PRS Paul's Guitar With Pattern Neck Electric Guitar
Paul Reed Smith's personal design philosophy in guitar form, featuring TCI pickups and a unique coil-splitting system that delivers both humbucker thickness and genuine single-coil clarity. This is PRS's answer to the perpetual "one guitar for everything" question, executed at the premium end of their lineup.
Pros & Cons
Pros
- +TCI S pickups deliver cleaner, more articulate tones than standard 85/15s with exceptional single-coil sounds when tapped
- +Pattern neck feels surprisingly comfortable despite the "Wide Fat" designation—balances vintage feel with modern playability
- +True coil-tap (not just coil-split) produces single-coil tones that rival dedicated single-coil guitars
- +Narrowfield neck pickup delivers P90-like voicing with humbucker noise rejection
- +Exceptional tonal versatility—covers everything from pristine cleans to aggressive drives without feeling like a compromise
Cons
- −At $4,600, you're paying top dollar for a Core model—SE Paul's Guitar offers similar concept at fraction of cost
- −Some players report initial adjustment period to the pickup voicing—these aren't traditional PAFs
- −The extensive switching options can be overwhelming if you prefer simple, straightforward tones
The Verdict
This is what happens when a guitar company’s founder builds exactly what he wants to play. The Paul’s Guitar delivers on its promise of genre-spanning versatility without the usual “jack of all trades, master of none” compromises. That 90 critic score from MusicRadar reflects what we’re hearing: this is a legitimately premium instrument that earns its price tag through design innovation, not just cosmetics. If you need one guitar to handle session work across multiple genres, or you’re tired of swapping axes mid-set, this is worth the investment. Just know you’re buying into PRS’s vision of what a modern guitar should be—not a vintage recreation.
