Форум гитаристов

но опять же - цены на гитары считаю более, чем оправданной...

The original Modern Eagle (known now as the ME I) was an upgraded McCarty model, which has a thicker mahogany back than the Custom 22, and a three-way switch for the pickups with a split coil switch. The upgrades were, as dzeitlin mentioned, a Brazilian rosewood neck (and separate BRW fretboard), a matte nitrocellulose finish, maple tops from a stash of wood that they had that was a little different from their stock stuff, and unique pickups ("RP" after longtime PRS employee Ralph Perucci). It was more or less Paul's pet project; he wanted a production guitar that was like the one he'd been playing for years, the amber one with the dragon inlay on a Brazilian rosewood neck.

The model has evolved over the years. There are currently four iterations out there. They all have rosewood necks, but only the first version has Brazilian. The pickups and electronics have changed as well.

IMO, the ME's forte is that singing, sustaining, midrangey sort of sound that Paul himself uses all the time -- sort of Santana-ish -- or Al DiMeola's hyper-percussive fusiony thing, which also has a singing/sustainy element to it. But it's pretty adaptable, and in my experience holds together well with a lot of gain from the amp. I also think the original ones with the Brazilian neck and the matte finish FEEL great, truly like an "old T-shirt" which has always been Paul's description of what he wants a guitar to feel like.

There are differences between each of the Modern Eagle models. The Quatro has the V12 finish, 5310 pickups, binding, and the pattern neck carve. The pattern neck has the same width and depth as the WF neck, but has softer shoulders, which make it feel slightly smaller ... and to me ... better. YMMV The 5310s are a little hotter than some of the other pickups used in the MEs