So there seems to be a lot of comments about the Private Stock Custom 24 - so I better share the story and details of that!
On Saturday, December 23rd, I set out for the Chicago Music Exchange to trade in my 2 remaining guitars (a Knaggs Kenai and a PRS Silver Sky) for a guitar or two to focus on getting back into playing. That was only a couple of days after I picked up the Knaggs for the first time in 6 months or so, and I was pleasantly surprised that for the first time in three years it felt good and was fun again.
I got there and I chatted for a while with David and also Jason (who is sort of the PRS Specialist there), while waiting for the room there that the MT15 was already set up in to become available. We started pulling out guitars for me to try, a gorgeous DC 594 Private Stock, a different Custom 24 Private stock with a nice brown finish, and I was going to move on from there and try out some Core guitars, DC and SC 594's and some 25" McCarty's (which I never got to).
Jason suggested playing the Laguna Glow PS Custom 24, he said it just came in the previous week or so, and it was pretty special. I said it really wasn't my cup of tea, with the weird looking Burl top and the flashy Laguna Glow finish and bright colored Birds. He pushed me a little, saying "okay, I hear you, but you should check it out". So we pulled it down from the top row, and I played it acoustically. It did indeed ring and resonate in a special way, so I said, "okay, I will try it".
So I went into the room and started playing, focusing on the PS DC 594 and the other more vintage finished maple topped PS Custom 24. They were both really great. I didn't connect with the scale length of the DC 594, I preferred the 25" scale length of the Custom 24. David A came into the demo room to check on me, and I played both the DC 594 and the other Custom 24 for him. We agreed they were both great. The Custom 24 had a Maple Neck and an Ebony Board, and while it played and sounded great, there was something about the tone that was a little off. I have not at all done well in the past in straying from the "traditional" wood formula of Mahogany Body and Neck and Rosewood Fingerboard. Many many times I have bought guitars that had Korina Bodies and/or Necks, Maple and Rosewood Necks on PRS Wood Library and Private Stock guitars, and initially really liked them because they were a little different in a refreshing way, but almost always I grew tired of them in the not too distant future because they didn't have that tone in my head.
So then David asked "did you try the Laguna one yet"? I said no, and plugged it in. We were talking, and I hit a few open chords with a decent amount of gain, and we both stopped in mid sentence in disbelief and surprise on how good this guitar sounded, it was on another level compared to the other two. It sounded MASSIVE! How on earth that skinny bodied Custom 24 can sound like this, it was a crazy moment. I went on to play some rock riffs (Joe Bonamassa's version of Just Got Paid, which I played for years in my band, so I hadn't forgotten it) and some lead noodling, and it just sounded amazing at everything. It was quite a special experience to share with another guitar guy, I don't think I will ever forget it.
I ended up buying it on the spot, and throwing in the MT15 for good measure. Also I did check out the MK Sig and bought that too, sort of as an afterthought. I decided to just get the Custom 24 as far as the traditional 25" PRS Guitars, and not spend the time to check out more Core guitars, I was kind of mentally exhausted by then, and smitten with the Custom 24.
So that is the story of the Custom 24. I had seen it on the website prior to showing up, and it didn't make the shortlist to check out. When I arrived, I didn't love it hanging on the wall, and didn't want to check it out. I told Jason there that I owed him big time for pushing me to check it out.
Also of note, like 10 minutes after I committed to buying it, before I had paid, someone called and said they wanted to buy it, right at that moment - like take my credit card now and ship it to me today. Had I showed up later in the day, or if the room was not available when I first got there (which is what caused me to chat with David and Jason), I wouldn't have played it, and it would have been sold.
That all made it clear to me that it was "meant to be" for that special guitar to make it into my hands, just a couple of days after the "magic" coming back for me for playing guitar after three years off. It also changed my perspective a bit on the importance of going to a place in person to play guitars a see what speaks to you, versus shopping on the internet and hoping for the best.
Also cool that it was December 23rd. Merry Christmas to me! Ha-ha.
Pics and more on the guitar shortly. The background story needed to be told first...
