Considering ordering Private Stock. Any advice for a first-timer?

[Sage]

I'm considering ordering a Private Stock for the first time. I'm wondering if you guys have any advice on who to go through, what to look for in a dealer, what sort of issues I might run into and how to avoid any problems.

My first dilemma is that my local dealer, Guitar Resurrection (http://guitarrez.com/) is an authorized PRS dealer and can do Private Stock orders, but I'm not sure how personal the process will be through them as opposed to one of the dealers here on the forums. Any thoughts?

Oh, and specs:

McCarty 24 Semi-Hollow, wide-thin neck circa 2008
Quilted maple top & back, mahogany sides and neck, rosewood fretboard (maybe ebony?)
Plate-style bridge, Phase II locking tuners, Volume/Tone/5-way rotary
57/08 pickups
Aqua Violet wraparound finish (no binding)
Haven't decided on inlays yet.

 

[veinbuster]

There are a few other threads on this you might want to search out to get additional ideas.

First consider if you want to go to the vault (which I highly recommend - it makes the whole thing more personal and you get to ask Paul and Tina questions). If that is important, ask Guitar Resurrection if they go to the vault to build or build remotely. If they go, no reason not to work with them.

If you feel the need to work with someone else, JD at Guitar Maverick and Brian at Guitar Sanctuary are both great guys not too far away. Both stores are north side of Dallas, but JD is probably in Austin more than Dallas. I've also worked with Doug and Wildwest Guitars and he goes to the vault fairly frequently.

If you don't go to the vault, most of the dealers will email/skype with you to work through the wood and other selections.

You have a pretty good handle on what you want, so it should be pretty straight forward. PIck wood and finalize the little choices.
As for fingerboard: ebony works really well. If you like a strong visual, take a look at cocobolo - looks great and is much like rosewood as far as sound is concerned.

 

[JustRob]

Vein buster is right. I highly recommend going to the Vault. All of the PRS dealers I've met and purchased from have been great. I went to the Vault with Brian from Brian ' s Guitars. Here's the story.
http://forums.prsguitars.com/threads/my-1st-ps-an-initiation-into-the-blood-brothers.14865/

Can't wait to watch your journey.

 

[WeFixFlats]

It's my advice no matter who you work with, please, no cheap black plastic covers on the back of a Private Stock. Thank you in advance.

 

[rugerpc]

The good news is WeFixFlats is paying the up charge for matching back plates!

 

[JustRob]

The good news is WeFixFlats is paying the up charge for matching back plates!

How'd I miss out on that deal?

 

[jfb]

Dealers have different specialties. My local dealer seemingly carries everything under the sun and I couldn't ask for a better inventory so close to my home. And while they do carry PRS I have never seen them offer or advertise a trip to the Vault. That's just their vibe.

There are dealers advertising here that I would say their specialty is not only PRS, but Vault trip style PRS action. They aren't hard to spot. You are in good hands with any of them. Watch the dealer thread for upcoming trips and reach out with interest to get a vibe of who you are dealing with and what to expect.

Good luck with your build and keep us in the loop!

 

[WeFixFlats]

The good news is WeFixFlats is paying the up charge for matching back plates!

And there's my beef right there. A Private Stock guitar should have matching back plates as standard, no 'up charge' at the prices they're selling these custom guitars. Because it drives me completely and utterly insane when I see a beautiful top, flip the guitar over and see Cheap Black Plastic Back Plates when someone has paid thousands and thousands of dollars above the core models map and waited for months to get theirs too. Matching Back Plates should be a 'delete' option in my opinion.

 

[vchizzle]

Good advice so far. Contact your dealer and find out if they can get you in there if you want that experience. I highly recommend going in person to the Vault with your dealer to pick your own woods. For me, I HAD to have that experience for me to do the build. It was well worth it to me. Nothing wrong with a remote build either via emails, Skype, etc. Obviously less cost and time on your part. Doesn't get more personal than going out there though.
There's a ton of choices for the small details. All of that is icing on the cake IMO. You seem to have a good handle on the core of your build which is most important.

 

[Dusty Chalk]

First of all, my biggest piece of advice is to do it, and share pictures so that we may all live vicariously through you. Possibly even videos or sound clips.

Secondly, other than the neck shape, bridge, and finish, it sounds like a pretty standard build -- which is actually kind of brilliant, I may have to steal that idea from you -- I've been stymied by my own imagination, so maybe I should stop trying to "back-seat luthier" (that's a verb, too, right? ), and just go with the tried and true.

 

[justmund]

One day I'll order a PS (I've put a moratorium on new guitars until I can afford one, even if that Archtop on the local market is calling my name...) and I would love the "full experience" of visiting the vault, however I'm a zillion miles away so it's just not going to happen.

I'll be choosing someone who specs PS on a regular basis, and has a similar design/tone ethos to myself.

My only advice is to stop considering, and just do it!

 

[CatStrangler]

There are a few other threads on this you might want to search out to get additional ideas.

First consider if you want to go to the vault (which I highly recommend - it makes the whole thing more personal and you get to ask Paul and Tina questions). If that is important, ask Guitar Resurrection if they go to the vault to build or build remotely. If they go, no reason not to work with them.

If you feel the need to work with someone else, JD at Guitar Maverick and Brian at Guitar Sanctuary are both great guys not too far away. Both stores are north side of Dallas, but JD is probably in Austin more than Dallas. I've also worked with Doug and Wildwest Guitars and he goes to the vault fairly frequently.

If you don't go to the vault, most of the dealers will email/skype with you to work through the wood and other selections.

You have a pretty good handle on what you want, so it should be pretty straight forward. PIck wood and finalize the little choices.
As for fingerboard: ebony works really well. If you like a strong visual, take a look at cocobolo - looks great and is much like rosewood as far as sound is concerned.

These Dealers all get a personal recommendation from me, I have purchased PS guitars from all of them and they were great to work with.

My advice is mostly to stick with a tonal formula wrt to woods you know you love and to not compromise on any details.

 

[ViperDoc]

While many elements of the PS build experience are variable, I find the most valuable asset to be a clear image of the guitar you want to build. Having that design in my head helped me to make wiser selections that fit together and helped produce the desired result. Look through the Private Stock Friday thread in its entirety to get inspiration, then choose your style and make everything blend together nicely.

I've built two Private Stocks just from emailed photos during my dealer's Vault trip, and the third I went to the Vault myself. I have to say, the Vault can take your trip both ways. It's excellent to be able to handle and personally select every piece of wood that's going on your guitar; on the flipside, there are so many blanks in there it can overwhelm you quickly. My first two PS's are sensational, so I can't say going to the Vault was better, but then, I haven't received the third guitar yet. You can rely on Tina, Miles and your dealer to pick woods that slay, and you can confirm your picks via your phone. Or you can choose them yourself. Your call, dude!

The only other recommendation I would make is to consider McCarty thickness on your CU24 body. It's such a tone booster, I've done it to every one of my guitars and it's awesome. Cheers.

 

[László]

It's my advice no matter who you work with, please, no cheap black plastic covers on the back of a Private Stock. Thank you in advance.

Hey! Tell PRS what to do when you buy yours, that's fair game.

I have cheap black plastic covers on all of my Private Stocks, except the acoustic.

And I have them because I like them!

Reminds me that it's a guitar, not a museum piece.

I don't buy 'em to sit around looking at them, let alone eyeball the backs. Cheap black plastic covers work just fine at keeping the parts from falling out.

And there's my beef right there. A Private Stock guitar should have matching back plates as standard, no 'up charge' at the prices they're selling these custom guitars. Because it drives me completely and utterly insane when I see a beautiful top, flip the guitar over and see Cheap Black Plastic Back Plates when someone has paid thousands and thousands of dollars above the core models map and waited for months to get theirs too. Matching Back Plates should be a 'delete' option in my opinion.

There are no "shoulds" that work for everyone.

I, for one, don't give a rat's ass about plastic covers, wood covers, or any of that nonsense. And the upcharge absolutely didn't factor into that at all.

When you ordered your private stock, did you care about that? I hope you did, and got what you wanted. But not everybody likes that look. Personally, I think it's a little bit on the fussy side.

Incidentally, OP - I didn't go to the vault for any of my Private Stocks. Two were dealer stock, two were ordered. Jack Gretz went to order the acoustic, and picked out the others, and I was damn happy with the result.

 

[LJD]

Why do you want Phase II over Phase III tuners? What's the advantage?

 

[Deleted member 5962]

And there's my beef right there. A Private Stock guitar should have matching back plates as standard, no 'up charge' at the prices they're selling these custom guitars. Because it drives me completely and utterly insane when I see a beautiful top, flip the guitar over and see Cheap Black Plastic Back Plates when someone has paid thousands and thousands of dollars above the core models map and waited for months to get theirs too. Matching Back Plates should be a 'delete' option in my opinion.

Then again, it's really not cool to crap on a guys PS thread with the negative opinions. OP may want them, may not mind them, or he may want to pay for matching covers, or for titanium coated shark teeth. IF and only if the OP posted that he hated the black covers and wanted the upgrade, then it might be acceptable to come in agree with his thoughts. But he didn't and may even like them. So, not cool to crap on his thread. IMHO YMMV

Edit to correct what spell check to "start teeth" from "Shark teeth." Dangit!

 

[veinbuster]

Then again, it's really not cool to crap on a guys PS thread with the negative opinions.

I agree.
I think it is fair game to state a strong preference for wood covers (or anything) - it is one of those things you might not think about until after the fact and if you want them to be cut from the back so they match (which I really like and my wife insists on), you need to get that on the build sheet up front - you can't add a matching back plate after its finished.
What was a off side in my mind is going on about PS pricing and what should be standard on a PS.

 

[WeFixFlats]

I've sent sage, the op, a private message apologizing for my rant and wishing him well on his purchase of his private stock.

 

[kes7u]

I've sent sage, the op, a private message apologizing for my rant and wishing him well on his purchase of his private stock.

No harm done! I think it is good that you even brought up the idea of the backplate. I wouldn't have even considered it if my dealer hadn't brought it up. Some dealers may not!

Kevin

 

[Sage]

No apologies necessary, guys! I asked for opinions and I got opinions, there's nothing wrong with that. Feel free to rant. In fact, this is exactly the sort of thing I wanted to find out -- I didn't know matching backplates weren't a standard thing on private stocks because I've never seen one without them. My own take is that if I'm going to bother putting a nice back on a guitar, matching backplates are a no-brainer.

First consider if you want to go to the vault (which I highly recommend - it makes the whole thing more personal and you get to ask Paul and Tina questions). If that is important, ask Guitar Resurrection if they go to the vault to build or build remotely. If they go, no reason not to work with them...

If you don't go to the vault, most of the dealers will email/skype with you to work through the wood and other selections.

I can ask, but I think Guitar Rez builds remotely. I would *love* to go to the vault, but I'm not sure that's in the cards, as I live in Texas and have small children. I do have family in Baltimore, so nothing's impossible... would love to go pick out materials. Hell, I'd love to just shake PRSh's hand and tell him how much I admire his craftsmanship.

As for fingerboard: ebony works really well. If you like a strong visual, take a look at cocobolo - looks great and is much like rosewood as far as sound is concerned.

I prefer to stick with more traditional tonewoods... I'm used to the tone and feel of rosewood. Ebony I don't have much experience with. This is basically an attempt to get a semi-hollow sound like a 335 or the HBII but with the ergonomics and playability of the Cu24. Maple top and back will probably make it plenty bright, so it's a question of how much more ebony would add to that, and would it be overpowering?

Why do you want Phase II over Phase III tuners? What's the advantage?

Mainly it's just what I'm used to, but I assume the sealed construction offers better protection against the elements. I've never really understood what the advantage of open-gear tuners is supposed to be. I know people like them because they have less mass, but... why is that a good thing? What's the trade-off?