Playing guitar is one of the joys of my life; a gift I give to myself whose value is continually reaffirmed personally and professionally. Selling guitars has rewards that are more than monetary. I get to be helpful, share the knowledge I’ve acquired over the years, bond with others that have similar experiences, and introduce young people to a new world of shared fellowship. When customers tell me they still own and play a guitar I sold to them ten years or more ago and thank me again for helping them make the right purchase, I’m humbled. Now I’m at a point in my career where I get the opportunity to collaborate with others to help design and realize one-of-a-kind instruments produced by Paul Reed Smith Guitars in their Private Stock program.
Is it cool to go to the PRS factory in Stevensville, Maryland? Yes, it is, and I’ve met and spoken with a lot of people who have visited the factory as well who also agree. Is it cool to go to The Vault and bring ideas to life in Private Stock? Yes, very, very cool. Like, other-side-of-the-pillow cool! The mix of business and pleasure starts weeks before we leave Evansville, Indiana with market research, careful study of data, analytics, and feedback from our customers. It continues on the journey, flights, airport bars and restaurants, right through to the days we have scheduled in The Vault where the highest quality, rarest wood is stored. You, dear reader, the person who we think would most appreciate what we at Moore Music and Paul Reed Smith can dream up together, is foremost on our minds throughout the process.
The day starts around 9 AM with Tina Sears, Private Stock Sales Specialist, and Paul Miles, Director of Private Stock, the dynamic duo who together counsel, advise us, and impart their wisdom and experience during the design process. The careful balance of creativity, practical considerations regarding what’s possible from a design perspective, practical in terms of cost and, most importantly, what embodies the spirit of the Private Stock program, is where their expertise lies. Like any collaborative and creative process, there is always thoughtful consideration and a very serious approach to the business at hand. Time is a very valuable commodity for all of us in The Vault. That being said, as with all collaborative and creative processes, there is an important element that acts as social lubricant and catalyst for creativity many of us are familiar with.
Shortly after 9AM the first jokes are cracked, showing that inside most musicians there’s a frustrated stand-up comic. Moore Music Private Stock design sessions are imbued with all the funny anecdotal material and experiences we’ve picked up over the years in the music business. It can’t be helped; they are not an uptight bunch in Stevensville, Maryland, and we from Evansville, Indiana most certainly aren’t. We enjoy our work, both groups coming together from different ends of a process, production and sales. It’s a privilege to do what you love and I don’t take for granted the opportunity to be involved with such talented and dedicated people. There is so much attention to the smallest detail, such a concerted effort to not only create something unique, but be open to an organic process that, despite all the planning, allows for the Muse to grace us with her presence. Truthfully, each Private Stock build is a mentally exhausting process.
One such session resulted in some features that are unique to Moore Music Private Stock builds. Inspiration struck one day and Paul Miles came back the very next morning with a “rough sketch” of the Soaring Eagle that you will only find on the headstock of Moore Music Private Stock builds. Tina had been waiting for Paul to come up with some original artwork for weeks and he knocked this design out overnight. That’s the way of inspiration sometimes. You may also have seen the inlayed “skunk stripe” on the back of a Private Stock neck with the twelfth-fret eagle placed horizontally mid-neck. That bit of inspiration came from the same session and is also a Moore Music Guitars exclusive.
All of this creativity and attention to detail results in a mental and physical fatigue that reminds me of trying to get through Algebra II. So, by lunchtime we’re all ready to eat! Love Point Deli Wine and Spirits (www.lovepointdeli.com) delivers and it’s always good. Paul Smith’s office is down the hall, and he and Jim Cullen, the National Sales Director, usually join us. My personal lunch favorite is the Emma Giles (Ovengold roasted turkey breast, Havarti cheese, fresh lettuce and tomato, mayo on a freshly baked croissant) and the Heath Bar brownie is, well, let’s just say it’s so good I forgot I was writing about Private Stock guitars for a second. Anyway, a Moore Music trip to PRS and time spent in The Vault is time very well spent. Obviously we’re very proud and pleased about what we’ve achieved so far and excited about Private Stock builds currently in production.
All of us at Moore Music are very thankful to work with everyone at Paul Reed Smith Guitars. Over the years they’ve come to call us family and I look forward to the opportunities to help realize this shared vision with them. Our values are centered on respect for our customers, a sense of integrity and a feeling of responsibility to a cultural legacy that we’ve all inherited, sincerely want to nurture and help propel into the future!