Robben Ford PRS Signature confession....

Strat54

https://imgur.com/a/sgAbrFe 

Did anyone else see the odd post from Robben the other day admitting he's made many mods to his new signature PRS and initially felt bad doing this for the people that had bought one . It was worded like a reluctant confession but then was deleted shortly after, I screen shot it thankfully. I also saw a month after its launch he posted a pic of it with new pickups which was hastily deleted too. Much ado about nothing I know and he's not the first to alter his signature model....Clapton, Gatton, Beck etc etc own Fenders were nothing like their signature production models. Anyway here are the details in a jpeg RF posted...

https://imgur.com/a/sgAbrFe

victorludorum

I can't remember Clapton modifying his sig model, apart from the change to noiseless pickups later. What did he do?

Strat54

victorludorum said:

I can't remember Clapton modifying his sig model, apart from the change to noiseless pickups later. What did he do?

Neck profile and finish were nothing like the regular signature series. Had the pleasure of handling a few of his before they went to the first Crossroads auction.

LPManic

As far as I remember reading between the lines he lost a lot of stuff a few years back and was happy to receive the offer from PRS to make him a Signature model. 

But he sounds so different on it and it’s just not the same as the Tele. Although I did love Robben playing a R8 or R9 around 2014 or 2015.

victorludorum

Strat54 said:

victorludorum said:

I can't remember Clapton modifying his sig model, apart from the change to noiseless pickups later. What did he do?

Neck profile and finish were nothing like the regular signature series. Had the pleasure of handling a few of his before they went to the first Crossroads auction.

Can you remember when the Custom Shop version came out, as opposed to the Standard Signature series? Was it after that first auction or before?

Edit: According to Wikipedia it was 2004, so after the first auction.

guitargeek62

Any feelings of guilt about this type of thing feel quite funny to me - it’s not like RF’s been renowned for playing that specific model for decades etc., so isn’t it somewhat expected that his tastes would change? The last thing I’d want to see is the release of a ‘new’ sig. version of a guitar every time the artist moves to new strings, pickups, plastics etc.

Kebabkid

I suppose with Dave Grissom, he took a McCarthy and was modifying it to suit and playing it over a long period.
 When PRS picked up on it, they started the very long process of going back n' forth with him for, what was it, 15 yrs? Well, it does appear they got the DGT right and launched a very successful and still going model in it which also gave birth to what appears to be successful SE version.

Strat54

victorludorum said:

Strat54 said:

victorludorum said:

I can't remember Clapton modifying his sig model, apart from the change to noiseless pickups later. What did he do?

Neck profile and finish were nothing like the regular signature series. Had the pleasure of handling a few of his before they went to the first Crossroads auction.

Can you remember when the Custom Shop version came out, as opposed to the Standard Signature series? Was it after that first auction or before?

Edit: According to Wikipedia it was 2004, so after the first auction.

They made quite a few masterbuilt EC's and some one off regular production shop Claptons between 1990 and 2004 also. I had one and a friend had a fair size collection of them too. 

Strat54

Kebabkid said:

I suppose with Dave Grissom, he took a McCarthy and was modifying it to suit and playing it over a long period.
 When PRS picked up on it, they started the very long process of going back n' forth with him for, what was it, 15 yrs? Well, it does appear they got the DGT right and launched a very successful and still going model in it which also gave birth to what appears to be successful SE version.

David Grissom's own DGTs all had teflon nuts fitted and fretwork by his guy Ed Reynolds in Austin. He told me that the regular PRS nut wouldn't last more than a few months with his playing. I also was under the impression that there was a change to the signature pickups from the original 2008(?) iterations. I asked him about his earlier guitars and what pickups he favoured then, he said he NEVER used Stock PRS pickups....ever. 
BTW...Don't forget the McCarty Goldtop Trem that was his No.1 prior to the DGT was actually a guitar made for Robben Ford that he rejected.
Odd choice of board radius by Robben....7.5. 

Greatape

LPManic said:

As far as I remember reading between the lines he lost a lot of stuff a few years back and was happy to receive the offer from PRS to make him a Signature model. 

But he sounds so different on it and it’s just not the same as the Tele. Although I did love Robben playing a R8 or R9 around 2014 or 2015.

...or even the sound of him playing his Fender signature, his Baker or any of the other modern guitars he used to play, all of which sounded fatter than the PRS. 

Strat54

Agreed....not his finest tone....give me his Tele stuff or the Baker Crucible on the Jing Chi first record.....
https://youtu.be/vklGEcGfJXw?si=3VaVowSergU32Mb-

Aidanspaghetti

Gene Baker.... a name that doesn't get enough love any more these days. Wonderful guitars and quite the flavour of the month 10 odd years ago on a certain US Web page...

guitarmark

Strat54 said:

https://imgur.com/a/sgAbrFe 

Did anyone else see the odd post from Robben the other day admitting he's made many mods to his new signature PRS and initially felt bad doing this for the people that had bought one . It was worded like a reluctant confession but then was deleted shortly after, I screen shot it thankfully. I also saw a month after its launch he posted a pic of it with new pickups which was hastily deleted too. Much ado about nothing I know and he's not the first to alter his signature model....Clapton, Gatton, Beck etc etc own Fenders were nothing like their signature production models. Anyway here are the details in a jpeg RF posted...

https://imgur.com/a/sgAbrFe

Yes i saw this and did think it odd. If a player of that caliber has a guitar made by PRS (or anyone else) why not make it to the specs the artist wants/likes? Wasnt aware of the pickup story though

Greatape

guitarmark said:

Strat54 said:

https://imgur.com/a/sgAbrFe 

Did anyone else see the odd post from Robben the other day admitting he's made many mods to his new signature PRS and initially felt bad doing this for the people that had bought one . It was worded like a reluctant confession but then was deleted shortly after, I screen shot it thankfully. I also saw a month after its launch he posted a pic of it with new pickups which was hastily deleted too. Much ado about nothing I know and he's not the first to alter his signature model....Clapton, Gatton, Beck etc etc own Fenders were nothing like their signature production models. Anyway here are the details in a jpeg RF posted...

https://imgur.com/a/sgAbrFe

Yes i saw this and did think it odd. If a player of that caliber has a guitar made by PRS (or anyone else) why not make it to the specs the artist wants/likes? Wasnt aware of the pickup story though

Prob hard to flog a 7.5" radius board a la vintage Tele on a 2*Hb PRS. 

guitarmark

Greatape said:

guitarmark said:

Strat54 said:

https://imgur.com/a/sgAbrFe 

Did anyone else see the odd post from Robben the other day admitting he's made many mods to his new signature PRS and initially felt bad doing this for the people that had bought one . It was worded like a reluctant confession but then was deleted shortly after, I screen shot it thankfully. I also saw a month after its launch he posted a pic of it with new pickups which was hastily deleted too. Much ado about nothing I know and he's not the first to alter his signature model....Clapton, Gatton, Beck etc etc own Fenders were nothing like their signature production models. Anyway here are the details in a jpeg RF posted...

https://imgur.com/a/sgAbrFe

Yes i saw this and did think it odd. If a player of that caliber has a guitar made by PRS (or anyone else) why not make it to the specs the artist wants/likes? Wasnt aware of the pickup story though

Prob hard to flog a 7.5" radius board a la vintage Tele on a 2*Hb PRS. 

Agreed. But why not make the artists guitar how he wants it?

Greatape

guitarmark said:

Greatape said:

guitarmark said:

Strat54 said:

https://imgur.com/a/sgAbrFe 

Did anyone else see the odd post from Robben the other day admitting he's made many mods to his new signature PRS and initially felt bad doing this for the people that had bought one . It was worded like a reluctant confession but then was deleted shortly after, I screen shot it thankfully. I also saw a month after its launch he posted a pic of it with new pickups which was hastily deleted too. Much ado about nothing I know and he's not the first to alter his signature model....Clapton, Gatton, Beck etc etc own Fenders were nothing like their signature production models. Anyway here are the details in a jpeg RF posted...

https://imgur.com/a/sgAbrFe

Yes i saw this and did think it odd. If a player of that caliber has a guitar made by PRS (or anyone else) why not make it to the specs the artist wants/likes? Wasnt aware of the pickup story though

Prob hard to flog a 7.5" radius board a la vintage Tele on a 2*Hb PRS. 

Agreed. But why not make the artists guitar how he wants it?

Maybe he genuinely changed his mind after the fact. Robben is always tinkering.

YourArsenal87

Greatape said:

guitarmark said:

Greatape said:

guitarmark said:

Strat54 said:

https://imgur.com/a/sgAbrFe 

Did anyone else see the odd post from Robben the other day admitting he's made many mods to his new signature PRS and initially felt bad doing this for the people that had bought one . It was worded like a reluctant confession but then was deleted shortly after, I screen shot it thankfully. I also saw a month after its launch he posted a pic of it with new pickups which was hastily deleted too. Much ado about nothing I know and he's not the first to alter his signature model....Clapton, Gatton, Beck etc etc own Fenders were nothing like their signature production models. Anyway here are the details in a jpeg RF posted...

https://imgur.com/a/sgAbrFe

Yes i saw this and did think it odd. If a player of that caliber has a guitar made by PRS (or anyone else) why not make it to the specs the artist wants/likes? Wasnt aware of the pickup story though

Prob hard to flog a 7.5" radius board a la vintage Tele on a 2*Hb PRS. 

Agreed. But why not make the artists guitar how he wants it?

Maybe he genuinely changed his mind after the fact. Robben is always tinkering.

I think that is the case. PRS made the Silver Sky with a 7,5” radius after all, and that was always going to be a much bigger seller than a Robben Ford model.