I happen to own one of the very early 1986 PRS's, it is nothing fancy but at the time it was considered a special order because, they only did maple fretboard as a special order and not off the shelf, I wanted it to be as plain as possible, didn't want a fancy maple top, so I went for a more traditional look of a plain colour (seafoam green or surf green whatever you wish to call it), it is a bolt on model, one they called the Bass 4 BO (Bolt On) C.E. (Classic Electric)
Nothing has been changed to it, I still keep it as original and mint as the day it came 25 years ago, same preamp, I actually like the sound of it a lot, it has the most comfortable neck shape I have ever played, the string spacing is just right for me, it allows me to play fast and without any stress. The maple neck original coating worn out quite a bit in the first 8 years of intense use, but the frets never actually worn out that much! I had the neck re-stained by professionals to its former glory, and it looks fantastic after the work, I didn't like the exposed maple so I got it all cleaned and sanded before it was resprayed. The body colour is still original, never been touched, I look after my basses well and it still has no dents or scratches but if you hold it against the light you can see that the paint has sunk into the wood grain but it's character more than a defect.
The preamp adds bass and clear they described this preamp as follows:
From the PRS website:
PRS BASS ELECTRONICS (1987-1991)
5 Position Rotary-Hybrid Pickup System ROTARY POSITIONS
■Position 10: Middle pickup
■Position 9: Bass pickup
■Position 8: Treble and middle pickups
■Position 7: Treble and bass pickups
■Position 6: Treble pickup
CONTROLS
■Volume: Self explanatory
■Deep Control: Adds depth below normal "Bass"
■Clear Control: Adds clarity, not fret noise
■Pre-Amp Bypass Switch: If the battery goes dead (approx. 200 hours life), you can still play
■Internal Jack Switch: Unplug jack cord to turn off battery
When you read it like that you know exactly what you can expect from the preamp so no reason really for people to complain, the preamp was never designed to give extra power or an extra dimension of sounds. I find that if you use your amp settings to get the best out of the bass with it being flat then when you are on stage or in a studio you can rely on those two Deep and Clear tones to give you a little edge over the preset amp sound.
What is remarkable about these earlier PRS basses is that they are very well balanced, the body is very compact, sizewise, and from a distance if you see (see pic below) it next to other basses you would think it's a short scale bass, but the scale is still a honest 34" so it's no shortie for shure, all you really need to do is use a good amp with it.
An earlier Trace Elliot (pictured below) is the ticket for me, the combination of the tube preamp / solid state power amp and a 12 band graphic eq seems to enhance every note on this instrument and really works fine with it.
At the time I ordered the bass I used to know Paul Reed Smith personally because I used to work in the London guitar store of which the owner was the first distributor of PRS guitars in UK and I was lucky that Paul used to come on several occasion to meet the boss and potential clients and also to do shows, I was the only bass player in that shop and got to test his original basses and showcase them to the first unsuspecting british public!
Well thanks to this acquaintance with Paul, he was happy to sign my bass both on the back of the headstock and on the back control cover.
I have since moved on in all kinds of direction with my basses, but I still keep and treasure this one PRS bass because it has an incredible voice and a "soul" within it that only those who have played this particular bass have come to realize and comment on it with the customary "WOW"
I believe the success of this particular combo is the alder body with a bolt on neck as opposed to the more expensive mahogany body with fixed / glued in mahogany neck they use to offer at the time which to me was great too but didn't have the sparkle that the bolt on model has. I think ordering a whole maple neck/fingerboard was a great move.
I love this bass and it will never leave my site.
But I have to totally disagree with whoever said that it sounds "lifeless" or "sterile". I think the tone is beautiful, it almost has a slightly active sheen to the tone while still being passive. Maybe some people are disappointed because they're expecting a more modern active bass, but as a high-end Jazz-style bass, I'd say it rocks! I'm glad I trusted my impressions and didn't let the talking heads sway me.
But in the end I don't really care, because just as a passive Jazz-style bass, it's great.
