PRS Guitars
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PRS Guitars is an American company, based in Stevensville, Maryland, that mostly makes high-quality, high-priced guitars. PRS Guitars was founded by guitarist and luthier Paul Reed Smith.
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[edit] Sonic qualities
PRS guitars were designed to find a middle ground between the instruments of two leading makers of American electric guitars, Fender and Gibson. While Fender guitars are generally seen as offering a bright, responsive tone, with a hint of "twang" from their longer scale length, Gibson guitars are seen as having a warm, rich tone, with a deep, dark low end. In comparison, PRS guitars generally have a responsive high end that does not twang, and a rich low end that is very clear. Paul Reed Smith has said in interviews that two major inspirations for his guitars were the Fender Stratocaster and the Gibson Les Paul Junior.
[edit] Construction
The main line of PRS guitars is unusual in that the instruments are designed and constructed wholly in the United States of America. This and the exacting standards of the PRS factory make them pricey.
[edit] Materials
Wood selection plays a major role in crafting a PRS guitar. The bodies are crafted of mahogany, with a maple top on some models; their maple tops are graded according to their "figure", referring to the visual character of the wood. PRS guitars often feature highly figured tops, including flame maple and quilt maple. PRS necks are usually made from mahogany, although some models feature maple or Indian or Brazilian rosewood necks; fingerboards are made of rosewood. PRS's signature fret markers, are the lower end moons, and the higher end birds. The moons appear similar to standard dot inlays, but have a crescent more priominent than the rest of the dot. The bird inlays feature nine or ten different birds inlayed at the appropriate frets. Inlay materials have included semiprecious stones; all sorts of iridescent shells, including abalone and abalone-plastic laminates; gold; and even such exotic and costly materials as unearthed ivory from the (extinct) woolly mammoth.
[edit] Hardware
Nuts are synthetic; tuners are of PRS' own design, although some models feature Korean-made Kluson-style tuners. PRS guitars feature three original bridge designs: a one-piece pre-intonated stoptail, an intonatable stoptail, and a six-saddle tremolo. The pre-intonated stoptail is unique to PRS and can be used because PRS manufacturing tolerances are so tight, guaranteeing that the distance between witness points will be within a few thousandths of an inch from guitar to guitar. This is a result of PRS' CNC (robot-assisted) manufacturing process.
[edit] Pickups
Pickups are designed and wound in-house; PRS is more secretive about magnet and wire type and construction than some aftermarket pickup manufacturers. PRS humbucking pickups have gone by many names, including HFS (Hot, Fat, and Screams); Vintage Bass and Treble; McCarty; Santana I, II, and III; Archtop; Dragon I and II; Artist I through IV; #6, #7, #8, #9, and #10, RP (after the initials of the designer) and Soapbar. Further adding to the obscurity, many of the above pickup types are actually a pair of pickups wound in opposing directions, one intended for the neck and one for the bridge position.
[edit] Finishes
PRS is known for "popping the grain" on their figured maple topped instruments, a process that accents the 3d quality of the maple through a multistep staining process. Finishes are transparent, translucent (often with bursts), or opaque and are automotive-grade polyurethane or satin nitrocellose, meaning that in some instances, the paints were intended for automotive use.
[edit] Current Manufacturing Methods
As demand grew during the mid 1990s, PRS had to switch from hand manufactured and assembled guitars to automated manufacture and assembly. Some would argue that the switch in manufacturing has lost some of the individual personality and allure of PRS guitars, while others insist that the change in manufacturing and assembly has led to higher quality, better sounding guitars. Additionally, some believe that the heavy polyurethane finishes used by PRS further drown out the tonal qualities and nuances of each individual guitar.
[edit] Non-American PRS (SE Models)
To keep up with demand, PRS introduced a new low-end budget line in the late 1990s. The SE line, is manufactured in Korea and is notable for opaque finishes and lower quality tone-woods though some models also include figured maple tops such as the Soapbar II. The PRS SE models are increasing in popularity among hobbyists, whereas the higher-end PRS models tend to be geared towards professional musicians. While the SEs do not match the higher end PRS guitars in their build quality, it is worth noting that their street price is perhaps 10-20% of PRS' high-end instruments, some feel that they offer excellent value to the player seeking an instrument in that price range ($4-600 USD).
[edit] Artists who use PRS Guitars
Many artists play PRS guitars. Some include
- Brendan Bayliss of Umphrey's McGee
- Ted Nugent
- Jimmy Buffett
- Martin Barre of Jethro Tull
- Dean DeLeo of Stone Temple Pilots
- Carlos Santana
- Günter Schulz of Slick Idiot and formerly of KMFDM
- Joe Walsh of The Eagles
- Rich Williams of Kansas
- Tom Johnston of The Doobie Brothers
- Dave Knudson of Minus the Bear
- Al Di Meola
- Alex Lifeson of Rush
- Daniel Johns of Silverchair
- Mikael Åkerfeldt of Opeth
- Peter Lindgren of Opeth
- Steven Wilson of Porcupine Tree
- Paul Allender of Cradle of filth
- Tim Mahoney of 311
- Brad Delson of Linkin Park
- Mike Shinoda of Linkin Park
- Dan Estrin of Hoobastank
- Larry LaLonde of Primus
- Mark Tremonti of Creed and Alter Bridge
- Gustavo Assis-Brasil
- Andrew Latimer of Camel
- Dave Baksh former member of Sum 41
- Dave Navarro of The Panic Channel and Jane's Addiction
- Mike Oldfield
- Ryan Phillips of Story of the Year
- Philip Sneed of Story of the Year
- Charlie Simpson of Fightstar
- Pete Loeffler of Chevelle
- Darran Smith of Funeral for a Friend
- Kris Coombs-Roberts of Funeral for a Friend
- Chad Kroeger of Nickelback
- Adam Gontier of Three Days Grace
- Clint Lowery of Dark New Day
- Ryan Shrout of Kutless
- James Mead of Kutless
- Troy McLawhorn of Dark New Day
- Ben Burnley of Breaking Benjamin
- Aaron Fink of Breaking Benjamin
- Mike Einziger of Incubus (has since switched to Fender)
- Ross Childress of Collective Soul
- Billy Martin of Good Charlotte
- Mike Lewis of Lostprophets
Ted Nugent was the first big-name guitar player whom Paul Reed Smith persuaded to play one of his guitars. Despite being a master of the hollow-body guitar (especially the Gibson Byrdland). Nugent has continued to play PRS guitars ever since. Carlos Santana was another recipient of some of Paul Reed Smith's early instruments, used them on stage, and fell in love with them. Santana's unusual 24-fret, 24½"-scale signature model was one of PRS' earliest special models.
PRS is named as a dream guitar by Brendan Fraser's hostage-taking character Chazz Darvey in the movie Airheads. He puts one "with a dragon inlay" on the demand list that he sends out to the police, and gets one at the end of the movie. He later smashes the guitar into an amp and destroys it completely
[edit] Legal Issues
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In 1998 PRS released their "Singlecut" guitar. Bearing an uncanny resemblance to the venerable Les Paul, Gibson Guitar Corp filed a trademark infringement against Paul Reed Smith. An injunction was ordered and PRS stopped manufacture of the Singlecut in 2000. It should be noted that other guitar companies including Hamer and ESP produce models very similar to the Les Paul. Federal District Court Judge William J. Haynes, in a 57-page decision ruled "that PRS [Paul Reed Smith] was imitating the Les Paul" and gave the parties ninety days "to complete any discovery on damages or disgorgement of PRS's profits on the sales of its offending Singlecut guitar."
In 2005, the United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit reversed the lower court decision and ordered the dismissal of Gibson's suit against PRS. The decision also immediately vacated the injunction prohibiting the sale and production of PRS’s Singlecut Guitar. Paul Reed Smith Guitars announced that it would immediately resume production of its Singlecut guitars.
Paul Smith, the founder of PRS, stated “We are delighted that the appellate court affirmed what we and the industry have long known: the PRS Singlecuts are musical instruments of the highest quality that would never be confused with a competitor’s product.”
Gibson tried and failed to have the case reheard by the all twenty-four Sixth Circuit judges (denied in January 2006) and then by the United States Supreme Court (denied June 2006), which was their last chance to have their original injunction upheld.
In the litigation, Gibson alleged that concert goers in a smoky concert hall might not be able to differentiate a PRS Singlecut from a Gibson Les Paul. The appellate court rejected that trademark theory out-of-hand, emphasizing Gibson’s concession in court arguments that “only an idiot” would confuse the two products at the point of sale.
[edit] Partial List of PRS Guitar Models
A more extensive list is available at the PRS website. Many of the listed guitars are available with an option of stoptail or tremolo bridge; the finish options are complicated and depend on the model.
- Custom 22
- Custom 24
- McCarty
- McCarty Soapbar
- Modern Eagle
- Santana II and III
- Johnny Hiland Model
- Dave Navarro Model
- Mark Tremonti Model
- 513
- CE22
- CE24
- Standard 22
- Standard 24
- Standard 22 Satin
- Standard 24 Satin
- Corvette Standard 22
- Hollowbody I, II and Spruce
- Singlecut
- Singlecut Satin
- Singlecut Standard
- Singlecut Standard Soapbar
- Singlecut Trem
- Singlecut Trem Satin
- Singlecut Trem Modern Eagle
- Swamp Ash Special
- Santana SE II
- Soapbar SE II
- Soapbar SE II Maple
- SE Custom
- Singlecut SE
- SE EG
- Tremonti SE
[edit] Limited editions
- Signature model
- Mark Tremonti Tribal
- Artist I, II, III and IV
- Dragon I, II, III, 2000, 2002 and 2005 Double Dragon
- Rosewood Limited
- Golden Eagle
- 20th Anniversary
- Brazilian Limited model with Brazilian Rosewood fretboards
- Custom 22 semi-hollow body
- Custom 24 and 22 with Indian Rosewood neck
- Private Stock, one-off instruments built to custom order
- 1986 Single Pick-up 24 Fret Standard
- Corvette Z06 Edition
[edit] Discontinued models
- Custom 22 Soapbar
- McCarty Standard
- McCarty Soapbar Standard
- SE Soapbar
- Santana I
- Archtop
[edit] External links
- PRS Guitars - official company website
- 2005 Paul Reed Smith Interview
- 2005 Peter Wolf Interview - Director of Sales & Marketing for PRS Guitars
- Industry Views - magazine column by Peter Wolf, PRS Guitars Director of Sales & Marketing
- Birds and Moons - a web forum frequented by players, luthiers, and other folks interested in PRS guitars
- PRS Factory Tour Video
