Paul Reed Smith PRS Private Stock Custom 24 Guitar, Midnight Violet Dragon's Breath

Music Store Live is proud to offer up another unique and beautiful creation from our friends over at the Paul Reed Smith Private Stock department. There's never any question as to the quality of the instrument you're getting when you get any PRS guitar. But there's something magical with these Private Stocks and, at the end of the day, they're unique and simply unlike any other PRS guitar out there. Here we have an awesome Custom 24 with a reverse Birds Of A Feather inlay scheme that's never been done before. We wanted it to almost look like the finish on the top faded into the fretboard which then gave birth to the birds. The result is eye-popping and jaw-dropping.

The tonewoods look beautiful, sound amazing, and feel incredible. The woods were all hand-selected from the Private Stock wood vault. And the fretboard, of course, is nothing short of being a work of art. We were told this is the first time PRS did a reverse Birds Of A Feather inlay scheme where they fade the finish of the body into the fretboard. It's also just beautiful to see how they combine the maple and the ebony on the fretboard all the way up to the beautiful eagle on the headstock.

The pickups are PRS's \m/ (metal) pickups which are a bit overwound compared to some of their other offerings. We still think the name is a bit of a misnomer though as these pickups are way more versatile than the name would imply. They absolutely rock and sound killer with heavy distortion, but they also clean up really nicely and sound smooth, clear, and have a very sweet mid-range to them. They are some of our favorite PRS pickups, for sure. A cool and subtle touch is also the ebony rings that surround the smoked black chrome covered pickups.

PRS's Private Stock guitars are the cream of the crop, of course. This one is a true masterpiece in every way. It is both a work of art and a player's dream all in one.

Private Stock represents the highest quality of materials, the most personally crafted instruments, and the greatest level of customization available from PRS. Whether you choose one of our Private Stock models or spec a Built to Order instrument, every Private Stock is carefully conceived and built with a “one-off” mentality. Through this program, we strive to deliver heirloom-quality, musical instruments. All woods for this guitar were hand-selected by the dealer during a trip to our Private Stock vault in Maryland.

"I have never seen anyone playing guitar in a bad mood. There’s something magic about guitars because they are simultaneously art, musical instruments, treasured possessions, and tools to joyfully spend time with. If you get an extraordinary instrument from Private Stock that is equally as good as a family heirloom and a musician’s tool to make a living on, we have done our job." - Paul Reed Smith

Unique features to this PRS Private Stock guitar are:

- The dealer hand-selected all of the woods used
- The top is quilt maple top
- Swamp ash back with violet grain fill
- Reverse Birds Of A Feather fretboard inlay with stained flame maple and ebony
- Flame maple fretboard binding
- Stained flame maple tuner buttons

It’s All in the Details: TCI-Tuned Pickups

Paul Reed Smith is known as a man who studies history, scrutinizes the details, and never stops applying what he learns to his own instruments. It is that passion, care, and tenacity that has permeated PRS Guitars’ culture and led to the constant evolution of PRS products. Last year, PRS announced TCI (tuned capacitance and inductance) pickups on the Paul’s Guitar. But, TCI is more than a pickup, it’s a process. 

“TCI stands for Tuned Capacitance Inductance. When you wind a pickup, the coils are capacitors, resistors, and inductors simultaneously. Our more refined ability to be able to tune those factors is what we have incorporated into TCI pickups,” said Paul Reed Smith. “To our ears, the results are very musical. We are very proud of how far we’ve come in the understanding and making of pickups. It’s been a fun process.”