PRS Myles Kennedy Signature Electric Guitar - Black Reviews
The PRS Myles Kennedy Signature is a modern, primed-for-rock solidbody electric guitar with a nod to historic designs. This no-frills yet eminently svelte axe is built around a resonant swamp ash body. The ash's already musical-sounding acoustic tone is turbocharged brilliantly by two versatile Narrowfield MK mini humbuckers. Whether you're playing jazz, blues, or old-fashioned hard rock, the Myles Kennedy Signature's Narrowfield MK pickups will take it in stride, arming you with an ear-tingling humbucker-esque tone with plenty of single-coil spank on tap. Navigating this guitar's 22-fret, 10-inch-radius maple fingerboard is as effortless as it gets, thanks to a familiar 25.5-inch scale and comfortable custom-shaped neck. The Myles Kennedy Signature is replete with high-performance hardware, including vintage-style locking tuners, a plate-style bridge, and barrel saddles. As for eye candy, this guitar doesn't disappoint; its PRS Birds fingerboard inlays, Geometric Owl logo, and slick finish make it as spotlight worthy as anything else you'll find. Players who want to dispense with complexities and simply rock out will get endless mileage out of the Paul Reed Smith Myles Kennedy Signature — it's a serious tool for serious musicians.
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Highest Rated Reviews
PRS does it again!
PRS pays homage to one of the oldest continuously manufactured production guitars. Full transparency: I am a PRS fanboy because they are incredible quality instruments.
In spite of the initial reaction on the interweb, this guitar is more than worthy of consideration as a pro-level working instrument with a ton of flexibility. One of the most frequently voiced opinions regards the pricing of this instrument. Hogwash is my response. If you compare the instrument correctly, a certain California company's Custom Shop products are as close as it gets; otherwise, you are looking at more boutique manufacturers to get the same quality and attention to detail you will find in the MK. Using the proper comparison chart, this guitar fits in the midrange.
Onto the actual review...
First, the neck profile. This bad boy has some beef to the neck with a very very soft V towards the nut. If you are looking for a modern C profile or a wizard neck, this is not your instrument, but if you spend more than 10 minutes playing it, the neck is incredibly comfortable and playable for hours with no fatigue. The frets are impeccably dressed and the edge of the fretboard is rolled to perfection. Simply can't find fault with the neck/fretboard myself.
Second, the hardware. As usual, PRS did it right. The improved bridge design makes accurate intonation possible with no sharp edges typical of the ashtray bridge. Tuners are top notch with a very cool aesthetic look of vintage and the convenience of locking. Nut is cut beautifully. Pots are very linear with a smooth gradient of rotation. I very much appreciate the detail of the surface mount jack as the recessed one used on similar T-styles are a bit of a pain.
Third, the aesthetic and feel overall. I got the black MK and it is eye-popping with the beautiful maple board and black bird inlays. The fit and finish is immaculate out of the box. To me, one of the most impressive features cannot be seen at all - the weight and the resonance. My guitar was several ounces lighter than 7 pounds, which my back and shoulders enjoyed immensely, not to mention the comfort carve in the back and the very slight chamfered armrest. No square edges digging in. And resonant...holy smokes! I played open chords and open string drones acoustically (one of the usual tests I do for any electric) and was gobsmacked at how loud and sustained they were. One of the signs of an incredible electric is acoustic resonance (in my opinion) and the MK has it in spades.
Finally, the pickups. If you pick up this guitar expecting T-style spank, adjust your thinking. While you can get an excellent representation of that spankiness from the bridge pickup, not to mention the glassy tone of the neck, the narrownfield pickups are a thing unto themselves. The best way I can describe it is a cross between 60's T-style and P90's combined with the noise rejection of humbuckers. PRS makes terrific pickups anyway, but these are stellar. I found it to move between gut bucket country, classic rock, and R&B with minimal fuss. Try them for yourself.
Now, onto my (very minor) niggles:
I'm not 100% sold on the pickup switching configuration. To be fair, this was designed specifically to Myles Kennedy's taste, so I can't complain much. I would prefer to have had mini-toggles per pickup to do coil splits, a la the 24-08 configuration, and a 3 way rather than 5 way blade switch. I'll probably get my local luthier to do the mod at some point, but that is to suit my own taste. The 5 way switch will work for now and, who knows, I may come around to Myles' way of thinking...
I love the feel and carve of the neck, but I prefer rosewood fretboards myself. That being said, I am dang sure not going to reject a great instrument on such a minor detail.
If you are or want to be a T-style player, I highly recommend that you get your hands on an MK or NF53 to compare. I think you will be more than pleasantly surprised. However, do not make the mistake of thinking that this is simply a version of a T-style; these models share some essential design elements to evoke the T-style, but they are in a class all their own and are much more flexible.
