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I'd been on the lookout for an old PC1 (koa, no tone control) for a decent while and about 6 months ago this one popped up on ebay. It didn't seem to attract too much interest for whatever reason, and I got it for a shade over $1200. It was a US only auction, but Dave very graciously agreed to act as middleman for me and he even did a full fret job and setup on it 
It plays and sounds waaaaaaay better than my (circa 2007) former PC1 which I never really got on with too well, as it had sustainer issues plus I thought overall the pickups were pretty terrible. Part of the reason I was looking for a 'cheap' one was that I had planned to gut the electronics and replace all the pickups. But that's not necessary at all in this guitar - the sustainer works perfectly and the bridge pickup sounds great. I don't think I'll ever be a fan of the sustainer-driver as a pickup, but it's OK I guess. Just. Overall it's in great shape - there are a few scratches which will probably polish out if I can be bothered and a strange little 'blob' between the front two pickups. But the figuring pretty much hides it all so unless you're really looking, the guitar appears to be in 95% condition!
Yes, it has the ballsack head which isn't ideal but there are so few with the mid-90s 'San Dimas Reissue' head that I was always going to have to deal with this head if I wanted a koa one:
The colour changes a lot depending on the light - under house lighting with the curtains shut it looks green, but in the bright light it looks light blue. But whatever, it looks a shit-ton better than the current 'clumsy burst' that chlorine seems to have mutated into.
Yummy koa!
I must include a massive thanks to Dave both for acting as middle-man for the purchase, but also for going way over and above the call of duty with the fretwork!!
It plays and sounds waaaaaaay better than my (circa 2007) former PC1 which I never really got on with too well, as it had sustainer issues plus I thought overall the pickups were pretty terrible. Part of the reason I was looking for a 'cheap' one was that I had planned to gut the electronics and replace all the pickups. But that's not necessary at all in this guitar - the sustainer works perfectly and the bridge pickup sounds great. I don't think I'll ever be a fan of the sustainer-driver as a pickup, but it's OK I guess. Just. Overall it's in great shape - there are a few scratches which will probably polish out if I can be bothered and a strange little 'blob' between the front two pickups. But the figuring pretty much hides it all so unless you're really looking, the guitar appears to be in 95% condition!Yes, it has the ballsack head which isn't ideal but there are so few with the mid-90s 'San Dimas Reissue' head that I was always going to have to deal with this head if I wanted a koa one:
The colour changes a lot depending on the light - under house lighting with the curtains shut it looks green, but in the bright light it looks light blue. But whatever, it looks a shit-ton better than the current 'clumsy burst' that chlorine seems to have mutated into.
Yummy koa!
I must include a massive thanks to Dave both for acting as middle-man for the purchase, but also for going way over and above the call of duty with the fretwork!!
. I've never seen a quilted fretboard before, it looks fantastic.
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