PRS ME Quatro Review

By: Dr. Matt Warnock

When I walked into a small, out of the way room on the grounds of the PRS factory, where the company has graciously set up all of their new guitars for the press to try out, my eyes immediately were drawn to the ME Quatro sitting on a stand directly to my left. Of all the guitars that I was able to test drive, the ME Quatro was the most visually stunning of the collection. But, what makes this guitar special is that its performance level matches its visual appeal, providing for one of the coolest guitars debuted at the Experience PRS 2010 event.

The ME Quatro is a good looking guitar. It’s got a very slick design, and definitely has that “Wow” factor that Paul has stated is so important when someone first plays one of his guitars. I really liked the attention to detail that the folks at PRS paid to the esthetic value of the instrument, providing a high-visual value in companion to the high-performance value of the guitar.

With a weight that is more in the range of a Les Paul than a Strat or Tele, the ME Quatro is a solid instrument, and I have to say maybe a little heavy for my personal tastes. But, if you like a heavier guitar, an axe with some meat to it that you can really dig in on, than this guitar is right up your alley. Even with it being a bit on the heavy side, the guitar was easy to play, as is the case with just about every PRS instrument. I never struggled to make the instrument comfortable, even without a strap it rested perfectly on my leg as I sat and put the guitar through the rounds.

One of the coolest features, and one I found myself coming back to time and again to experiment with, was the whammy bar. I’m often a bit wary of digging in on a bar, especially with new strings like the ones I used on this guitar, but the Quatro’s whammy had such a nice response to it, and stayed in tune even when I was touching the wood with the bar, that I couldn’t help going back to it time and as I played through tunes on the guitar. As well, the new 53/10 pickups in the Quatro are stunning. They pack a mean punch, providing consistently thick tone no matter what pickup configuration I had going. And for those trivia buffs in the audience, “53/10 wire is created using the same machine that made singlecoil pickup wire in the ‘50s.” Very cool indeed.

As Rick Landers, Publisher for GI, and I left the Experience PRS grounds late Saturday afternoon, he turned to me and said, “You know, that ME Quatro was a really great guitar, I still can’t get it out of my head.” I think it’s a testament to the instrument that someone, who only spent a limited time with the guitar, fell in love with it at first site. I have to agree, though I was drawn more to the McCarty 58, I too felt an affinity for the Quatro. If you get a chance to check one of these guitars out, take it. You won’t be disappointed, though your others guitars might get a little jealous and lonely if you decide to take a Quatro home with you.

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