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Lot 65
A Paul Reed Smith Custom Double-Neck Electric Guitar Built For Carlos Santana
13 – 22 January 2025, 12:00 PST
Online, Los AngelesUS$100,000 - US$150,000
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A Paul Reed Smith Custom Double-Neck Electric Guitar Built For Carlos Santana
c.1983, pre-production custom double-neck guitar (6-string and 12-string) with flame maple top, mahogany body and necks, mother of pearl bird inlays on Indian rosewood fretboards and eagle inlays on headstocks, potentiometers dating to 1982, handmade brass bridges and saddles, in an Anvil fitted flight case. Light play wear. Guitar 39 1/4 in long.
Footnotes
In the early 1980s luthier Paul Reed Smith built two guitars for Carlos Santana, hoping to convince the musician to play his instruments. While Santana admired the first two, he wasn't completely sold on Smith's talents until he produced this double-neck guitar. Santana admired the way the necks are split so that if you play an angled chord on the 12-string, your wrist doesn't bump the six-string.
The present example was the third or fourth double-neck built by Smith, and the last one built in "the old shop." Of the guitar, Smith says, "I think the neck angles, I got right—one doesn't tilt back farther than the other ... it wasn't out of balance. It sounded good and played well—it was a doubleneck's doubleneck! ... It's the one where Carlos called and said, 'Okay, you're a guitar maker.'"
While Santana admired the craft of the present guitar, he did find it a bit heavy, and eventually sold it through Smith to a collector.
Provenance:
With LOA from luthier Paul Reed Smith, February 27, 2011.
In an ALS accompanying the guitar, maker Paul Reed Smith writes, "The curly maple doubleneck in the PRS book was built for Carlos Santana in the upstairs shop at 33 West St, Annapolis MD. It is the first doubleneck with the 'final' body shape built. I enjoyed building it and have always thought it was a great instrument. / Paul Reed Smith."
Literature:
Featured on pp 22-23 of Dave Burrluck's The PRS Guitar Book, and also featured in the August 2012 edition of Vintage Guitar Magazine in an illustrated article by Ward Meeker.
Carlos Santana and PRS:
Carlos Santana and Paul Reed Smith developed a strong personal relationship in the 1970s. Santana first encountered PRS guitars in the late 1970s and was captivated by the 'Golden Eagle' model. in 1983, PRS Guitars crafted a custom double-neck guitar for Carlos Santana. This unique instrument, designed and built by Paul Reed Smith himself, was one of the first major milestones in their partnership. The guitar, featuring a vintage yellow finish, played a crucial role in gaining Santana's endorsement, which significantly boosted PRS's reputation in the guitar industry.