How do you order a private stock?

[gemyneye]

I’m sure there is someone here who could possibly point me in the right direction. I’m wondering if it were possible to price out an instrument, what options are available, time from order to delivery? Can you request things like stainless steel frets? Compound radius?
Thank you.

 

[Moondog Wily]

All private stock orders are done through the dealer. Contact any dealers you would like to buy through, and they will give you a quote. The quotes will NOT be exactly the same as the dealer will decide how much profit they want to bake into the same order. You CAN get quotes from multiple dealers, so don't be afraid to do so. AFIK, quotes cost nothing. As for the timing, I would bet the dealers will be telling you an estimated time, and they will have no control if it takes a lot longer. Regarding the options that are available, I can not speak to that as a lot of people have been getting a lot of "no" answers to requests over the past 2 years or so, supposedly because of the "back log". Whatever the case is, your dealer(s) will be able to sort that out for you when you request a quote.

So how do you order a private stock? With a lot of patience as well as willingness to not get EXACTLY what you want in some cases! Hope it all goes perfect for you!!!

 

[gemyneye]

All private stock orders are done through the dealer. Contact any dealers you would like to buy through, and they will give you a quote. The quotes will NOT be exactly the same as the dealer will decide how much profit they want to bake into the same order. You CAN get quotes from multiple dealers, so don't be afraid to do so. AFIK, quotes cost nothing. As for the timing, I would bet the dealers will be telling you an estimated time, and they will have no control if it takes a lot longer. Regarding the options that are available, I can not speak to that as a lot of people have been getting a lot of "no" answers to requests over the past 2 years or so, supposedly because of the "back log". Whatever the case is, your dealer(s) will be able to sort that out for you when you request a quote.

So how do you order a private stock? With a lot of patience as well as willingness to not get EXACTLY what you want in some cases! Hope it all goes perfect for you!!!

Thank you! At this point, I was just curious. I've noticed that some builders/companies offer "custom" build options and I was curious about PRS's take on that. I will do some research and see what I find. At this point, I think I read somewhere PS guitars are in the 5 figures, so it will be several years of overtime for me to reach that. thanks again!

 

[ViperDoc]

Private Stock classically has only been limited by your imagination. Recently, PRS narrowed the options list slightly to help factory efficiency, and for good reason. Find a dealer you like and start filling out the details on an order spreadsheet. And see how the mind and possibilities wander…

I think the wait time has been at least 18 months for a PS, so factor that in.

 

[docteurseb]

Thank you! At this point, I was just curious. I've noticed that some builders/companies offer "custom" build options and I was curious about PRS's take on that. I will do some research and see what I find. At this point, I think I read somewhere PS guitars are in the 5 figures, so it will be several years of overtime for me to reach that. thanks again!

2022 MAP base spec pricing is indeed in the $10-11k range depending on the model (594s with curly maple neck binding are slightly more expensive).
That'll increase in 2023 if it hasn't already.

The spec'ing process, like most custom shops, can be a frustrating one with lots of back and forth with dealers if you don't know what you want. I'd avoid the big stores like the plague as their turn around time for just getting a quote is abnormally high; the one that likes to offer candies is one such example.

Turn around time for the MEV I spec'd last January appears to be 12months (judging by its showing on the PS Friday thread in December); but that's a relatively simple build. If you order fancy inlays or components made by a 3rd party, want a specific quilt top, ... your build time may increase randomly.
Also: do not trust any estimate you're given by the dealer/PRS. Wait patiently, it'll show up eventually.

 

[gemyneye]

Private Stock classically has only been limited by your imagination. Recently, PRS narrowed the options list slightly to help factory efficiency, and for good reason. Find a dealer you like and start filling out the details on an order spreadsheet. And see how the mind and possibilities wander…

I think the wait time has been at least 18 months for a PS, so factor that in.

2022 MAP base spec pricing is indeed in the $10-11k range depending on the model (594s with curly maple neck binding are slightly more expensive).
That'll increase in 2023 if it hasn't already.

The spec'ing process, like most custom shops, can be a frustrating one with lots of back and forth with dealers if you don't know what you want. I'd avoid the big stores like the plague as their turn around time for just getting a quote is abnormally high; the one that likes to offer candies is one such example.

Turn around time for the MEV I spec'd last January appears to be 12months (judging by its showing on the PS Friday thread in December); but that's a relatively simple build. If you order fancy inlays or components made by a 3rd party, want a specific quilt top, ... your build time may increase randomly.
Also: do not trust any estimate you're given by the dealer/PRS. Wait patiently, it'll show up eventually.

Thank you.

I'm not looking for fancy woods, probably a simple Swamp Ash. Heck I don't know enough about the woods to really choose I suppose. I love my MEV which is SA, I guess I'm more of a feel, so neck and pickups would probably be more important. Who knows, by the time I can afford it, I will probably know.

 

[ViperDoc]

Thank you.

I'm not looking for fancy woods, probably a simple Swamp Ash. Heck I don't know enough about the woods to really choose I suppose. I love my MEV which is SA, I guess I'm more of a feel, so neck and pickups would probably be more important. Who knows, by the time I can afford it, I will probably know.

Not to dissuade you from the white whale of your dreams, but if you're only after a swamp ash body, you could hardly do better than a swamp ash wood library model of your choice. Is your MEV a swamp ash variant?

 

[gemyneye]

Not to dissuade you from the white whale of your dreams, but if you're only after a swamp ash body, you could hardly do better than a swamp ash wood library model of your choice. Is your MEV a swamp ash variant?

Yeah, I tend to agree with you. I was just thinking about that last night, I think my Swamp Ash WL MEV fits my bill perfectly. No use going to a 5 fig guitar "just cuz". I love that thing anyway. I was playing through all my guitars one after the next and kept saying I "love this guitar"! They are all so awesome. I only wish PRS had one with a smaller neck and compound radius.

 

[ViperDoc]

Yeah, I tend to agree with you. I was just thinking about that last night, I think my Swamp Ash WL MEV fits my bill perfectly. No use going to a 5 fig guitar "just cuz". I love that thing anyway. I was playing through all my guitars one after the next and kept saying I "love this guitar"! They are all so awesome. I only wish PRS had one with a smaller neck and compound radius.

Well, that's a perfectly good reason to entertain the header eagle. By smaller, do you mean thinner profile or shorter scale length? I don't recall ever seeing a compound radius fall outside PS.

 

[gemyneye]

Well, that's a perfectly good reason to entertain the header eagle. By smaller, do you mean thinner profile or shorter scale length? I don't recall ever seeing a compound radius fall outside PS.

Yes, not necessarily shorter scale, I'm ok with 24.5-25.5. I can even play my 26.5 ok without issue. But due to my small hands, I do find the nut width of 1.65 or smaller and depth at .770 to be quite comfortable. Sorry I was vague when I said "smaller" neck.