PRS Guitars is an American guitar manufacturer headquartered in Stevensville, Maryland. PRS Guitars was founded by guitarist and luthier Paul Reed Smith in 1985. PRS Guitars is a leading manufacturer of high-end electric guitars. PRS guitars have become highly prized by musicians and collectors around the world.

Construction

PRS Custom

Materials

The bodies of PRS guitars are crafted of mahogany, with a maple top on most models. They often feature highly figured tops, including flame maple, quilt maple and figured maple creating the effect of tiger stripes. Although some models feature maple or Indian or Brazilian rosewood, necks are usually made from mahogany; fingerboards are made of rosewood. PRS's signature fret markers include the higher end birds and the lower end moons. The moons appear similar to standard dot inlays, but have a crescent more prominent than the rest of the dot. The bird inlays feature nine or ten different birds inlayed at the appropriate frets. Inlay materials have included semi-precious stones; iridescent shells, including abalone and abalone laminates; gold; and even unearthed ivory from the (extinct) woolly mammoth.

Hardware

Close-up of the 3rd, 5th, and 7th fret bird inlays.

Nuts are synthetic; tuners are of PRS' own design, although some models feature Korean-made Klusion-style tuners. PRS guitars feature three original bridge designs: a one-piece pre-intonated stoptail, an intonatable 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 design does not however allow intonation to be adjusted to compensate for variations in string thickness or drop tuning. Two other designs are the PRS vibrato, which resembles a vintage Fender Stratocaster unit but with much better tonal stability due to less friction, and the more recent compensated wrapover tailpeice, which allows for height and intonation adjustment.

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; 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, Ralph Perucci) 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.

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 nitrocellulose, meaning that in some instances, the paints were intended for automotive use.

Student Edition (SE) models

To keep up with demand, PRS introduced a new low-end budget line in the late 1990s. The Student Edition line, is manufactured in Korea and is notable for opaque finishes and lower quality tone-woods though some models also include figured maple veneers 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.

Artists who use PRS Guitars

• Mikael Akerfeldt of the Swedish Progressive Death Metal band Opeth.
• Ted Nugent was the first big-name guitar player whom Paul Reed Smith persuaded to play one of his guitars.
• Adam Gontier of the Canadian Alternative Rock band Three Days Grace
• Carlos Santana was another recipient of some of Paul Reed Smith's early instruments. Santana's unusual 24-fret, 24½"-scale signature model was one of PRS' earliest special models.
• Alex Lifeson of Rush has used PRS guitars since 1990, and continues to use them today, in addition to other brands.
• Al Di Meola, from Return to Forever, mainly uses a Private Stock McCarty PRS as a solo artist.
• Mark Tremonti of Alter Bridge has two signature PRS models.
• Dave Navarro from Jane's Addiction has his own PRS signature
• Larry LaLonde of Primus
• Paul Allender of Cradle of Filth has his own signature PRS SE model.
• Mike Mushok of Staind recently switched from Ibanez to PRS and now has his own signature SE baritone.
• Steven Wilson of progressive rock band Porcupine tree

List of PRS guitar models

Many of the listed guitars are available with an option of stoptail or tremolo bridge.

• Custom series:
  • Custom 22
  • Custom 22/12 (12 string version)
  • Custom 24 (previously the PRS Custom)
• Hollowbody series:
  • Hollowbody I, II, and Spruce
  • Hollowbody I Singlecut
  • Hollowbody Singlecut Standard
• McCarty series:
  • McCarty
  • McCarty II
  • McCarty Korina
  • Smokeburst McCarty
• Mira series:
  • Mira
  • Mira Maple Top
  • Mira X
  • Mira Korina
• Modern Eagle II
• Singlecut ("SC") series:
  • SC245
  • SC250
  • SC250 Satin
• SE series:
  • SE Custom
  • SE EG
  • SE One
  • SE Singlecut
  • SE Soapbar
• Standard series:
  • Standard 22
  • Standard 24
  • Standard 22 Satin
  • Standard 24 Satin
• Starla
• Sunbust series:
  • Sunburst 22
  • Sunburst 245
• Starla
• Swamp Ash Special
• 513

Signature models

• Al Di Meola "Prism" model
• Dave Navarro model
• Johnny Hiland model
• Mark Tremonti model
• Mike Mushok SE
• Paul Allender SE
• Santana 1, II, III, Brazilian, MD, and SE II
• Tremonti SE