jfb
Plank Owner
I'd like to present to you the latest iteration of The Forum Guitar, but before I do this I’d like to speak briefly about the project in general, the votes, the baseline selections, and expectations.
The Forum Guitar -
As you know I have picked up the torch. After volunteering I was contacted by Jack Gretz of Northeast Music Center who had been working with PRS to make this happen for us. Jack was able to provide me with info on PRS’s guidelines regarding the project. Adhering to those rules, pushing where necessary, we have a build that we believe is special.
The Votes -
The votes clearly and perhaps most accurately reflect the baseline desires of the forum and since this is a forum guitar the votes, most of which are found here (the rest can be found here and here), were important in our decision making. There were votes on body, neck, case, pups, headstock, and price. For ease of reference I will post the figures here.
Simply put, there are rules regarding production runs and we had to follow them. We had to select a production model guitar for our baseline. If it requires a PS Order Sheet it’s a no go. The 245 has been a common theme so in efforts to provide us with something really special we we pushed to get a McCarty DC245 with a standard PRS headstock. We were granted this request. Think Dirty 100, but add gloss and birds. Couple this with a Mahogany neck, Ebony board, and Paisley Case we have aligned ourselves with the votes for the forum guitar. I think our selections are simple, but refined. Classic. I believe the rest, such as pups, can be worked out easily. Continue reading to hear our plans for this.
Expectations -
We are looking to make this happen at Experience 2013. Attending Experience gets you closer to the action, but you can still be included if not there. I will personally see to this via any method of communication needed to get you on the front lines. We plan on meeting to discuss details of the build and finalize our selection with Mr. Gretz and a representative of PRS who can yay or nay things on the spot. That is to say details of the build aren’t set in stone and can change. This isn’t my guitar. It’s not Jack’s guitar. It’s our guitar. Don’t like the baseline? We can talk about it, but understand why it’s been provided as it matches the votes. Don’t like the pups or prefer a different board lumber? We can talk about those things too. After our meeting to finalize the specifics Mr. Gretz will pick lumber based on our preferences. We will get to see the selections after he works his magic.
For this project to be a success we need at least 10 commitments, but can go over this amount as needed. Once the commitments have been reached buyers are expected to make a 50% nonrefundable deposit for the guitar during Experience. We do not yet know final cost. I would like to see this come in as close to $3,000 as possible, but I say plan on $3,500 to be safe. Once your guitar arrives you are responsible for the last 50% and when paid in full the guitar ships to your door.
Here are our baseline specs. I have commented where necessary. I for one would really like to see this happen. If you have interest, feedback, or concerns please reach out to me and let’s talk, but if it's not answered here it is more than likely not to be answered until we meet at Experience.
The Forum Guitar -
As you know I have picked up the torch. After volunteering I was contacted by Jack Gretz of Northeast Music Center who had been working with PRS to make this happen for us. Jack was able to provide me with info on PRS’s guidelines regarding the project. Adhering to those rules, pushing where necessary, we have a build that we believe is special.
The Votes -
The votes clearly and perhaps most accurately reflect the baseline desires of the forum and since this is a forum guitar the votes, most of which are found here (the rest can be found here and here), were important in our decision making. There were votes on body, neck, case, pups, headstock, and price. For ease of reference I will post the figures here.
- Body - Double Cut was a landslide with 58/84 of the votes, or 69.05%. There were 14 votes in either way totaling another 16.67% of the votes. We have followed this trend.
- Neck - Mahogany/Ebony won with 19/63 votes, or 30.16%. IRW/IRW came in second with 20.63% of the votes. Third and fourth places were held by Mahogany/Rosewood combos. We have the leader accounted for in the build.
- Case - The link for this info is broken and I couldn’t find it via search. I am almost certain Paisley had it. We have confirmed a Paisley Case for our build.
- Pups - Narrow 408’s, followed by 408’s were the winners here. With limited options for these slots compared to traditional size routing we opted for what gave us the most options.
- Headstock - Hand signed by Paul was another landslide winning with 82.50% of the votes. We have incorporated this in the build.
- Price - We had extremely tight grouping in the middle ranges with 17 votes for $2-2.5k, 15 votes for $2.5-3k, and 16 votes for $3-3.5k. This one is a bit more tough. With such close grouping we believe there’s some play so we opted for a beautiful Maple top which puts us in the middle range. We are trying to keep it at $3k, but certainly don’t see it going over $3.5k.
Simply put, there are rules regarding production runs and we had to follow them. We had to select a production model guitar for our baseline. If it requires a PS Order Sheet it’s a no go. The 245 has been a common theme so in efforts to provide us with something really special we we pushed to get a McCarty DC245 with a standard PRS headstock. We were granted this request. Think Dirty 100, but add gloss and birds. Couple this with a Mahogany neck, Ebony board, and Paisley Case we have aligned ourselves with the votes for the forum guitar. I think our selections are simple, but refined. Classic. I believe the rest, such as pups, can be worked out easily. Continue reading to hear our plans for this.
Expectations -
We are looking to make this happen at Experience 2013. Attending Experience gets you closer to the action, but you can still be included if not there. I will personally see to this via any method of communication needed to get you on the front lines. We plan on meeting to discuss details of the build and finalize our selection with Mr. Gretz and a representative of PRS who can yay or nay things on the spot. That is to say details of the build aren’t set in stone and can change. This isn’t my guitar. It’s not Jack’s guitar. It’s our guitar. Don’t like the baseline? We can talk about it, but understand why it’s been provided as it matches the votes. Don’t like the pups or prefer a different board lumber? We can talk about those things too. After our meeting to finalize the specifics Mr. Gretz will pick lumber based on our preferences. We will get to see the selections after he works his magic.
For this project to be a success we need at least 10 commitments, but can go over this amount as needed. Once the commitments have been reached buyers are expected to make a 50% nonrefundable deposit for the guitar during Experience. We do not yet know final cost. I would like to see this come in as close to $3,000 as possible, but I say plan on $3,500 to be safe. Once your guitar arrives you are responsible for the last 50% and when paid in full the guitar ships to your door.
Here are our baseline specs. I have commented where necessary. I for one would really like to see this happen. If you have interest, feedback, or concerns please reach out to me and let’s talk, but if it's not answered here it is more than likely not to be answered until we meet at Experience.
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