and Custom 24 did it also. Another reviewer found a similar issue with his PRS
http://www.ultimate-guitar.com/reviews/electric_guitars/paul_reed_smith/mccarty/index.html

The tech said nothing could be done about it. I talked to a different tech, and he said sometimes it is a matter of incorrectly-crowned frets, and sometimes it can be a bridge or tailpiece that harmonically interferes with the note.

I also found that something in the springs would rattle/buzz when I played a low E. The tech put some foam in and that stopped it.

The finish was great.

The factory set up was not great. The nut needed to be filed, and the neck needed adjustment. The other guitars in the store all had different action and setup.

Never had it long enough to tell how durable it was. It seemed well constructed. I would have used it on a gig without a back up.

It was under warranty and within the store return policy. I had it 5 days, 4 of which were in and out of the repair room.
I emailed PRS customer support, but he couldn't really respond to the issue without playing the guitar. His reply was quick, which I appreciated.

I have played for 30 years, and have never run into this problem,
and wouldn't have expected it on a PRS.
Since the tech at the store said nothing could be done about the note-dying issue, I let it go at that, and didn't feel like having to run around consulting other techs. I felt like I had spent a lot of money and was let down, so I returned it.

This guitar is beautiful - easily the best looking guitar I have ever seen. I have the whale Blue, 10 top. And the locking tuners are unbeatable.

The key here is versitility. I don't like to carry a bunch of guitars, but I play everything - jazz, rock, country, etc. This guitar does it all, and does it well. Nothing, but nothing, beats the bridge humbucker. And the split mode, bull bridge humbucker and split neck humber, gives you a sound that rivals a classic strat, and with a distinguishing sound of it's own. Want Les Paul? Pull the treble pot up and you and you can have both humbuckers, or a single bridge or neck. Oh, and I almost forgot. Split the neck pickup and you'be got blues like you would not believe. Make no mistake, as an owner of Strats, Jazzmaster, etc., this guitar is the first one I have ever seen that really does it all!

Intonation - perfect. Action - unbelievable. Pickup balance - perfect. I have owned a number of guitars, but this is the one that finally is what I have been looking for. PRS builds a quality guitar, and boy is it fun to play!

The only guitar I will take to gigs. It will last, and I do not need a backup!

I had a Swamp Ash (another great guitar!) before I go the Johnny HIland. When I had questions, I quickly got accurate answers. Listen, these guys care. Paul Smith is a player and wants you happy! You will be!

I have played forever. If this guitar were stolen, I would cry until I got a replacement. There is nothing the Johnny Hiland lacks. As to favorite features - it begs to be played and sounds like anything you want it to.

USA-made, dated 10/06. Dark cherry burst, flamed maple top, mahogany body, gloss finish, typical PRS double-cutaway CE/Custom body dimensions; 24-fret maple neck with Johnny Hiland neck profile-- think Fender C shape with PRS wide-thin profile above the 12th fret. Also, Fender-esque black fret markers. 2 Hiland-specified PRS humbuckers. 3-way blade PUP switch located where PRS tone pot usually goes; push-pull tone knob where PRS usually puts the PUP selector

Remember when the PRS Swamp Ash Special came out and everyone raved about it sounding like a Strat? And, in comparison to previous PRS' I suppose it did. But, not really. Yes, the maple neck, ash body and split humbucker pushed it in that direction, but with the humbuckers full bore, it still was a PRS. Well, the same deal here: Of course, Johnny Hiland is the best of the best -- able to transcend his country origins and amaze people with blues...rock...shredding...whatever he puts his mind to! But his "sound" starts with Telecaster-based country playing, and so does the PRS Johnny Hiland. Consider: with the tone pot down, the neck pickup is split. The resulting Fender-like sounds fit perfectly with Johnny's prediliction for snappy, Tele-flavored chicken pickin' and clean country comping. One nice surprise, however, is that -- with the tone pot up or down -- you always have a full-on bridge humbucker that sounds more searing than ice-pick-like. To me, that's an advantage over a trad Tele. But there's much more to the Hiland model. With the tone pot up, welcome back to the PRS neighborhood. No, the Hiland model is not quite as dark, heavy and sustain-laden as a Singlecut. But it also offers more noticeable single note articulation and attack thanks to the maple neck and custom-wound pickups. A lot of guitars make a case for versatility these days, but the Hiland PRS really delivers. For Hiland fans, this PRS can deliver the sound you know and love...that's a big surprise coming from PRS. For PRS enthusiasts interested in a reason to add another PRS to their collections, this is a new and unique sound for PRS, and I've tried or owned all the 6-string models except for the 513. None of them go here. For Fender Tele fans, the Hiland model is another take on a familiar sound with another guitar-maker's trademark personality built-in! Yes, it's pretty cool!

It's a PRS. No major guitar manufacturer exceeds their craftsmanship and quality, and that's said unhesitantly as I sit among a room-full of fine custom shop guitars.

Proven over many, many years. PRS once agin is unsurpassed in reliability and durability.

Over many years of purchasing guitars, I found PRS people to be very customer-oriented.

I'm old. I own lotsa great stuff that I play as often as I can. At this point, there's gotta be something truly unique about a guitar to interest me. In this case, Hiland's playing is surely unique. I liked his rationale for the mods he and PRS made to the existing PRS design -- available in a number of interviews you can find online. The neck profile is more conducive to speed (or in my case, taking the easy way up the fretboard) than the PRS wide-fat profile, and the thinned-out upper register makes access even better on an already exceedingly accessible upper end of the neck. Also, for those of you have never given it a go, a 24 fret guitar really sounds different than a 22 model. Paul Reed Smith built his company and reputation on the 24-fret guitar, and it's worth finding out for yourself why it's such a great design. Likewise, the PRS bolt-in design makes glued-in vs. bolt-on comparisons irrelevant, and it allows for a more affordable PRS that doesn't sacrifice sustain one iota. All in all, Johnny Hiland and PRS built a damn fine guitar that's worth your time to find and play. I found mine at Magdon's -- unsurpassed in service among a top-notch PRS dealer group. And, if something happened to the guitar tonight, I'd be calling Jack to order another tomorrow.