2012 Inlay Material

[ElrytNamrogo]

I ordered the hollow birds on my Private Stock acoustic. Even with their relative subtlety, the guitar's bling is almost too much.

Yeah, those birds look fantastic on this one....such a stunning guitar! What material is the fretboard? Ebony? With the inlay material and the dark board, they stand out so well.

My Custom 22 has the "hollow birds" but with a lighter board, the birds can disappear into the fretboard depending on the lighting and, even with a freshly cleaned/conditioned fretboard, just don't pop like they do on my other guitars.

Again, yours is gorgeous...thanks for sharing the photo!

 

[RickP]

I joined the DBC (Dirty Bird Club) with my NF3. I think they’re great looking inlays. I like all of the bird designs; each has its own thing going on. They’re immediately recognizable and undeniably PRS... you couldn’t ask much more from an inlay design!

 

[Toolmaster Of Brainerd]

Fenders used to have clay dots. They just drilled holes and glommed the clay dots right in. I think the only cheaper material Leo could've used would have been boogers. He wouldn't even spring for plastic.

Clay is just dirt, so..dirt dots! Now Fenders use Micarta dots on most of their not-cheap Custom Shop instruments, and plain ole plastic on the standard fare.

"What's Micarta, Les?"

"A plastic mixed with fabric. So yeah, plastic. Oh wait, you want the old-school clay dots now? You can get them if you order a Custom Made instrument. You pay extra-extra to get the dirt!"

"Well, what does Gibson use on Les Pauls?"

"Cellulose Nitrate, i.e., plastic, same stuff that celluloid picks are made of, but only on some models to be 1950s-correct. Historics, etc. The rest are just acrylic plastic."

"Even on their expensive USA Les Pauls?"

"You betcha, except maybe the most custom ones similar to Private Stock. You'd have to ask 11Top."

People complain about plastic inlays on a non-Core PRS...?? We're so spoiled.

True story: I got a core PRS instead of CE because of the plastic looking inlay material they use on the CE line.

 

[dilznik]

People complain about plastic inlays on a non-Core PRS...?? We're so spoiled.

Only when they were abalone on the old version.

True story: I got a core PRS instead of CE because of the plastic looking inlay material they use on the CE line.

There's a reason it's plastic "looking".

 

[László]

Only when they were abalone on the old version.

The 'abalone' PRS has used forever is Abalam, which is a laminated material made with bits and pieces of shell and whatever they use to laminate it, which I'd guess is some kind of epoxy material.

There are different types of epoxy; it isn't just a glue. But epoxy is a plastic polymer.

The plastic in it makes it much easier to work with than solid shell. So either way, you get plastic, it's just a question of whether you get fancy plastic or less-fancy plastic.

 

[vchizzle]

I liked the dirt birds. Most did not.

 

[László]

I liked the dirt birds. Most did not.

I like them, too. They're subtle and interesting. I had them on a few PRSes I owned, and dug the look.

 

[aphantomvaper]

Posting just so my DB avatar shows in the thread, again

 

[ElrytNamrogo]

Whenever somebody says "Dirty Birds" it reminds me of that scene in Misery....

 

[dilznik]

My Studio appears to have mother of pearl with a dirt bird outline? No idea. I like it though.

 

[dilznik]

The 'abalone' PRS has used forever is Abalam, which is a laminated material made with bits and pieces of shell and whatever they use to laminate it, which I'd guess is some kind of epoxy material.

There are different types of epoxy; it isn't just a glue. But epoxy is a plastic polymer.

The plastic in it makes it much easier to work with than solid shell. So either way, you get plastic, it's just a question of whether you get fancy plastic or less-fancy plastic.

Yes but it would have to be less than 50% epoxy, right? Probably less than 10%. I'll take 10% plastic over 100% plastic any day. Of course, that's not my only beef with the cheapo cost cutting of the new CE24, but it's there.

 

[Going Modal]

My Studio appears to have mother of pearl with a dirt bird outline? No idea. I like it though.

Actually, no I think yours are missing the "dirt" part in the insides. Yours appear to be the hollow birds with some sort of shell/pearl centers. Still super nice, though.

So, this page here...

The Story of the PRS Bird Inlays

The PRS bird inlays are one of the most recognizable trademarks of our brand, but you may be wondering, why birds? We chatted with Paul Reed Smith about the history behind his decision and why it has stuck with our company for 32+ years.

prsguitars.com

...seems to indicate that their official name would be "J-birds with centers," and then I'm guessing what's in the center may vary from the "dirt" material to other pearl/shell/etc. options.

TLDR: check this picture from that page

One of my all-time favorites? The 20th Anniversary birds with wisps. Yeah, buddy, those things are classy.

 

[ElrytNamrogo]

Ahhhh…so, the “hollow birds” are actually called “J Birds”?

Anybody know why they’re called J Birds? I know PRS will name some finishes after some of the employees….wonder if this is one of those cases.