Paul's 85!

[docteurseb]

The vintage nitro was one of the selling points for me. I love the feel of it. It's one of the reasons I love m Graveyard I. If I order any custom Private Stocks I will do the vintage nitro.

I'm curious what of the Paul's 85 features can you spec on a custom order? Can you ask for Paul to be involved in the neck shaping? And if so how much of an up-charge is that?

If the guitar had arrived with a cluster of lacquer checking on day one, like mine did, you would possibly feel a bit different about that wonderful vintage nitro

The short answer I got couple months ago is that if you spec the same woods+hardware, but modern nitro, it'll sound 99% identical.

I highly doubt you can get Paul S involved in shaping; possibly tone taping with the the right dealer (especially if going to the Vault when it re-opens).

What made the difference in feel for me was the slightly more rolled fingerboard edges and that's something you can request.
Having Paul be involved in the shaping is cool but a neck profile that feels good to him is realistically unlikely to feel better to you/me than anyone else in the PS team shaping it.

This is not a dig at your Paul's 85, it's as a whole package a mighty fine instrument and I was still thinking about getting back the one I returned.
It just unfortunately doesn't work for me to have a finish that checks so easily, and not particularly gracefully, on such an incredible looking and premium-priced guitar.

 

[Cheddar Kung Pao]

If the guitar had arrived with a cluster of lacquer checking on day one, like mine did, you would possibly feel a bit different about that wonderful vintage nitro

The short answer I got couple months ago is that if you spec the same woods+hardware, but modern nitro, it'll sound 99% identical.

I highly doubt you can get Paul S involved in shaping; possibly tone taping with the the right dealer (especially if going to the Vault when it re-opens).

What made the difference in feel for me was the slightly more rolled fingerboard edges and that's something you can request.
Having Paul be involved in the shaping is cool but a neck profile that feels good to him is realistically unlikely to feel better to you/me than anyone else in the PS team shaping it.

This is not a dig at your Paul's 85, it's as a whole package a mighty fine instrument and I was still thinking about getting back the one I returned.
It just unfortunately doesn't work for me to have a finish that checks so easily, and not particularly gracefully, on such an incredible looking and premium-priced guitar.

Yeah, I hear you. I followed your saga in here and I totally understand your conundrum. All my guitars end up with dings and bonks 'coz I'm a klutz. I also like relics, I have a Friedman and a Fender Custom Shop that have checking in them from the factory. So if/when it happens to my Graveyard, Paul's 85, R9 and Collings I35, I think I'll be ok with it. But of course, I have sent guitars back that have shown up damaged. I once bought a Modern Eagle II which I was so excited about but UPS drove a forklift into the side of the box and it had a big ol' dent in the neck as a result. That was a bummer.

You're 100% right about the extra rolled edges, that's one of the things I like best on the Paul's 85. Definitely Paul's involvement is just a "cool to have" and is unlikely to mean the guitar is actually better suited for me per se.

It's cool to know they have tops of this quality available for custom orders.

 

[LowEndLefty]

The vintage nitro was one of the selling points for me. I love the feel of it. It's one of the reasons I love m Graveyard I. If I order any custom Private Stocks I will do the vintage nitro.

I'm curious what of the Paul's 85 features can you spec on a custom order? Can you ask for Paul to be involved in the neck shaping? And if so how much of an up-charge is that?

I guess after all the money I've spent on his guitars and maybe him being sympathetic to a lefty, Paul always chimes in on my builds if Private Stock, Vic at LeftyGuitarsOnly.com (My Dealer), and I aren't sure of a particular way to go on design, configurations, etc. I will admit, has anyone seen what this Vintage Nitro finish will look like eventually as it fades? Will it be like a PRS equivalent to the Fender Custom Shop "Relic" approach?

 

[LowEndLefty]

Nice! I guess that is gonna end up being pretty different being a Singlecut. Are you doing 4 knobs or sticking with McCary controls?

Knob config, pickups, switches, tuners, everything will be exactly the same as the 85. Lefty and Singlecut are the only "subtle" changes

 

[Cheddar Kung Pao]

I guess after all the money I've spent on his guitars and maybe him being sympathetic to a lefty, Paul always chimes in on my builds if Private Stock, Vic at LeftyGuitarsOnly.com (My Dealer), and I aren't sure of a particular way to go on design, configurations, etc. I will admit, has anyone seen what this Vintage Nitro finish will look like eventually as it fades? Will it be like a PRS equivalent to the Fender Custom Shop "Relic" approach?

I kinda just assume it'll age like an old burst or ES guitar. There's this relic'd 594 which maybe gives some idea? Though this is artificial.

https://reverb.com/item/15763306-pa...ock-mccarty-594-aged-2018-faded-mccarty-burst

 

[docteurseb]

It's cool to know they have tops of this quality available for custom orders.

It's not like very top is going to be anywhere as good as what they put on most Paul's 85/Graveyard, but with (lots of) patience and the right dealer that's definitely do-able (judging from the several PS builds from stores I follow).