Related Tags
NAMM 2020: PRS Launches the Private Stock 35th Anniversary Dragon Guitar
It’s the ninth dragon guitar the brand has released since 1992.
Image: PRS
NAMM 2020: PRS Guitars has launched the Private Stock 35th Anniversary Dragon Guitar, a limited and intricately designed electric based on the PRS McCarty model.
This will be the ninth Dragon Guitar PRS has launched since its inception in 1992. The series was born out of a fantasy of Paul Reed Smith himself, as he explains: “When I was a teenager, I had a dream about a guitar with a dragon inlaid down the neck, and in 1992, I was able to realize that dream for the first time. It has become an important part of our history to celebrate the technology that allows us to create these intricate inlays and the idea that dreams can become reality. I really like this new 35th Anniversary Dragon.”
The first thing you’ll notice is, of course, the dragon that adorns the fretboard. It has been designed by Jeff Easley, a fantasy artist famous for some Dungeons & Dragons rulebook covers, who has worked on several previous PRS Dragon guitars. The design was deconstructed into over 225 disparate parts by Aulson Inlay, using a wide variety of materials to achieve the detailed design.
Aside from the fretboard inlay, The Private Stock 35th Anniversary Dragon sports many of the same appointments as the PRS McCarty model it’s based on. These include a McCarty-thickness back, a PRS Stoptail bridge, and tweaked Phase III Locking tuners. The body is loaded with two Paul’s Guitar TCI Humbuckers, controlled by master volume and push/pull tone knobs.
The guitar also features some exotic woods, including a curly maple top, an African ribbon mahogany back, and a chaltecoco pattern neck with a 25-inch scale length and 22 frets. The 35th Anniversary Dragon Guitar will come finished in what PRS calls ‘Frostbite Dragon’s Breath,’ with the smoked black hardware matching the dark contrasts of the finish.
Paul Miles, Director of Private Stock, said of the final design, “I am incredibly proud. This guitar is PRS through and through from the fingerboard design to the pickups. I think it’s one of our most elegant Dragons yet.”
The Private Stock 35th Anniversary Dragon will be limited to 135 pieces worldwide, shipping between February and June 2020. Find out more at prsguitars.com.