Private Stock Friday

Happy Private Stock Friday, everyone!

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I know it's a trick of the light, but I kind of like how the green looks glossy and the rest not so much, and I wonder - has anyone ever done a PS that's part gloss finish, part satin? I think w/the right colors and finish pattern, that could be a pretty cool effect.

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Lots of great guitars this weekend. Thanks Mikko!

I will submit, however, that the staining quality coming out of the PS department is lower than it used to be. It needs to get back to "Dave Level". Look at this:

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Do you see a fade? I don't. I see bands of color. WRONG.
Now look at this:

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Do you see a blended glow or fade? YES. THESE ARE BADASS.

Now if that's "what the customer wanted", it's still not good enough. A properly done finish in the PS department should overshoot expectations every time. Private Stock is not the place for entry-level finish work. The bar needs to be raised again. Just sayin' as a guy who's spent large money on several spectacular PS guitars and more. Am I raising hairs here, or would you agree?
 
Lots of great guitars this weekend. Thanks Mikko!

I will submit, however, that the staining quality coming out of the PS department is lower than it used to be. It needs to get back to "Dave Level". Look at this:

psf-1-jpg.10466


Do you see a fade? I don't. I see bands of color. WRONG.
Now look at this:

IMG_9791_1024x.jpg


IMG_0356_400x.jpg


Do you see a blended glow or fade? YES. THESE ARE BADASS.

Now if that's "what the customer wanted", it's still not good enough. A properly done finish in the PS department should overshoot expectations every time. Private Stock is not the place for entry-level finish work. The bar needs to be raised again. Just sayin' as a guy who's spent large money on several spectacular PS guitars and more. Am I raising hairs here, or would you agree?
Mmm. Maybe a bit of a harsh statement. It’s really hard to say. What did the customer ask for? Did they want a tweaked version of a finish? Show a picture and ask for a lighter dragon’s breath? Sometimes tweaks don’t always come out cooler. Really hard to quantify by seeing one picture. I get your point, but I haven’t really thought finishes have looked worse across the board recently. It’s really up to the customer and their happiness with the end result. Beauty is in the eye of the beholder, or owner in this case. They can always ask it be restained. It happens. I’ve considered asking for mine to be restained, it’s faded and yellowed. But then I ask myself if it was meant to be how it is. I think it has aged pretty cool, and bottom line is that I spec’d it to be a player that does what I need live and it’s more than lived up to that for several years now. *shrugs*
 
Although I would say it's probably not the right place to bring this up it is not a harsh statement, it's just a fact.
Which is preferable could presumably be subjective I suppose, but I know which one I like.

When I spec'd a quilt top laguna dragon breath CU24 2 years ago I specifically referenced that one (which I now own):
IMG_9791_1024x.jpg

asking specifically for 1) smooth gradation, 2) avoiding the abrupt V shape seen in most dragon breath stain jobs the last 2-3 years (see the Dragon 35th run for example).

Here's what I got (there were other issues along the way such as not being shown any of the woods picked):
3JcKJAY.jpg


I did consider having the dealer sending it back immediately for re-staining or selling it as a store build instead; but after waiting 12+months neither option was very appealing.

The aggravating factor is there was nothing hard about what I asked; it was just effectively ignored.
Anyone who has spent a decent amount of time dyeing wood, let alone pros who do this all day long at PRS, would have no problem avoiding that abrupt V and ensuring smooth color transitions.
It just requires a bit more attention and time, and frankly you expect both at that price point.
 
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Although I would say it's probably not the right place to bring this up it is not a harsh statement, it's just a fact.
Which is preferable could presumably be subjective I suppose, but I know which one I like.

When I spec'd a quilt top laguna dragon breath CU24 2 years ago I specifically referenced that one (which I now own):
IMG_9791_1024x.jpg

asking specifically for 1) smooth gradation, 2) avoiding the abrupt V shape seen in most dragon breath stain jobs the last 2-3 years (see the Dragon 35th run for example).

Here's what I got (there were other issues along the way such as not being shown any of the woods picked):
3JcKJAY.jpg


I did consider having the dealer sending it back immediately for re-staining or selling it as a store build instead; but after waiting 12+months neither option was very appealing.

The aggravating factor is there was nothing hard about what I asked; it was just effectively ignored.
Anyone who has spent a decent amount of time dyeing wood, let alone pros who do this all day long at PRS, would have no problem avoiding that abrupt V and ensuring smooth color transitions.
It just requires a bit more attention and time, and frankly you expect both at that price point.
Fair enough point. I guess with the dragon’s breath, I don’t look super close as I prefer the glow finish. So maybe I scroll through looking for stuff that really catches my eye. I guess I’ve become spoiled by this thread and member posts that I don’t study the photos like I once did. At the same time, I probably wouldn’t criticize guitars in this thread as they may belong to a member. Everyone’s got different tastes.
 
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