Trey Anastasio is one of the most influential electric guitarists of all time, especially within the jam-band genre. But while other guitar icons played instruments you can find in your local guitar shop, Trey's handmade Languedoc guitars are practically unobtainable.
Fortunately, Phred Instruments brings us the Reprise—a hollow small-body archtop electric guitar inspired by Trey's unique axes. Freddy Rose founded Phred Instruments to deliver high-quality guitars that are rich in features and inspired by the rare instruments played by Freddy's heroes. Because of the combination of the right features, the right style, and reasonable price tags, now Phred has an extensive wait. On the Reprise models, new orders are currently 12 months out.
This Phred Reprise was made in 2023, and it finds in nice, gently-used condition. The playability is excellent, and this guitar has impressive features and great tone for the price point. Relative to the lower-end DockStar model, the Reprise shows a substantial jump in build quality and components. In your hands, this 2023 Reprise feels nicely put together—much stronger attention to detail than the cheaper Phreds. This one has been played, so it shows some minor signs of play wear (see photos). There are a few minor dings around the edges on the binding, but that's the worst of it.
The Reprise features an arched Maple top, Mahogany sides, and an arched Spruce back. This Reprise has a stunning Flamed Maple neck, 24 frets, 25.5” scale length, and an archtop style neck joint. For electronics, it has two Seymour Duncan '59 humbuckers, CTS pots, and Switchcraft switches. The hardware is all proper, too—carved Ebony tailpiece, Ebony bridge with brass saddles, and Schaller tuning machines. The controls on this Reprise are set up for "Page Side," so the volume tone and three-way are mounted closer to the edge of the body.
This 2023 Phred Reprise includes its original hardshell case. One note—the pickup mounting rings have a beautiful Ebony cover, and there is a small surface crack on the neck pickup ring. Two additional Phred mounting rings are included.