Shawn's 15 Year Employee Guitar, Start To Finish

P

pdq

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May 30, 2020
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[email protected] said:
Thanks guys, I appreciate it! PS - My 16th anniversary is coming up next month. Sadly I have to wait until my 20th anniversary to get my next guitar.
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Shawn:

I recently took delivery of a 2020 Custom 24 Black Gold Artists Series -- my first PRS. I'll never have the opportunity to work at PRS and get an employee guitar (congrats BTW!!!), but after playing the one I received, and now seeing this thread, I think I need to save up some money and buy a Private Stock. These guitars are what I refer to as "functional art".

Question -- I live about 2 hours away from Stevensville. If someone orders a PS guitar, am I correct that they can come and choose the wood(s), design the inlays for fretboard, etc.? Also, similar to the journey you presented, can the buyer come periodically and see their guitar being built?

These truly are magnificent.

Thanks.
 
veinbuster

veinbuster

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pdq said:
Question -- I live about 2 hours away from Stevensville. If someone orders a PS guitar, am I correct that they can come and choose the wood(s), design the inlays for fretboard, etc.? Also, similar to the journey you presented, can the buyer come periodically and see their guitar being built?.
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Your dealer can take you to the vault for wood selection.
 
C

Craig Bennett

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I stumbled across this thread. WOW! First congratulations on your length of service at PRS and second, that is a sweet guitar! I would be tempted to have the owl inlaid in the truss cover.

As a first time PRS owner, I am so impressed with the quality of the guitars. Seems to me PRS has found the right mix of machine versus craftsmanship.
 
ScottR

ScottR

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Craig Bennett said:
As a first time PRS owner, I am so impressed with the quality of the guitars. Seems to me PRS has found the right mix of machine
versus craftsmanship.
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Yeah man...that's how they roll! Welcome to the forum and to the wonderful world of PRS.
 
Shawn@PRS

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yogi
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pdq said:
Shawn:

I recently took delivery of a 2020 Custom 24 Black Gold Artists Series -- my first PRS. I'll never have the opportunity to work at PRS and get an employee guitar (congrats BTW!!!), but after playing the one I received, and now seeing this thread, I think I need to save up some money and buy a Private Stock. These guitars are what I refer to as "functional art".

Question -- I live about 2 hours away from Stevensville. If someone orders a PS guitar, am I correct that they can come and choose the wood(s), design the inlays for fretboard, etc.? Also, similar to the journey you presented, can the buyer come periodically and see their guitar being built?

These truly are magnificent.

Thanks.
Click to expand...

We have a moratorium on factory visits at this time, but once things get back to normal, you can certainly visit the factory along with your dealer and select all of the components to your new Private Stock guitar. If you haven't yet, check out the "Private Stock Friday" thread. It'll provide you with a good amount of inspiration for your PS build.
 
Shawn@PRS

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yogi
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Craig Bennett said:
I stumbled across this thread. WOW! First congratulations on your length of service at PRS and second, that is a sweet guitar! I would be tempted to have the owl inlaid in the truss cover.

As a first time PRS owner, I am so impressed with the quality of the guitars. Seems to me PRS has found the right mix of machine versus craftsmanship.
Click to expand...

Thank you
 
Roy

Roy

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Shawn,

That is a fabulous guitar! Thank you for sharing its and your journey!

It's amazing how much work goes into these work of arts!!!

Is part of the "flow time" thru the factory to allow the internal stresses of the wood to stabilize between each step?

Thank you!
Roy
 
Alnus Rubra

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Roy said:
Is part of the "flow time" thru the factory to allow the internal stresses of the wood to stabilize between each step?
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definitely the neck, I believe they are allowed to settle for approximately a month during the build.

The bodies tend to be more stable because of the surface areas that are adhered to one another.
 
Shawn@PRS

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yogi
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Roy said:
Shawn,

That is a fabulous guitar! Thank you for sharing its and your journey!

It's amazing how much work goes into these work of arts!!!

Is part of the "flow time" thru the factory to allow the internal stresses of the wood to stabilize between each step?

Thank you!
Roy
Click to expand...

Thank you.

There is a "rest" period between each step. Sometimes that "rest" is to allow the wood to stabilize, or the finish to dry, but sometimes it's just because the volume of work won't allow the guitar to move forward at that particular time.
 
alantig

alantig

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[email protected] said:
Thank you.

There is a "rest" period between each step. Sometimes that "rest" is to allow the wood to stabilize, or the finish to dry, but sometimes it's just because the volume of work won't allow the guitar to move forward at that particular time.
Click to expand...

So the guitar has to rest until the folks at the next stage can wrest some time to finish the rest?
 
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