PRS's Heirloom-worthy Elevation of the Archtop Tradition
The PRS Private Stock #12023 Singlecut Archtop II takes the time-tested hollowbody tradition to its artistic apex, sporting treasure-grade tonewoods personally selected by Sweetwater’s guitar experts. From its responsive and sweet-sounding spruce top to its distinctive combination of a curly maple back with mahogany sides, this archtop’s acoustic voice cuts with a strong, projecting focus and harmonic complexity. Plug it in, and a duo of McCarty III humbuckers temper this guitar’s crisp unplugged character with vintage-inspired humbucking warmth, further bolstered by split-coil capabilities on the push-pull pots. Jaw-dropping bird’s-eye maple then forms this guitar’s chunky Pattern profile neck, coming complete with a Macassar ebony fingerboard, black Delrin side markers, curly maple binding, and old-school 20th anniversary Birds inlays. Moreover, you also get a premium hardware package that consists of an aluminum bronze archtop bridge with brass saddles, a Macassar ebony tailpiece, and non-locking Phase III tuners with striking maple buttons. Of all the instruments in America’s long history of guitar building, archtops are arguably the most elegant. The PRS Private Stock #12023 Singlecut Archtop II both innovates on and pays tribute to that heritage, resulting in an undeniably master-grade 6-string creation that’s primed to inspire for generations.
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Crafted from the highest-grade tonewoods in the world
Tucked away in an unassuming corner of Stevensville, Maryland, lies one of the world’s most exceptional tonewood collections: “The Vault,” located just outside Paul Reed Smith’s office at PRS headquarters. From time-tested 6-string standbys like maple and mahogany to ultra-rare and exotic woods, this treasure trove of timbers stands almost unequaled. To put it plainly, when you purchase a PRS Private Stock guitar, you can rest assured that your guitar’s tonewoods are the best available on the planet.
Moreover, while every Private Stock McCarty or Custom 24 to come through Sweetwater’s Guitar Gallery never fails to turn heads, there’s no better showcase for PRS’s tonewood mastery than a traditional archtop such as this Private Stock #12023 Singlecut Archtop II. Even unplugged, this hollowbody’s spruce top ensures a resonant and responsive character, supported by the warmth of mahogany sides and the crisp clarity of a maple back. Even better, these tonewoods supply a deep and overtone-laden voice when you plug in to your favorite amplifier, ensuring every jazz lick, rock rhythm, and soaring solo exudes ear-grabbing complexity.
Vintage-tinged McCarty III pickups
This PRS Private Stock #12023 Singlecut Archtop II is equipped with a pair of amazing McCarty III pickups. The third iteration of the pickups Paul Reed Smith first introduced in the 1990s, these Alnico II-loaded humbuckers leverage decades of hands-on research, as well as advancements in signal analysis and tuning technology. The result is a vintage-flavored sound with superb warmth, harmonic complexity, and enough vocal-like clarity to keep you at the front of a busy mix.
Pattern profile neck for optimized playability
This Private Stock #12023 Singlecut Archtop II is spec’d with PRS’s Pattern profile neck. A hallmark of PRS quality, neck shapes are, of course, critical to your playing experience. Perfected after years of prototyping, the Pattern neck is an updated Wide Fat PRS neck style based on neck shapes Paul Reed Smith designed in the 1970s and ’80s for Carlos Santana, Peter Frampton, and Howard Leese of Heart. Fast and comfortable, the Pattern profile always feels just right. In reality, most electric guitarists employ a combination of thumb-over and thumb-behind fretting-hand positions in their playing, and the Pattern profile lets you switch seamlessly between the two.
PRS Private Stock #12023 Singlecut Archtop II Features:
- Built by PRS’s most experienced luthiers with the finest tonewoods found on the planet
- Spec’d from top to bottom by Sweetwater’s guitar experts
- Spruce top ensures a rich and responsive projection, even when unplugged
- Hollowbody construction with mahogany sides and a dazzling maple back supplies a lush, complex, and airy tonal character
- McCarty III bass and treble humbuckers exude classic tonality, laden with articulate clarity and vintage body
- Push-pull controls provide shimmering single-coil sonics
- Jaw-dropping bird’s-eye maple neck shaped into PRS’s full-bodied Pattern profile
- Macassar ebony fingerboard inlaid with 20th anniversary Bids and topped with an Old School Eagle headstock inlay
- Top-of-the-line hardware package includes an aluminum bronze archtop bridge with brass saddles and non-locking Phase III tuners with maple buttons to match the back
- Elegant Macassar ebony tailpiece
- Enwrapped with gorgeous natural wood binding from head to toe
- Nitro finish will age in with all the grace of a vintage classic
