The Real Holy Grail PRS

Rockmark

New Member
Joined
Apr 26, 2012
Messages
504
Location
san diego
It took the sixty's rockers ( all the major ones) about 5 or six years to discover that there were some very special '50s Gibbies that were intense for rock. Of course they found the grail '59's that spawned the music of Zep and so on and so on. Many stars went through many instruments before they found their "grail Les Pauls". And the tones in the songs reflected it. So what is the point. Do you have possibly THE PRS GRAIL in hand. If so which model, what pups, what woods, is it a Private Stock, special run or core model?
As PRS lovers we know how good all PRS's are and some Great. But is there a PRS Grail? Does one of us have it? Is it the Violin, Dirty 100, a certain Dragon. One where everything just is perfect. Tones to die for w effortless playability and the perfect amount of wood for blooming, sustaining notes that are just born in that instrument. A guitar above all the rest you have or have ever played.
I have ME's, private stocks and models that employees poured their heart into for anniversary instruments. I have early 90's cu's and standards to today's latest 594's. Each has its own thing and personality and feel and sound. None the same. However would I consider any a HOLY GRAIL GUITAR? I don't know yet. Maybe this is why we have GAS.
Do any of you feel you found it? The best PRS ever made for all the reasons we would want as musicians. It should be out there since PRS now has longevity and lots out there now. Would love to hear your thoughts and see pics of what may be the "ONE".
 
Last edited:
Here’s a hint:

yeYj4V2.jpg
 
As much as I’d love to say that it’s my PS (which is an awesome instrument), I’d have to go with this
yeulCvs.jpg

I’ve never played an instrument that was this “alive”. It just wants to sing. Were it sentient, it would most certainly be frustrated with me!
 
I've got two I would put in the "Grail" category. You won't be impressed with either one unless you played them. Since you already know about my P90 obsession, I'll go with the other one.
1995 CE22 Standard - yes all hog body, maple neck, and Dragon 1 pickups

Possibly the best tone I own - or at least tied with the McSoapy
50t8fWx.jpg
 
This is a terrific idea for a thread! Kudos to you for starting it, Rockmark!

If by Grail you mean an instrument that is capable of the most pleasing, most unique tone I’ve ever gotten out of a guitar since I started playing in 1967, the prize goes to the mighty 20th Private Stock Anniversary Limited. I’ve never played a guitar that can touch the tones this thing is capable of.

You’ve all seen this thing. I don’t even want to bore you with the same pic one more time. I mean pic...who cares? Looks don’t make it a Grail!

Instead, I’ll let the tone of the guitar speak for itself. This is the guitar through the HXDA, but it sounds great with all of my amps. You’ve probably heard this little demo I wrote to show it off months ago. Still, if you’ve got good speakers, the string separation, clarity, choice of tone colors, and beauty of tone kind of stand out from the usual suspects.

There are no dirt pedals on this clip. Just the guitar, the amp, a little chorus mixed very lightly in front of the amp on the solo (hey, I LIKE chorus!), some delay and reverb. The volume and tone controls on the guitar control the amp.

I apologize for my playing; I know it sucks, you know it sucks, and yeah, the world knows it sucks. Don’t remind me. For a craptastic player like me, though, it’s like...genius! Haha!

But the guitar tone is an ‘in my head’ sound I’ve been hearing forever, a guitar that can be anything the player wants it to be, yet it retains its own personality. Sounds best with good audio equipment. Or, given my playing, sounds worst on good audio equipment. [shrug!]

Here goes:

https://soundcloud.com/lschefman/ps-20-hxda
 
ME I SCT with 59/09s was mostly the tone I heard in my head for years. Pairing 59/09s with Braz RW necks just works well for classic to modern rock tones.

The Pattern Vintage neck carve was the carve I never knew I wanted.

I’ve always preferred shorter scale lengths, so going with 24.5” to add the piezo for my ‘AL’ version of the P245T with PV neck carve was a no brainer.
 
ME I SCT with 59/09s was mostly the tone I heard in my head for years. Pairing 59/09s with Braz RW necks just works well for classic to modern rock tones.

The Pattern Vintage neck carve was the carve I never knew I wanted.

I’ve always preferred shorter scale lengths, so going with 24.5” to add the piezo for my ‘AL’ version of the P245T with PV neck carve was a no brainer.
Got the dreaded error message posting that one several times!
164-FE635-60-BD-41-FA-8134-C6-A0-BE6-EF3-C1.jpg


This guitar just feels like home, plays effortlessly and has just about any sound I want out of it. Coil splits work great and piezo adds a lot of flavor to the sound.
 
We all know how great and consistent PRS guitars are and that is part of the problem. The 'Holy Grail', the 'Unicorn' Guitar that guitarists would spend time trying to chase down was possible because the guitars themselves were inconsistent. Pick-ups that just so happened to be hand wound with imperfect winding pattern and a 'vague' number of winds that just so happened to be put in the right guitar for the right person to eventually end up with it and that person going on to make a sound that, because the Electric guitar was 'new', no one had heard before. Others that went out and bought the same model struggled to get the exact sound because the imperfections in this guitar didn't match the imperfections in the other.

We have heard John Mayer speak about hunting for the Unicorn and one of the reasons he teamed up with PRS is because PRS can build 'Unicorns'. Where ever he is in the world, as long as there is a PRS dealer nearby, he can pop into the shop, take a Silver Sky off the wall and know it will feel and sound just like his own personal Silver Sky, same with the 594 etc.

Every PRS could be a unicorn or some ones Holy Grail. My 5 PRS guitars, well at least 4 of them are my 'holy grail' guitars. Its possible that one day, a PRS Custom 24 (for example) will cross my path that makes me want to replace my Custom 24 because it offers me something 'more' than mine does but I am more than happy with mine to the point that I am no longer looking for a Custom 24, chasing after one that is 'better'. You could argue that a Cu24-08 or P24 may be could offer 'more' but more likely to be an 'addition' to my collection than a replacement. Maybe the Cu24 is a bad example as there are more than 1 version but I am not looking for a 'better' HBii or 'Better' PRS Special 22 so these are my 'holy grail' guitars and I couldn't get rid of one either.

I haven't bonded as well with my 509, not to say it isn't great or that there is a better 509 out there for me to chase, looking for the 'holy grail' in 509 form. There is nothing fundamentally wrong with my 509 and nothing that another 509 could do 'better', its more the model that I don't bond as well with but it does add 'something' that my other guitars don't and I would rather have those things and not need than need and not have. However in recent months, I haven't 'needed' what it offers. Its entirely possible that I could find a 594 double cut semi hollow with solid rosewood neck that may tempt me to swap my 594 for it and I do want to add the HB 594 - although I do see this as more of a sideways addition rather than as a replacement for my solid body 594.

And there in is my point. there isn't necessarily a single Holy Grail guitar - at least not in my opinion - and you can end up with 'multiple' Holy Grail Guitars that are in different models, styles etc. You may have found the 'Holy Grail' LP type but that ain't gonna work if you need a Strat type, its not the guitar you are going to reach for. That LP type may well be the best LP type to you. so much so you don't need to hunt down a better one, you have stopped looking for something better and that's why I believe every PRS guitar can be a Holy grail, a Unicorn.
 
Mine is an '87 Standard. All mahogany. Black pearl finish, Brazilian board with moons. Not fancy to look at but man, does she sing! They way she reacts to nuances of fingertouch and subtle variations in pick attack is remarkable. Startlingly responsive - flying this guitar at battle volume is a real joy.

Super lively neck, and the one-piece body lends an especially voicelike quality to the fat sparkle of the T&B humbuckers. Nice broad spectrum of tone using the sweet switch and old style 5-way rotary, from crystalline to punchy and all points in between. The only thing these pickups won't do is the vintage smoky-velvet thing, and I have PAF guitars for that.

I was in love with this guitar from the first moment I felt her come alive in my hands, brand new in the store. 32 years later I'm still head-over-heels. She's in serious need of a fret dress though, after being my favorite PRS for so long. I've worried for years that it might make her feel different, but now it's become pretty much unavoidable if I want to keep using her.

I have a number of other PRSi. Several of them are prettier and/or more valuable than the '87, but none can match Midnight Angel for liveliness & responsiveness. Hands down favorite.

a 2018 post about the day I found her:
https://forums.prsguitars.com/threa...t-made-you-want-to-own-one.29396/#post-373699
 
At some point I intend to make my current Core figured top faded whale blue McCarty into my holly grail. Sometime in the future I intend to send it to PCT to change a few things. 1) Clear back & neck. Maybe a dark transparent brown, like a walnut color or something along those lines. 2) Nitro. I like the wood selection, so I don't know if it'd be worth it for me to go the PS route. If I did go the PS route, I'd choose some fancy naked wood for the neck, such as rosewood, or roasted maple, or even the UV satin maple like they have for the CE24s and my 594. I'd also choose the 408 switching if I did go the PS route. Either that or my Paulo's Dirty 101 that I've mentioned in the Paul's Dirty 100 thread.
 
Back
Top