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.
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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