10 Top vs. Artist

[Whitecat]

Also, some but not all, artists tops are one piece

There are one-piece 10-tops out there too....

 

[ViperDoc]

Pure speculation but it seems to me that with these guitars they do choose tops from the available 10-tops, they can pick the ones they like best, but the neck/fretboard do/must come from the Wood Library (it does still exist AFAIK, its the Private Stock stash) - they don't even use those woods in Artist Packs let alone Core models. And then perhaps there are instruments where only the top comes from the WL but the other woods come from the Core supply room? It seems to me that these WL guitars, being half to a third of the price of a PS build maybe can't be 100% PS materials, but can partially be and that's the USP. It's a bit, uh, opaque.

Theory number two is that the tops ARE from the WL but are maybe the "B-grade" Private Stock tops (heh), and because the WL grows over time PRS feels the need to 'thin out the herd a little' and these WL runs allow them to do that. So they pick out the "worst" of the PS stash to allow dealers to pick from. Which is to say, it's still exceptional. Maybe the '10' is simply added to differentiate it as a regular Core model and not a custom Artist Pack.

As far as your second point, tops change too when they are carved and sanded... sometimes they change the grade afterwards, but not always. So one that might have looked spectacular as a blank might be less so in finished form, because there's no way to know exactly how far down some of that figure goes. In addition, some colours seem to amplify or even subdue figure more than others. Otherwise I think there's just some subjectivity about consistency of figure, what looks "good" and the fact that the graders "just know."

Private Stock guitars are made exclusively from woods stored in the THE VAULT--the PRS Private Stock wood stash. Collection guitars are also made from this stash, although they reflect the Vault's UPPER CRUST.

Wood Library guitars are made from woods stored in the WOOD LIBRARY--a separate stash of not-quite-PS-grade-but-still-fuggin-amazing wood.

Artist and 10-tops are selected for their excellence. I've seen certain of these tops look like PS grade tops. Some Artist packages actually come with PS spec necks. As far as where those are all stored, not sure. I've seen the crapshoot effect as well. It all sounds badass, so buy what you like!

 

[LindseyP]

There are one-piece 10-tops out there too....

Yes, there are -- with moons, too :top:

 

[Whitecat]

Private Stock guitars are made exclusively from woods stored in the THE VAULT--the PRS Private Stock wood stash. Collection guitars are also made from this stash, although they reflect the Vault's UPPER CRUST.

Wood Library guitars are made from woods stored in the WOOD LIBRARY--a separate stash of not-quite-PS-grade-but-still-fuggin-amazing wood.

Artist and 10-tops are selected for their excellence. I've seen certain of these tops look like PS grade tops. Some Artist packages actually come with PS spec necks. As far as where those are all stored, not sure. I've seen the crapshoot effect as well. It all sounds badass, so buy what you like!

Thanks for that, that answers a few things I wondered about. I think people sometimes use the "wood library" and "vault" monikers interchangeably, probably incorrectly and it leads to confusion!

Recent Wood Library builds though, as has been pointed out, now have '10's on the back of the headstock. But they didn't used to. So that's adding to the "huh?" factor as well.

Oh well. Freaking great guitars anyway!

 

[ViperDoc]

Thanks for that, that answers a few things I wondered about. I think people sometimes use the "wood library" and "vault" monikers interchangeably, probably incorrectly and it leads to confusion!

Recent Wood Library builds though, as has been pointed out, now have '10's on the back of the headstock. But they didn't used to. So that's adding to the "huh?" factor as well.

Oh well. Freaking great guitars anyway!

I believe a "10-top" guitar only reflects the guitar having a graded top and all other features being the same.

An "Artist Package" will have a 10-top AS WELL AS a fretboard upgrade to Ebony, and perhaps some specific finish options not available in Core guitars, like stained necks and stuff.

 

[Whitecat]

I believe a "10-top" guitar only reflects the guitar having a graded top and all other features being the same.

An "Artist Package" will have a 10-top AS WELL AS a fretboard upgrade to Ebony, and perhaps some specific finish options not available in Core guitars, like stained necks and stuff.

Artist Packs don't have the '10' though... so technically not 10-tops as they are 'a grade higher.'

But my recent Wood Library acquisition does have a '10' - but isn't WL-level stuff meant to be even better still? I have seen WL guitars in the past that do not have the '10' either.

You can see how this gets confusing!

 

[g.wizz]

When I asked my dealer why they charge more for the top when ordering an AP his answer
was "Artist tops are 10% better than 10 tops" but what bummed me most is one can only
choose flame or quilt but can't specify wide or thin, chevron down or up but still the end
result is stunning :top:

 

[Whitecat]

When I asked my dealer why they charge more for the top when ordering an AP his answer
was "Artist tops are 10% better than 10 tops" but what bummed me most is one can only
choose flame or quilt but can't specify wide or thin, chevron down or up but still the end
result is stunning :top:

No more quilt in the Artist Pack either... literally only flame. But quilt is still obtainable for Wood Library runs and to me it mainly looks as good or better than Artist Quilt of yore... perhaps it's a grade in between Artist and Vault.

I guess if it were too customisable then they wouldn't shift as many Private Stocks, but at the same time the Wood Library runs seem to be "baby Private Stocks" in some ways with the details dictated by the specifying dealers in runs of 5-10...

 

[Rider1260]

I don't think I've ever held a Private Stock... I've played "hot potato" with a ME before.

EDIT: No! I have, but it was an acoustic. I forgot.

HA I remember that day you had my ME11 in your hands for like 2 seconds you said get this away from me

 

[Glide-bpm]

Not to dig up an old thread, but THIS is my just arrived TODAY Wood Library 509 that is marked "10" on the headstock.
The pictures do NOT do it justice!!! Love love love love my "10 Top"... Yeah... old plane Jane 10.... LoL! I've held Artists and
PS in my hands that this rivals for days. For what I paid for it? Bwaaaaaaahahahahahahahaaaaaaaa........

 

[MichaelS]

The grading system goes thusly, as I understand it -

Opaque - "Custom" (what we know as a 'regular' figured top) - 10 - Artist - Private Stock - Collection

There is some conjecture out there that 'Wood Library' tops actually fall somewhere in between Artist and Private Stock, does anyone know how exactly that works? When a dealer does a short Wood Library run, they obviously don't have the absolute "run" of the private stash - does PRS have some stuff set aside that they can choose from, maybe?

Lately Wood Library runs in the UK have been getting '10' designations on the headstock as well which is adding to the confusion, there's no real "explainer" anywhere for how that program works exactly.

Yes, it's subjective in a lot of cases, and I've seen 10-tops that are as good or better than many Artist tops in my opinion... - and I've even seen some Private Stock tops that I just think are a bit boring and could have just as easily been an Artist top.

This applies only to cut, not finished tops, but they say that grading tops by eye is something that you either can do or you can't, and that "if you have to look twice" at a slab of wood to decide the grade then the grade should always be the lower of the two possibilities you were thinking about.

My new "Wood Library" 30th anni. CU24 is labeled 10 on the headstock. I wondered about this as well. Is there even still an actual "wood library", or does the dealer just get to rummage through everything except "the vault" in search of tops they like?
I also have wondered about some of the criteria - as mentioned above some artist or even PS tops don't look all that spectacular, while some 10 or even non-10 look amazing. Perhaps uniformity, as in perfect straight flame stripes vs wavy and inconsistent (but more pronounced)?

Tom

Pure speculation but it seems to me that with these guitars they do choose tops from the available 10-tops, they can pick the ones they like best, but the neck/fretboard do/must come from the Wood Library (it does still exist AFAIK, its the Private Stock stash) - they don't even use those woods in Artist Packs let alone Core models. And then perhaps there are instruments where only the top comes from the WL but the other woods come from the Core supply room? It seems to me that these WL guitars, being half to a third of the price of a PS build maybe can't be 100% PS materials, but can partially be and that's the USP. It's a bit, uh, opaque.

Theory number two is that the tops ARE from the WL but are maybe the "B-grade" Private Stock tops (heh), and because the WL grows over time PRS feels the need to 'thin out the herd a little' and these WL runs allow them to do that. So they pick out the "worst" of the PS stash to allow dealers to pick from. Which is to say, it's still exceptional. Maybe the '10' is simply added to differentiate it as a regular Core model and not a custom Artist Pack.

As far as your second point, tops change too when they are carved and sanded... sometimes they change the grade afterwards, but not always. So one that might have looked spectacular as a blank might be less so in finished form, because there's no way to know exactly how far down some of that figure goes. In addition, some colours seem to amplify or even subdue figure more than others. Otherwise I think there's just some subjectivity about consistency of figure, what looks "good" and the fact that the graders "just know."

I forget where I came across this recently, but Wood Library is not a grade. It follows the normal grading (levels), but is the process of a dealer hand picking pieces for their run.

 

[Glide-bpm]

Sure is funny how good the tops on the Wood Library seem to come out, though... Hehe

 

[MichaelS]

Sure is funny how good the tops on the Wood Library seem to come out, though... Hehe

Cuz they pick the higher grade...
I meant normal grading system. Not regular basic grade.

 

[Glide-bpm]

Cuz they pick the higher grade...
I meant normal grading system. Not regular basic grade.

Yeah, I know... I'm just being the silly comic relief!

 

[Whitecat]

I forget where I came across this recently, but Wood Library is not a grade. It follows the normal grading (levels), but is the process of a dealer hand picking pieces for their run.

Yes, those posts of mine you quoted predate this article which did end up explaining all of it.

http://www.prsguitars.com/index.php/blog/post/the_wood_library_what_is_it

 

[MichaelS]

Yes, those posts of mine you quoted predate this article which did end up explaining all of it.

http://www.prsguitars.com/index.php/blog/post/the_wood_library_what_is_it

Ha! Yes! that's exactly where I found it...

 

[Eric Glass]

I had to look this up as I just got a new custom 24 piezo artist package off eBay and the seller had also put "10" top in the description but I noticed there was no 10 designation on the back of the headstock. It seemed strange to me as the top looked at least as good as a 10 to me and to several other players familiar with them that checked it out. Turns out it didn't matter as Artist is a separate category. .

"What Is Artist Package?
Artist package is the next step up from 10 Top. Artist Package maple tops feature a greater depth of curl and/or
more amount of curl while not quite being a Private Stock grade top. Artist Package also includes other upgraded
features and options."


https://guitar-compare.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/08/2019_PRS-Catalog-Prices.pdf

 

[Slowhands]

An observation: sometimes 10 tops don't look all that great and sometimes non 10 tops look incredible. Having seen video tours of the factory, guitar blanks are designated as 10 tops before they are finished, obviously based on an expectation that they'll look amazing stained. But you can't really be sure what it'll look like until you actually stain it and sometimes it aint all that. On the other hand, I am guessing that maybe if one stains up spectacularly well, it might be set aside for a special build (artist I guess).