By: Staff
Introduced in the fall of 2011, PRS Guitars’ Collection Series instruments are built in small batches by the company’s Private Stock department. Each Collection Series consists of one electric and one acoustic guitar made with the most exacting methods and the most prized components in the company’s possession, including pernambuco necks and fingerboards, which are exclusive to the Collection program. For the third installment in PRS Guitars’ Collection Series, Paul Reed Smith and the Private Stock team have designed two stunning instruments: the Series III Collection McCarty Semi-Hollow electric and the Series III Collection Grand acoustic.
These instruments are available via exclusive PRS Collection dealers: Wild West Guitars (Riverside, CA), Wild Wood Guitars (Louisville, CO), Willcutt Guitars (Lexington, KY), Washington Music Center (Wheaton, MD), Rudy’s Music (NYC, NY), Sweetwater (Fort Wayne, IN), Guitar Center (Atlanta, GA and Dallas, TX locations), and Guitar Resurrection (Austin, TX). Internationally, Collection guitars will be available from The Guitar Shop in Mississauga, Canada and the following distributors: Headline (United Kingdom), Korg Import Division (Japan), Voerman (Benelux), and Roland Meinl Musikinstrumente (Germany and Austria).
Specifications for Series III Collection instruments are as follows:
Series III Collection McCarty Semi-Hollow Electric
Curly Maple Top with Two “F” Holes
Ribboned African Mahogany Back
22 Fret 25” Scale Length Pernambuco Pattern Thin Neck
African Blackwood Fingerboard with 14K Gold and White Gold Collection Celtic Inlays
African Blackwood Headstock Veneer with 14K Gold Signature and White Gold “Collection” Inlay
African Blackwood Truss Rod Cover
14K Gold Sidedots
Phase III Locking Tuners with Ivoroid Buttons
PRS Stoptail
Uncovered Collection 57/08 Treble and Bass Pickups with New PRS Bobbins
Volume and Tone Control with 3-Way Toggle Pickup Switch
Espresso Finish with Mircoburst
Series III Collection Collection Grand Acoustic
16” Collection Grand Body
Proprietary Hybrid X Bracing
Adirondack Spruce Top with Paua Heart/Black Purfling and Figured Curly Maple Binding
Ebony, Paua Heart, Green Select Abalone, and 14K Gold Rosette
Quilted Maple Back and Sides with Black/Maple/Black Purfling
Curly Maple “Wide” Neck
Ebony Fingerboard with Paua Heart, 14K Gold, and Mammoth Ivory Collection Celtic Inlays
Ebony Headstock Veneer Hand-signed by Paul Reed Smith with Mammoth Ivory “Collection Inlay
Paua Heart Purfling on the Fingerboard and Veneer
Ebony Bridge and Bridge Pins with Mammoth Ivory Inlays
Bone Nut and Saddle
Robson Tuning Pegs with Ivoroid Buttons
Proprietary PRS Acoustic Pickup System
Espresso Finish with Microburst
For more information and a current list of dealers, please visit, www.prsguitars.com/privatestock/collection.php.
About PRS Guitars:
Paul Reed Smith Guitars is a leading manufacturer of high quality instruments in Stevensville, Maryland and has provided some of the world’s most renowned musicians with instruments since 1985. The PRS team of highly skilled craftspeople produces over 1,000 electric guitars each month, as well as acoustic guitars and amplifiers, for worldwide distribution. In the fall of 2011 PRS introduced import acoustic and amplifier lines to complement their import SE line of electric guitars. Carlos Santana, Linkin Park, Orianthi, Opeth, Tim Mahoney of 311, Mark Tremonti of Creed and Alter Bridge, Ricky Skaggs, Cody Kilby, Martin Simpson, Tony McManus, and Warren Haynes are among the artists currently playing PRS instruments.
PRS Guitars Info: www.prsguitars.com