PRS has made Wes Borland a custom four-string guitar-bass hybrid – and he says it is “probably the most amazing instrument” he’s ever played

When Wes Borland shot to fame on the cresting wave of the ‘90s nu-metal scene, it was for his abilities on the seven-string guitar, using that extra low-end muscle to add weight to percussive riffs. But in the 21st century, is he about to do likewise with four-strings? 

Don’t rule it out. One, he has form, on occasion favoring a custom four-string baritone, and two, Borland has just taken receipt of a four-string custom build from the high-end electric guitar manufacturer par excellence PRS – and he says it might just be the “most amazing” instrument he has ever played.

Sitting down with PRS to talk guitars, Limp Bizkit’s Still Sucks Tour and of course his Coachella dates with Danny Elfman, Borland said he couldn’t be happier with this four string bass guitar hybrid, hinting that this prototype could be put into work.

“The new four string is probably the most amazing instrument I’ve ever played,” said Borland. “Having a locking tremolo system has very much expanded what I’m attempting with that whole thing. That idea. To have the classic A A D G or F# F# B E tuning that I’ve been using for so long paired with all of the whammy bar riffing I do is on another level for me.”

With Borland’s electric guitar-bass hybrid having been revised last year, Borland says the design is exactly where he needs it to be, and was used on Limp Bizkit’s latest album, Still Sucks, albeit in an unorthodox fashion.

“The guitar is way past prototype in my opinion,” he continued. “I think it’s finally reached the form it was always wanting to be in my head. I couldn’t be happier with it. It actually did end up on the album last minute, but not in a way that showed off its capabilities. I used it on a melodic EBow lead on the bridge of the INXS cover Don’t Change.”

There is no word as to whether this will see a wider release. Borland has been a PRS artist for some time. But the way his name is emblazoned on the truss rod cover, allied to the instance of the word prototype, this looks like it could be a left-turn for PRS.

Of course, a guitar-bass hybrid with a floating vibrato, a pair of EMG humbuckers and an EMG single-coil jammed in there at the neck is quite a controversial spec for the dowdy conservatism of the guitar community but it might just catch on… 

It’s not like it’s that radical or anything – hey, they could have taken inspiration from a vintage '60s Stratocaster and reversed the headstock. Now, that would have caused a commotion, right?

You can read the full interview with Borland over at PRS Guitars.