Impossible Task: Pick a Color, Any Color

HANGAR18

Who is John Galt?
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I've been on the hunt for a McCarty 594 Singlecut, in a color I like. After trying a lot of other things, I'm at the place where I'm thinking, "screw it, I'll just order one" and that way I can have any color I want. Simple, right? No. Any color I want, right? Even if I include every available color from the Private Stock pallet, I still can't decide.

There are too many choices. Too many great finishes. Whichever finish I get I'm going to have to live with it for a long time since I would like the next guitar I buy to be the last guitar I ever buy. (I've got too many.) If someone just walked up to me and said, Hey Man, what color of guitar would you like? I'd say Red. Just plain translucent freekin' red. Like breaklight red or whatever. But no... all PRS core models have to be fancypants complex colors and you can only select colors from the current model year.

If I want an older version of the PRS Black Cherry, that would be great! But that version of the black cherry is different from the more recent black cherry which I don't like. Then, let's say I pick a current production color, but I want it to have a burst of some sort, smokeburst or whatever... and not just a darkened edges burst but a teardrop shaped burst. How does that message get passed along from the sales guy at the dealer to all the people along the way who will keep passing along my request all the way until it gets down to the actual guy in the paint booth who is going to spray the color? I'm under the impression that a lot of detail is going to get lost along the way.

So I guess I'll have to just buy a guitar the old fashioned way. Shop online or go somewhere they have a huge inventory of PRS guitars and wait till I see one that REALLY jumps out at me with some sort of really impressive appearance in whatever color and wood figuring it may happen to have.
 
Ironic your conundrum is the same as mine regarding color/stain selections of this exact model. There are the 'standard production'(17 total), then there's the 'artist model' selections. Frankly none/zero of the standards do anything for me for the MAP. On the other hand, I have a Santana model that has the EXACT stain I'd want on my SC594...it's killer, BUT I'm thinking the ONLY way would be to print a picture of the Santana and give it to JD of Guitar Maverick and ask, 'Can I only get this by paying for an Artist Model(with the wait, up-charge and no guarantee that it will be close enough of a match)?". And this I will do tomorrow(Saturday) at the Dallas Guitar Festival. I'll update...
 
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I think a 594 SC in Livingston Lemondrop would be just incredible but it looks like that's AP only.
 
Picking a color has always been the hardest part for me...even more so when I was pulling together a Private Stock order; my gosh you can have ANY color you want!!!!

BUT...if I had to pick from available core colors **without** seeing the top:
  • 10 Top = Faded Whale Blue...and I might as a dealer for a "favor" and see about getting a burst added, which can happen.
  • Artist = River Blue...but only because I don't see Grey Black Fade listed for the SC594s
 
Even if I include every available color from the Private Stock pallet, I still can't decide.

It's because you're looking for pallets when artists and colorists use palettes. ;)

Don't worry, there's no need to thank me. I'm always glad to help my friends parse the King's English.
 
Is Autumn Sky still an option? My P22 is in that and it looks great in the flesh, though I seem to see it doesn't always photograph as well.


It's because you're looking for pallets when artists and colorists use palettes. ;)

Don't worry, there's no need to thank me. I'm always glad to help my friends parse the King's English.

As Queen Elizabeth II is the current monarch, that would be the Queen's English. ;)
 
Easy: Seafoam.

But a beach fade or a northern lights would also be considerable alternatives should I need to show some grain with more pizazz.

If I had a carte blanche, I'd order a SC-J with a fancy top in a translucent seafoam. It tickles my synapses in a very pleasing way. Almost like Salad Fingers and Rusty Spoons.

But most guitars should be seafoam. But then again, I'd get my car painted seafoam if I had the cash laying around. So I may not be a reliable source.
 
Can always find a 50`s refrigerator to satisfy the sea foam lust. If you order custom, the color will always vary a little bit from the sample because each piece of wood takes the dyes differently. To me, it`s part of the beauty of PRS. I`d say take the easy way out, because you`ll know exactly what you`re getting.
 
Can always find a 50`s refrigerator to satisfy the sea foam lust. If you order custom, the color will always vary a little bit from the sample because each piece of wood takes the dyes differently. To me, it`s part of the beauty of PRS. I`d say take the easy way out, because you`ll know exactly what you`re getting.

I have an actual 50's upright freezer here in the house. Can't get rid of it because it still works. hahaha
 
A friend of mine in Northern California has a refrigerator from the 20`s that works perfectly. But then, he`s a collector. Imagine that......
 
Ironic your conundrum is the same as mine regarding color/stain selections of this exact model. There are the 'standard production'(17 total), then there's the 'artist model' selections. Frankly none/zero of the standards do anything for me for the MAP. On the other hand, I have a Santana model that has the EXACT stain I'd want on my SC594...it's killer, BUT I'm thinking the ONLY way would be to print a picture of the Santana and give it to JD of Guitar Maverick and ask, 'Can I only get this by paying for an Artist Model(with the wait, up-charge and no guarantee that it will be close enough of a match)?". And this I will do tomorrow(Saturday) at the Dallas Guitar Festival. I'll update...

OK, the only way I think I've figured this out: Standard Production, Artist Models, Dealer Wood Library, Private Stock and then 'Sprayers Choice' Stains/Colors. The Mod-Cat is: CC-Custom Color. Bottom line for me? Unless I order a private stock I will NEVER get a match of my Santana to a SC594 and even then that could be 'iffy' according to someone that would know these things. Unless someone else knows something else?
 
Oh what a crazy ride is this guitar addiction of mine. Hopefully that is the last one. I just brought home a new PRS guitar today, the appearance of which I would personally describe as stunning. I say this knowing that some people don't like certain colors of guitars. Pictures to follow, too soon for that now but here is how the story ends.

After all that searching for a singlecut 594 so that I would have one of each in the collection, I woke up this morning rethinking my decision to get a singlecut. I remembered that I actually had a "2008 PRS Singlecut" once and let it go because I didn't like how thick it was (ie uncomfortable to play) and then proceeded to buy of Custom 24's with thin bodies and necks. I did A/B tests by strapping on my doublecut 594 and then compared it to my vintage singlecut from Kalamazoo Michigan where they first invented the singlecut. Clearly, the doublecut design hangs better from the straps and is more comfortable to play. imho ymmv So I concluded that being comfortable to play is more important than how vintagey looking the design might be and then changed my mind on the body shape. My search would continue but for a doublecut and not a singlecut. There's no rule that says you can't have two doublecuts, right?

So now, back to the subject of color. All that time I spent studying PRS guitar colors paid off. (Since PRS doesn't have a sample chart on their web site, I just copy & pasted each artist package or private stock color name into an online image search and got to see them that way.) Along the way, I ran across a color that really left an impression and stuck with me. My search led me to a local store I've done business with a couple of times before where I asked them if they had anything hiding in the back that no one knew about. As a matter of fact, they did and then the descriptions being read off of a spreadsheet. I stopped him when he said "River Blue". I said out loud, HEY, wait a minute... I've heard of that color... that color is incredible! Let me see that guitar.

He brought out a PRS McCarty 594 doublecut in River Blue and we opened the case. Insert audible gasp here... I picked it up to look at it closer and I said, Yes... this is incredible! Then one of the other sales guys from a short distance away says "Look at the neck." I flipped it over right away to see a PS quality flame maple neck finished in an appropriate translucent color. I'm proud of myself for not passing out right there on the spot. A birthday present to myself as my bd is nigh at hand. But along with this NGD is also the realization that, financially speaking, I can't keep them all. So this time it will be one in and one out. I made a phone call once I got the new guitar home and another PRS fan just paid the PP invoice I just sent him, which means that my Holcomb model is going to its new home in Texas. Its really better this way because I never did like the SD A&O pickups and this way I won't be tempted to modify the guitar.

So that's it. Search over. Pictures to follow.
 
Your 'River Blue' is an Artist Package Colour. Is this one you speak of an Artist Package DC594 then? Or something else? Just wondering...
 
Your 'River Blue' is an Artist Package Colour. Is this one you speak of an Artist Package DC594 then? Or something else? Just wondering...

I don't know about an artist package or not. I'm pretty sure it has a 10 on the back of the headstock. With a maple neck it does differ from the normal specs. It's been raining heavily here all day so I couldn't get a good photo of it but maybe I'll just shoot a couple of crappy cell phone photos until I can get it in some sunlight. Yes, double cut 594.
 
The photos don't do it justice but River Blue is a finish that looks like it has a wavy blue color on top while there is sort of a seafoam green color under it and together it looks amazing. My wife said it reminded her of turquoise stones. It looks really great in person. There are better photos on the Internet that you can find by doing an image search for PRS Guitar River Blue. The flame maple neck on this one might not be consistent enough for PS but it sure does look good anyway. My wife had me hang it next to the other 594 that she helped me pick out.

PRS2017-594RiverBlue01.jpg


PRS2017-594RiverBlue02.jpg


PRS2017-594RiverBlue03.jpg
 
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