Paul Reed Smith Guitars CM4TS – Budget Friendly PRS Segment

Body And Neck:
Electronics:
Hardware:
Sound:
Value:

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If you are on a bit of a budget, but would like a solid-body electric guitar that can take you as close as possible to the sound of such icons as John McLaughlin and the gang, your safest bet would be one of the PRS models.

And if you're after the best jazz guitar under 1000 dollars, then the CM4TS is what we see as one of the top picks. We had the privilege of taking this bad boy out for a little test run, you can check out our thoughts and conclusions in the review below.

Body and neck

The instrument utilizes a beveled maple top mixed up with a flame maple veneer and mahogany back. This is a rather distinctive mixture that secures brightness, clarity and punch on one side, and resonance and a more mellow vibe on the other.

The neck is a sturdy maple piece with a rosewood fingerboard, 24 frets, and the company's signature bird inlays. It's rather slim and elegant, securing nothing but high playability similar to premium Ibanez models.

As is the case with PRS guitars in general, gorgeous looks are a must.

Hardware

The instrument utilizes a set of PRS-designed tuners, a tremolo bridge system, and nothing short of a marvelous fret job. There's no fuzz and buzz here, and while minor tuning issues have been reported by some users due to the tremolo bridge, everything about this fella is clear as a whistle.

Therefore, it's not advised to stretch out that trem bar too much, but seeing that this is more of a jazz guitar that a metal six-string, the manufacturer didn't expect users to get the urge to rock out some dive bombs. If you want to remove these issue, we say invest in a set of Grover 406c tuners and be on your merry way.

Also included in the price is a PRS gig-bag.

Electronics

The electronic department is driven by a set of lovely humbucker pickups known as the SE HFS Treble and SE 245 Vintage. These two lovely gents reel in a super crisp and clear sound that sounds amazing on its own but is also susceptible to a variety of effects, brining out the best of everything from a light chorus to a full-on distortion pedal.

The strings are positioned a bit closer to pickups than with most similar models serving as a nice sonic counterpoint for the tremolo bridge. For additional audio tweaks, the company included a Volume knob, push/pull Tone control, and a three-way pickup selector.

Sound

The clean regime is where the CM4TS really shines and delivers its bang for the buck. We are looking at amazingly crispy, heavenly tones that leave us quite tempted to crown this fella as the best clean electric guitar for jazz. Needless to say, the overdrive is there if you want it, and versatility is certainly on high level, giving you freedom to infuse elements of every music style from light pop to heavy metal.

Value/Conclusion

For the listed price, this is certainly one of the top guitars for jazz and one of the best PRS guitars in general. Feel free to check it out some more and see how well it fits you. Good stuff!

For more info about the Paul Reed Smith Guitars CM4TS, click here.
For more Jazz electric guitars, click here.