Me and my guitar: Zach Myers

PRS fan and Shinedown guitarist Zach Myers talks us through his distinctive signature semi-acoustic.

Finish

“This is actually the third signature model we made. The original was a triple-humbucker and then we had two colours in that so technically this would be the third. This is a semi-hollow with 24.5-inch scale, 22 frets, mahogany back in Trampas Green. 

“There’s a guy in the finish department at PRS who’s last name is Trampas and he had come up with the colour and had shown it to me on a sample and I just fell in love with it. It’s also available in Vintage Sunburst.”

Neck

“It plays amazing. It’s got a wide fat neck on it, which I like a lot. It’s kind of chunky and it feels really good. It’s not overly chunky like a ’59 or something like that. Just a natural feeling big neck that adjusts to your hand.

“It’s a mahogany neck with a satin finish so it has no lacquer on the neck, which gives it a nice smooth vintage-y play that I like a lot. I sweat a lot on stage so this helps out with that. I actually used to wear a a glove that was cut [down] so I could feel like I had that kind of satin finish on my neck.”

Natural back

“I wanted the natural back, with natural neck and binding which was something I was really into at the time and still love. I believe it’s a big selling point of the guitar.”

Pickups

“The bridge pickup is a PRS 245 Treble, neck is a 245 Bass. I use all three positions, and a lot of people ask me what I change on the [production] guitar and it’s literally nothing. The way you get it is the way I get it, basically. I put strap locks on it and I believe it comes with 0.009s, I put 0.011s on it, and maybe my tech might raise or lower the pickup to whatever I prefer.”

Controls

“The clear knobs are just something that I’ve always done, and I wanted the bird inlays because it’s the classic look. I wanted the vintage tuners because it’s also a classic look.”

Bridge

“It has the PRS adjustable bridge, which is my favourite bridge on any guitar of all time. It’s just a solid bridge and the way it’s bolted into the guitar, you can feel the resonance through the guitar.”

Shinedown’s latest album, Threat To Survival is out now on Atlantic.