NGD: PRS Private Stock One-off Build

drgordonfreeman

New Member
Joined
May 26, 2014
Messages
23
I ordered this back in April from my guys Clint and Bryan at The Guitar Sanctuary. Awesome dudes who are not only PRS encyclopedias, but who took really good care of me. They helped me spec the guitar and determine the woods. The rep sent me pics of all the woods (top, body, neck, fretboard, and headstock) from the wood library, and I was able to select the woods I wanted. We were also able to select lighter color mother of pearl that showed the etching well, while still retaining the "pearl essence". The detail in the etching of the birds is just phenomenal. Even the PRS rep was impressed by how well the birds turned out.


The body and neck were both hand carved, rather than the usual CNC machine process. While I consider CNC machine cut guitars to be superior in consistency, the guitar had to be hand carved, due to the scale length (25.5") and the non-standard (for PRS) controls configuration. For those of you who know how PRS PS guitars are built and the multiple iterations of test cases they build before they ever start the real build with the PS wood library woods, then you know why hand carving this is such a huge deal.


It's hard to see in the pictures, but one of the more elegant, if not defining features of the guitar is the curly maple binding on the neck and headstock. Interestingly, it's one of the first thing friends have mentioned when seeing the guitar in person.


The guitar came in finally, and my brain has melted over the ridiculously flawless quality of the guitar. The PRS PS guys are true artisans in every sense of the word and more. For anyone thinking of spec'ing out a PS one-off build: do it. It's worth every penny.


Specs at the end after the pics.








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Specifications


Model: Custom 24
Body: Solid
Frets: 24
Fretwire: Dunlop 6100
Scale length: 25.5"
Fretboard Radius: 12"
Neck shape: Pattern Thin
Bridge: Tremolo (Hybrid - silver bridge with gold saddles)
Bridge Options: None
Hardware Color: Nickel
Color: Whale blue
Finish: PRS PS Acrylic
Top Wood: Curly Maple
Top Style: Book matched
Grain Pattern: Tight figuring
Back Wood: Alder
Back Finish: Glossy Black
Neck Wood: Flame Maple
Neck Finish: Whale Blue; Satin finish
Fretboard Wood: Ebony
Side Dots: Black plastic
Fretboard Inlays: Etched birds
Inlay Material: Mother of pearl
Inlay Outline: silver metal
Fretboard Binding: Curly maple
Fretboard Purfling: None
Headstock Veneer: Ebony
Headstock Binding: Curly maple
Headstock Logo: Etched Eagle
Logo Material: Mother of Pearl
Logo Outline: silver metal
Tuner Type: Phase III locking
Tuner Buttons: Ebony
Strap Buttons: Schaller Strap Locks
Nut: Standard
Truss Rod Cover: Ebony
Electronics Configuration: 5-way blade
Bridge Pickup: Uncovered 85/15 bridge pickup
Neck Pickup: Uncovered 85/15 neck pickup
Controls: One volume control only; No tone controls
Control Materials: Clear volume knob
Pickup Options: No covers
Case: Private stock
 
That looks Really nice. That blue on the maple neck looks the best in blue I have every since.
 
That's a beauty. Nicely done. It appears to be a more nicely appointed Holcomb with 85/15s and an....ALDER BODY??? Yours is the first Alder-bodied PRS I've personally ever seen. Enjoy.
 
Shameful! You spent all that time and money and decided on plastic dots? What finish is that again?

Just noticed the string-through-body. Gots to sustain nicely.
 
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Congrats - Love the simplicity - That is one awesome guitar! Curious as to why you went with a longer scale length than the core model?
 
Blue on Black - both Kenny Wayne Shepard and Gary Clark Jr. approve!!!

Love the stained satin-finished maple neck. Gorgeous birds against the ebony. And the fact that it's hand-carved is just too cool...congratulations on a stellar build. How does she sound?
 
Very cool! Love that you went away from the norm on some specific features you really wanted! The flame on that neck is awesome. Doesn't need any gloss to still pop. Birds are sweet.
 
Is that a set-tension, no-arm tremolo?!

I had a similar idea, so that I could keep the back of the guitar intact without needing a trem cavity cover; plus I never use the trem arm, I just pull it a tiny bit with my pinky. No dive bombing, just a bit of shimmer or 1/2 step drop for some flavor!
 
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