Unexpectedly naive
How happy would you be if your first could hold its own for fit and finish with an import PRS? How would you say your current builds do against a PRS import(and be real, those guitars do not have much in the way of blemishes)? How many people can honestly pull off fit and finish as good as a PRS import by their 3rd full build? An import PRS is not a sloppy guitar, and getting to that level of accuracy and consistency in your fit and finish is not easy(certainly respectable). The parts list you have up there is dandy, but look at what you are listing.
Neck- Built in a production shop(which is no better tooled up, or experienced than PRS's import factories), the neck is not assembled or adjusted for this guitar, you honestly have no control over material selection and care. What is it equal to? Why is it better than an import PRS neck?
Wood selection, The wood selection for this build is going to be done by a person who understands wood for instruments as well as PRS? Will wood purchased from the lumber yard be seasoned prior to use? Where would the ten top be found(you missed it in your list), and how much will that run?
Plans and templates from that source, Are those plans and the jigs and templates made from those plans going to be as accurate as the tooling and jigs used at the PRS import factory?
Finishing supplies, Your not buying the finishing supplies that are equal to the finish on the import PRS for $20. Maybe you are thinking a few sheets of sandpaper and a couple rattle cans? or is this a hand wiped poly/oil finish? For what it is worth, a good , thin, professionally applied catalized poly could be outsourced for $300-$400 plus shipping, and I would conceed that would be comperable, but that is a natural clear. Special coloring and tinting could run a couple bucks more.
The reality is, as you full well know. You can outsource much of the build. If great care is taken and research is done as well as some practice, the assembly can go pretty good(although the lack of experience or rushing could easily become costly and hurt the results). In the end, you can have a guitar that is on par with many low end models(and you can jazz it up with some features you can't get in the import lines), but the guitar will have less resale value than an import. The cost of the materials and outsourcing will bring the cost up to or higher than the import. You can't compair your first build to a high end guitar(the labor rate for experience, and production knowledge/ cost are not cheap). The differences between a PRS custom top 10 and a lower priced PRS line are subtle, and that holds true with $15,000 dollar customs also. The name on the guitar also helps with resale value, and that in the end changes the oportunity cost.
Either way, I hope his motivations are not to try to save a buck, and instead to enjoy the process of building something with his hands. Beginners who start by focusing on saving money, cutting corners, or unrealistic value comparisons, or even worse selling their builds right off the bat. Are usually sadly disapointed.
Peace,Rich
For all, including Rich...
I never said it was actually going to be anything near a real PRS...I just really dig the body style and the carved top.
I understand that it's not going to come anywhere close, but I'm hoping that the satisfaction of having built it with my own two hands will help make up for that. And as far as the finish, I'm more in agreement with the above, thinking that I would just seal the guitar and not actually put a "finish" on it. I love that PRS look with the burst QM, but there's no way that I have the know-how or the cash to do something that complex.