FS: 2002 PRS McCarty "10 Top" in rare turquoise blue, minty, OHSC & paperwork

[ken2esq]

 

 

For sale is maybe the best looking guitar you'll ever see, that also plays awesome with legendary PRS quality and tone.

 

It's a 2002 PRS McCarty "10 top" with original hard shell case & paperwork. It is very minty, in my opinion. It has a few very minor imperfections, you cannot see them more than a foot away, and I don't even think they are on the face of the body, fretboard or headstock, so nothing to mar the cosmetic beauty when playing. This is a work of art. Anyway, I'm happy to take detailed pics of every inch of the guitar and/or post a youtube video so have no doubts about it's beauty or condition.

 

It is all original, double humbuckers with the great PRS coil splitter for either pup, so it can sound more like strat or gibson, but also covers some original territory. I particularly love it's meaty distortion. This thing goes to 11. I don't think that PRS offered any options for standard 2002 McCarty's so if you go on their site, you can see all the specs for this guitar. I'm 90% sure the fingerboard is rosewood. The frets are very sizeable (maybe the right term is jumbo?), making it very easy to fret cleanly, to bend, vibrato, etc.

 

The guitar has a bit of mystery about it's origin, related to the unusual color. The guitar's paperwork says it is "natural" finish, but it's clearly bluish turquoise. I spoke to PRS about this and they said it was a factor refinish, which is very bit as good in quality as an original finish, and it was done before the guitar left the factory. Why? Who knows, maybe they realized they'd made too many naturals and ought to refinish some in blue?

 

Since the paperwork says it's natural, and it's really blue, my question was this: What shade of blue is it? In 2002, I've been told, the only blue color available for these standard McCarty's was "blue matteo" which was normally a more pacific ocean blue (kind of like the "whale blue" offered other years, maybe a bit lighter on average). I googled blue matteo PRS guitars and found them a bit boring, and found none that matched the look of my guitar. However, I was also told, on the PRS forum, that the blue matteo stain was sometimes darker, or lighter, or more greenish (making it a bit turquoise), etc., and the color could also change over time as it aged. So, my guitar could be a very rare version of "blue matteo."

 

Well, I was not satisfied since I could not find any blue matteos that looks like mine. Since this was a factory refinish, maybe the did something different and unique with it? So I googled all blue PRS 10 top McCartys and looked for the most similar colors. There was a "blue crab" color that was similar, but not offered in 2002. There was a "glacier" blue color that was apparently offered in 2002 that was light blue, and sometimes more greenish, so some of these were turquoise and looked EXACTLY like my color. I thought I had my answer -- mine was glacier blue after all. But I was then told that glacier blue was a "private stock" color meaning it is never used except on private stock guitars, that cost about $10,000 or more (search ebay for glacier blue PRS guitars and you'll see what I mean).

 

So, the official story is that my guitar is just a rare version of blue matteo. But still I wonder.. If some PRS guy was told to refinish this in blue, and maybe he had some glacier blue lying around from having just done a private stock guitar, maybe he decided just to use up that stain rather than waste it, and then call it "blue matteo" because technically they were not supposed to use glacier blue on a standard McCarty? Whether it truly is blue matteo, the fact is, that it LOOKS like a $10,000 private stock color and, more importantly, it looks awesome. I like a bit of mystery and uniqueness in a guitar, a guitar with a story, and this guitar has that, it's kind of one-of-a-kind, there's a mystery surrounding the color, which I find kind of cool. And I am amused that this guitar looks so much like a $10,000 private stock PRS.

 

Regardless what you call the color, I cannot describe how great this blue looks contrasted with the deep golden amber wood tones that run from body to headstock. My wife loves the color, and really wanted me to keep it, but she understands how I feel it's too much guitar for me, and it just sits in closet 99% of the time. The fact is, I'm not rich, and I'm not a professional player, and I am afraid of dinging this guitar when I pull it out to play, and afraid to display it on the wall (I have little kids running around playing ball in all rooms of the house and such). I'm also still learning to play, hit sour notes, and I'm a bit embarrassed to pull this expensive guitar out and jam with people and play it in a mediocre fashion. It really deserves to be owned by some one who is a better player, will play it, display it, record with it, perform with it, etc.

 

I've looked for similar PRS 10 tops in turquoise blue... Turns out, they are quite rare. Really, all the blue ones seem a bit rare, and tend to get snapped up, and sell for hundreds more than the other colors. I guess a lot of people share my fondness for beautiful blue guitars. Given its 10 top, its great condition, the original case & hardware & paperwork, its color and rarity, and based on my research on completed Ebay sales, I'm asking $1,900 for it. I think if I auctioned it, it would go for more than that, but I'd have to pay off Ebay. Anyway, I'm not desperate to get top dollar, I just want a fair price. And I'll split the shipping charge 50/50 unless you're close enough to meet (I'm in Los Angeles and often drive to Orange County and Ventura and Las Vegas).

 

I do see 10 top McCarty's selling from time to time for less than $1,900 -- maybe $1600-1800 range? -- but not the blue ones, those tend to be the less sought after colors (yellowish, orangish, reddish). I think these sell new for around $3,500 plus tax, so it's about half that and just as good as a brand new one. Anyway, if you can give me a link to similar quality, used, blue, 10 top PRS selling for less than $1,900, I'll reconsider my asking price because I just want what's fair. But I think you'll be hard-pressed to do that.

 

If you are unsure of tone of the pick ups, I'm happy to make a Youtube video putting it through its paces. You'll have to excluse the fact that I'm not a "great" guitarist.

 

If you are worried about getting scammed, don't be. I'm a business man, homeowner, father of small kids, highly honest and trustworthy citizen, and can prove it, if we get serious about our negotiations. I am 100% confident that I can give you enough assurances that you'll be sure you are not getting ripped off. I'm even happy to give you a 7 day trial period after you get the guitar, to try it out and look it over and stuff, to verify it's just as I describe.

 

So, in conclusion, first person to commit to $1,900, plus half shipping, gets it. If you would rather haggle, again please give me links tocompleted Ebay sales or other reliable sources to prove that I'm asking too much. But be warned, while you do that, some one else might come in and offer asking price, and you'll miss your chance at a guitar that does not come along very often. I'm not desperate for money, and unless you can prove I'm asking too much, do not waste your breath. Low-ballers will be ignored.

 

Thanks for your consideration and I wish you ever success with your guitar playing.

 

Ken

krm27@yahoo.com