History and specifications of the PRS Multifoil Special Model guitar

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History and specifications of the PRS Multifoil Special Model guitar, one of the rarest, most mysterious and desired guitars of Paul Reed Smith.

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History of the Paul Reed Smith Multifoil Special Model

The PRS Multifoil Special Model guitar were produced in limited quantities. Actually, it is said that forty-eight were made. As far as Guitarriego could find out this is true for a “PRS Forum” edition, which were made twelve out of four different finishes. Thus, this PRS model is undoubtedly one of the rarest and most collectible electric guitars in the world.

Finishes: Silver, Green, Copper, Red and Blue

The multifoil special model included four colors: Blue, Silver or Metal, Red and Copper. There were also units without the “PRS Forum” identification, but we did not find reliable information on them. What we can say is that there is also the green finish. This PRS Multifoil model was produced in 1987, 1988 and 1989.

Sometimes this model is called “Standard Multifoil”, instead of “Multifoil Special Model“, since except for the neck profile, which is Wide-thin, the specifications are the same as the PRS Standard 24.

You might also be interested in our review and opinion of the PRS S2 Standard 24.

PRS Multifoil Special Model Specifications

Like the Standard, the body is completely mahogany. In this way it differs from the Custom model that comes with a Maple top, although there are exceptions from Standards that came with a maple top, but these are very limited.

One piece of mahogany neck is set-in with 24 frets. The inlays can be the Moons or the traditional PRS birds. Fretboard is made of Brazilian Rosewood. Finally, the neck profile is Wide-Thin. The logo on the headstock of the Paul Reed Smith Multifoil Special Model is Paul’s signature smaller than it is today.

Mahogany body has carved top and double cutaway. The pickups are HFS and Vintage Bass in the H-H format, but it also came in HSS. It has a Rotary selector and could come with a tone, or with the Sweet Switch.

The Sweet Switch cuts high frequencies. Thus replicating the effect on the treble that the use of a long cable has. This was created by PRS from a request from Carlos Santana, who used to use long cables. This switch allows you to have both audios normal / bright or sweet / rounded tone at your fingertips.

The finishes, as we mentioned, were: red, copper, green, blue and metal.

Do not miss our guide on the best brands of electric guitar manufacturers.

PRS Multifoil 1988 Demo Video

Multifoil finish failure

The finish that is so appreciated today, at the time, was not well received by the market. Furthermore, the fragility of the peeling lacquer, made the model a failure. Even the salesperson of a guitar shop said that he had not been able to sell it for several months.

In case you are a fan of vintage guitars, we suggest you take a look at this guide to examining vintage guitars under UV or black light.