The finish on this 2019 PRS Custom 24-08 is called “Angry Larry,” but stare long enough and you’ll realize it’s not so angry, and has much more of a deep, mesmerizing kind of vibe. (And Larry? He’s not so angry either.)
I am one hundred years old, so I remember when PRS guitars began creeping into the pages of my guitar magazines in the mid ’90s. While legends like Al Di Meola had long been on board with PRS, he played jazz. As an aspiring shred-hero-demon-master, I had little patience for jazz. It was seeing Dave Navarro and Mark Tremonti with PRS guitars in the pages of guitar magazines that made me sit up and take notice. Those guys were on VH1, and I planned to be cool like them.
Somewhere along the line, PRS began to become associated with a very different type of guitar player. They became “dentist guitars,” as coined by the denizens of Reddit: expensive yet mainstream instruments with a flashy look, a status symbol of the elite and untalented. Certainly not a tool for a real musician.
Why do certain guitars get these scarlet letters? And why are we so quick to buy into the notion of, “Oh, that guitar’s not for me,” because of a vibe we got from Instagram?
That tiny 10 tells us that this guitar features a 10-top, a designation reserved for the company’s finest figured-maple models.
It’s not easy to divorce ourselves from the reality curated by internet influencers. But at Fanny’s House of Music, we occasionally find the strength to peek behind the digital curtain. We are delighted to report there are some great guitars back here! Take, for instance, this 2019 PRS Custom 24-08. It has a special-ordered “10-top,” a designation reserved for only the finest figured maple tops PRS produces. The desirable and collectible nature of PRS 10-tops has very little to do with how playable the guitar is. Their rarity drives up their price, fueling the anti-dentist hordes on the internet.
“It’s not a red guitar that screams, ‘I’M A RED GUITAR’—it’s more subtle and refined.”
If you take the horde wisdom as gospel, what you may not discover beneath the almost three-dimensional flame is an instrument with soul. There’s something special about this guitar. It’s hardly been played, but it’s begging to be. The edges of the fretboard are perfectly rolled and the pattern-thin neck shape—which feels, to this author, like a slightly thinner ’60s Gibson slim-taper neck shape, although your mileage may vary—is invitingly shaped like the palm of your hand. The PRS 85/15 pickups pack plenty of oomph, but not so much oomph that even the clean channel on your amp sounds distorted. There’s warmth to them, but also clarity. It’s a musical sound that kept me contentedly noodling in the electric guitar room at Fanny’s for an almost uncomfortable amount of time. (Thanks, as always, to the nonjudgemental and endlessly patient employees of Fanny’s.)
This instrument features PRS’s pattern-thin neck shape, which measures 1 11/16" at the nut.
Perhaps there’s a lesson in anti-anti-snobbishness to be learned from the handsome deep-red finish of this guitar, curiously called “Angry Larry.” It’s a dark red, with an almost purple hue in some light. It’s not a red guitar that screams, “I’M A RED GUITAR”—it’s more subtle and refined. According to PRS forum lore, while trying out new finishes, PRS Sales and Marketing Manager Larry Urie took a shine to the dark red. Coincidentally, his white skin would occasionally, under certain circumstances, acquire a strikingly similar color. The folks at PRS decided to name it “Angry Larry” in his honor, although it has been occasionally reported that he’s not an especially angry guy. Someone trying to perfectly orchestrate their internet persona might take umbrage to the association, but not Urie. He has taken it in stride and can be seen posing with the guitar on the social media of Chuck Levin’s Washington Music Center, making a humorously scrunched-up angry face.
Maybe fancy flame tops aren’t your thing. That’s fine! But if you don’t have a strong opinion on fancy flame tops, this PRS Custom 24-08 kindly requests that you avoid allowing a pitchfork-wielding crowd to shape it. Whatever your “thing” is, you can discover it by getting a lot of guitars in your hands. Do you like the way it sounds, plays, and looks? Then it’s a great guitar for you. The next time you visit Fanny’s or any great guitar store, pack an open mind. You may find you have more in common with dentists than you thought.
Sources: prsguitars.com web site and forums
Produced by Live Nation, the dates begin July 9 at Rupp Arena in Lexington, KY and wrap August 20 at the Scotiabank Saddledome in Calgary, AB with support from 3 Doors Down, Daughtry, Mammoth WVH and Big Wreck. *Check individual dates for lineup in each market.
When it kicked off in 2024, The Summer of ’99 Tour quickly became “one of the most anticipated tours of the summer” (USA Today) and “one of the hottest rock tickets of the year” (Billboard) for a return that “may be something this industry has never seen” (Pollstar). To date, CREED’s Scott Stapp, Mark Tremonti, Brian Marshall, and Scott Phillips have performed over 60 sold-out concerts throughout North America, selling over 800,000 tickets and breaking venue records in multiple markets.
“Thirty years in, it’s been a blessing to pick up right where we left off with longtime fans and to meet the next generation for the first time. It’s been an incredible ride, and we aren’t done, so here’s to a ‘Summer’ that never ends. We’ll see you on the road,” states Scott Stapp.
Creed will close out 2024 with shows in Las Vegas, NV (Dec. 30 & Dec. 31) and their newly announced dates in 2025 will follow their already sold-out Summer of ’99 and Beyond cruise sailing April 9– April 13 from Miami to Nassau with Sevendust, Hoobastank, Lit, Hinder, Fuel and more. Also in April, the band - whose audience has included fans of mainstream, rock, and country for over 25 years - will perform at Stagecoach.
For more information on all Creed tour dates as well as the opportunity to purchase entry into Mark Tremonti’s guitar clinic can be found at https://creed.com.
Tour Dates
CREED: SUMMER OF ‘99 TOUR 2025 DATES:
3DD – 3 Doors Down / D – Daughtry / BW – Big Wreck / MWVH – Mammoth WVH
Wed Jul 09 | Lexington, KY | Rupp Arena – 3DD/MWVH
Fri Jul 11 | Syracuse, NY | Empower Federal Credit Union Amphitheater at Lakeview – 3DD/MWVH
Sat Jul 12 | Camden, NJ | Freedom Mortgage Pavilion – 3DD
Tue Jul 15 | Wantagh, NY | Northwell at Jones Beach Theater – D/MWVH
Wed Jul 16 | Scranton, PA | The Pavilion at Montage Mountain – D/MWVH
Sun Jul 20 | Columbus, OH | Schottenstein Center – 3DD/MWVH
Tue Jul 22 | Hartford, CT | Xfinity Theatre – 3DD/MWVH
Thu Jul 24 | Charleston, SC | Credit One Stadium – 3DD/MWVH
Sat Jul 26 | New Orleans, LA | Smoothie King Center – 3DD/MWVH
Sun Jul 27 | Memphis, TN | FedExForum – 3DD/MWVH
Tue Jul 29 | Wichita, KS | INTRUST Bank Arena – D/MWVH
Fri Aug 01 | Lincoln, NE | Pinnacle Bank Arena – D/MWVH
Sat Aug 02 | Ridgedale, MO | Thunder Ridge Nature Arena – D/MWVH
Mon Aug 04 | Albuquerque, NM | Isleta Amphitheater – D/MWVH
Wed Aug 06 | Chula Vista, CA | North Island Credit Union Amphitheatre – D/MWVH
Thu Aug 07 | Palm Desert, CA | Acrisure Arena at Greater Palm Springs – 3DD/MWVH
Sat Aug 09 | Mountain View, CA | Shoreline Amphitheatre – 3DD/MWVH
Sun Aug 10 | Stateline, NV | Lake Tahoe Outdoor Arena at Harveys – 3DD/MWVH (Not a Live Nation date)
Wed Aug 13 | Ridgefield, WA | RV Inn Style Resorts Amphitheater – 3DD/MWVH
Thu Aug 14 | Auburn, WA | White River Amphitheatre – 3DD/MWVH
Sat Aug 16 | Vancouver, BC | Rogers Arena – BW/MWVH
Tue Aug 19 | Edmonton, AB | Rogers Place – BW/MWVH
Wed Aug 20 | Calgary, AB | Scotiabank Saddledome – BW/MWVH
Previously Announced CREED Dates:
Sat Dec 28 | Durant, OK | Choctaw Casino & Resort (Sold Out)
Mon Dec 30 | Las Vegas, NV | The Colosseum
Tue Dec 31 | Las Vegas, NV | The Colosseum
Apr 9 – Apr 13 | Miami – Nassau | Summer of ’99 and Beyond Cruise (Sold Out)
Sat Apr 26 | Indio, CA | Stagecoach
There probably aren’t too many artists out there as busy as Mark Tremonti. Aside from his celebrated careers in alt-rock mainstays Creed and Alter Bridge, the guitarist, songwriter, and singer organizes guitar and songwriting clinics while on tour; has a line of signature PRS gear; and cut a 14-track charity record, Mark Tremonti Sings Sinatra. Did we mention he’s aiming to become a pinball kingpin, too?
Tremonti joins Cory Wong on this episode of Wong Notes to dig into his musical trajectory since the late ’90s, when he blasted to the top of the charts with Creed. The band drew comparisons to other grunge-era staples like Pearl Jam, which irritated Tremonti but pleased Stapp. Tremonti discusses the gulf between the band’s popularity and the critical backlash they received: “People can be cruel, but it’s part of the world. You gotta deal with it.”
Tremonti analyzes what makes a good riff and why everything in “the middle” is boring to him, and unveils his songwriting and demoing routines. (“I think melody is the most important part of everything,” he says.) But his biggest passion project these days is his step into classic crooner music. Inspired by his daughter to do a charity project to benefit the down syndrome community, Tremonti recorded a Frank Sinatra covers album, complete with more than a dozen musicians who played with Ol’ Blue Eyes himself.
Tune in to hear all about Tremonti’s artistic life, plus a peek at what happens during his pre-show guitar and songwriting clinics on Creed’s fall 2024 tour. Expecting him to demonstrate some ferocious warmups? Think again: “I play like grandma’s in the room,” says Tremonti.
