Third iteration of the Shinedown guitarist’s signature model boasts custom Myers Blue finish, matching headstock veneer and more
(Image credit: PRS Guitars)
Zach Myers has been a PRS artist since 2010, and much like his playing with modern rockers Shinedown, his signature model, the SE Zach Myers, continues to progress and reach new heights.
For 2021, in fact, the third iteration of the SE Zach Myers boasts a host of key new features, including a stunning fresh custom finish, aptly named “Myers Blue.”
But that’s only the beginning. Explains Myers of his constantly evolving signature guitar, “The feature set from the first SE Zach Myers signature model to the second version evolved a ton. We went from a triple humbucker set up to two humbuckers, added the F-hole, and aesthetically changed it to a flamed maple top.
While he continues that, from a playability standpoint, the guitar has mostly stayed the same throughout the history of the models, “for 2021, we made some slight changes to the model including the tuners and the pickup bobbins. Aesthetically, we added the matching flame maple headstock veneer and are now offering it in Myers Blue.”
The changes to the tuners and bobbins are subtle but striking, with both now finished in sleek, solid black as opposed to respectively, the “glow-in-the-dark” buttons and zebra-patterned pickup design of the last version.
Beyond the new appointments, the SE boasts the same great tonewood package – a beveled maple top with flame maple veneer, a mahogany back and wide-fat satin-finished neck, and a 22-fret rosewood fingerboard with classic PRS “Birds” inlays.
Other features include a 24.5” scale, a PRS Adjustable Stoptail bridge – “my favorite bridge of all time,” Myers says – and a pair of PRS-designed 245 “S” humbuckers controlled via individual volume and tone knobs and a three-way toggle on the upper bout.
(Image credit: PRS Guitars)
Overall, it’s a package that brings Private Stock looks and tone to the SE Series. What’s more, the instrument offered on store shelves is the exact same one Myers plays onstage, with zero modifications.
“I want people to play this guitar and enjoy this guitar,” Myers says. “Hopefully when they pull it out of the case they get the same feeling I got even though their name might not be on it. I hope they’re in awe of what went into the making of this guitar and how beautiful it truly is as an instrument.”
Indeed, the new SE Zach Myers is the culmination of a long relationship between the artist and manufacturer that extends back well beyond the original signature guitar. Myers says he first played a PRS – a Custom 22, to be exact – back in 1998, and instantly fell in love. “The first PRS Zach Myers signature model was a very big deal for me and a long time in the making,” he says.
(Image credit: PRS Guitars)
“I was a kid who couldn’t afford a PRS growing up, so to have one bearing my name was very humbling. Over the years, I’ve done a lot of work with the PRS team building certain custom guitars, but I also think I’ve helped move the SE product line along to the next level as far as what those factories can do and what the guitars can be. To me, that’s one of the biggest things – having these guitars stand up with any guitar out there.”
In other Myers news, he reports that Shinedown are just getting underway on their seventh studio album. “We have nine songs written currently, but we have a good way to go,” he says. And you can bet that when the album is ready to go, his new signature SE will be the instrument powering the tunes.
As will be the case when Shinedown eventually heads back out on tour. And don’t worry – the SE Zach Myers will be easy to spot under the stage lights. Just look for the Myers Blue.
We have teamed up with PRS to give one lucky Guitar World reader the SE Zach Myers so they can experience the beauty and craftsmanship for themselves. Entering is simple, just complete the tasks in the widget below. Be sure to enter before March 10, when the giveaway closes. This giveaway is only open to our readers with a US shipping address. Good luck!
Rich is the co-author of the best-selling Nöthin' But a Good Time: The Uncensored History of the '80s Hard Rock Explosion. He is also a recording and performing musician, and a former editor of Guitar World magazine and executive editor of Guitar Aficionado magazine. He has authored several additional books, among them Kurt Cobain: Montage of Heck, the companion to the documentary of the same name.
