NGD - B*tch-slapped By The Universe

Congrats Alan! I saw that one on Friday when I stopped in to get a pedal in the used department. I also spent ten minutes drooling at the Hollowbody twirling in the glass PRS case. I was considering going to the auction, but opted to help the wife do some Christmas shopping. Being yesterday was our 24th wedding anniversary I figured it was the smart choice.

Play that blue gal in good health sir! Those Paul’s guitars are stellar.

I've left some drool around that PS Hollowbody as well. That thing is a beauty.

You probably made the right call - although they did have free pizza (and beer, water, and chips). Not too much moved in the auction, but the guy running it was funny. I wasn't sure what to expect from the auction, but talking to someone after, he said, "We can't lose money on this stuff." Some of the prices were really good (like the Silver Sky), but if you didn't have a strong interest in something, none of the prices were so stupid low that you'd just throw up a bid for the hell of it. They skipped over all the basses because no one expressed an interest, and did the same with most of the acoustics, and there was one acoustic that I personally think would have been a monster deal.
 
My local dealer was trying something new today - a live, in-person auction, along with food, live music, and some drinks. I looked at the list of items for sale, and there were a couple that I had some level of interest in - namely an EVH lunchbox amp and a PRS SE Hollowbody II Piezo - black gold, not the peacock blue. I thought about it for a few days and decided to go if only to see how the process worked.

My interest in the SE was not huge - I bought a non-piezo version when they came out, about a month or so before they announced the piezo version. Since I'm not playing out, my need for a piezo version isn't huge - I sometimes record a piezo-equipped guitar with both outputs just to mix an exact performance in w/that acoustic tone. But it was worth checking out. Spoiler alert for those of you w/heart conditions (detected or not) - I did not get the Hollowbody. Or the amp. Didn't want any unnecessary suspense to build.

But one of the items they had was an SE Silver Sky. And it was starting at an excellent price - I mean, really good. They have them on sale for their Black Friday promotion, and this was almost $200 below that price. I got tingly, and I had an itchy paddle hand, but I also have a core Silver Sky, and I couldn't convince myself to pounce on it.

Some of you may recall that I visited this store a few weeks ago with the intent to buy a Mary Cries pedal and ended up with the MC and a Horsemeat and said I felt lucky to have only spent twice what I'd intended instead of 35-40x, because there was a Dusty Waring and a Paul's Guitar that I used to try the pedals (kind of ties into the efficiency thread over in another forum - I'd never played either, so four bird-bespangled birds with one stone as it were. As I was getting ready to leave, I said to my wife, "I'm going to check out the auction and hopefully score the Hollowbody or the amp if the price is right. But I promise to stay as far away from the Dusty Waring and Paul's Guitar as I can."

Those of you familiar with the universe know this is where the b*tch-slapping comes in. Because the universe heard that and said, "You think that's clever, funny boy? Wait until you see what I have in store in the store for you."

I had some time to kill when I arrived, so I did some of my usual rounds - the used stuff, walk around the main floor, walk back to the PRS section and...


DeafeningRigidDachshund-size_restricted.gif


They had a lot of stuff marked down for the Black Friday promotion, but the prices were not advertised - in-store only. And there it was - the Paul's Guitar that I almost caved on a few weeks back. Still in stock. On sale for about 20% off the normal price - which was already good. It's a non-10-top, which helped keep it down a little in the first place, but this price was too good to pass up. I immediately texted my wife and asked if she could chat because I was in trouble. I just wanted to make sure I wasn't missing something. Asked my usual sales guy if I could give it just a quick check because I'd already played it, and it just confirmed my suspicion - it is indeed NGD.

ae00-58602_1_.jpg


ae00-58602_3_.jpg


ae00-58602_4_.jpg


ae00-58602_8_.jpg


First brushstroke birds for me. Rosewood overlay on the headstock, which is just a gorgeous look in my eyes. And even for a non-10, the way the flame changes in the light depending on the angle is one of those things that just fascinates me. My Tremonti does the same thing - when I first saw that one, my immediate thought was "it's a shame there's not much figuring on this top". Then I picked it up and that all changed. This one is the same way - I saw it from one angle (and it may have been captured in one of the store's shots, but not any that I used - and these are all their shots), and there was almost no figuring from the bridge to the strap pin, especially on the bass side. But you can see above that a change in angle brings it out.

If I'd placed a bet, I'd have been almost certain a 594 DC would be my next guitar. But I love when this kind of stuff happens - it's almost like it's meant to be.
Congrats.
Hope the sting has worn off by now.
 
Back
Top