PRS Martin Simpson Private Stock

"The Martin Simpson signature model guitar is simply the result of the PRS team being truly attentive to the feedback of a player. I have felt privileged to be able to tell them what I think will make a better guitar for great acoustic playing, and they have listened to my input from materials to neck width and string spacing, pick up sound and inlays....and when the final model arrived, I was blown away by the results. This model is entirely the best materials, and the specs which I asked for, presented in a deluxe version. It is a great instrument made by people who care and strive always for the highest standards in tone, playability, workmanship and aesthetics." – Martin Simpson

I hadn’t touched base with Martin Simpson for years, until last summer when I saw him at Richard Thompson’s guitar camp. Martin was doing a clinic and invited me to try his PRS acoustic. Duley impressed, he hooked me up with Paul to make a very special Private Stock version of his namesake model. I was able to select the woods and worked with Martin and Paul to get everything just right. Nine months later the guitar has arrived and I am in love. First, it is drop dead gorgeous. The workmanship is on par with the finest bespoke acoustic builders today, bar none. The geometry, the fit and finish are perfect.

I chose to pass on all the abalone inlay that usually accompanies this model, since for this one I was looking for a softer statement. It was replaced by all wood inlays and bindings. I personally feel that using wood trimmings adds less weight to the guitar as well as contributing in whatever small or subtle ways to the tone.

Stunning old growth Brazilian back and sides with a mesmerizing bear claw spruce top are the backbone of this build. As you can see in the pictures, the guitar has an elegant, classic, warm, rich aesthetic; just as I hoped for.

Now for the sound. PRS has managed to build a guitar that has its own sonorous tonal palette. To me, this acoustic wasn’t based on a traditional “folk” guitar. Paul has seemed to have found his own personal voice and construction, much more in line which what modern boutique builders are making today. This is a guitar full of power. When you strum hard it’s a cannon; when you fingerpick softly it has a crystalline quality that is quite addictive. This guitar can cover any fingerstyle genre as well as be the guitar you want to rock out with. In fact, to me it is the perfect stage acoustic. Bold and confident sounding yet subtle enough to be the guitar of choice of a solo performer the likes of Martin Simpson.

Hands down this guitar has the best electronic system I have yet to hear on an acoustic. It’s glorious sounding amplified - incredibly even and articulate. It's as if the pickup system was totally designed for this guitar. It surpasses anything I’ve experienced.

Bottom line, this is a wonderful acoustic guitar that really needs to be experienced to be fully appreciated.

If you'd like to find out more about this item, just call or e-mail me. It would be my pleasure to talk to you about it.

ABOUT PRS PRIVATE STOCK
Everyone has heard of PRS Guitars; they are one of America's great entrepreneurial success stories. But not everyone has heard of the Paul Reed Smith Private Stock instruments. These are special guitars, in every sense. That's what inspired us here at CR Guitars to seek them out; they conform perfectly to our vision of what "hand selected" really means. The goal behind the PRS Private Stock of instruments is not only to create the most beautiful and best playing guitars money can buy, but the best sounding. PRS works very closely with each order - through hourly discussions, experimentation, meticulous checks of every detail at each step in the process and making final tweaks when the guitar is complete - to make sure they are building the best guitars possible. 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, then the Private Stock goal has come to fruition.

“Whether built to your specification or ours, every Private Stock instrument is carefully guided through the process by highly talented, seasoned guitar makers, and each completed instrument is checked and signed by Paul Miles and me. From all of us on the Private Stock team, thank you for looking at and considering a Private Stock instrument. If you decide on a Private Stock guitar, we will give everything we have to make it the best instrument you’ve ever experienced.” - Paul Reed Smith