Hello again (now with pics)

[WA Paul]

Ok, now I've figured out how to post pics, here are some of my guitars during time reading this forum. You guys are a great influence on my collection, my wallet not so much!

I'll have to do this in stages as my pics are on different devices.

First up, a Koa Sister #1, a Mossman special from 2013. You might remember his threads or PSF appearance.

It's a CU22 Braz neck and board, solid 1 piece curly Koa body with 53/10s. I'm a certified Koa addict and when I saw this I was on a quest to acquire it! I saved the pics of it when it came out (and was sold before I could do anything). I was speaking with my local dealer about a PS build with a Koa top and I did an Internet search for these pics and voila! There she was, up for sale by her owner in Calgary on Gbase. Told my wife, 'sorry, but I HAVE to do this!' And she was mine! Bwaaahaaaa - oh wait, that slipped out (again). Sounds awesome despite my lack of skills, plays awesome and she'll be with me for hopefully many moons to come. Did I mention I'm a Koa addict?

Next guitar, Koa HB II I also bought secondhand - this one bounced around quite a bit I her short life.

Satin nitro, hog neck, Macassar ebony board, 58/15 pickups and piezo. I remember reading here after I bought her from G-Brats (great guy!) that another member was on her trail - sorry! I've been on the other end of that multiple times myself.

 

[WA Paul]

Round 2:

PS P22 with collection grade woods. Custom one-off spec by Jim at Guitar Rez (another great guy, been a PRS dealer since the beginning in '85). I traded in my Exp Ltd Cu24 to acquire it. Thanks Les for posting your journey about fewer guitars but higher quality - at least that was right after you got that HOTG guitar - we all know what happened afterward!

I don't have great photos of this one, will need to remedy that one day...

Aquamarine (sorry Sergio) with one of the deepest flame tops I've seen, South American hog (which I swear has more low/mid push than African Ribbon hog)' pernie neck, jet black ebony board, 57/08s and piezo with gold etched Eagle, gold and rose gold Celtic cross inlays (my fav, wish I could order them!) and Koa knobs, pickup rings and binding on neck and headstock. I did mention that 'Koa thing' didn't I?!?!

 

[WA Paul]

McCarty Trem Tree of Life - another Brent Moss special!

Faded Aquamarine, Makore back, Madagascar Rosewood neck, Cocobolo board, 57/08s and all that bling. I bought this second hand from Righteous Guitars - great guys. Previous owner put in 53/10s, but they put in 57/08 in the, and dialed it in perfectly. Weighs quite a bit, but apparently the DC body shape is ok for me.

 

[László]

Those are all kinds of awesome. So nice!

 

[WA Paul]

Up next, the best Christmas gift ever from my wife!

From World Guitars in the UK - Pete had the Red Tiger for a bit - I'll be holding this one for much longer! This guitar is perfect and really resonates well - you feel everything when playing it. DC 594 in Laguna Smokeburst with those lovely 58/15 LT pickups. Sometimes I debate about putting in a 57/08 in the bridge like that RG WL run but haven't been able to go through with it...yet?

Quickly following was the SC 594 SH in Northern Lights that JD posted in March

Another great one, but I wanted more oomph so I swapped the LT for standard 58/15s. Great guitar, like the extra low/mid push versus the DC, but the ergonomics are challenging for me with the thickest PRS body to date and the extra length at the lower bout - an extra inch. I have a herniated disc in my back in this one seems to tweak it, even though it is lighter than most of my guitars. Sigh. This one will get sold.

But I quickly bought its replacement!

Wildwood spec DC594 with SC thickness. This guitar is heavier than the regular model, but it is thinner than the SC594. Weight distribution works better for me and my back. LT pickups sound terrific in it, must be the extra mass. Sandstorm Dragons Breath, 1 piece quilt top with great depth, etched MOP inlays. WW guys knocked this one out of the ballpark! I got this secondhand as well.

Love that Pattern Vintage Neck - the two DCs have a slightly smaller neck than the SC, not sure if that is related to the difference in body design or simply how they sanded it down. I've noticed slight differences with my Pattern necks as well.

 

[WA Paul]

Thanks Les! You have a great a collection as well - that PS 20th anniversary is stunning. I appreciate you sharing your journey and numerous tips on sound and tone. You've been a big influence from afar! I did get an HXDA combo for a while, but ended up moving on since I couldn't really crank it enough in my home situation - lovely, lovely amp though!

 

[Basauri]

Congrats on this one! I was following her for a month or so on the bay. Ridiculous price for this piece, but custom fees would kill me. Could you post more pics showing the body thickness? I'm intrigued

 

[bodia]

Great stuff! Love reading about the journey!

 

[László]

Thanks Les! You have a great a collection as well - that PS 20th anniversary is stunning. I appreciate you sharing your journey and numerous tips on sound and tone. You've been a big influence from afar! I did get an HXDA combo for a while, but ended up moving on since I couldn't really crank it enough in my home situation - lovely, lovely amp though!

Heck, I've only got a few guitars. They pale in comparison to your most excellent set!

The HXDA...recently, I installed a set of NOS Siemens EL34s, and found that with the NOS tubes, I haven't had to crank the amp as loud to get things sounding recording-worthy. I do have NOS Mullards in the preamp section as well. It's a small thing, of course, but does make a nice difference.

 

[veinbuster]

That is a mighty fine set of guitars.
Any of them would be welcome at my house.

 

[kes7u]

But I quickly bought its replacement!

Wildwood spec DC594 with SC thickness. This guitar is heavier than the regular model, but it is thinner than the SC594. Weight distribution works better for me and my back. LT pickups sound terrific in it, must be the extra mass. Sandstorm Dragons Breath, 1 piece quilt top with great depth, etched MOP inlays. WW guys knocked this one out of the ballpark! I got this secondhand as well.

LOVE IT! I have this one's identical twin SC from Wildwood! Good to know where his brother went! They knocked it out of the park with this couple. Looks, tone and appearance!

Kevin

 

[WA Paul]

LOVE IT! I have this one's identical twin SC from Wildwood! Good to know where his brother went! They knocked it out of the park with this couple. Looks, tone and appearance!

Kevin

Thanks everyone for the warm welcome!

Basauri, I've been on the other side with used guitars in Europe, hard to justify the higher cost versus what is here in the local market (US). I'll try to take some pics later. Going by memory, the SC594 is 2" thick (hog, not maple cap), normal DC594 is 1.5" and this thicker DC splits the difference at 1.75" - but my memory isn't that great! Should be directionally correct...

Les, I already sold the amp and found one that meets my needs better- I'm one of those 'low volume is critical for marital bliss' setups! I find your collection quite GAS inducing - still debate about one of those 30th anni CU24s...

EveryAxe - wow! Thank you for the compliment! I figured someone else had to be interested in the P22 at the time - so happy to acquire that one. That was my first electric PS, which arrived on my birthday in 2014. I certainly would love to see more from your collection. Totally agree with the 'only go round once' view as well! I try to balance my gear acquisition with items/needs for the family. Sometimes I end up in the doghouse anyway!

Bodia and Veinbuster - thanks for the welcome!

Kevin, you beat me to that SC by about a week! Actually the third time you got to a guitar before I could, not that I'm counting! All good though, since I was clearly meant to go the DC route now. Sure you don't want a SC594 SH in NL?

 

[Tucson Thump]

...... and thanks for that amp!

 

[sergiodeblanc]

 

[sloanthebone]

Amazing guitars!

 

[gush]

Those are BADASS

 

[KrisCHS]

Good LAWD that koa!

 

[WA Paul]

Tucson - I thought you might have been the one! Loved that amp, but glad to see she ended up in a good home (by definition any forum member's home is a good home)!

Sergio, my first Bangin'!!! YES!! Been wondering what that would be like and now I know - just awesome. Nice to know a thread with some blue guitars can make it up the mountain!

Sloan - thanks - you've beaten me to a couple of those blue guitars recently, but hey, can't get 'em all, right? Glad others share my tastes in the blue end of the color spectrum.

Gush - thanks man!

Kris - thanks! Love, love, love Koa. All the variety of colors and curl patterns. Plus the spirit of Aloha, hard to beat!

 

[henke]

Dear lord, that is a beautiful top. I'm usually not into quilts, but this is wonderful.

 

[CVS]

WA Paul - your guitars are awesome. I also am a follower of Les when it comes to "fewer guitars".