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In 2005 I had the privilege of taking a full factory tour, guided by (now Director of Sales) Jim Cullen.  At the time Jim was the service manager.  I had been communicating with him for a couple years about several different vintage PRS guitars through e-mail and on the phone.  October of that year I had a business trip to D.C.  I reached out to Jim and asked him if I could stop by the plant.  He welcomed me over, met me in the lobby and took me on a full tour starting at the loading dock where the wood blanks are received and ending in the finish room where (among others) Al Dimeola’s next guitar was hanging on a rack, fully painted and waiting for assembly.  This was all perhaps 2-3 years before The “PRS Experience” took hold and personal tours became a thing of the past.  I was interested in the Santana Models (1 & 2) and we talked a little about them.  He told me only around 500 Santana 1’s were ever made.  I started shopping and six months later had my first Santana 1 (this guitar).  Over the following years, a few more 1’s & 2’s passed through.  I still have a Santana 2 as well.  It is featured on my site home page and for sale on this site as well. 

 

I love these early Santana guitars.  That’s why I’ve kept them all these years.  She weighs in at exactly 8.3 pounds and all the Santana tone you’ll ever need is in there.  They have a really beefy neck which at the time, seemed like a concession that I would have to make to own one, but once you’ve played it for a couple weeks you feel right at home.  Same with the dual mini’s.  Extremely simple to understand and operate.  I gig all of my PRS guitars with a removeable clear vinyl pick guard which you can see in two of the photos and a thick protector across the entire back as well.  The guards are seen in photos #5, #6, and #7.  These pick guards are great for poly finish guitars only.  You should never use them on Nitro.  Never.  This guitar hangs well over your shoulder, sounds and plays beautifully.  I’ve always had a constant stream of PRS guitars passing through.  I couldn’t possibly gig them all, but I did gig these Santana’s regularly and with pride.  Now it’s someone else’s turn to own one of the rare (~500) Santana 1's from the first year of production.  It is an elegant, rock-solid tone machine.

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The physical condition of this guitar would be best described as excellent. I’ve rated it at 9.6 on a scale of 10.  There is one tiny dimple in the top clear coat as shown in the reflective photograph (#13) and one spec of the finish off of the headstock edge near the High E tuner (photo #19).  The bridge and saddles have tarnished over the years.  The back is free of any worming or buckle rash at all.  There is one shallow clearcoat scratch on the back of the upper horn that was there when I bought the guitar.  The frets have been photographed showing barely discernable signs of play wear at the first three frets.  Comes with an original (Tolex) PRS hard case and the original tremolo bar.

 

 

 A Word About Core PRS Guitars:

 

PRS has always made great guitars and they still do today.  From 1985 until 2002, all PRS guitars were core PRS guitars.  The 2001 Santana III was their first model created as a second-tier instrument.  Basically, a financial decision to explore the lower price point market with an eye on producing off-shore.  Their USA and off-shore guitars are essentially made by two different companies, creating two different families of instruments.  There are the cores in one family and everything else in the other (not to mention the Wood Library pieces or of course Private Stock, both in a league of their own).  In the Forums I see a lot of SE’s with problems right off the rack or that have been so modified by their owner, they could have just bought a core PRS to begin with. PRS still regards the new CE-24 as a core model, but they are less than one-half the guitar that core CE’s were from 1995 to 2016 and one-quarter the guitar that the pre-factory alder body CE-24’s are. Those second tier (S2) and third tier (SE) guitars lose whatever value they ever had rather quickly.  The new core guitars are fabulous instruments, but sticker north of five or six grand and will be worth far less in 4-5 years.  If you’re casually looking here out of curiosity, while thinking more seriously about buying your sixth SE in a different color, your third S2 or a new CE-24, give some thought and consideration to selling just some of what you’ve already got, to buy a Core PRS instead. Core PRS guitars hold their value.  The Santana III makes a fair second tier showing, While every Santana core (1 &2) that I’ve owned or played is multiple LEVELS ABOVE every Santana SE that I’ve ever encountered.  Just the opinion of a PRS fanatic that has bought, sold, owned and gigged over 300 PRS guitars across the last 25 years.

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​​​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 $350 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 and buy it here.  It may be gone soon.  Send me an e-mail and we'll talk.  

 

If you've come to this page directly through an organic Google search, click this link to see a list of all the guitars I currently have for sale before leaving this page.

 

 

​$5,600.00 includes shipping anywhere in the lower 48.  

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

 

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

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