The Prospect's Origins

[LittleLeroy]

I looked around on the Forum but didn't see any info. Can anyone shed light on how the Prospect came to be and when it was first offered?

 

Thanks!

[ElNumero]

I think it was introduced about 25 years ago, and it was named after a street in Kalamazoo

[CJTopes]

I thought the prospect was an off shoot of a single cutaway design. Cant remember the name of the axe but I've seen one posted here.

 

( the Academy?)

[kidsmoke]

I thought the prospect was an off shoot of a single cutaway design. Cant remember the name of the axe but I've seen one posted here.

 

( the Academy?)

Academy, yep.

[Spectrum13]

If I remember correctly, Ren had one of the first and might have had something to do with the design. In the past he was the person who answered the phone. Suggest you call and see if he will give you the skinny on the academy /prospect 15" semi with a floating block.

[skydog52]

Marv told me he and Jim named them after streets in Kalamazoo. I went a took a photo of each one time.

Look at my signature pictures. That is an Academy of mine in pic also.

[LittleLeroy]

Thnks for all the replies.

 

So we know:

1. It was named after Prospect St. in Kalamazoo

2. Offshoot of the Academy, a single cut and also named after a street in Kalamazoo

3. May have been introduced into the line up 25 years ago

4. Ren Wall may have designed it while answering a phone call about a skinny Academy

5. My Prospect has the full center block, which explains why it weighs as much as my 535 and sustains like a fothermucker.

 

Yet to be answered:

was it a happy accident?

or was it an intentional design-prototype that caught on?

why do some have a floating center block and some a full center block?

was the full block a special/custom order?

do the post-2000 Prospects have a fatter neck?

[Spectrum13]

Thnks for all the replies.

 

So we know:

 

3.

4. Ren Wall may have designed it while answering a phone call about a skinny Academy

or

Sorry. What I tried to say was.... I think Ren Wall had something to do with the design. Before the new owners took over April 1, 2016 when you called 225 Parson Street mostly Ren answered the phone (or Bill) so if you call and speak to Ren he can give you the "skinny" or what today would be called the 411,

 

 

Yet to be answered:

was it a happy accident?

or was it an intentional design-prototype that caught on?

why do some have a floating center block and some a full center block? YES - they build Prospects with floating blocks so the chamber has more "air"

do the post-2000 Prospects have a fatter neck?

 

was the full block a special/custom order? yes.

[LittleLeroy]

Sorry. What I tried to say was.... I think Ren Wall had something to do with the design. Before the new owners took over April 1, 2016 when you called 225 Parson Street mostly Ren answered the phone (or Bill) so if you call and speak to Ren he can give you the "skinny" or what today would be called the 411,

 

Hi Spectrum13! I was (trying to) be funny. YUP! I did understand what you meant, but thanks for making it totally clear.

 

And thanks for the answer to my question about the center block!

 

So the standard center block is like the Millie? Except the Prospect is not a "sandwich" construction?

[Spectrum13]

 

 

And thanks for the answer to my question about the center block!

 

So the standard center block is like the Millie? Except the Prospect is not a "sandwich" construction?

Standard center block is like your 535 but has about an inch removed where it would meet the back. Heritage calls it a floating block. Millie is a very different design.

[LittleLeroy]

Standard center block is like your 535 but has about an inch removed where it would meet the back. Heritage calls it a floating block. Millie is a very different design.

oh! got it. well, that ain't much "air" there. the millie's block is much smaller.

 

hmm... maybe mine does have a floating block. I'll have to check again.

[kidsmoke]

The Millie doesn't have a block, it's more of a stout frame with a top and back glued on. Totally different beast.

 

The prospect is also known to be produced as a full hollow. It's the tofu of the semi world

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[LittleLeroy]

Paul posted this in the DC Millie vs 535 thread. sure looks like a center block... it's no longer being made like this?

 

The Millie doesn't have a block, it's more of a stout frame with a top and back glued on. Totally different beast.

The prospect is also known to be produced as a full hollow. It's the tofu of the semi world


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[kidsmoke]

Paul posted this in the DC Millie vs 535 thread. sure looks like a center block... it's no longer being made like this?

 

yes, that's the way It's being made. I suppose its semantics. I see a center block as an individual piece of wood, a block, in the center of the guitar. What I see when I look at that pic is a single piece of wood comprising the exterior rims, the neck block, and the heel, allowing for the bridge and stop tail to be anchored into that seamless piece. As you see it there, the pickups will be suspended from a solid wood top and hang in that cavity. Compare that to this....

 

 

here you have a single block of wood, with separate, thin strips of wood glued to it. The Laminated top and bottom will be added, and the pickups will be inserted/mounted into pocket milled out of the center block. This is how your prospect is constructed. In my view it's a pretty significant difference in construction.

[LittleLeroy]

Thanks for the pics! absolutely 2 different constructions. (which is why I'll have to get Millie, too)

so the Prospect's center block does not extend from neck to tailpiece, correct, stopping approx 1" from the tail?

 

yes, that's the way It's being made. I suppose its semantics. I see a center block as an individual piece of wood, a block, in the center of the guitar. What I see when I look at that pic is a single piece of wood comprising the exterior rims, the neck block, and the heel, allowing for the bridge and stop tail to be anchored into that seamless piece. As you see it there, the pickups will be suspended from a solid wood top and hang in that cavity. Compare that to this....

 

 

here you have a single block of wood, with separate, thin strips of wood glued to it. The Laminated top and bottom will be added, and the pickups will be inserted/mounted into pocket milled out of the center block. This is how your prospect is constructed. In my view it's a pretty significant difference in construction.

[kidsmoke]

Thanks for the pics! absolutely 2 different constructions. (which is why I'll have to get Millie, too)

so the Prospect's center block does not extend from neck to tailpiece, correct, stopping approx 1" from the tail?

 

 

I'm not 100% certain what the "default" construction is for the Prospect. My understanding was that a "standard" prospect's block went from neck to tail, but that it did not extend from the top to the back, in other words there is space between the backside of the guitar and the center block.

 

A "Blues DeLuxe" is a Prospect with a full on center block, like a 535 only with slightly smaller exterior dimension, and then, as I mentioned earlier, they've been built fully hollow, a la a 530.

 

I'll gladly take any of the above.

 

Here's my question, if constructed as you suggest, what is the end strap pin mounted to? If you look at the Semi photo I posted above, on the bottom shelf is a 530, with NO center block at all, a "full hollow". There is a block at the neck joint and a small block at the heel, which allows for stop tail and strap pin mounting.

 

So if the center block stopped an inch short of the heel.....what's the end pin screw into?

 

Where's Pete - NoSnowBlower.....he can answer this.

[LittleLeroy]

Hey, I have no idea how it's made, and was only inferring - incorrectly - from this post by Spectrum13. I misread "back" to mean bottom, as in tail.

 

I looked again at mine and mine is not "standard", but more like a Blues Deluxe, since the center block is flush to top and back.

 

Standard center block is like your 535 but has about an inch removed where it would meet the back. Heritage calls it a floating block. Millie is a very different design.

 

 

 

I'm not 100% certain what the "default" construction is for the Prospect. My understanding was that a "standard" prospect's block went from neck to tail, but that it did not extend from the top to the back, in other words there is space between the backside of the guitar and the center block.

 

A "Blues DeLuxe" is a Prospect with a full on center block, like a 535 only with slightly smaller exterior dimension, and then, as I mentioned earlier, they've been built fully hollow, a la a 530.

 

I'll gladly take any of the above.

 

Here's my question, if constructed as you suggest, what is the end strap pin mounted to? If you look at the Semi photo I posted above, on the bottom shelf is a 530, with NO center block at all, a "full hollow". There is a block at the neck joint and a small block at the heel, which allows for stop tail and strap pin mounting.

 

So if the center block stopped an inch short of the heel.....what's the end pin screw into?

 

Where's Pete - NoSnowBlower.....he can answer this.

[Spectrum13]

Sorry, back is the back of the guitar not the bottom. Stick your finger through the F hole and feel for a gap UNDER the block. If the block does not meet the back from the neck block to the tail, it's a floating block.

[FredZepp]

The floating block is explained at the 4:10 mark in this video, as Pete Farmer shows you the difference in a floating block and the regular semi-hollow.

 

Video link >>>>

[kidsmoke]

and there's Pete. Thanks Fred.

[LittleLeroy]

Thanks for the explanation! Yup, mine has the full center block with no gap.

Sorry, back is the back of the guitar not the bottom. Stick your finger through the F hole and feel for a gap UNDER the block. If the block does not meet the back from the neck block to the tail, it's a floating block.

[LittleLeroy]

Thanks for the link. Great video!

 

The floating block is explained at the 4:10 mark in this video, as Pete Farmer shows you the difference in a floating block and the regular semi-hollow.

 

Video link >>>>

[Ned]

Hi Leroy,

 

I am in Santa Fe and have an Academy (floating block) that you can inspect and play if that is of interest. Send me a PM or I'll (re)introduce myself to you at La Fonda at some point.

 

Ned

[LittleLeroy]

Awesome! PM on the way....

Hi Leroy,

 

I am in Santa Fe and have an Academy (floating block) that you can inspect and play if that is of interest. Send me a PM or I'll (re)introduce myself to you at La Fonda at some point.

 

Ned

[pressure]

That was Fab. Last looks at the old factory. Thanks for that Fred.