Wood Library tops -Expert opinion needed!

[DrCarver]

Hi all

I’m looking at purchasing a new wood library PRS. The dealer has it listed as an Artist grade top, however the headstock has the “10” in the corner. He’s telling me that all wood library guitars are artist grade tops and the 10 is there because the wood library is no less than a 10 top. That doesn’t sound correct to me, and I feel like he may be misinformed. Even the PRS website says WL guitars can have any grade top.

It's a cool guitar, and I don’t really care what grade the top is, I just want to make sure I’m not paying artist prices for a 10.

Can anyone here clarify this for me?


Thanks!

 

[Glide-bpm]

Hi all

I’m looking at purchasing a new wood library PRS. The dealer has it listed as an Artist grade top, however the headstock has the “10” in the corner. He’s telling me that all wood library guitars are artist grade tops and the 10 is there because the wood library is no less than a 10 top. That doesn’t sound correct to me, and I feel like he may be misinformed. Even the PRS website says WL guitars can have any grade top.

It's a cool guitar, and I don’t really care what grade the top is, I just want to make sure I’m not paying artist prices for a 10.

Can anyone here clarify this for me?


Thanks!

Artist never has a "10" on the back of the headstock, Wood Library or not. Guy is feeding you a line of bull**** or ignorance one.

I will say that about every 10 Top Wood Library top has usually looked more impressive than any of my regular core 10 Tops.

 

[goat-n-gitter]

I have a wood library with a ten top - it is marked "10".
My wood library with an artist top is not marked. The dealer is mistaken or misleading.

 

[Glide-bpm]

U should pay Wood Library 10 Top for it.

 

[HANGAR18]

PRS seems to shoot from the hip on this sort of stuff. Not always etched in stone, you know?
As I understand it, an "Artist" top is supposed to be even better than a 10 top and it's perfectly normal to not have a 10 on the back of the headstock.

As for Wood Library, I think it means more about the dealer picking out a bunch of nice, non-standard wood in order to spec out a build. You can expect a Wood Library model to have an fantastic top, but there is no telling whether it will have a 10 marker or not. I now have two Wood Library models. One of them has a 10 and the other one doesn't.

Wood Library w/o 10 indicator but a fantastic top.

Wood Library WITH a 10 top indicator.

The more important questions are, Do you like the guitar? Are you willing to pay the asking price for the guitar?

 

[AP515]

Yep the above is correct. It is not an artist top, it is a 10 top. Sometimes there isn't a lot if difference between the two but you should ask if they are priced differently or not because that is a 10 top no matter what it looks like.

 

[bodia]

I also agree with the above. I have three WL guitars, all with Artist Grade tops. None of them is marked with a 10.

 

[TwelfthTangent]

Agree with above. For wood library: 10 = 10 top, no 10 = artist. Should be priced differently, resale different too in my experience.

 

[toothace]

The more important questions are, Do you like the guitar? Are you willing to pay the asking price for the guitar?

Asking the important questions. Inquiring minds want to know!

 

[BrianC]

I have a WL - no 10
Artist - no 10
LTD - 10
10 - 10

 

[DrCarver]

Agree with above. For wood library: 10 = 10 top, no 10 = artist. Should be priced differently, resale different too in my experience.

That's what I had always thought too. The guitar is priced fairly for retail I believe. It's from a big box store, so I'm assuming the sales rep just doesn't have the correct info on the guitar. Anyway, I'll be calling them soon to inquire. Thanks!

 

[WA Paul]

I’ve seen a lot of dealers advertise their runs as tops that were ‘downgraded from private stock to Artist’ top and ‘downgraded from Artist to 10 Top’ for their WL runs. Pricing is what everyone has already said - standard pricing differences between Artist and 10 Top models / packages.

 

[Mark Bois]

I guess the real question is how much do you trust this shop?

 

[21Hemispheres12]

If there’s a 10 on the headstock then it’s a 10 top no matter the other specs of the guitar. I have one wood library that’s a 10 top and another that’s an artist but they’re both equally fantastic in my opinion.

Artist top

10 top

the backs of both

 

[veinbuster]

If there’s a 10 on the headstock then it’s a 10 top no matter the other specs of the guitar. I have one wood library that’s a 10 top and another that’s an artist but they’re both equally fantastic in my opinion.

Artist top

10 top

the backs of both

Very nice guitars.
I like the reverse video thing going on with the backs.

 

[11top]

Wood library is NOT necessarily an artist grade. It’s whatever the dealer specs.

 

[Great Gazoo]

For many (not all) core-level guitars in the 2019 catalog, AP seems to be ~ +$700 relative to 10-top which in turn is +$600 over MAP.

There is an FAQ on AP vs 10-top: https://www.prsguitars.com/index.ph...difference_between_a_10_top_and_an_artist_top