Click on "Show More" above to see the rest of the pictures in this gallery

​​​​​​

In 1986 Paul Reed Smith launched the Signature Series.  Premium guitars made from select woods and built by their best craftsmen.  Each piece was signed by hand on the headstock and issued a Signature numbered in addition to its sequential serial number.  By 1991 The PRS shop had produced 1,000 Signature guitars to complete the series.  This guitar is Signature #131, which places its build to approximately April of 1987.  Through the rest of that year, many more Signatures were completed, but this one was not finished and released until some time in 1988.  It has an early (1987) Serial number and an early (1987) Signature number, but the prefix is an "8" and it left the factory in a PRS placard 1988 case.  You can't rush quality, I guess.  They took their time with this one and built the finest guitar I've ever had the pleasure to own. 

​​

It's impossible to take a bad picture of this guitar.  It glows from every angle.  In some of the pictures above, you can see how the darker grain flashes out as the guitar moves.   I’ve never seen a finish so vibrant.  It is simply radiant, beyond Private Stock quality and remains utterly un-faded, almost forty years later.  I drove 5 hours to pick this guitar up from a private seller in New Hampshire.  It was a rainy day and we met in a church parking lot.  When he opened the case it was if a quire of Angels sang from on high.  I calmly closed the case, quickly paid him and drove off before he had a chance to change his mind.

​

That was 17 years ago.  ​​I’ve taken this guitar out to gigs several times over the years.  I only do that with the exquisite pieces (like this one) where the stage is large and I the chance of bumping into anything is slim.  There is always a chance that something bad could happen, but it’s worth it.  I don’t like to think of them as “never, ever played”.  I have a couple of those already.  This a pleasure to play.  The neck does not feel like a wide/thin, nor is it quite like any of the "regular" or wide/fat carves that defined the first 25 years of PRS guitars.  These were largely hand built and it may be a special pattern.  I would describe it as slightly wider across the board and slightly deeper than a traditional Wide/Thin.  It is not as big as a wide fat or as deep as a “Regular”. 

 

This guitar is heavy.  It may or may not be the heaviest PRS I’ve owned.  I did not way them all.  It is the heaviest of all that I have right now though, by over ½ pound more than the next closest.  She comes in at the average weight of a Les Paul, at 9.272 pounds. Old growth top.  Mahogany back.  She is a solid piece with tone to match.

 

It has the original PRS stamped "T" & "B" pickups, only issued to 1985-1987 guitars.  None of the wiring has been touched or re-soldered since it left the factory.  There were only about 3500 guitars made in those first three years at the Viginia Ave. shop and this one is number 2779.  Among those (near) 40 year old instruments, how many of them are still in circulation?  Of those remaining guitars, how many of them still have their original pickups and electronics?  This one has it ALL.  

​​

The pickups are not the only unique aspect of these 1985-1987 PRS.  The guitars built in those first three years had unique coil configurations on their five-way rotary switches as well.  The coil combinations included the closest emulation of a Stratocaster tone in position #7 that you'll find on any PRS and a VERY Prominent cocked-wah tone in position #9 that you won't find on-board any other guitar.  Then of course, there is the Sweet Switch.  The original "T" & "B" pickups went away after 1987.  The Sweet Switch went away in 1992.  The blue wafer rotary remained until 1994, but was never again wired to the same coil combinations as any of the original pre-factory PRS guitars.  This guitar has ALL of those original appointments. 

​​

​The cosmetic condition is excellent.  I rate it at 9.7 on a scale of 1-10.  The top, the front & back edges, the binding, are perfect.  The back has no button marks, buckle rash, worming or scratches of any kind.  There are some tiny nicks on the side under where your elbow would be and near the bottom strap button.  The neck and fretboard are perfect. The back of the long tip has a tiny nick.  That's it.  The 40 year old bridge doesn't shine, but I'm not sure it ever did.  These inconsequential departures from perfection can be seen in picture #20.  You could put it in a glass case, but I would recommend playing it every chance you get instead.  It's a fabulous piece in every regard.

​

These 1985-1987 PRS guitars are in a league of their own, even among other pre-factory (1988-1994) PRS Guitars.  While serial numbers on Core PRS guitars leaving the factory today are approaching a half-million, the serial number of this guitar puts it in the top one-half of one percent (0.5%) of all PRS core, set neck guitars they have ever made.  Truly a piece of PRS history with excellent tone beneath a highly flamed Signature grade top. 

​​

When this listing comes down, the guitar will likely land with a collector and you'll never see it again.  If you're giving this guitar any serious thought at all, you might consider pulling the trigger before someone else does.  This is a rare and exquisite pre-factory Signature Series PRS, which will build value for as long as you own it.  

​​​​

​​These vintage pre-factory PRS guitars are an investment.  You'll ALWAYS have the option to re-sell it for as much or more than you paid. 

​​

​​​​

A Word About Vintage Instruments:

​

You can tell when you have a true vintage instrument in your hands.  The resonance of the wood which has aged naturally for decades simply can NOT be duplicated in a new instrument. The Retro, Relic, Custom Shop, Re-Issue, Private Stock, Murphy Lab, Master Built, Throw-Back, etc. guitars can all be built to their original spec, but will never replicate natural aging of the wood through the passage of time.  This is a vintage PRS guitar in excellent condition, which is ready for you to honestly, respectfully and authentically “relic” as you make it your own.  My first serious guitar was a 1975 Stratocaster that I bought new in January of 1976.  I looked in every music store I could get to (on a learner's permit) and narrowed it down to that Strat.  I wanted new and I found one.  I wish someone had been around to tell me that the slightly weathered 1965 Strat on the rack next to it was a better buy in every regard.  These early PRS are the 60's Strats of today.  Get one while you still can.  

 

____________________________________________

​

Please be sure to take a moment and click here to look at my ABOUT page or access it from the top menu bar.  I encourage even the smallest of questions so always feel free to e-mail me any time.  Over 140 of my online feedback ratings are from PRS guitar sales.

 

This guitar is also listed on sites with a starting price of $500 more than I'm asking here on my site, just to put a dent in the seller fees they would charge me for a transaction there. 

 

Why pay more than you have to?  Check my feedback, write me, call me, we'll talk, then buy it here.  It may be gone soon.   

 

 

 

                           

​

$9700.00 Includes shipping to the lower 48

 

I recently heard someone a lot smarter than I am say: 

"Life is short..... Buy the guitar".

​​