PRS Tour

[MikeStrat]

I'm going on a private tour of the PRS factory on Tue (Thanks in part to our buddy Shawn for the connection). Do you guys have any burning questions you would like me to ask? I will try to get pictures. If not, I'll have to hook up my hidden crotch camera.

[Shawn]

Mike, I so wish I could make it, but I am absolutely swamped getting ready to spend a very cool summer!

Have an awesome time, look for my Custom 24 quilt 20th!




Shawn

[btx109]

I would like to know why Private Stocks are so much more expensive than the production guitars when they are all made on CNCs and some of the regular production line employees also work on parts of the PS line as well (they don't advertise any of that but it is true). And I don't intend those questions to sound snarky, I'm really curious how they justify such high prices for those (admittedly pretty and occasionally unique) guitars.

[MetalMedal II]

How about asking why they changed the neck heels and made them so much bigger nowadays compared to pre-CNC-made ones. Before there were contoured like an LP or SG.

Oh, and what do they have against a TOM-style bridge like an LP? I might have seen only one in my days.

[MikeStrat]

I'll ask the questions. I'm curious about that private stock thing as well. Private stock guitars don't impress for the price they are asking. Photobucket is not working for me for some reason otherwise I would post pics of my new PRS.

[slayer]

How about asking why they changed the neck heels and made them so much bigger nowadays compared to pre-CNC-made ones. Before there were contoured like an LP or SG.

Oh, and what do they have against a TOM-style bridge like an LP? I might have seen only one in my days.

+2 Exact questions I would ask and the 2 things that keep me from buying one I don`t like the bridges nor the neck heel. Jack.

[MikeStrat]

I kind of felt the same way about the heel. My problem is that I have been playing Jacksons and Charvels so long, every other guitar felt uncomfortable. But after getting a PRS and playing it for a while I'm getting used to it. As a matter of fact, I've been palying EBMM Axis for a while and then grabbed one of my SL1's and the neck felt huge. I never thought I would say that about an SL1 neck.

[MikeStrat]

Shawn - What color is your guitar? I'll see if I can spot it. I know who you ordered it from so I might be able to locate it.

[XSSIVE]

lucky dog, can i come too...my name's Mike and i own strats...you think they'd notice if there were two of us LOL.

just kidding...have fun!!!

-Mike

[4koa]

How about asking why they changed the neck heels and made them so much bigger nowadays compared to pre-CNC-made ones. Before there were contoured like an LP or SG.

Oh, and what do they have against a TOM-style bridge like an LP? I might have seen only one in my days.

actually the neck heel only increased in size by a 1/4 of an inch and only on the 24 fret models.the 22 fret models have always had the larger Heel they were never smaller.starting with paul's original Dragon model which was the first 22 fret model.. just buy a 24 fret model if you want the smaller heel

ED's infamous comparision picture is a crock..he put a newer 22 fret next to older 24 fret model to make it appear that there was a huge increase in size..had he put a newer 24 fret next to the older 24 fret.you'd see the increase is actually pretty small'

and the switch has absolutely nothing to do with CNC.. Paul noticed that the larger heel guitars didn't have any dead spot's on the fretboard like many of the older short heeled 24 fret models around the 12 to 15 fret..so he added a a little more mass/wood to the neck of the 24 fret models and it solved the problem

i've owned both a newer large heeled and older short heeled PRS and can personally attest to this being true.........

[MetalMedal II]

Good info, Thanks!

Now what about using TOM-style bridges like on a LP? The wrap-around bridge, though it's a good design, doesn't work with my picking style. The studs on the low-E side is right in the way of my hand. I never would have thought this to be the case until I had a Jackson AT2T with the wrap-around bridge.

[slayer]

Thanks for answering that bro!! Yes, I don`t care for the wraparound bridges either, maybe PRS should offer a Tunamatic version? Jack.

[4koa]

no problem..be sure and ask The TOM question on the tour, i was always curious about why they went with the wrapover as opposed to the tunamatic myself (if i had to quess...I know Pauls original guitars were based off an old Gibson double cut LP of his that he absolutely loved..those DC LP models all came with the 1 piece wrapover bridges..

enjoy the tour..it's alot of fun

[86mod5]

Alright Mike, it's Wednesday so give us the scoop when you get a chance.

[MikeStrat]

Okay. First off it was F'ing cool! I was there for 2 hours. They were very cool about letting me stare and drool without trying to push me through. I took my 20th anniversary 24 with me just to see if Paul would sign it. He came out of his meeting and signed it for me. I was impressed. I have many pictures but once again I am having technical difficulties. I'll get them posted asap.

What I learned: Not a whole lot of new stuff. Just a few interesting points that some of you may already know.

There still mostly hand built. There only part that is not is cutting out the shape of the body. There still a lot of hand sanding going on.

Neck heel. They told me the neck heel will vary from guitar to guitar. They are slightly bigger to give more neck support than past guitars. I spoke with the design engineer and he said that was just something that had to be done to keep up the quality of the guitar but they still vary.

The most interesting point for me was the one guy who decides what is a "10 Top" and what is "Private Stock". A piece of wood can start out as a 10 or PS and get downgraded through the process by other wood graders. As the guitar goes through process and it gets milled down or stained it can change the look completely. It makes total sense but it's not something that you would think about. The main point of this is: Beauty is in the eye of the beholder.

The hardware is all made by a company in Baltimore, MD. Except the tuners are Schallers. The guys I talked to didn't have much to say about the stoptails or trems. Many of the production guys just do what there told and do it mutiple times a day and don't even think about it.

I saw Dan Spitz personal guitar in for repair. UGLY!! I saw a new single cut that was being made for Santana. I saw a couple new models being made for Dave Navarro.

I went to school with the private stock production manager which I didn't know he worked there.

Biggest question still outstanding for me is how they justify the private stock prices. I mean I saw some really nice guitars and some were okay. But some of the prices they quoted for some of these things is insane. I guess if he can get it, good for PRS. It's all the same process just little nicer woods. Just an observation.

There is more but I know people don't read long posts like this so I 'll end.