Speccing a private stock

[Bookface]

I'm assuming that a few of you have quite a bit of experience with speccing out PS guitars. I'm in the lovely position of considering my first PS. I will admit I was a little bit surprised at the ballpark price given by the guys in store (I'm in the UK and went to Guitar Guitar), having expected them to be around the same as a masterbuilt guitar from the Fender custom shop, at least for a fairly standard build that didn't go nuts with the customising. Now that I'm thoroughly disabused of that notion, let me throw some ideas out and I'd love to hear some opinions.

Basic spec will be similar to a custom 24. I've yet to pic between quilted or flamed top and honestly it will probably come down to the figure of the individual piece, though that's assuming I get to choose if I can't go there in person (I can't).

Pickups...I have no idea.

Inlays will probably be birds, but do custom inlays bump the price significantly? Or do you get some choice on custom inlays before the price starts to head up significantly? If I do go for birds, they'll probably be paua, and I'd like some kind of outline. My initial thought was silver simply as I generally prefer it over gold, but I also wonder how much it will stand out. However given that even 14k gold is 60 times the price of fine silver, it may be an irrelevant question.

I know I could ask all of these things of the guys in store, but I also like having opinions from people who have no stake in it, and you all seem like you know a thing or two as well...

 

[veinbuster]

Your dealer can show you some wood to pick from, perhaps even via a live session with the vault team.

Pickups: are there some you particularly like? Or an electronics configuration you find especially appealing?

A custom inlay will bump the price noticeably. Birds from a bunch of materials are built into the base price. A copy of a previous inlay will be cheaper than fully custom. A silver outline can be quite striking. Particularly if you use a dark fingerboard. Gold outlines might not be as expensive as you think though so don’t be afraid to ask if you think it would suit your build better.

 

[vchizzle]

Someone once mentioned to me the fact that metal can tarnish. Assuming you will play the guitar, consider that your skin has oils that may dull the outlines. Not sure if it’s a real issue or not, just something to consider and ask questions about.

You could do a small custom inlay rather than complete fretboard somewhere that might be less costly?

Last, I’d advise you to do something you can’t get other than nicely figured wood. Whether it’s a control scheme that’s more useful or a neck carve that is never on a body.

 

[goof1073]

On the inlay material point...I was surprised just how much silver outlines was going to add to my PS build price. I went with White MOP with Black Lip MOP centers...same basic look without the upcharge.

Also there are other inlays outside of birds that have not been up-charges in the past; things like the Birds in Flight inlay, various Knot configurations, etc. But work with your dealer to ask about what is available and their associated charges.

In regard to custom inlays those can be somewhat inexpensive to VERY expensive. As an example I had thought about a modified 20th anniversary bird inlay and I was quoted a price (which I can't share) to just move the bird layout on the board...basically the charge to re-program the tool pathway for the CNC machine. I thought the coast was basically reasonable based on my professional experience with tool shops.

 

[docteurseb]

I concur with trying to make something a bit more unique.
There are indeed inlay variations that would be little to no upcharge since they've already been programmed, that's something your dealer and their PRS rep should be able to walk you through.

I did a custom headstock design on mine (just posted a thread as the dealer received it and sent me pics).
I deemed the cost plenty fair, i.e similar to uncharges or wood backplates, or SS frets, and less than a 2-piece quilt top.
From an older PRS price sheet I have the up charge for gold or silver is substantial. I can't share the numbers but they easily add another 11-18% to a base build's price. May be worth it to you, it wouldn't be worth it to me (I want the most visual impact for my money ;-) )

 

[DougUSMC]

I'm assuming that a few of you have quite a bit of experience with speccing out PS guitars. I'm in the lovely position of considering my first PS. I will admit I was a little bit surprised at the ballpark price given by the guys in store (I'm in the UK and went to Guitar Guitar), having expected them to be around the same as a masterbuilt guitar from the Fender custom shop, at least for a fairly standard build that didn't go nuts with the customising. Now that I'm thoroughly disabused of that notion, let me throw some ideas out and I'd love to hear some opinions.

I've never heard the ballpark of a marterbuilt, can you give us an idea of what that looks like?

Basic spec will be similar to a custom 24. I've yet to pic between quilted or flamed top and honestly it will probably come down to the figure of the individual piece, though that's assuming I get to choose if I can't go there in person (I can't).

This can be quite the rabbit hole, and really goes a long way to the initial personality of your guitar. I wasn't even looking at maple (mine is walnut), and I STILL lost a quick 20 mins in the vault, just drooling over the amazing range of options!

Pickups...I have no idea.

Do you have the ability to play through a bunch of various models, to see which at least bring you close to your imagined tone to start?

Inlays will probably be birds, but do custom inlays bump the price significantly? Or do you get some choice on custom inlays before the price starts to head up significantly? If I do go for birds, they'll probably be paua, and I'd like some kind of outline. My initial thought was silver simply as I generally prefer it over gold, but I also wonder how much it will stand out. However given that even 14k gold is 60 times the price of fine silver, it may be an irrelevant question.

I originally spec'd ebony birds with gold outline, and the price jumped HUGELY. The PS team recommended I consider gold MoP, which I went with. Considering I was interested in the look more than the price, I'm glad I did!

I know I could ask all of these things of the guys in store, but I also like having opinions from people who have no stake in it, and you all seem like you know a thing or two as well...

[/QUOTE]
We definitely do, and I feel safe speaking for the rest when I say "I have NO problem helping you spend your money"

That being said, I really do want to recommend that you trust the PS team @ PRS and your dealer. Both were VERY helpful to me, taking my vision in as their own and recommending lots of interesting ways to improve and/or tweak my ideas. Some of these improved my design, some saved me money, some did both. I'm a huge fan of my dealer, and LOVED the support I got from the PS team. The PS team was helpful when I was doing the initial "spreadsheet spec" from home, and just A-W-E-S-O-M-E in person in at the factory.
I know you may not be able to visit the Vault, but IMO the biggest bit of advice I can give you: If you don't know/trust your dealer, find another!
YMMV, but my dealer was at least 25% responsible for the amazing process and outcome I had. I don't know if/how you can use a US dealer, living in the UK? If you can, I'm more than happy pointing you to the guys here that helped me. If you'd rather look around on your own, you really can't go wrong with any of the awesome Shops that participate on this forum.

Ok, this is turning into a novel, so I'm going to stop here. Let me know if there's anything I can do to help you with the process!

 

[veinbuster]

I've never heard the ballpark of a marterbuilt, can you give us an idea of what that looks like?


This can be quite the rabbit hole, and really goes a long way to the initial personality of your guitar. I wasn't even looking at maple (mine is walnut), and I STILL lost a quick 20 mins in the vault, just drooling over the amazing range of options!


Do you have the ability to play through a bunch of various models, to see which at least bring you close to your imagined tone to start?


I originally spec'd ebony birds with gold outline, and the price jumped HUGELY. The PS team recommended I consider gold MoP, which I went with. Considering I was interested in the look more than the price, I'm glad I did!

You can get a Masterbuilt from any of them for under 5 figures. They can ramp up pretty high though

 

[alantig]

We definitely do, and I feel safe speaking for the rest when I say "I have NO problem helping you spend your money"

That being said, I really do want to recommend that you trust the PS team @ PRS and your dealer. Both were VERY helpful to me, taking my vision in as their own and recommending lots of interesting ways to improve and/or tweak my ideas. Some of these improved my design, some saved me money, some did both. I'm a huge fan of my dealer, and LOVED the support I got from the PS team. The PS team was helpful when I was doing the initial "spreadsheet spec" from home, and just A-W-E-S-O-M-E in person in at the factory.
I know you may not be able to visit the Vault, but IMO the biggest bit of advice I can give you: If you don't know/trust your dealer, find another!
YMMV, but my dealer was at least 25% responsible for the amazing process and outcome I had. I don't know if/how you can use a US dealer, living in the UK? If you can, I'm more than happy pointing you to the guys here that helped me. If you'd rather look around on your own, you really can't go wrong with any of the awesome Shops that participate on this forum.

Ok, this is turning into a novel, so I'm going to stop here. Let me know if there's anything I can do to help you with the process!

You can get a Masterbuilt from any of them for under 5 figures. They can ramp up pretty high though[/QUOTE]

What VB said. The help and advice @Brian G, Paul M., and Tina gave me was invaluable and helped make my guitar as special as it is. Tina asked a question that, on the surface, was very minor, but something I hadn't give a single thought to, and it's become one of my favorite things. Lean on your dealer and team - it makes for a much better experience and outcome.

 

[Bookface]

Thanks everyone for the thoughts! I definitely do trust my dealer, and they do work directly with the PS guys, but I'm of the opinion that you should do as much research as possible before anything like this. It's likely to be a once in a lifetime buy for me, and so asking questions of people who've been there before is invaluable.

My Teambuilt custom shop strat was £4k. I had the option to go Masterbuilt for around £6.5k, but after playing a couple I felt like they didn't offer much more than the regular CS guitar that I eventually bought, especially for what I wanted which was a pretty standard relic finish. The PS pricing was a much bigger jump.

Playing a few regular ones at the store is a good idea, I will definitely do that. It should also help me nail down a neck carve, which is something I'm pretty picky about. My old custom24 had a wide/thin neck but I actually preferred the old wide/fat. My current PRS (an SE singlecut) has a pretty thin neck. I can get along OK with them, but I wouldn't spec one.

 

[docteurseb]

Masterbuilt CS: a hair under $5k up to $7k for a standard Strat, the range depends on how much the dealer is trying to price gouge you (PM me if you want one that won't).

Example given: Fender Masterbuilt Eric Clapton Gold Leaf Stratocaster with curly maple neck, built by Todd Krause (the builder of EC's own guitars). Highly desirable, and in short supply since that builder is backlogged by 2-3+ years (for good reason). In 2018 I bought one for $5.5k from a shop, while any other shop was listing them at 8k.
Without the gold leaf finish and without Todd Krause as a builder (selecting him incurs an up-charge to try to free him up), that would probably have been at $4.5k or less at that shop.

 

[docteurseb]

For PRS build, go with a dealer familiar with PRS Private Stock builds.
Brian's Guitars, Ish Guitars, Moore Music, Maverick Music, and others sure seem like fine choices to me.

If you contact a dealer to inquire about what's possible and you don't like the time it takes to get a reply, or if it looks like they don't know the answers, then it's a good sign to move to a different one. It's a lot of money to put in a guitar to take any chances, going for the cheapest one is not advised.

Personally what I found so far with any guitar company (Martin, Gibson, PRS) is that it's stupidly difficult to get answers about how much a specific feature costs. Although I think PRS is definitely way easier than those other two (once you manage to find one of those Private Stock cost sheets...)
So if you're like me, trying to optimize cost, that means doing potentially lots of iterative quotes wasting the dealer and manufacturer's time; instead they could send you that price sheet first and let you take a look at which options to keep if you're price conscious (I know, weird concept if you're spec'ing a PS ) .


Edited: sorry I remembered you're in UK. I'm not sure which dealer makes sense to go with then, but I would definitely avoid anything big company like Guitar Center for any custom build (be it Martin, PRS, Gibson, Fender CS).
Unless they have a dedicated specialist directly responsible for spec'ing builds with PRS, you're likely to end up in a miserably painful process (slow communication as they bounce emails between departments, and superficial knowledge of PS builds). I sure felt that way communicating with the big S.... in the US (known for the throwing candies in every shipping box), when it took 4 weeks to get a quote I knew it was time to move on.

 

[Bookface]

So if you're like me, trying to optimize cost, that means doing potentially lots of iterative quotes wasting the dealer and manufacturer's time; instead they could send you that price sheet first and let you take a look at which options to keep if you're price conscious (I know, weird concept if you're spec'ing a PS ) .

Totally get it, and I feel a bit weird even trying to be price conscious, but being totally honest, for most of us there is a big difference between paying $10k for a guitar and paying $15k for one!

 

[veinbuster]

Totally get it, and I feel a bit weird even trying to be price conscious, but being totally honest, for most of us there is a big difference between paying $10k for a guitar and paying $15k for one!

$5k is a fairly modest diamond ring and you can’t even play Smoke on the Water on it.

 

[DougUSMC]

For PRS build, go with a dealer familiar with PRS Private Stock builds.
Brian's Guitars, Ish Guitars, Moore Music, Maverick Music, and others sure seem like fine choices to me.

If you contact a dealer to inquire about what's possible and you don't like the time it takes to get a reply, or if it looks like they don't know the answers, then it's a good sign to move to a different one. It's a lot of money to put in a guitar to take any chances, going for the cheapest one is not advised.

Personally what I found so far with any guitar company (Martin, Gibson, PRS) is that it's stupidly difficult to get answers about how much a specific feature costs. Although I think PRS is definitely way easier than those other two (once you manage to find one of those Private Stock cost sheets...)
So if you're like me, trying to optimize cost, that means doing potentially lots of iterative quotes wasting the dealer and manufacturer's time; instead they could send you that price sheet first and let you take a look at which options to keep if you're price conscious (I know, weird concept if you're spec'ing a PS ) .


Edited: sorry I remembered you're in UK. I'm not sure which dealer makes sense to go with then, but I would definitely avoid anything big company like Guitar Center for any custom build (be it Martin, PRS, Gibson, Fender CS).
Unless they have a dedicated specialist directly responsible for spec'ing builds with PRS, you're likely to end up in a miserably painful process (slow communication as they bounce emails between departments, and superficial knowledge of PS builds). I sure felt that way communicating with the big S.... in the US (known for the throwing candies in every shipping box), when it took 4 weeks to get a quote I knew it was time to move on.

+1 on Moore. They helped me with mine, and reinforced themselves a customer for life.
I bought my first Core from them, at PRS Experience 2018. The called, let me know they were heading to the factory for an order, and asked if I was interested. We traded a bunch of calls and emails, a first (and second) draft of the order sheet, then met @ the Vault. Most amazing guitar experience of my life...

 

[Southwest]

Question for the knowledgeable if I may (and apologies if I'm hijacking the thread). I'm also in the UK - how long does a PS build take, and is it possible to watch the magic happen?

I'm thinking (daydreaming more like) that once this **** virus goes away I'd like a survival gift and a looong holiday. Is it possible to go to the PRS PS operation and select woods etc then watch (and take a million pictures) of it coming to life?

 

[DougUSMC]

Question for the knowledgeable if I may (and apologies if I'm hijacking the thread). I'm also in the UK - how long does a PS build take, and is it possible to watch the magic happen?

I'm thinking (daydreaming more like) that once this **** virus goes away I'd like a survival gift and a looong holiday. Is it possible to go to the PRS PS operation and select woods etc then watch (and take a million pictures) of it coming to life?

I can give you "normal" answers, but please keep in mind that COVID has changed everything.

A "normal" PS build is probably 9-12 months, but their backlog can change. Mine was on the longer side, but both the 35th Dragons and COVID impacted my delivery.

The picture I took was from the factory, in the Vault. I've been through the factory on tours before (Experience), but I got a 1:1 tour with someone that day that was awesome. It really was at my pace, following my interests. After that we spent time with the PS team, just talking through my ideas, before we headed into the Vault. Then it was hours of selecting woods, etc.

You can't really watch it be built, because that takes a LONG time. Just getting to the front of the queue is an indeterminate amount of time, as is the build process. I don't remember the exact timelines, but I believe someone once told me that any wood being removed from a part means it has to "rest" for anywhere b/w 2 and 4 weeks after?
Short answer: The build process is weeks long, so you can't watch it. You have to scour the PS Friday pics for signs of your build just like the rest of us.
Then again, I suppose once Factory Tours start again, you could happen to catch a glimpse of your build in process - if you're lucky.

 

[Bookface]

Question for the knowledgeable if I may (and apologies if I'm hijacking the thread). I'm also in the UK - how long does a PS build take, and is it possible to watch the magic happen?

I'm thinking (daydreaming more like) that once this **** virus goes away I'd like a survival gift and a looong holiday. Is it possible to go to the PRS PS operation and select woods etc then watch (and take a million pictures) of it coming to life?

I was told current wait time is 16 months. I'd assume that covid has somewhat affected it.

 

[docteurseb]

Don't trust the ETA they give, or you're going to be frustrated.

I was told 9 months when I was in the Vault selecting woods in July 2019, it took 15 to finish it and I should have it within a week.
Two reasons for the delay:

• COVID-19: that added 2 months. Completely understandable.
  
• Dragon 35th: added 6 months, that one is more inexcusable as they gave priority over orders placed much earlier. That makes sense business-wise, but considering they should have known they were doing a Dragon LTD release when I was in the Vault, they should have been able to give a realistic ETA. Or maybe the idea of releasing a Dragon only came up sometime after August; that seems doubtful but maybe they plan at the last minute like marketing/engineers do ;-)