Questions about the private stock program

[csquared]

Questions about the Private Stock program.
If you shell out the 11k, wait a year, only to find your guitar sounds like crap and is a dead piece of wood, what happens?
I prefer to play as many as possible before buying as I know every piece of wood resonates a little different. Every neck is carved a little different. Every board feels a little different.
Before buying my Cu24 I must have played at least 30. Before buying any of my Les Pauls I probably played as many or more. Few times I got lucky and picked one up and felt like everything was there and brought it home. Usually buying any instrument I bring my wife with me. She's a choir conductor, plays viola, and is a classically trained opera soprano who has performed at the Met and at Carnegie Hall. She has a tremendous ear and as helped me often when comparing 2 or 3 instruments.
What I'm specifically looking for has never been offered so having one made is my only option. But I'm a working man with a daughter I'll be putting through school and has some disabilities.
So taking an 11k gamble without hearing it is a big concern.

 

[toothace]

If your specifications are that specific then go to the Vault and select the woods yourself. Your dealer should be able to set that up for you...IIRC they will be letting at least vendors back into the factory this summer. Your vendor can help work out all the specs and details.

So...whatta ya building??

 

[csquared]

If your specifications are that specific then go to the Vault and select the woods yourself. Your dealer should be able to set that up for you...IIRC they will be letting at least vendors back into the factory this summer. Your vendor can help work out all the specs and details.

So...whatta ya building??

Pretty boring to most.
Hybrid Cu24/594
Think Cu24
McCarty 594 thickness and control layout
Add in a recessed trem ala Tremonti
Ebony board with bird outline
Perfection

 

[toothace]

Pretty boring to most.
Hybrid Cu24/594
Think Cu24
McCarty 594 thickness and control layout
Add in a recessed trem ala Tremonti
Ebony board with bird outline
Perfection

Pretty sweet! Blue I hope...

 

[csquared]

In an alternate reality I'd order 2
Aquamarine with natural sides and back
Livingston Lemondrop satin

But since I haven't died yet to collect the insurance I have to consider only one lol

 

[toothace]

In an alternate reality I'd order 2
Aquamarine with natural sides and back
Livingston Lemondrop satin

But since I haven't died yet to collect the insurance I have to consider only one lol

Well it's obvious which one it should be...just sayin'

 

[veinbuster]

The odds of a Private Stock sounding like crap are tiny, and of having crappy wood even smaller.

 

[Brian G]

Pretty boring to most.
Hybrid Cu24/594
Think Cu24
McCarty 594 thickness and control layout
Add in a recessed trem ala Tremonti
Ebony board with bird outline
Perfection

I know this isn’t a positive for you so I’m sorry - but they won’t do a 24 fret 594 at this point in time.

 

[csquared]

Pretty sweet! Blue I hope...

I know this isn’t a positive for you so I’m sorry - but they won’t do a 24 fret 594 at this point in time.

I just want the controls layout of the 594. I'd prefer the 25" scale. Pattern thin neck.

 

[ViperDoc]

If you need 30 auditions to find your magic sauce (nothing wrong with that), PS might be more gamble than you can depend on. PS is second to none in build quality AND tone, but I’ve bought PS that sounded unlike my expectations. Not bad at all, just different. I think there is an inverse relationship between tonal predictability vs. hippie sandwich factor. You be the judge.

 

[Solteroblues]

Pretty boring to most.
Hybrid Cu24/594
Think Cu24
McCarty 594 thickness and control layout
Add in a recessed trem ala Tremonti
Ebony board with bird outline
Perfection

similar to what I wanted my PS to be, but I wanted 594 control layout on a CU24 body thickness... They wouldn't do that either. Good luck with your chase!

 

[Glide-bpm]

You'd think If you're paying a custom premium you could select from any options they already utilize on guitars even if you want a mash up guitar. LoL

 

[Glide-bpm]

Probably because they'd have to build a CNC custom design template for that control layout on a different body size/shape.

 

[ViperDoc]

You'd think If you're paying a custom premium you could select from any options they already utilize on guitars even if you want a mash up guitar. LoL

That used to be possible, but the PS department has expanded five fold or so, so the options have been a touch streamlined, but still amazing.

 

[csquared]

I've done CNC programming. With the modern software doing a Mashup would take less than an hr. You'd literally be cutting and pasting a paragraph and then let the program "run" in test mode and watch it go.
And I would expect these guys can drill a hole on a press for controls or use a router, but what am I thinking?

 

[Brian G]

It's not really about what they can and can't do. It's partially that PRS wants to make guitars that they feel are the best playing and sounding guitars they can make. If they feel a customers/dealers electronics ideas, inlay ideas, model ideas etc. are not good representations of the brand, they best not make that guitar. It can be frustrating, but it makes sense. This thread started with concerns that a PS won't sound good - PRS is streamlining some of the options to help ensure that this does not happen.

 

[Glide-bpm]

I've done CNC programming. With the modern software doing a Mashup would take less than an hr. You'd literally be cutting and pasting a paragraph and then let the program "run" in test mode and watch it go.
And I would expect these guys can drill a hole on a press for controls or use a router, but what am I thinking?

I remember having to draw designs in AutoCAD for sheet metal fab shops for custom power plant control panels back before I retired from playing electrical engineer when I first started out.
Felt like rocket science back in the early 1990's. Hehe

 

[ElrytNamrogo]

It's not really about what they can and can't do. It's partially that PRS wants to make guitars that they feel are the best playing and sounding guitars they can make. If they feel a customers/dealers electronics ideas, inlay ideas, model ideas etc. are not good representations of the brand, they best not make that guitar. It can be frustrating, but it makes sense. This thread started with concerns that a PS won't sound good - PRS is streamlining some of the options to help ensure that this does not happen.

This all makes total sense to me.

Considering the level of investment people put into Private Stocks - both financially and time-wise - I could easily see how a client might be a bit unsettled if, for whatever reason, that guitar did not meet their initial expectations. By streamlining options, you can really help customers build - what you know as the manufacturer - the best products you can with little chance of negative impact brought on by "unique" design elements.

 

[alantig]

It's not really about what they can and can't do. It's partially that PRS wants to make guitars that they feel are the best playing and sounding guitars they can make. If they feel a customers/dealers electronics ideas, inlay ideas, model ideas etc. are not good representations of the brand, they best not make that guitar. It can be frustrating, but it makes sense. This thread started with concerns that a PS won't sound good - PRS is streamlining some of the options to help ensure that this does not happen.

This makes no sense - they met me and still sold me a guitar, so how concerned can they be about how it sounds?

Of course, mine had some post-factory seasoning added...

 

[László]

I have four PS guitars. I bought three of them from dealer stock, the idea being that I could return the guitar if it didn't float my boat.

Fortunately, all of them - including the acoustic I custom ordered - are the finest sounding, best playing guitars I've ever owned. Why? My guess is that partly it's the time spent selecting the wood. Paul Smith helped my dealer - who's also a luthier - pick the wood for my acoustic. It's an incredible guitar. Partly it's the extra time spent building the guitar and the attention to detail (not just looks) lavished on it.

Buying from dealer stock was, however, my 'just in case, I have an out'.

Kudos to PRS for having the integrity to say no to orders that they don't think will produce a great guitar. Kudos to them if they streamline their business for whatever reason they choose, and it works for them.