Chistopher
malapterurus electricus tonewood instigator
I saw this guitar on Reverb (https://reverb.com/item/6480448-paul-reed-smith-solid-body-1986-pearl-white-prs-85-86-rare-one-off) and was wondering if I should make the purchase. I'm not very well versed in the history of PRS guitars, so I am looking for help in making the decision to buy one of their vintage models.
This particular instrument piqued my interest for several reasons. First and foremost, it cost 10 times as much as other guitars from the era, so it must be made with 10 times the quality parts and 10 times the quality control. The advert also claims that the guitar is mint, and the 5 pictures of the guitar seem to confirm that.
It clearly has the quality box ticked, but it also has a bit of history behind, which is always cool when buying a guitar. It was commissioned by "a major recording artist" who apparently never played it. If you think I'm making this up, don't worry it comes fully documented.
This guitar also has a bit of a scandalous nature to it as well. It has an Explorer body, which we all know is a Gibson trademark. How neat is that! Good ol Mr. Smith has a dark side involving trademark violations!
But the thing that I really love about this model is just how usable it is. Many people think of PRS as a company whose target audience is people who want a modern guitar that draws inspiration from the past. But once again, Paul has proved us wrong! This guitar draws inspiration from the future! While we were all still experimenting with making single HB strats, he was making a single HB Explorer with a painted fretboard (without any of those pesky inlays). Maybe that artist they were talking about never played it because he didn't want to one-up EVH.
I'm pretty set on this one trick pony that cost a price that could only be justified if it were a front for illegal activity, what about you guys? Another thing to consider is shipping is only $200.
This particular instrument piqued my interest for several reasons. First and foremost, it cost 10 times as much as other guitars from the era, so it must be made with 10 times the quality parts and 10 times the quality control. The advert also claims that the guitar is mint, and the 5 pictures of the guitar seem to confirm that.
It clearly has the quality box ticked, but it also has a bit of history behind, which is always cool when buying a guitar. It was commissioned by "a major recording artist" who apparently never played it. If you think I'm making this up, don't worry it comes fully documented.
This guitar also has a bit of a scandalous nature to it as well. It has an Explorer body, which we all know is a Gibson trademark. How neat is that! Good ol Mr. Smith has a dark side involving trademark violations!
But the thing that I really love about this model is just how usable it is. Many people think of PRS as a company whose target audience is people who want a modern guitar that draws inspiration from the past. But once again, Paul has proved us wrong! This guitar draws inspiration from the future! While we were all still experimenting with making single HB strats, he was making a single HB Explorer with a painted fretboard (without any of those pesky inlays). Maybe that artist they were talking about never played it because he didn't want to one-up EVH.
I'm pretty set on this one trick pony that cost a price that could only be justified if it were a front for illegal activity, what about you guys? Another thing to consider is shipping is only $200.
