The Real Holy Grail PRS

strat63 said:
These guitars all look so nice so I'll give it a go with one that's a little more worn in. I no longer own this but it was one of the most alive guitars I've ever had. A little hard to control but worth it. Sold it to go down the Private Stock route. 1986 CU24.

I picked this because it's the guitar that put PRS on the map.

qbTDBFal.jpg
Click to expand...

Thanks for showing this. Most faded I've seen and a true classic. Don't you wish you kept it? What did you mean by hard to control?
 
Rockmark said:
Thanks for showing this. Most faded I've seen and a true classic. Don't you wish you kept it? What did you mean by hard to control?
Click to expand...

It was hard to control because the pickups were microphonic and I was always on the edge of feedback. That can be cool but not always ideal. The guitar was not only faded but seriously dinged up. It wasn't hard to give up because of it's twin.
gC0S3qal.jpg


Same year and color. The downside is the one I sold sounded better than the one I kept. I don't normally get sellers remorse but I did on this one. Just a great guitar.
 
strat63 said:
These guitars all look so nice so I'll give it a go with one that's a little more worn in. I no longer own this but it was one of the most alive guitars I've ever had. A little hard to control but worth it. Sold it to go down the Private Stock route. 1986 CU24.

I picked this because it's the guitar that put PRS on the map.

qbTDBFal.jpg
Click to expand...
Well played and well loved.
 
I believe we’re past the point of a Holy Grail Guitar. I’ve thought about this thread quite a bit, struggling to answer. That comes down to the fact of personal taste. A ‘59 LP, as cool as it might be, probably isn’t the “grail” for a country player who might find that classic Tele or Strat to be the grail. It’s easy to pick a classic design and maybe to a lesser degree the prime years, but most people are going off old recordings of songs they love while they haven’t even picked up the actual instruments used. Add to that the example of Jimmy Page’s association with a Lester, yet he recorded some of those early classic songs with a Tele. If you ask 90% of TGP, it’s probably impossible for there to be a grail in the soulless PRS company. :rolleyes:

So what really defines the Grail? Monetary value? Tonal value? Scarcity? All of the above? Or is it just all the right buttons that are pushed for a given player at a given moment that allows and/or helps them create music that is timeless? My grail might not be yours. I think most of us realize it’s somewhere in the middle. There’s a hell of a lotta grey(or is it gray?) area out there when it comes to guitar tone and taste.
 
vchizzle said:
I believe we’re past the point of a Holy Grail Guitar. I’ve thought about this thread quite a bit, struggling to answer. That comes down to the fact of personal taste. A ‘59 LP, as cool as it might be, probably isn’t the “grail” for a country player who might find that classic Tele or Strat to be the grail. It’s easy to pick a classic design and maybe to a lesser degree the prime years, but most people are going off old recordings of songs they love while they haven’t even picked up the actual instruments used. Add to that the example of Jimmy Page’s association with a Lester, yet he recorded some of those early classic songs with a Tele. If you ask 90% of TGP, it’s probably impossible for there to be a grail in the soulless PRS company. :rolleyes:

So what really defines the Grail? Monetary value? Tonal value? Scarcity? All of the above? Or is it just all the right buttons that are pushed for a given player at a given moment that allows and/or helps them create music that is timeless? My grail might not be yours. I think most of us realize it’s somewhere in the middle. There’s a hell of a lotta grey(or is it gray?) area out there when it comes to guitar tone and taste.
Click to expand...


Many good points here. What if part of the definition was: Like the 300k Gibson. It needs to be a consensus of a group of top musicians that all try out one particular guitar and they all feel it is something like they have never heard or played before. The group decision that if 300k were to be paid, this is the agreed on one that all feel is head and heels above all others in their experience. Like the ones Joe has or Bernie Marsden's,. The one all of them want but of course only a small handful will be candidates to be owners.

Now if we apply that same high bar criteria to What is the Grail PRS? One that we all can't deny. One that Paul himself would agree is the best ever in his hands out of his factory.
 
Rockmark said:
Many good points here. What if part of the definition was: Like the 300k Gibson. It needs to be a consensus of a group of top musicians that all try out one particular guitar and they all feel it is something like they have never heard or played before. The group decision that if 300k were to be paid, this is the agreed on one that all feel is head and heels above all others in their experience. Like the ones Joe has or Bernie Marsden's,. The one all of them want but of course only a small handful will be candidates to be owners.

Now if we apply that same high bar criteria to What is the Grail PRS? One that we all can't deny. One that Paul himself would agree is the best ever in his hands out of his factory.
Click to expand...
It all goes back to my post though. Example...
I was at Dave’s Guitar several years back at PRS clinic. They went and got a ‘59 LP(I think) from Dave’s collection upstairs. Restrung that and a PRS ME 2(I think?) on the spot. Played both guitars back and forth thru the same amp. Even layed them both on a table and let them ring acoustically. To me, the PRS sounded better and rang out longer in all cases. I’m sure there were people there that felt the LP was better. If I had been able to buy that guitar, would it be the Grail to me then? Would it still be now? I don’t know. It sounded fantastic to me but I didn’t play it or the LP. If I had to bet, I’d probably like playing that PRS better.

When it came down to it, I spec’d my PS to my taste. I rarely want to play other guitars. Still on occasion, I like a different flavor and I’ll grab my McCarty or SC. I could build a handful of variations on my one PS with slight differences too. I’d say something like an ME might be it, but I need 2 damn volume knobs to be truly happy all the time. So do I rule out the ME, Dirty 100 because of that? So again it comes back my personal preferences and yours and the next guy’s.

I think people are too picky these days for there to be another Grail guitar because everything is at everyone’s fingertips. There weren’t the options decades ago that we have now.
 
sergiodeblanc said:
The thing about the Holy Grail is: it’s really only of significance to Christians. So if you’re say, a Hare Krishna... it’s of no more importance than an old Star Wars glass from Burger King. It’s just a vessel to drink from if you don’t believe it has any power.
Click to expand...

Wait.....I thought it was strictly a guitar term. :confused:
 
sergiodeblanc said:
The thing about the Holy Grail is: it’s really only of significance to Christians. So if you’re say, a Hare Krishna... it’s of no more importance than an old Star Wars glass from Burger King. It’s just a vessel to drink from if you don’t believe it has any power.
Click to expand...
Whoa! Total flashback moment on those old BK Star Wars glasses! :D
 
Folks will have one off personal holy grails, but as far as specific models or runs that will end up as grail guitars in my book...

Ted McCarty DC245 for the tone

Modern Eagle I for the wood and limited nature.
 
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