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Post by earthbalm on Apr 7, 2016 20:08:09 GMT
I've just returned from a visit to York and took a trip to WildWire music store in Selby specifically to try out their PRS Angelus acoustic. What a beautiful looking and sounding guitar. Two of my favourite guitarists (Martin Simpson and Tony McManus) play the PRS Angelus so I wanted to know just why they endorse them. I tried the standard version rather than the Artist / Private Stock models. An all round brilliant guitar but it has to be said that the neck is a very hefty / meaty piece of wood.It didn't take along to get accustomed to it but it is a sizeable piece of timber. Does anybody else have any experience playing the model? Cheers, Dale
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Post by jackorion on Apr 8, 2016 6:08:16 GMT
I've played Martin Simpson's guitar when he popped into the shop once.
It was... 'alright'. Very well made but it felt heavy and like it needed a fairly heavy hand to get it going. Obviously it sounded amazing in Martin's hands but it seemed a bit dead to me.
But, you know, horses for courses and all that!
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Post by earthbalm on Apr 8, 2016 7:52:44 GMT
I think that you're probably right. It certainly sounded great when you made the physical effort to get the strings moving. It's just a complete change from the neck of the Brook and even my Avalon which has a good 'solid' neck.
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alig
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Post by alig on Apr 8, 2016 7:58:25 GMT
I've heard from others who have played Simpson/McManus models that they've been underwhelmed by them.
Maybe they're 'gigging guitars' that are built to stand the rigours of touring...?
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Post by ianlp59 on Apr 8, 2016 10:27:50 GMT
I've played Martin's PRS guitars and they are very good. Obviously he gets the Private Stock models which tend to be built from superior materials. Rather than get a PRS, I decided to have Steve Fischer build me a guitar. Steve was responsible for the design of the current range of PRS acoustics and I'm very pleased with the results. MS has played it and described it as a killer guitar, so I am kind of happy.
Last year I played on stage in Sheffield with Martin, Andy Cutting and Roy Bailey - the gig was for Roy's 80th. I borrowed one of Martins PRS guitars for the gig and was totally blown away by the live sound. Martin's PRS guitars have two pickups which get routed through a D-Tar Solstice pre-amp via a stereo cable. The Solstice allows you to blend the two signals to your requirements. Martin spent a lot of time with PRS in getting the pickup system right and I think it has paid off. Obviously for a touring professional musician your live sound is really very important.
Cheers,
Ian
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Akquarius
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Post by Akquarius on Apr 9, 2016 16:36:20 GMT
Does anybody else have any experience playing the model? I did. I played this guitar. It was part of a blind-testIf you don't want to go through the whole thread, just read the 8th post.
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Post by earthbalm on Apr 9, 2016 16:47:00 GMT
Interesting test, thanks for letting me know and pointing the way to the thread and posts. I visited a well known musical instrument store in Bristol today and tried several high-end Taylors. They were not to my liking at all but playing an instrument is such a subjective experience and I know many others would have loved them.
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Post by vikingblues on Apr 12, 2016 19:03:07 GMT
I've played Martin Simpson's guitar when he popped into the shop once. It was... 'alright'. Very well made but it felt heavy and like it needed a fairly heavy hand to get it going. Obviously it sounded amazing in Martin's hands but it seemed a bit dead to me. But, you know, horses for courses and all that! That's my problem with so many guitars. Comes of having a very wimpy playing style and twinging finger joints. I've lost track of teh number of higher end guitars i've tried that have just not done it for me because of this issue. On the plus side it rules out a lot of expensive purchases very quickly. Acoustic guitars are a bit like a valve amp - the sound is all recessed and reticent until you hit a certain intensity level and suddenly all the sound bursts out into the room. Mark
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Post by andyhowell on Apr 15, 2016 10:04:42 GMT
Ah, the PRS guitars :-)
For this range I think they are worth considering along with similarly priced competitors. Your preference will depend on the individual guitar and not the brand. They are certainly worth auditioning. For what its worth the most consistently good guitars in this price range I have played this year have been the new guild F30s. The PRS are well built guitars but are not particularly unusual in that.
The Simpson guitar always attracts discussion. All I can say is that when I spent three days with Simpson at one of his workshops, I listened to that guitar a lot, at close quarters. It sounded fabulous to me. remember with Simpson his style, attack and purity of notes really make an instrument sing! If I played that same instrument it would sound very different! It may be well built but I guess it has to deal with a lot of travel. But I'm reminded that Sobers are no slouches either and maybe are not the easiest guitars in the world to play. Simpson drives them very hard and gets a great sound from them.
I also had the chance to play Ian's Fischer which (I think) was a little deeper. In many ways I preferred this guitar when I played it but then we are talking about marginal differences in not ideal auditioning settings.
So, from experience I would say the Angelus is worth comparing with its contemporaries. Whether you like it or not I suspect will depend on the individual instrument. Simpson's PRS sounded superb to me and was up there with the best.
Finally, as Ian rightly points out, Simpson relies on a great amplified sound. For him it is his Highlander pickups matched with a Macintyre Feather. i guess this combination really suits his playing style.
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Post by musket on Apr 28, 2016 8:47:22 GMT
Funnily enough, the SE range appear to be slightly brighter and more of an all rounder (as well as 10% of the price generally..) to my experience. It depends on what and how you play but I have often thought of adding a PRS SE to the collection for stage use but haven't given a second thought to investing in a "real" one. For that money, I'd be giving George Lowden a shopping list to complete.
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Post by ocarolan on Apr 28, 2016 8:49:31 GMT
Mornin' musket - welcome to the Forum! Keith
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Post by andyhowell on Apr 28, 2016 9:36:04 GMT
Funnily enough, the SE range appear to be slightly brighter and more of an all rounder (as well as 10% of the price generally..) to my experience. It depends on what and how you play but I have often thought of adding a PRS SE to the collection for stage use but haven't given a second thought to investing in a "real" one. For that money, I'd be giving George Lowden a shopping list to complete. I understand the sentiments. Simpson's own guitars sound stunning to me. But if I had that cash would I be buying a PRS? I doubt it. There are just too many good guitars in the world.
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