PRS Santana I Whale Blue - The Wailers

Her er en så godt som strøken PRS Santana I fra 1996.

I tillegg til å være en sjelden og meget verdifull gitar i seg selv, er denne eid og brukt av Ras Mel Glover som spilte i the Wailers i noen år hvor de blant annet også opptrådte sammen med Santana. Se dokumentasjon.

Det er ikke noe å utsette på gitaren som har mahogny kropp og hals og flammelønns topp som er av første klasse som det jo er i high-end segmentet til PRS.

Fargen er Whale Blue, gripbrettet er Brazilian Rosewood - 11,5" radius, skalalengden 24,5" - halsprofil kalles Santana og er som en god '59 Gibson og minner om "Pattern Carve".

De originale "Phase 1" stemmeskruene som følger med er skiftet til "Phase 2" og originale Santana pickups (medfølger også) skiftet til Santana III etter råd fra Paul Reed Smith selv.

Vekten er 3,75 kg eller 8 lb 4 oz.

Gitaren låter som en drøm og spiller likedan. To miniswitcher søger for PU-valg og gir deg Neck, Neck & Bridge, Bridge eller ingen - avhengig av hvordan de står.

Som gammel Santana-fan burde jeg vel beholdt den, men som sagt i en annen annonse - alt har en ende, og den fortjener en annens mer aktive hender - jeg har ikke brukt den.

Bør prøves og hentes, men kan sendes.

Det følgende sto i (eBay)annonsen da jeg kjøpte den:

"1996 PRS Santana I

Played on Santana/Wailers 2002 Tour

with Original PRS Hardshell Case

Original Santana Pickups Included

The PRS Santana I is one of the most sought after PRS models for collectors and players alike. It’s features are high-end all around, from the gorgeous rippled abalone bird inlays to the brilliant Whale Blue top as seen available here.

Every now and then a guitar comes across our path that has an interesting pedigree or has been celebrity owned or played. This beautiful and rare, one owner, 1996 Santana I is just one of those guitars!

If it could speak, imagine the stories this guitar could tell over its ten year history of being played by accomplished guitarist Ras Mel Glover as he traveled the globe playing with The Wailers and many other top performers.

From opening up for Santana during the 2002 tour, to playing Red Rocks in Colorado with the Wailers in 2003 (see pic below) this guitar has seen its fair share of the limelight and now is your oppurtunity to not only buy a rare early Santana I, but to get a guitar that has actually been played in front of literally thousands of people with one of the most popular reggae bands in the world, The Wailers.

Here is your chance to own a super unique and rare PRS that is only going to increase in value. The lucky winner will be provided with signed authentication from the original owner detailing the history of the instrument, where it was originally purchased and how Paul (Reed Smith) suggested they change the pickups from the original Santana I pickups to the current Santana III pickups. The reason Paul suggested the change was because, according to Ras Mel, the guitar did not sound as good as the Santana Model I Carlos was playing at the time. This conversation occurred at the MCI Center in Washington D.C. during a soundcheck before the Wailers went onstage to open for Santana in 2002. They had been on tour opening for Carlos Santana for quite a few months and had opened for him on numereous occasions.

Ras Mel states that he told Paul that he really loved the way the guitar played but it just didn't sound as fat as the Santana I Carlos was playing. Paul recommended that he (PRS) install the Santana III Treble and Bass pickups and the rest, as they say, is history. However, we have the original pickups the guitar came with included in the sale and they will go along with the guitar. We managed to track down the original Santana I pickups from this guitar from the original owner, so now the winner of the auction will get a complete Santana I guitar with Santana III pickups installed by PRS.

The guitar plays extremely well and has, as you might imagine, a wonderful tone. According to Ras Mel, it has been set-up by Paul personally numerous times especially after concert tours. Very minimal wear of the frets and fingerboard is evident. All electronics and switches are in excellent condition.

Luckily, as mentioned earlier, we have managed to get the original pickups and they will be included with the sale. Also, the tuning gears were upgraded with newer PRS locking screw tuners, although the originals are still available and are included with the sale. There are no additional holes or alterations made during the installation of the tuning keys. The tremolo arm is inside the case.

This Whale Blue beauty is in very good condition and has some light pick wear from being played that could be mostly buffed out. It is definitely a great player and has a feel unlike many PRS guitars I have encountered in my 20 years of selling instruments. The neck is very round and Gibson-like and the tone is huge as you might guess. It has not been kept in its case for its life like so many of these, it was actually used professionally because of the way it plays and sounds, still, it would be considered in very good condition. For being such a main instrument and on tour, this guitar was taken care of and it shows. It shows light wear from pick scratches and has two very small impressions on the face. This guitar is not been kept as a "Case Queen" and has seen many live performances thoughout the world and shows some finish scratches that are really too small for the camera to pick up. Most dealers would probably buff it and not tell you about it, but we are cut from a different cloth and we believe in full disclosure. However, if the lucky buyer wants, our Martin Certified Repairman could buff it out to near perfection but we felt it was best to just leave it as we found it. Let the instrument speak for itself. Also, keep in mind you hardly ever see these available in Whale Blue. This is a very cool, hard to find color! The pictures truly do not do it justice. We hope you enjoy checking out this little piece of music history."