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The PRS Modern Eagle has always been about achieving the highest standards of guitar making: beautiful instruments that beg you to play them and immediately satisfy when you do. Modern Eagles feature gorgeous finishes on choice woods that are intentionally selected to sound and feel like a guitar you’ll never want to stop playing. Combine that with great-sounding, purposefully crafted electronics and hardware plus elegant finishing touches, and you have the Modern Eagle recipe.
Historically, the Modern Eagle was only available as a Private Stock or Core Experience guitar. Here are the specs on the historic range of Modern Eagle guitars, dating back to its beginnings in 2004.
- Modern Eagle: 2004
- Modern Eagle Singlecut: 2006
- Modern Eagle II: 2008
- 25th Anniversary Modern Eagle III: 2009
- Modern Eagle Quatro: 2011
- Modern Eagle V
Modern Eagle: 2004
Body:
- Highly figured, carved maple top
- Mahogany back
- Finish Group X: satin, ultra-thin nitro
Neck:
- Brazilian rosewood neck
- Brazilian rosewood fretboard
- 22 frets
- 25-inch scale length
- 10-inch radius
- Wide-fat neck carve
- Ripple abalone bird inlays
Headstock:
- Brazilian rosewood overlay with inlaid Modern Eagle
Hardware:
- PRS stoptail, optional PRS tremolo
- New 14:1 Phase II locking grommet tuners
- Hybrid gold/nickel hardware
Electronics:
- Reverse-polarity pickups with satin covers
- Volume control
- Tone control with push-pull coil tap
- 3-way toggle pickup selector
Private Stock case
Modern Eagle Singlecut: 2006
Body:
- Carved, highly figured maple top
- Mahogany back
Neck:
- Brazilian rosewood neck
- Brazilian rosewood fretboard
- 22 frets
- 25-inch scale length
- Wide-fat carve
- Ripple abalone bird inlays
Headstock:
- Brazilian rosewood with inlaid Modern Eagle
Hardware:
- PRS 14:1 Phase II low-mass locking grommet tuners
- Hybrid gold/nickel hardware
Electronics:
- Reverse-polarity treble and bass pickups with satin covers
- Volume and push-pull tone control
- 3-way toggle pickup selector
Hardshell Modern Eagle Presentation case
Modern Eagle II: 2008
Body:
- Modern Eagle–grade curly maple top
- Special lightweight mahogany back
- High-gloss, shatter-hard nitro finish
Neck:
- Select Dalbergia neck blank
- Select Dalbergia fretboard
- 22 frets
- Wide-fat carve
- Buffed-out neck and fretboard with special, new bird inlays with iridescent paua-heart centers
Hardware:
- PRS stoptail or PRS tremolo
- Hybrid gold/nickel hardware
Electronics:
- 1957/2008 pickups from exclusive 1950s wire supply
6 colors:
- Blue Jean
- Yellow Tiger
- Coffee
- Charcoal
- Red Tiger
- Blueberry with Blackback
Special paisley Modern Eagle case with rich maroon crushed velvet interior
25th Anniversary Modern Eagle III: 2009
Body:
- Carved, figured maple 10-Top
- Mahogany back
- Nitro finish
Neck:
- Select Dalbergia, bound neck
- Select Dalbergia fretboard
- 22 frets
- 25-inch scale length
- Wide-fat carve
- 25th Anniversary shadow bird inlays
Headstock:
- Modern Eagle headstock
- “ME III” truss rod cover
Hardware:
- PRS stoptail or PRS tremolo
- PRS low-mass locking tuners
- Optional gold hardware
Electronics:
- 3 PRS 57/08 NF pickups
- Volume and tone control
- 5-way blade pickup switch
6 colors:
- Angry Larry
- Black Slate
- Charcoal
- Fire Red
- Sapphire
- Amber
Modern Eagle Quatro: 2011
Body:
- Carved “Artist Grade” figured maple top
- Mahogany back
Neck:
- Select East Indian rosewood bound neck
- Select East Indian rosewood fretboard
- 22 frets
- 25-inch scale length
- Pattern carve
- Mother-of-pearl/paua-heart bird inlays
Headstock:
- Cocobolo headstock veneer
- “Quatro” truss rod cover
- Modern Eagle headstock
Hardware:
- PRS stoptail, optional PRS tremolo
- PRS low-mass locking tuners
- Hybrid-color hardware
Electronics:
- PRS 53/10 treble and bass pickups
- Volume and push-pull tone control
- 3-way toggle pickup switch
5 colors:
- Black Gold
- Charcoal Burst
- Faded Blue Burst
- McCarty Sunburst
- Sunset Burst
Paisley hardshell case
Modern Eagle V
- 2018: Private Stock LTD Edition
- 2020: Core Experience PRS LTD Edition
- 2023: Production Catalog model
Body:
- Maple top
- Mahogany back
- Violin top carve
- High-gloss nitro finish
Neck:
- One-piece mahogany neck
- Rosewood fretboard
- 22 frets
- 25-inch scale length
- 10-inch radius
- Pattern carve
Headstock:
- “Modern Eagle V” truss rod cover
Hardware:
- PRS Gen III Tremolo
- PRS Phase III locking tuners
Electronics:
- TCI treble pickup
- NS-01 middle pickup
- TCI bass pickup
- Volume and push-pull tone control
- 5-way pickup selector
- 2 mini-toggle coil-split switches
The PRS Modern Eagle V is an innovative instrument that offers highly musical tones for both recording and playing live. Utilizing a humbucker/single-coil/humbucker (5-coil) pickup layout and unique electronics configuration, the Modern Eagle V gives players a vast array of tones in one guitar. The 5-way blade switch selects the pickups in intuitive groupings: treble, treble and middle, middle, middle and bass, and bass. There is a single volume and push-pull tone control that activates both humbuckers when engaged; this allows players to access all three pickups simultaneously. Finally, the mini toggles allow players to individually separate the humbucker coils, turning the outside pickups into true single-coils. This electronics design puts a whole set of classic and new tones at your fingertips.
According to Paul himself:
Modern Eagle models have always been built to stand up to history while celebrating tonewoods and the discovery of new tones. The Modern Eagle V is a sophisticated instrument not only in its craftsmanship but in its electronic and mechanical design. We’ve refined the pickup tones and are pleased to now add it to the Core lineup.”
Check Out the PRS Modern Eagles at Sweetwater
Thanks to PRS director of sales Jim Cullen and everyone at PRS for the invaluable information. Are you interested in experiencing the Modern Eagle mojo? You can check out all the Modern Eagle models and learn about a wide variety of PRS guitars at Sweetwater.com. Not sure which one is right for you? Contact your Sweetwater Sales Engineer at (800) 222-4700, and they can answer all your questions.
Shop All PRS Modern Eagle V Guitars
Learn more about PRS Modern Eagle history in Don Carr’s interview with Paul Reed Smith!