NGD take II 2017 Custom 24 Faded Whale Blue

[trisd]

After the disaster that was the purchase of the 1988 Cu24 quilt top I was not to be deterred and I was lucky to pick up this 2017 faded whale blue custom 24. It might not be a PS, an Artist pack or even a 10 top but it has a wabi-sabi that spoke to me.

 

[bodia]

That’s a hottie! Great grab.

 

[trisd]

That’s a hottie! Great grab.

Thanks man. It's the guitar that I needed, 24 frets and pattern thin and light light weight. (my spine curves inward between my shoulder blades and my 9 1/2 lb cu22 was killing me.)

Its my first non-brown/yellow PRS.

 

[Moondog Wily]

That is a lovely score! Cheers to many more!! I feel you on the weight issue, not looking at any guitars over 8lbs (well, I look but do not consider buying)!!!

 

[Alnus Rubra]

Congratulations and @sergiodeblanc approves of this message

 

[Gurdybloke]

Very nice!

 

[Jimi D]

Coolio! Congrats!

 

[ScottR]

Killer! Congrats!

 

[Utkarsh]

That is a very nice top. And really like how the blue has faded

 

[trisd]

That is a very nice top. And really like how the blue has faded

It is very difficult to photograph. It is very "active" and moves a lot. Depending on the light parts of the curl are are unstained, I just can't capture what is going on in a static image, the best way to describe it is compare it to a flip flop hologram. I keep meaning to attempt to make a short video in day-light but I pick the guitar up and start to play and suddenly the hours have flown by and it is dark!

It's not perfectly set up to my liking just yet, The shop had a factory spec "one size fits all" setup and I think it is strung with 9.5s. I had been playing EB for a couple of years and have been looking to switch back to D'Addario after my stockpile of EBs is fully depleted. It could be strung with D'Addario 10s which do tension slightly lower than EB but I don't remember them feeling quite this slinky. There is a tiny amount of rock with a straight edge on the frets is a couple of areas so I predict a very light skim and recrown in the very near future. TBH it plays and sounds fantastic as is but my setup OCD is flaring up.

I spent so many years not really caring or noticing minuscule issues but I had been playing EBMM Majesty for a couple of years. I have kept one but those guitars are like racing cars, the necks are very susceptible to changes in temperature and humidity because they are so skinny. It became the new normal to be making tiny setup tweeks several time as week depending on temperature etc. After not caring for 30 odd years it suddenly became very annoying to pick something up and the action at the 12th fret be higher or lower by 0.3mm but in all honesty I think it is more "me" problem than a guitar problem. LOL