Most Amazing Guitar Experience Ever

DougUSMC

DougUSMC

Perpetual Practicer
Joined
Feb 27, 2019
Messages
879
I know I just wrote a ridiculously gushing post a bit ago, but hopefully this helps to explain where I'm coming from.

Short version to catchup to the story so far: Long time wannabe player, multiple starts and stops over the years, finger injury a bunch of years back, start playing again, go to PRS experience over the summer, buy Custom 24, swear I'll build a Private Stock one day.

I got to build that PS yesterday. At the factory. In the vault. With Paul Miles. And final checkout and approval of Paul himself.

Thanks to Paul Miles for so generously helping (and hand carrying me) through the process, for giving up so much of his time, and sharing so much of his knowledge and experience. Thanks to Ed and Brett at Moore Music for making it happen, after so much time (and beers) at the Experience. Thanks to Tina and the entire PS team that took such great care of me. Thanks to Matt on the PTC team for the tour, and entire PRS factory team for an amazing behind the scenes look. Lastly, but most certainly not least, thanks to Paul himself for the honor of his approval, and for sharing his love and passion with us through his amazing company!

As all threads are useless without pics, here are the final components laid out.
fg7Vosf.jpg

fg7Vosf
 
It is indeed a great experience, and I've gone through it as well. Paul (RS) is a great, lively host, and you never have to wonder what he really thinks. Paul M. is also a wonderful and very talented guy. I can't imagine that there are many other businesses of any type where you get such a warm,hands-on treatment. Pretty special.
 
The leader of the band is growing old but not tired.
 
Thanks everyone, I appreciate the awesome feedback! I can't say enough about how awesome the crew at PRS is, and what an incredible job they do at helping make the process fun AND (very important to me) NON-INTIMIDATING. I had a vision of the guitar, that I wanted to pull off, but didn't want to look like an idjit doing it.

Let me explain: I'm not a working musician, you'll never see me working the main stage of any event. On the other hand, I HAVE been playing one instrument or another for more than 30 year, love music, and want to play for the rest of my life. To me, a PRS is such a pinnacle of Guitar Excellence, I worried that I the expectation of MY involvement would be so much more than I could provide. I had a vision, I knew what I was looking for, what I wanted from the guitar, but not nearly as much as most on this board - let alone @ the factory itself. I didn't try to pretend I was Jr Luthier 1st Class, I just told them what I want and they did an amazing job of making me comfortable and getting me there. The opposite end of the spectrum is also true: I've heard the disparaging comments about these guitars being wall trophies for Drs and Lawyers, and didn't want to be that guy either.

What I ended up with was an awesome experience, where true artists and professionals helped me understand enough from their level that I believe we all rose up to make something great together!

I can never say it enough: Than you to everyone at PRS and Moore Music that made this possible!
 
I don't want to double post in my own thread, but I can see there are questions about the guitar itself, so I thought I'd make a dedicated post about it. I know that it should've been in the first, but after going on SO long about the experience itself, I felt the post was already getting too long. I intended to add another post last night, but the evening got away from me.

After growing up a Bostonian, the Corps brought me to North Carolina. I went from "I like everything except Gangsta Rap and Country" to putting country above that Aeorsmith, Def Leppard, and Van Halen I grew up with. When I play I go back and forth between genres, even to having favorite guitars that I prefer for each genre. Is that just me, or do others feel similarly? Lately, I've been on a big Zac Brown Band kick, and that usually means the acoustic comes out. We all know that PRS doesn't make a lefty acoustic yet, so let's just say that ZBB is played on the "other" USA-made, east coast manufacturer. The goal for this guitar was something that I would want to pick up to plug into an amp and play country from ZBB to Johnny Cash to Tommy Emmanuel.
Challenge one: I want a lefty electric that makes me feel like I'm playing an acoustic.

The other thing I wanted was something that I felt had a vibe completely different from the gorgeous Custom 24 I have. I want something that put me in the mindset of slap-pickin, finger style, deep south. I'm not trying to rank appearance over playability, but we all know that the LOOK of a PRS is a signature trait. I wanted something that combined the incredible curves of a Core with a look that belonged on the front porch of a New Orleans bayou shack or an Appalachian cabin. Something that looked tough and gritty, but in the vein of a work of art.

I actually grabbed some pics to take with me, to put everyone in the right mindset:


AgWUnRf.png

GfJNrFB.png


Challenge two: Make a rough and tumble reminiscent, but still beautiful guitar to hold and play.

In the best guitar shop on the planet, *maybe* you righties who have no idea how lucky you are could find something - MAYBE. As a lefty, I have to order most of my guitars, and would definitely need to work through the Private Stock team since I was really holding out for a PRS. It took a bunch of emailing back and forth with the team, then that amazing trip thru the factory and brainstorming in the Vault, and I think we're going to nail it.

What's the solution to those two challenges? What were the components shown on the table?

PRS Hollowbody II Piezo Lefty
- Dark figured walnut top and back, headstock veneer (black painted banding, satin finish)
- Mahogany middle (matching top & back color and finish)
- Scorched maple neck, 25" scale, 22 fret, pattern thin (matching middle, top & back)
- Ebony finger boards, tuning knobs, trussrod cover, pickup rings
- Gold MoP hollow birds, Moore Music headstock eagle
- Gold hardware, 58/15LTs, Stoptail / Piezo bridge
 
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