Missing Piece Of PRS History?

[báratta]

I was going through some older threads the other day, when I came across a discussion of Yamaha’s attempt to bring PRS into the fold. (https://forum.seymourduncan.com/showthread.php?t=28592)
I thought that the Yamaha YSG below would provide an interesting footnote. It feels so very familiar to me, as it has a mixture of hardware from the Yamaha Image Custom and Deluxe. (I have owned both models.) I wonder if a resident PRS aficionado could provide us with more insight into this odd little piece of history.

It would also be interesting to know if it has the custom Dimarzios from the Weddington or the “Yamaha” alnico Vs that were fitted to the image deluxe.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&category=33049&item=7333388888&rd=1&ssPageName=WDVW





My Image Custom (installing SD APS shortly)


Samuel

 

[aleclee]

Re: Missing Piece Of PRS History?

The PRS allegation is probably a load of doodoo. It is true that Paul pitched his design to Yamaha, somewhere around 1984.

According to the PRS book, they severly lowballed him and that's what made him decide to go at it on his own. Aside from being a mahogany double cutaway with a maple top, it has about as much in common with a PRS Custom as the Peaveys and Carvins made today.

Paul's guitars looked nothing like today's PRS in '78 (I've seen a few from that era) and in '88 he was pretty well established. There's no way I figure that guitar was in any way designed by PRS.

 

[báratta]

Re: Missing Piece Of PRS History?

The chap selling the guitar suggests that the YSG is from 1988. I tend to agree as the trem featured on the guitar appeared on other Yamahas in the late 80’s/early 90’s. If the design was created in house by Yamaha in the 70’s, one could indeed accuse Paul of…