PRS Private Stock April Guitar of the Month Model Takes Flight

Posted Apr 06, 2016

PRS Guitars is celebrating the 20th Anniversary of Private Stock with a revival of the program that started it all: Guitars of the Month. Each month in 2016, the Private Stock team will be offering a unique design in limited numbers that will highlight the fine craftsmanship and remarkable playability that the Private Stock team is known for while utilizing some of the most deluxe materials available. For April, PRS is releasing the DGT “Birds of a Feather” Semi Hollow model; a vintage-appointed guitar that is all about the details. Based on the original McCarty model, the DGT (David Grissom Trem) adds a signature neck shape, taller frets that sport larger gauge strings, custom-spec’d pickups, and a unique control configuration. Only twenty of these instruments will be made for April 2016.

The DGT neck shape is based on two of Grissom’s favorite PRS guitars and comes in between a Pattern/Wide Fat and a Pattern Regular/Regular. The frets and 11-gauge strings, combined with other appointments (thicker back, and 22-fret neck), give the DGT a beefy tone. The pickups were finalized after a year of A/B-ing more than forty variations. The resulting tone has ample depth without losing any openness. The control layout features two volume controls and a push-pull coil-split tone control, providing tons of versatility and control.

The original Guitars of the Month were cased between December 1994 and March 1996. They provided the opportunity to experiment with new ideas and led directly to the creation of the Private Stock program, with the first “official” Private Stock instrument casing on April 19, 1996.

Innovation, and specialized craftsmanship continues to be at the heart of the Private Stock program, and we are very excited to release some new ideas celebrating our 20th Anniversary,” said Paul Reed Smith, PRS Guitars founder. “The DGT Birds of a Feather, takes the time proven features from our signature David Grissom model and brings it to Private Stock’s Guitar of the Month program, and all the enhanced detail work add up to be a special take on a very iconic PRS model.

Specifications include: Ziricote top with curly maple binding, African ribbon mahogany back and backplates, semi-hollow body, single f-hole with maple binding, mahogany neck with DGT profile, ziricote fingerboard with curly maple purfling and mother of pearl sidedots, ziricote and maple “Birds of a Feather” inlays, curly maple headstock veneer with curly maple purfling, Ziricote “Birds of a Feather” Private Stock eagle with a mother of pearl “April” engraved “new” banner, Natural satin nitro finish, Gen III tremolo with locking saddles, Phase III locking tuners with ebony buttons, 11 gauge strings with an unwound G. Electronics include: DGT treble and bass pickups with two volume and one push/pull tone control with 3-way toggle. The DGT “Birds of a Feather” Semi Hollow comes in a Private Stock 20th Anniversary tweed tolex case.


To see this guitar and to learn more about the 20th Anniversary Guitars of the Month program including a list of dealers and distributors that offer PRS Private Stock instruments, click here.