Robben Ford Signature Release Date?

I remember the days in the late '90s and early '00s when people on forums would accuse PRSes of being 'furniture guitars', or 'lacking personality', and say things like, 'name an artist who's good besides Carlos who plays a PRS'.

Back then, Robben was THE MAN when it came to tones lots of players wanted to achieve.

And now this iconic player is a PRS player. I'd call that a pretty good outcome.

It doesn't need to be better (after all, there is no such thing as better, just what works best for a given player). It just needs to be different, and be its own thing. My sense is that the pickups and controls will differentiate it, just as they do the DGT.

I think it'll be easy convincing people to buy it if they're looking for that type of guitar, as it was with the Joe Walsh.



And it's not easy to find a new Walsh to buy. I see one new one listed on Reverb, and it's in the UK. PRS had no trouble selling every one they made.

Of course, the best feature is that the headstock can double as a ping-pong paddle, which, c'mon! Every player's fantasy fulfilled! :)
1) People still say that about PRS.

2) @jfb and @Tosca only use Private Stocks as paddles for pong.
 
I am super excited for this and hope it comes to fruition. I grew up hearing Robben Ford tunes in the house as a young man, so to see him possibly get a signature model is pretty awesome!

Is it THAT far out from a stock McCarty? No, but does it need to be for it to be a killer instrument? Ford has great tone and great ears and it sounds like he went back and forth with Paul a fair bit on this project. Plus a McCarty is a pretty dang killer platform to build from. My current #1 is a McCarty with an ebony board, so I can't see a Robben Ford tweaked McCarty being anything but amazing. If they do release this, limited order or otherwise, I am getting one!
 
Does it come with a written guarantee that I'll play and sound like this? Robben's clean tone is killer (there's a Fender combo behind him), the tone on this video should ensure a PRS Robben Ford model is sold out and unobtainium for a year or two!

 
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Please help me squash my deep rooted desire to by this RF PRS should it in fact go to market…..what’s your guess this will cost? After converted to our Canadian play money rate….the truth will likely kill the dream, lol.

What’s your best guess on how much?!?
 
Please help me squash my deep rooted desire to by this RF PRS should it in fact go to market…..what’s your guess this will cost? After converted to our Canadian play money rate….the truth will likely kill the dream, lol.

What’s your best guess on how much?!?
There does not seem to be anything fancier on the guitar than on a regular core McCarty, perhaps even the opposite (no fancy Top or finish). So my guess is that it will cost the same as a core McCarty + a premium of a few hundred dollars (USD) for the artist’s involvement. Or a lot more, who knows…a Robben Ford PRS is pretty much the blues lawyer’s wet dream.

I’m sure there is plenty of demand for this guitar, me included.
 
There does not seem to be anything fancier on the guitar than on a regular core McCarty, perhaps even the opposite (no fancy Top or finish). So my guess is that it will cost the same as a core McCarty + a premium of a few hundred dollars (USD) for the artist’s involvement. Or a lot more, who knows…a Robben Ford PRS is pretty much the blues lawyer’s wet dream.

I’m sure there is plenty of demand for this guitar, me included.

I understand the RF model will come with an honorary law degree to show off at Sunday blues jams.
 
I definitely am curious about an RF signature guitar, but what I've seen and read so far would not warrant an upcharge and kind of steers me away from the guitar:

1- Larger headstock. We don't need a large, ugly-ass headstock.
2- toggle switch for coil taps. How about a push-push? same result, less awkward switches to get in the way.
3- Pickups with a logo on the cover. Who cares? What really are the pickups?
4- What is the body thickness? McCarty or Custom 22? This could help draw a player to or away from the guitar. I think, but am not sure it is McCarty thickness. For me, McCarty = yay, Custom 22 = nay.

Don't know about the colors available. A couple videos I've seen with Robben playing recent PRS had an all black guitar, a couple had a figured red finish. If the colors offered are different from a core guitar, this could certainly sway me one way or the other if the particular colors were something I really want.

As I stated earlier, I'm interested, but my jury is still out. I'm a McCarty guy and just might continue to be...
 
Does anyone know what wood(s) are under the black finish? RF has had signature models from Fender and Baker that had alder or mahogany backs with spruce or maple tops. Some were chambered. The larger headstock is consistent with his Fenders and Bakers.
 
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