A Superlative Studio Spec’d by Sweetwater’s Guitar Experts
Deep in the heart of PRS’ Stevensville, Maryland facility lies the Wood Library — a treasure trove of the world’s finest tonewoods, all ready to be assembled to Sweetwater’s wildest specs. For this Wood Library Studio, we opted for the somewhat rare combo of a matching East Indian rosewood neck and fingerboard. And while it’s certainly a striking look — especially when contrasted with the mahogany body’s dazzling quilted maple 10-Top — many Sweetwater guitarists revere rosewood-necked instruments for their shimmering top-end treble and cutting clarity. These tonewoods are then paired with an extraordinarily versatile 3-pickup setup of a PAF-inspired 58/15 humbucker and two dual-coil Narrowfield pickups, complemented by a coil-splitting push-pull and a 5-way switch for classic in-between tones. You also get a custom set of Smoked Black hardware, including rock-solid PRS Phase III locking tuners and a Gen III tremolo unit for expressive pitch-shifting possibilities. Simply put, this Sweetwater-spec Wood Library Studio is a top-class 6-string you can’t get anywhere else!
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A sonic arsenal under your command
The PRS Wood Library Studio is all about tonal dexterity, thanks to its complement of proprietary PRS pickups and versatile switching scheme. PRS’s Narrowfield, deployed in the neck and middle positions of the Wood Library Studio, is a remarkable pickup that delivers the best characteristics of a humbucker, a P-90, a traditional single-coil, and a mini humbucker. Technically, the Narrowfield’s dual coils classify it as a humbucking design. At the same time, its svelte form factor is reminiscent of a mini humbucker (with which, perhaps not surprisingly, it shares certain tonal characteristics). Mini humbuckers — especially in the neck position — have long been prized for maintaining clarity in overdrive conditions while bucking the hum.
Stationed at the bridge is a 58/15 LT, which produces a rich, organic vintage tone. This is the warm and clear sonic elixir that propelled the original 58/15 pickups to the top of many guitarists’ favorite PAF-style humbucker lists. The 58/15 LT is based on that successful design, but it’s wound with fewer wire turns for even more clarity and nuance. Cranked through a good tube amp, the 58/15 LT can produce raging overdrive with a fat, snarling tone that maintains crystalline note separation within chords.
The Wood Library Studio is equipped with a push-pull tone control that splits the pickup coils for sparkly single-coil tones, while a 5-way pickup selector switch serves up spanky reverse-polarity tones in positions 2 and 4. The immense flexibility of the Wood Library Studio’s unique pickup and switching arrangement gives you an instrument that can serve up any electric guitar sound you could ever need for a live gig or studio session.
Time-tested PRS Pattern neck for playing comfort
The PRS Pattern neck is an exceptionally comfortable profile inspired by one of Paul’s earliest pre-factory shapes: the Wide Fat Pattern. It’s a slightly substantial neck that never feels too hefty, with a fast feel and carve that perfectly conforms to the natural bend of your hand while moving up and down the neck. It's a favorite among Sweetwater guitarists of all stripes, but it’s also been endorsed by legendary guitarists such as Carlos Santana, Peter Frampton, and Howard Leese of Heart fame.
Only a 10-Top will do
Curl, flame, quilt, and spalt: even in the early days of Paul Reed Smith’s guitar-building career, the company had a reputation for the sheer quality of figuring on their maple tops, with dazzling lines and grain patterns that make any plain top pale in comparison. Naturally, customers began to call in and request that their instruments be built with “a nice-looking top” — far too vague a term for the tonewood scientists in Stevensville, Maryland. Thus, the 10-Top designation was born: a lofty status that requires a “clearly defined figure across the entire top,” leaving no doubt that the guitar will arrive capped with a superlative piece of timber.
PRS Wood Library Studio Electric Guitar Features:
- Custom-spec’d 6-string, designed by Sweetwater and crafted by the world-class luthiers in the PRS Wood Library
- Lightweight mahogany body, capped with a dazzling quilted maple 10-Top
- Custom-spec East Indian rosewood neck imparts a sparkling treble top end and a highly refined look
- 10-inch-radius East Indian rosewood fingerboard studded with “Old School Birds” mother-of-pearl inlays
- PRS Pattern neck profile offers a robust and full grip
- Triple-pickup setup of a bridge-position 58/15 humbucker and 2 dual-coil PRS Narrowfield pickups serve up a seriously versatile range, from quacky in-between tones to endlessly sustaining liquid-like lead tones
- 5-way pickup selector and push-pull master tone unlock biting coil-tapped tones
- Custom Smoked Black hardware, including a PRS Gen III tremolo and PRS Phase III locking tuners
