P.R.S. VINTAGE Custom Bird Inlay ’87 Scarlet Red

PRS (Paul Reed Smith) is an American-based guitar manufacturer. It’s a popular brand known for its high-quality guitars with distinctive sounds, blending traditional guitar-making techniques with modern design.

This particular guitar is a rare find, made in 1987, during the manufacturer’s early days. The materials throughout the instrument evoke the original specifications.

body
The total weight is approximately 3.75 kg. The body is made of a quilted maple top and a mahogany back. As indicated by the lettering in the cavity, the beautiful scarlet red color with a faded look is very appealing. The back of the body has a black finish. There is some weather checking typical of lacquer finishes, a few rice-grain sized dents, some scratches and signs of use, and slight tarnishing on the parts, but it can be said to be in relatively good condition.

neck
The neck is made of mahogany. The fingerboard is, of course, made of superb rosewood, adorned with the brand’s signature bird inlays. Like the body back, the headstock and back of the neck are finished in black. There are only minor dents on the back of the headstock and slight tarnishing on the metal parts, but it remains in beautiful condition, just like the body. The tuners function perfectly, both in terms of winding and locking mechanisms. The frets and nut show only slight wear, and playability is excellent. The nut width is 42.6mm. The neck shape is the familiar “Wide Fat” shape, as measured.

[Electrical System]
The controls are the original specifications: master volume, 5-way rotary pickup selector, and sweet switch (mini switch). The rotary switch allows you to select from: front (bass) humbucker, parallel single coil (inner + inner), front (bass) + rear (treble) mix, front (bass) + rear (treble) phase-out mix, and rear (treble) humbucker. In combination with the sweet switch, which controls the tone, it produces a wide variety of tones.

The front humbucker delivers a warm, thick lead tone, while the rear humbucker provides a bright, sustained overdrive sound with excellent attack and clarity. In the mixed position, each pickup produces a sparkling, three-dimensional tone. The phase-out position allows for funky, edgy cutting, taking advantage of the unique midrange dip. Adding the sweet switch smooths out the high frequencies, resulting in a lustrous and refined range of sounds.

Accessories: Black Tolex hard case

Weight: 3.75kg
Body Material (Top/Back): Quilted Maple 2 piece/Mahogany 1 piece
Neck Material/Scale Length: Mahogany 1 piece/635mm (25inch)
Bridge/Tail: PRS Tremolo unit
Fingerboard/Fret Marker/Radius: Rosewood/Bird/254.0mm (9.5inch)
Nut Width/Fret Width: 42.6mm/2.5mm, 24F
Neck Thickness (1F/7F/12F): 21.7mm/22.7mm/23.7mm
Tuners: Schaller/PRS Winged Locking Tuner
Pickup (Neck/Bridge): PRS Standard Stamped B, Black Bobbin, Non Covered, 8.05k /PRS Standard Stamped T, Black Bobbin, Non Covered, 9.85k
*The DC resistance value of the pickup is measured after passing through the control section.

Heartman Vintage Guitars is a specialty store for vintage guitars and basses operated by Ikebe Musical Instruments.