In Praise Of The '20th Anniversary of PS' PS

László

Only Human
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As some here know, I got one of the 20th Anniversary of Private Stock PS guitars a couple of months back when they came out with them. Unfortunately, the guitar's arrival coincided with a nerve problem in my hand affecting my playing ability, and being a very depressed drama queen over that, I had a difficult time truly appreciating what I had in my hands. Timing, ya know?

But life goes on, I'm dealing with it. I've had some new ad work come in, and you know, funny thing, when you start working on a guitar part, you tend to think of ways to do it, instead of ways to whine about it! ;)

When the guitar arrived, I posted a little about its capabilities, did a little audio demo, and showed some pictures. But in the past few days, I've had a much better chance to do actual work with it, and...it is truly the most gorgeous sounding guitar I've ever played. When I say "gorgeous sounding" I mean, played clean especially, the doors to Valhalla or Olympus open up and the guitar gods sing. Where in my mind the McCarty Singlecut is the nuclear, raw power option, and the CU24 30th is the surgical scalpel option, I'd feel comfortable using this one for just about anything, rock, blues, jazz, whatever. It's an all-rounder.

I feel I didn't give it enough love. I also think it'd make a great Core model.

Imagine a guitar with the 24.594" scale length, like the 594; Pattern neck; thicker mahogany back, ever-so-slightly thinner maple cap; 3 pickups, two like on Paul's Guitar, but with a middle pickup that's a Narrowfield, and a 5 way blade, that quacks in the 2 and 4 positions. It still has the articulation and clarity of the Paul's or the 408, but the middle pickup alone is absolutely the best sounding middle pickup I have ever heard...the bridge pickup can do pretty, or it can rock out. Neck pickup? I've never heard one this clear and downright beautiful clean, seriously, I think the thicker 'hog back helps. The guitar has oodles of sustain - seriously, as much as my McCarty Singlecut affectionately known as The Hammer Of The Gods - and the bridge is the latest whiz-bang, locking saddles, Gen III tremolo, that I think assists with all this tone stuff.

So basically this guitar does all the different tones people often ask for, and does them with such panache that it's almost crazy. I find myself playing it longer than any of my other guitars, I simply have a hard time putting it down when it's time to shut down the amps and go to bed. It's a tone freak's dream, and it plays like buttah. ;)

I have amp/guitar combinations I tend to go to because I think certain combinations sound better than others, but this guitar works with all 3 of my amps equally well (and those amps would be the PRS HXDA, a Marshall Plexi style amp, the PRS DG30, kind of a blend of vintage Tweed, AC30, and some other stuff thrown into the mix but very vintage style, and a Mesa Lone Star 100, which thinks its a Blackface style amp).

Even the knobs and switch are in slightly altered places on the guitar that make it a joy to handle in the heat of a session.

The level of attention to detail and artistry of the build are off the chart. Everything about it is, well, incredible, even for a PS. I'm so glad I got this thing! So, forgive me for sounding a little obsessed; it really is a spectacular instrument in every possible way - tone, detail, beauty, artistry, playability. Everything's there.

Need a beauty shot, you say?

Here's the one in the case showing the color and the top, but I haven't got any pictures that really do the guitar's details justice. It begs to be seen up close and personal.

 
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Absolutely Beautiful Les! That color and everything else about it. I agree I wish they would make a core model of it in the future
 
Les, that is well done. What a gorgeous guitar, and it sounds like a swiss army knife! Is that the Northern Lights finish on it?
 
Les, that is well done. What a gorgeous guitar, and it sounds like a swiss army knife! Is that the Northern Lights finish on it?

Yes, it's Northern Lights Smokeburst. And Swiss army knife is a good analogy, though it's the nicest damned Swiss army knife you're ever going to play! ;)
 
Les your description makes me dream of "the ultimate tone" for me anyway, hoping one day
I'll be lucky to stand near the door to Valhalla,
I'm sending oodles of positive thoughts for your hand to recover quicker so you can bask in the tonal bliss of this gem of a guitar.
 
Les, yours will get a more honest workout than mine ever will! But I agree with you, it is truly superlative, in the midst of what is already superlative...

Every time I play her I giggle a little, and the time just seems to slip away...
 
At the risk of partially hijacking the thread, I have a twin to this guitar. Well, nearly a twin...I'm going to be making a couple of changes, but minor ones and mostly cosmetic.

I'm also really looking forward to Les getting his nerve issue sorted!

I'll likely have more to say about my guitar, but I will say this: as Les pointed out in another thread, I'm a picky bastard. I'm used to WCR PAF-style pickups, and a good Tele. At first, my 20th underwhelmed me tonally. I found out that the amp I had been testing on was losing one tube, and that was the main reason: the increased bandwidth down low relative to my other guitars made it so the amp just couldn't keep up. I fixed that and then started dialing things in a bit better.

I started with the recommended pickup height, then went a touch closer as per one recommendation I got here. I ended up with it a touch lower than recommended, and that works well as the sweet spot for the bridge where I spend most of my time. The tone is a bit flatter than a PAF in the bridge position, but with very sweet highs and an extended low end. It sounds like a hi-fi humbucker, but without being sterile. All pickup positions respond very well to changes in pick dynamics and angle. It responds beautifully to subtlety.

But one issue I have now is that the neck pickup (and to a degree the 2&4 positions) seem to want a bit more high end. The good news is that even with the stock switch, I can wire it such that there would be two different tone caps switched in for various positions. So I may tinker with that a bit.

The inlays on this guitar are really pretty. The wood is great, the playability is the best I have ever felt (very, very little neck relief, and yet no fret buzz!), and the tones are very versatile. I reshaped the truss rod cover a bit (seemed odd to have no bevel to it at all), and I'll likely end up with custom wood knobs, since it seems a shame to have plastic there. Also, the cream pickup rings just don't do it for me: going to go either black plastic or wood. Mine was, apparently, wrapped up literally on Christmas Eve. Christmas, Northern Lights...nice.

 
Thanks for sharing Les! As I've said before, this run really floats my boat. I already have those pickups in other guitars but that combo is a serious contender for what I'll pick for when I spec a PS.

Sending more mojo for a full and speedy recovery :)
 
I'm used to WCR PAF-style pickups, and a good Tele.

Wait, did someone pee in my cornflakes? They taste kinda funny...

Just kidding.

I have the Tele discussion with my son all the time. He likes Teles, and has a few older ones, though he tours mostly with an SG or 335. I, on the other hand, do not "get" anything about Teles.

Oh sure, I've owned a few Teles because in the 80s/90s, studios "had to have" Strats, Teles, Gibbies, and a Rick. And people told me I had seriously nice Teles.

But I could not bond with them.

Hello. My name is Les, and I'm a hater. Of Teles. For me, there are no "good Teles."

I gave it my best shot - this was before my PRS days - I couldn't even bond with my Tom Anderson versions later. So I finally told myself at some point, "Self, stop dropping cash on guitars you will never, ever record with!" And I did. I sold 'em off and wasted the money on other stuff I would never, ever record with and no longer have. ;)

Actually I should clarify - there is one Tele tone I do get, and that's the low E-String twang on a Tele's bridge pickup. That's the only thing about the guitar I like. But I don't like playing them. The feel's all wrong for me.

Anyway, I think a player has to evaluate his or her tone recipe and go for the sauce that serves that recipe. You probably remember that I wondered why you were interested in the 20th a couple of months back, given your preferences.

See, I love, absolutely love, the neck pickup on the 20th. I wouldn't need it any brighter, ever. Same with the 2/4 positions.

If I wanted it brighter, of course, I'd just set up the amp with more treble, and when I was on the bridge pickup, turn the tone knob down on the guitar. But...I'm easy (wait, I lied, I'm not that easy, since I don't like playing Teles; if I was easy, it wouldn't matter what I played).

For me, the 20th is perfect as-is.
 
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Wait, did someone pee in my cornflakes? They taste kinda funny...

Just kidding.

I have the Tele discussion with my son all the time. He likes Teles, and has a few older ones, though he tours mostly with an SG or 335. I, on the other hand, do not "get" anything about Teles.

Oh sure, I've owned a few Teles because in the 80s/90s, studios "had to have" Strats, Teles, Gibbies, and a Rick. And people told me I had seriously nice Teles.

But I could not bond with them.

Hello. My name is Les, and I'm a hater. Of Teles. For me, there are no "good Teles."

I gave it my best shot - this was before my PRS days - I couldn't even bond with my Tom Anderson versions later. So I finally told myself at some point, "Self, stop dropping cash on guitars you will never, ever record with!" And I did. I sold 'em off and wasted the money on other stuff I would never, ever record with and no longer have. ;)

Actually I should clarify - there is one Tele tone I do get, and that's the low E-String twang on a Tele's bridge pickup. That's the only thing about the guitar I like. But I don't like playing them. The feel's all wrong for me.

Anyway, I think a player has to evaluate his or her tone recipe and go for the sauce that serves that recipe. You probably remember that I wondered why you were interested in the 20th a couple of months back, given your preferences.

See, I love, absolutely love, the neck pickup on the 20th. I wouldn't need it any brighter, ever. Same with the 2/4 positions.

If I wanted it brighter, of course, I'd just set up the amp with more treble, and when I was on the bridge pickup, turn the tone knob down on the guitar. But...I'm easy.

For me, the guitar is perfect as-is.

I know just the cure: Tylerbaster.
 
Lovely awesome guitar Les! Thanks for sharing.

Here's my tele story....a tele was my first high end guitar. My guitar teacher in high school bought it in New York city for $250 buck, which I saved for ever to get. It was a blond 73 tele with a rosewood neck. I eventually sold that puppy to get something else (Natural Ibanez Artist). I could get a nice guitar today if I only new how much in value it would have increased, but in those days, I wasn't thinking that way . I always want to get a tele because of the soft spot I have in my heart for them, but anytime I pick one up and strum there's too much sloppiness with how the strings sound and buzz. This seems to be a standard with almost any tele I pick up (custom shop, american standard, select.....). So I never end up buying one. I did have a Tom Anderson Short Hollow T classic which played very well. Somehow my son took ownership of that guitar(How did that happen??)

Anyhow, great guitar Les.
 
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