If you're at all familiar with the history of Paul Reed Smith guitars, let this be proof to you that these early period builds are some of the most sought-after pseudo vintage electric guitars of our day.
The Paul Reed Smith Guitar - as it was originally dubbed - represents Paul's first true production electric guitar, and has become somewhat of an icon in the canon of PRSi. "V1" features like the abalone 'birds' inlays, sweet switch, rotary pickup selector, and small script headstock logo made a significant mark on the guitar industry, and paved the way for many of the PRS models that followed.
This is a fabulous example of a one-owner instrument who purchased it new in 1986 and kept it well-maintained. The guitar is all original with not a changed part to be found, and the original Pearl White finish is quite striking and dynamic, with little to no fading or yellowing. The original T&B humbuckers sound fantastic - nice and clear with some great midrange, and quite frankly some of the best split-sound pickups we can recall.
It's an interesting build from a time where delineations between models seemed to have not been entirely ironed out. One might question why this would be considered a PRS Guitar vs. a Custom 24, which is perfectly valid. However, in this case, the body is made entirely of Mahogany like the Standard models. The Standard models also had dot inlays, but this build has Birds. The Custom 24s had Maple tops and Birds - confused yet? Either way, it's a superb guitar regardless of where it falls in the PRS catalogue.
Anyone looking for a collector-grade PRS, this would undoubtedly check all the boxes. And for those that just want a killer example of a small-shop PRS that most likely passed through the hands of the man himself, you've found it here.
Specs
Condition