Does PTC keep records of modifications they do to specific guitars?

[GuitarJammin]

So I've been wanting to officially confirm my CE24 was modified at the factory.
I was told it was modified at the PRS factory for an Artist. Word from the seller. So I reached out to PRS Customer Service and my guitar is definitely not what the serial number they have on record shows. I did expect as much. I just wonder if there is some type of record on the jobs they perform. I was hoping they'd have that tied to the S/N.

From PRS customer service:

Thank you for contacting PRS Guitars.

Our records indicate Serial# 17 236171 is a 2017 CE 24, with a Flame Maple top, Mahogany back, Maple neck with a Wide-Thin profile, East Indian Rosewood fretboard with bird inlays, PRS tremolo bridge, 85/15 treble and bass pickups, finished in Violin Amber Sunburst, with nickel hardware. It appears the guitar in the photos has had modifications.

My guitar is Silver. No maple top, confirmed by chips on the top that show the dark mahogany underneath. Un-glueing a PRS maple top from a body is not exactly something I'd expect a luthier to do. I'd imagine the body was replaced. Plays like a freakin dream, looks totally like a factory job. I've got a good reference as I've played and owned many PRS guitars. I have no reason to suspect otherwise. However I wish I had a way to document officially with an email or something.

Pics...

 

[deepender]

I’m thinking the seller had another Sky with a silver top and did the swap himself. That’s not a highly technical job with bolt on necks. He probably just liked the other body and wanted a different neck.

 

[show_a_little_faith]

I’m thinking the seller had another Sky with a silver top and did the swap himself. That’s not a highly technical job with bolt on necks. He probably just liked the other body and wanted a different neck.

I'm thinking the same. If you pull the pickups, you should be able to see the mod-cat sticker with serial #. I'm betting it doesn't match what's on the headstock.
But remember what you said - it plays like a dream. That's what's most important!

 

[GuitarJammin]

I'm thinking the same. If you pull the pickups, you should be able to see the mod-cat sticker with serial #. I'm betting it doesn't match what's on the headstock.
But remember what you said - it plays like a dream. That's what's most important!

The modcats in the pickup cavities match the serial number of the guitar.

From PRS Customer service:

Beth Johnson (PRS Guitars) Sep 13, 2023, 14:33 EDT The info in the pickup cavities confirms our records. We do not have any further information. Thank you and have a great evening, Beth Customer Service Paul Reed Smith Guitars 380 Log Canoe Circle Stevensville, MD 21666 www.prsguitars.com

 

[GuitarJammin]

Here is a pic of the cavity and one of the chips in the top.

 

[GuitarJammin]

I’m thinking the seller had another Sky with a silver top and did the swap himself. That’s not a highly technical job with bolt on necks. He probably just liked the other body and wanted a different neck.

Sky? As in Silver Sky? Hmm...this is a CE. I don't know what you mean by that. It acutally is a technical job to change a gutiar from a traditional nut to shelving it for a floyd.

However this neck is modified to accommodate the floyd rose nut. So this is not a neck swap issue. Serial and body modcat line up. So the gutiar not having a maple top is crazy. UNLESS it was built this way from the start. That's why I'm trying to figure it all out. On top of all this I don't recall a normal CE having been made with a Floyd. The only one being the Dustie models. This is not a Dustie Model. So a body swap is highly unlikely.

So this is definitely kinda a mystery and if there is no record in PTC then I'm just going off of what I was told and what the guitar plays like. Which is totally factory feel. I really doubt this was a out of factory job.

My point with this thread is if PTC keeps any records of it's jobs. If a record exists of this guitar's modifications that'd be great to know.

 

[deepender]

Sky? As in Silver Sky? Hmm...this is a CE. I don't know what you mean by that. It acutally is a technical job to change a gutiar from a traditional nut to shelving it for a floyd.

However this neck is modified to accommodate the floyd rose nut. So this is not a neck swap issue. Serial and body modcat line up. So the gutiar not having a maple top is crazy. UNLESS it was built this way from the start. That's why I'm trying to figure it all out. On top of all this I don't recall a normal CE having been made with a Floyd. The only one being the Dustie models. This is not a Dustie Model. So a body swap is highly unlikely.

So this is definitely kinda a mystery and if there is no record in PTC then I'm just going off of what I was told and what the guitar plays like. Which is totally factory feel. I really doubt this was a out of factory job.

My point with this thread is if PTC keeps any records of it's jobs. If a record exists of this guitar's modifications that'd be great to know.

Sorry.
I was carrying over from another discussion somewhere about a silver sky and totally confused issues.

 

[show_a_little_faith]

The modcats in the pickup cavities match the serial number of the guitar.

Ok, then I'm officially stumped. Going back to your original post, I can't imagine removing a maple cap. The effort involved, if it's even possible to do so without really damaging the underlying mahogany seems just crazy. Add in that it's a bolt-on, why do all that rather than just put the neck on a new body?
Is it possible that the PTC did just that (use a new all Hog body, complete with Floyd carve), then since it was their own work they put the same mod-cat/serial info from the original in the new body?
Like you said, it would be great if they kept records of all mods linked to serial number, but sounds like that's not the case

 

[GuitarJammin]

Ok, then I'm officially stumped. Going back to your original post, I can't imagine removing a maple cap. The effort involved, if it's even possible to do so without really damaging the underlying mahogany seems just crazy. Add in that it's a bolt-on, why do all that rather than just put the neck on a new body?
Is it possible that the PTC did just that (use a new all Hog body, complete with Floyd carve), then since it was their own work they put the same mod-cat/serial info from the original in the new body?
Like you said, it would be great if they kept records of all mods linked to serial number, but sounds like that's not the case

I’m stumped too. I was told this was modified for a artist. I however think that this is a custom build from the get go, hence the mod cat being on the body. It’s HIGHLY unlikely anyone would go through removing a maple cap. It’s also HIGHLY unlikely that modcat stickers would be transferred across bodies. I’m thinking that this guitar was a one time custom build by PRS and not a PTC build. Maybe the serial number record is reflecting wrong about the current build, because the original build slated for the SN# never came to fruition. Geez it’d be nice to officially know however there is no other conclusion to come to.

 

[DISTORT6]

I’m stumped too. I was told this was modified for an artist. I however think that this is a custom build from the get go, hence the mod cat being on the body. It’s HIGHLY unlikely anyone would go through removing a maple cap. It’s also HIGHLY unlikely that modcat stickers would be transferred across bodies. I’m thinking that this guitar was a one time custom build by PRS and not a PTC build. Maybe the serial number record is reflecting wrong about the current build, because the original build slated for the SN# never came to fruition. Geez it’d be nice to officially know however there is no other conclusion to come to.

Do you know the name of the “artist“?
Maybe try contacting them or their tech via Instagram or some other internet teenage girl media thing.

 

[Max Headroom]

Unfortunately it does seem that PRS customer service does not tie work by the PTC to a serial number.
My PS left the factory with birds but has moons now.
Seller claimed it was returned to PRS for the change but Beth could only say what it left the factory like and not if PTC did the work to the fretboard.
A crying shame as to my mind this would be so easy to do.

 

[GuitarJammin]

Unfortunately it does seem that PRS customer service does not tie work by the PTC to a serial number.
My PS left the factory with birds but has moons now.
Seller claimed it was returned to PRS for the change but Beth could only say what it left the factory like and not if PTC did the work to the fretboard.
A crying shame as to my mind this would be so easy to do.

Thank you for this reply. It does confirm what I've been suspecting that PRS isn't keeping records that are available to the public about custom work. I guess if I ever have to answer questions this will let me have something slightly better to say than "I was told."

Do you know the name of the “artist“?
Maybe try contacting them or their tech via Instagram or some other internet teenage girl media thing.

I wish I did. I don't know the name of the artist. I may try to dig that up and go that route. Good idea.

 

[Alnus Rubra]

I take it the pickup cavity reveals a hog top too?

 

[GuitarJammin]

I take it the pickup cavity reveals a hog top too?

Hard to say as the finish paint is pretty far down the cavity wall. The only thing visible is the hog of the body, but where you'd typically see a maple top it's painted over. The chips on the surface of the top are all the same color as finish chips found in other places of the guitar. All the chips match in color, definitely the same colors of the hog body. I'm absolutely sure it has no maple top because of this. Also if the maple top was removed the body would be abnormally thin....however it is not. Here are some pics of the sides of the guitar and another pic of a different chip on the top. Also I put neck joint pics from my other CU24s to compare body thickness.

 

[Alnus Rubra]

Yeah the body thickness matches.

That’s a weird anomaly, unless the opaque coat has caused the maple to morph into mahogany

 

[bodia]

Just a thought; any chance that what you are seeing in the chips is actually the Violin Amber Sunburst from the (maybe) previous finish?

 

[GuitarJammin]

All the chips are the same chocolate brown. So if this was after the fact the finish must’ve been completely stripped. However I don’t think it was ever applied.

I’m probably gunna sand away some paint in the pickup cavity just to confirm the all hog body for absolute certain.