First Private Stock Pep Talk

[veinbuster]

Like any big purchase, I know there's branding that I'm paying for. The eagle on the headstock is not unlike the Mercedes hood ornament.

More like an AMG.

 

[The Fight]

More like an AMG.

Correction : AMG\\

 

[Stephen Rudnick]

The journey depends on how you see a PS guitar.

If you see it as a prestigious piece of art, a thing of beauty, lots of pride of ownership induced, you could have a collector mentality. Then there's a good chance you may not be satisfied with just one PS, and more and more will follow. No matter what you think of your ideal specs now, there will be other options that appeal later. You need to be prepared for such an eventuality. Not that you stop adoring your first PS, just that you discover you want many.

Well....you could do the radical thing and get a Collection Series guitar and then tell yourself now that you have the best of the best, you don't need anything else. LOL ok maybe not..

However if you see the PS guitar as an extra high quality instrument, it might just be that happy ever after outcome you are looking for.

This is what I am afraid will happen!

 

[shinksma]

I'm trying to kid myself it's what I wanted but without an eagle.

The eagle on the headstock is not unlike the Mercedes hood ornament.

Which brings up a question that's been rattling in my very empty head:

The PS Eagle is found typically on PSi, but also appears on other PRSi, sometimes as a silhouette-style variant, such as the 25th anniv 305. And of course the Modern Eagle runs - are they considered a PS run, or just a really fine WL- or AP-type run?

So...what other non-PS models have featured the PS eagle (in some fashion) on the headstock?

 

[Defpony]

The journey depends on how you see a PS guitar.

If you see it as a prestigious piece of art, a thing of beauty, lots of pride of ownership induced, you could have a collector mentality. Then there's a good chance you may not be satisfied with just one PS, and more and more will follow. No matter what you think of your ideal specs now, there will be other options that appeal later. You need to be prepared for such an eventuality. Not that you stop adoring your first PS, just that you discover you want many.

Well....you could do the radical thing and get a Collection Series guitar and then tell yourself now that you have the best of the best, you don't need anything else. LOL ok maybe not..

However if you see the PS guitar as an extra high quality instrument, it might just be that happy ever after outcome you are looking for.

Another nice encapsulation of some thoughts I've had throughout this process.
I'm a player, foremost. I love music, playing music, love the feel of a spectacular guitar in my hands, and have played enough to appreciate the difference (even if if I'm still working to unlock the potential of said instrument).

...and while I won't be banging out the PS at bar gigs anytime soon, I know it will be an instrument I'll play and not leave to collect dust in it's beautiful case. Having said that, I do think I've got a bit of collector mentality forming, as well. I like the thought of this instrument remaining in pristine condition (despite playing it), and having my family be able to enjoy it decades from now. I realize PS is not really an investment as much as it a beautiful piece to be enjoyed (as opposed to high-grade vintage gear). If it holds some value, that's a bonus. If it accrues value? Well, there goes my 401k.

And I can definitely see the cliff if I pull the trigger once. New options, builds, etc. Heck, a change in taste(s) sends the mind a wanderin'.

So, are you saying it's either all the PS instruments or none??

 

[shinksma]

Every core Santana guitar, I believe.

OK, another reason why I need a core Santana!

Hmm, the reality is that I can't afford any more guitars this year...but maybe if I find one or two with finishes I like, I can keep the idea fresh until 2017, or maybe drop hints to my fiancee of a possible wedding present idea...

 

[László]

So, are you saying it's either all the PS instruments or none??

Depends on you. I have a few PS and just got a WL Core model that I love. No rules in this game. If you like an instrument, that's a good thing. If you make good music on it, that's a great thing.

All of mine get used professionally, regardless of cost; while the PS guitars are a bit nicer in tone and feel in general, that doesn't rule out or exclude other great instruments that attract your ear. There are wonderful, desirable, great sounding Core PRSes, plenty of 'em!

I get the guitars I feel I'll make use of whether they're PS or not, and Core PRS are phenomenal guitars. You might feel the same way. One certainly doesn't have to make a rule, "Only PS from now on!" That would be silly, and counterproductive, to my way of thinking.

 

[Defpony]

Depends on you. I have a few PS and just got a WL Core model that I love. No rules in this game. If you like an instrument, that's a good thing. If you make good music on it, that's a great thing.

All of mine get used professionally, regardless of cost; while the PS guitars are a bit nicer in tone and feel in general, that doesn't rule out or exclude other great instruments that attract your ear. There are wonderful, desirable, great sounding Core PRSes, plenty of 'em!

I get the guitars I feel I'll make use of whether they're PS or not, and Core PRS are phenomenal guitars. You might feel the same way. One certainly doesn't have to make a rule, "Only PS from now on!" That would be silly, and counterproductive, to my way of thinking.

I like that line of thinking--I was kidding with the whole 'only PS from now on' schtick. I'm thinking that it boils down to: I've wanted a PS guitar since I was a young lad and figure this is the best time to get one. Best = financially acceptable with the time to enjoy it a few years ahead of schedule. Hopefully, it doesn't preclude me from getting other guitars in the future, PS or not.

 

[kingsleyd]

Defpony, one thing to keep in mind with custom builds is this: you're still young. (relative to some of us, anyway; if you're about to turn 30 but haven't yet you're younger than both of my kids!) A lot is going to change over the next 30 years of your life. Just because something seems perfect now doesn't mean it will continue to be perfect for the next 30 years. The upside of that, if you can frame it this way, is that your potential PS build doesn't have to be perfect, it just has to be what you want right now. That might take some of the pressure off so you don't have to sweat every little detail or get into a maddening flip flop between this and that.

Just enjoy the process!

I was kinda like Les in that I played a bunch of different PRS guitars over a pretty long window of time (got my first back in 1990) before I ever considered a PS guitar. When I did finally do a custom build though, it wasn't to get something I wanted that I couldn't get otherwise. It was totally random/intuitive. It came about because I was in the wood library with my good friend Eric from Willcutt. My sole purpose was to help E pick out wood for a run he was doing for the shop. We solemnly agreed beforehand that we both had too many nice guitars already and we were NOT going to get another one for ourselves. Well, the best laid plans... ...I left there with a pile of wood and order sheet for PS #3825. (pic to follow) (as did E, btw)

Here's the thing. I picked various pieces of wood because they called to me. For different reasons in each case. I gave no thought to the end result until I had basically a whole guitar's worth of wood in a pile in front of me. Oh, crap! Now I have to decide what I'm going to have them build out of this stuff! The top I had chosen kinda screamed "59 Les Paul" to me (and everyone) but I've never been a fan of the PRS single cuts (OK, so, shoot me). They hadn't done the 594 thing yet, and I wasn't sure how far I could push them in the direction I would really want to go. I knew the basic DGT recipe worked for me so I just went with that, with a 57/08 in the neck 'cos I knew I liked that better than a DGT neck pickup. Given how it went down, and what all else I have in my personal woodpile, my expectations were that it would be a cool (and nice-looking) guitar that would be fun to have but not particularly essential.

FWIW, I recognize what a luxury it is to be able to spec a PS (or any custom build guitar) just basically for the fun of it. For most of my life I wouldn't have been able to do that.

Anyway, the guitar arrived four months later and it certainly was as cool and nice-looking as I'd expected. And the overall voice was what I expected as well -- a little bit quirky due to the weird combination of woods I'd chosen, it's one of those guitars that really has a sound. Sometimes that's great; other times it's not what I want to hear at all.

Over time (the build happened in 2012) I found myself playing that guitar surprisingly often and, when I did, it was the one guitar out of all of 'em (roughly 50, although if you only count 6-string electrics it's more like 35) where I would think, "You know, I could see myself doing a Wayne Krantz and playing this one exclusively." Then I'd list all the things I would change if I were actually going to do that! The end result of all that thinking was another PS guitar, but with the newer one, it went down very differently. I helped a dealer (different one, not E) spec the guitar, not specifically for me, but for his shop. When the guitar arrived and he showed it to me, I'd completely forgotten about our whole conversation! But when I played the guitar, damn!!! It was everything I wanted in a bespoke PRS, even though my name didn't appear anywhere on the build sheet.

Of course I bought it. And I love it.

But the funny thing is, even though objectively speaking it's a better fit for me than my original KingsleyDGT, and my ears generally tell me "the new one sounds so much better overall!" there's an unmistakable emotional bond with the original one that isn't there in the same way with the new one.

Or maybe it's just the Honduran rosewood neck... ...anyway, good luck, and don't overthink things!

Here's the original KingsleyDGT.

 

[kingsleyd]

Oh and, for completeness' sake, here's the other one. In action this time.

 

[kingsleyd]

One thing's for sure. They should hold their value better than cars or golf clubs. Won't outdo Rolex watches though!

At this point (I became a grandfather earlier this year) I think more about the value to my children & grandchildren. And not in terms of open market cash value, but in terms of meaningfulness. How cool to have a Private Stock PRS that was made for your father or grandfather back in the day when Paul played and signed every one of them?

And I have a birth year VY Custom that will go to one of my sons.

 

[László]

At this point (I became a grandfather earlier this year) I think more about the value to my children & grandchildren. And not in terms of open market cash value, but in terms of meaningfulness. How cool to have a Private Stock PRS that was made for your father or grandfather back in the day when Paul played and signed every one of them.

None of this serious sh%t for me.

I hope my son and grandson sell mine for a goodly sum and blow the money on fast cars and loose women.

 

[Stephen Rudnick]

I will have no one to leave any guitars to, but for my wife. She is a trained singer and has done professional dinner theater in NYC, fronted bands for over 35 years, and has done a stupid amount of studio recording. She is really up on all this stuff.

I have never gotten any heat from her about my GAS problem...well, at least my gear GAS problem.
She already wants to keep my Golden Dragon XOX, which is a very rare signature model they did for me, and I assume that after she sees a PRS, she will want to hold onto that as well.

A long time ago, I gave up on buying guitars which I thought might increase in value over time. Having owned and gone through all the holy grail guitars as I was growing up, I still don't kick myself for having let them go, as hindsight is always 20/20.

I recently got to the point where I even look at Gibson guitars as my father's type of guitars. I loved them when I played them for over 5 decades, but then I lost all interest in them, even after going back recently and trying to recapture that feeling with some nice models I purchased. I just didn't get that old feeling any longer.

However, when I die, I at least won't have regrets about not trying the guitars, amps, and pedals I wanted to along the way.

 

[László]

My son asked me to convey a dibs to yours for the northern lights 20th anniv PS.

Hahaha!

Wait, did I drop dead yet?

 

[jfb]

More like an AMG.

C63, vroom!

 

[Alan Manning]

All my guitars are going to my kids and grand kids.
What they do with them is completely their choice and anyway
hopefully theyll be down to SAWDUST by then !!!

 

[Defpony]

Altered the build bit after some pic sleuthing/more consideration...

594
Bookmatched flamed maple
Figured hog back, stained maple back plates, maple HS veneer
Ziricote neck (love the look!), BRW board
Ziricote tuner buttons, PUP rings
Curly maple binding
Abalone birds

Finish is being concocted...

Any thoughts/opinions before I pull the trigger?

 

[László]

Altered the build bit after some pic sleuthing/more consideration...

594
Bookmatched flamed maple
Figured hog back, stained maple back plates, maple HS veneer
Ziricote neck (love the look!), BRW board
Ziricote tuner buttons, PUP rings
Curly maple binding
Abalone birds

Finish is being concocted...

Any thoughts/opinions before I pull the trigger?

Yes.

I would want one a lot like it.

 

[ViperDoc]

Altered the build bit after some pic sleuthing/more consideration...

594
Bookmatched flamed maple
Figured hog back, stained maple back plates, maple HS veneer
Ziricote neck (love the look!), BRW board
Ziricote tuner buttons, PUP rings
Curly maple binding
Abalone birds

Finish is being concocted...

Any thoughts/opinions before I pull the trigger?

I didn't take the time to read this whole thread, but if it hasn't already been suggested, I would suggest DGT wiring while keeping the individual tone tap pots. The DGT parallel circuit allows you to trim neck and bridge volumes in the middle position without the bridge volume choke of the traditional series circuit. Otherwise, you're on your way to one b!tchin axe!

 

[veinbuster]

594
Bookmatched flamed maple
Figured hog back, stained maple back plates, maple HS veneer
Ziricote neck (love the look!), BRW board
Ziricote tuner buttons, PUP rings
Curly maple binding
Abalone birds

I like your build, but I prefer the backplates to be made from the back - particularly if you get a nicely figured back. They match them up really well now and it looks great. With a less interesting back, maple plates are quite reasonable.