Paul Reed Smith Private Stock Golden Eagle Howard Leese #74/100

PRS   Private Stock   Golden Eagle   Howard Leese model   #74/100   8.2lbs.

A rare limited-edition signature model that helped create features now standard on PRS guitars.

This limited edition is modeled upon the very first maple top guitar Paul Smith built for Howard in the early 80’s. On that guitar, the maple top actually came from a dresser drawer given to Paul by a friend. The original guitar became Howard Leese's number one guitar for more than 15 years. Story has it that when Paul was trying to get top players to play his guitars, Paul borrowed Howard’s guitar for Santana to try. After a few weeks, Howard asked where his guitar was. Mr. Santana’s office reported that Mr. Santana would not be returning the guitar. That led to Paul building guitars for Carlos and returning Mr. Leese’s instrument. Mr. Leese’s guitar tech stated that this guitar was the best sounding guitar he ever heard.

Features unique to the Howard Leese Gold Eagle include a thicker mahogany body, a wide-fat neck profile with a modified heel, a pre-factory Santana headstock shape, an ebony headstock veneer, and a vintage amber high gloss nitro finish. Appointments include a golden eagle headstock inlay, gorgeous curly maple top, bird fingerboard inlays, green abalone strips running parallel between the two Seymour Duncan Zebra Santana II pickups, cream pickup rings, and amber top hat style control knobs. Includes a green Howard Leese flight case with purple lining.

FEATURES

BODY

·       Style: PRS Santana Double Cutaway (Thickness and carve to Howard               Leese's specs)

·       Finish: Gloss Nitro-Cellulose

·       Back Wood: Specially selected dark, South American Mahogany

·       Top Wood: East Coast Curly Maple

 

NECK

·       Scale Length: 24.5"

·       Neck Wood: Mahogany with modified heel

·       Fretboard: Bound rosewood

·       Fretboard Radius: 11.5"

·       Neck Shape: Wide Fat

·       Inlays: Modified Birds on neck, green ripple abalone purfling strips                   between pickups

·       Number of Frets: 24

·       Fret Wire: 513

 

HARDWARE

·       Bridge: Unplated PRS Tremolo

·       Tuners: PRS 14:1 Phase II locking tuners with larger tuning buttons

·       Hardware Type: Nickel

·       Truss Rod Cover: "22"

·       Bridge Pickup: Santana II Zebra

·       Neck Pickup: Santana II Zebra

·       Pickup Switching: Amber top hat Volume and two Tone controls, with            3-way slide selector

·       Includes Green flight case with purple lining

 

This guitar has been slightly used and shows some light pick swirls and some wear on the back. Nothing major. I’m a player, not a dealer, and this is an awesome sounding and playing guitar.  I don't have any dealer 'mark-up' so you get a great guitar at a great price.