I have found a few really expensive guitars but I’m always looking to add to this category. Now this model just about qualifies as I think anything less than $10,000 is still a plausible purchase for some people (unfortunately not me!) and $10 - 20 is expensive but not REALLY expensive. The PRS 10th Anniversary Private Stock Custom 22 will set you back $23,000 now to put that into some kind of perspective, that is almost the same price as the EVH Frankenstein replica!
So why is it so pricey? Well it certainly isn’t because of the Deluxe Suede Hardshell Case that comes with this instrument, although that is a nice addition. Maybe it is the custom inlays that depict the last 10 years or the custom engraved pickup covers, rosewood tuning buttons and pickup rings and green ripple abalone? Or maybe the gold hardware, black and ivoroid along the fingerboard or the body detail finished in Mother of Pearl. Well it is all of these things of course but also that this is a private stock instrument that has all of these extra details. The PRS Private Stock guitars use woods that are set aside as the “best of the best” or “Paul’s Private Stash”!
This paragraph from PRS’ site explains the private stock philosophy:
“The woods are carefully picked from our ‘œPrivate Stash’ and these extraordinary pieces of wood are some of the best instrument grade woods found on the planet. Each guitar is stained with a complex special technique to bring out the most figure and create a unprecedented three dimensionality. The instrument is carefully guided through each craftsman’™s hands, and finally checked by Paul and myself to ensure the best instrument possible. Each instrument is signed by Paul and receives a Private Stock number along with a letter of authenticity describing the specifications and feature of that particular instrument.“
