MusicRadar

Incredible build quality is matched by a very high price-tag.

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• Review

A feel inside the lower bout reveals the result: the X-brace crosses behind the soundhole as usual, then between the X, four fan braces run from just behind the bridge, tapering as they approach the rim.

The Angelus neck is a fairly chunky piece of Peruvian mahogany - one piece for the neck and headstock, with a single extra block for the lower third of the heel. It's joined to the body with a traditional dovetail - no bolts here, as Fischer believes that the marriage of body and neck is critically important in terms of resonance and that this is simply the right way to do it.

What's less traditional is the non-adjustable carbon fibre strengthening rod. For context, Martin used non-adjustable rods from the mid-1930s right up until 1985, when it phased in the adjustable rod.

Many players may still find the lack of adjustability a major point of concern, however. "It's solid and stable and shouldn't ever move," says Fischer confidently of his neck design. "Once we explain what we've done, it calms a lot of those worries."

Time will tell of course, but it's been two years of R&D with no issues yet, and in our month with the guitar, the neck hasn't moved a jot.

In terms of profile, this is a 'real' acoustic guitar. It's not skinny, but remains manageable with a comfortable 'C' section - which PRS calls 'wide fat'. As another example of the craftsmanship, consider the ebony fingerboard. It's a single piece of timber, with flawless PRS outline birds.

Then there's the inlaid maple coachline, which gives the impression of binding, but in fact the fret slots are cut just short of the edge, allowing the tangs to sit completely within the board, but with the - again flawless - fret ends running up to the edge of the board as you'd expect.

The sides of the ebony are then finished in glossy nitro-cellulose lacquer (as is the rest of the instrument) - but the face is left unfinished: truly breathtaking quality.

But it's not just aesthetics. The Angelus Custom is set up superbly, delivering effortless real-world playability (ie not an electric-style low action) all over the neck. A number of our staff and alumni have also commented how 'in-tune' it feels too, which is a testament to build tolerances, the nut and the intonation-compensated bone saddle.

Final appointments include the hand-tooled Keith Robson tuners - high-ratio and super stable in use - and a discreet electronics system comprising a McIntyre acoustic feather pickup that sticks on under the bridge just in front of the pins, and a PRS acoustic preamp. There's a single mini volume control just inside the soundhole: neat.

Sounds

Pick through some first-position chords and the first thing that hits you is the poise, balance and sheer clarity in the high-end. Those are traits that typify modern, quality American acoustic guitars for a lot of people and something you might associate with mid-body Taylors, for example, rather than classic Martins.