Appreciate all the wisdom. Again, I am fairly new to the PRS world (I guess 9 years is not too shabby) but I appreciate all the input and the feedback. On reflection, yes I would agree PRS Private Stock Quality is a smidge better, if mainly due to the beauty and quality of the woods. And nitro, I 100% agree.
The 20th Anniversary PS is one I kick myself for not buying, not once but twice. However I will definitely need to sell a few guitars before I think of shifting any into my house otherwise I will be shifting out
Your videos remind me that we're all on a voyage of discovery, so it's a lot of fun to see someone delighted to dig into and listen to the unique characteristics of an instrument; it's clear that you put a lot of thought into it. That's way more important to me than memorizing the PRS history book, because really it's about the individual guitar,
So I like the vids - they remind me of listening to one of my session players shoot the breeze about a guitar he or she brings into my studio. It's fun!
I've owned a lot of PRS guitars since being in the music production/composing biz over the past 33 years, but never more than a handful at a time - I guess you could call me a serial collector! I can only concentrate on a few instruments, plus the studio has other needs that scream for attention and resources.
I've found all of my guitars fungible, except my private stocks. For some reason, I can't seem to part with them. Since turnabout is fair play, I'll talk about mine for a bit; it'll be brief because I've only got five guitars.
I figured you might dig hearing about them:
The 20th PS Anniversary guitar that I mentioned in another post is gorgeous sounding. The tone is clear and open, and even played acoustically it's loud. Rings like a bell. I've recorded a lot of commercials with this guitar, in all styles. It seems to fit in any track.
My son, who's a producer in LA with gold record credits, and plays/tours with The Academy Is and 30 Seconds to Mars (plus his own band Partybaby) is into guitars, has a bunch of vintage models, and is a Fender endorser. When he played this guitar for the first time, he said, "OMG, this is a GREAT guitar." Coming from him, that's remarkable, because he's a Strat and Tele guy.
As mentioned, it's got a unique sound, even for a PRS, because the top is slightly thinner and the mahogany back is slightly thicker, and then there are the Paul's 408s and a Narrowfield 57/08.
The back is African ribbon mahogany, the neck is Peruvian, and the fretboard is Madagascar rosewood, that gives it a more buttery sound than Brazilian and different from Indian rosewood. In fact, my 3 PS electrics all have this type of fretboard. The saddles are Gen. III but the saddles lock.
I bought this from dealer stock. I wanted to hear it first and not take a chance with a special order. PRS made 60 of them. They were only produced in two finishes, this Northern Lights and an orange one I forgot the name of.
Here's a shot of it:
Next up is the guitar I've called my #1 for a long time. It's a PS Artist Relations McCarty Singlecut from the PS run from 2014. I have no idea how many were made. I'd guess not that many?
Tim Pierce has one of them, and plays it often on his channel. My dealer spotted it at the factory, and Paul said he could buy it, so he grabbed it. He cut a video of it for me so I could hear it before buying and I was hooked on the tone.
I'd say it sounds a lot like a great Les Paul, but with a wider top to bottom frequency response, and I seem to be able to do more with it than I can with an LP. I'd say it's very warm and clear, but has a good bite. The pickups are 57/08, and like the others I have, the back is African ribbon mahogany, Peruvian neck, Madagascar rosewood fretboard.
On this one, the inlays are mammoth ivory, which, I dunno, looks like Corian to me, so probably not a big deal, but inlays aren't something I care much about. Pic:
This is quite simply the sweetest sounding, most resonant Custom 24 I've ever played, and I've had several long termers; it's part of the 2015 30th Anniversary PS run. I think they made 60 or 80 of these. It sustains forever and a day. I wasn't looking to buy a PS; I wanted to buy a Core CU24. I asked my dealer to record a clip of the guitar vs a Core model I was looking at, and that was it. The tone of this PS was clearly in a league of its own. I couldn't get the tone out of my head. I slept on my decision for a day and realized I'd kick myself if I didn't buy it. So I bought it.
Interesting features are the 3 way toggle, the tone control pulls up as a Sweet Switch. The body carve, neck heel and headstock shape are supposed to be like the original 'pre-factory' handmade ones that Paul made back in the day, but honestly, I simply cannot tell the difference in either the carve or the headstock comparing it to my other PRS models. The neck carve is Pattern Regular, which I prefer to the thinner one that's now all you can get on a CU24.
So I can't tell you
why the carve is a thing, but...it's a thing. I don't really care for quilt guitars that much; I like traditional fiddleback flame more, but the guitar was just so good sounding I couldn't say no.
The pickups are 85/15s. They sound great to me, and perfect for this guitar. As with the others, the back is African ribbon mahogany, Peruvian neck, Madagascar rosewood fretboard:
Next up is a PS acoustic I special ordered back in 2013. I had a cocobolo Tonare Grand artist model - sounded wonderful - but got it into my head that I needed a maple one because I like the sound of a good J200.
It's a cannon. The guitar is super-resonant, not as thin or bright as you might expect with a maple back, neck and sides/ebony fretboard. It's far more balanced than a J200, and much louder.
I wasn't there to pick out the woods, I trusted my dealer, who's a luthier himself. He was at Experience, and somehow grabbed Paul Smith himself, and they tapped the woods for tone. It's pretty unusual for Paul to do that, and from the sound of the thing, his input clearly shows.
The Adirondack Spruce top was being held for Tony McManus - it had his name written in pencil - but Paul OK'd it for this build. The birds and inlays are what was stock for the Core model. I didn't really want fancy stuff, I wanted to be able to pull it out for a session with other players and not attract attention. So I initially ordered it without a stain to look more like a J185 or J200, but the PS folks felt like that was too ordinary, so I relented. This finish is called Smokey Blonde.
The idea that it wouldn't be flashy was a failed concept, because it attracts attention anyway. Oh well! I've compared it to my friend's Olson that's worth a fortune, and I think it's every bit as wonderful. Different, but just as good an instrument.
I haven't looked at another acoustic guitar since I got it in 2013. I haven't even played one in a store when just looking around. It's that good. I don't need anything else in an acoustic.
Finally, I got this DGT just this past fall. It's a Wood Library version that was part of Jack Gretz' run. I didn't realize how good these DGTs are, even though I'd played them in stores. I'm sure you'd agree that living with a guitar is what truly gives you the opportunity to get to know what a guitar can or can't do. This one does a lot, and there isn't much it doesn't do well!
The back is African mahogany, the fretboard is Brazilian rosewood. The tone is as you'd expect: it has a lot of snap, notes fly off the fretboard, and it sustains very well. It's brighter and more articulate than a lot of McCarty models I've had.
I heard this one in Jack's unboxing video when it hit his store, and thought it sounded the business. I had been ready to buy an Anderson Strat, but when I heard this I realized I didn't need to. I'm not really a Strat guy, this does what I'd use a Strat for, though of course a Strat is still different (but I don't much care). It does other things I do more often, can even get close to a Tele twang (though again, still a bit different). Most importantly, it does PRS! Beyond that, I love the pickups, the neck, the fretwork and even the .011 strings.
