PRS Guitars

PRS Guitars is one founded by guitarist Paul Reed Smith U.S. company for the production of exclusive electric guitars. The models of the company are known for their distinctive shape and its particular sound. Official company was founded in 1985, in the years 1995 and 2005, the tenth or twentieth anniversary with special edition models was celebrated ( 10th or 20th - Anniversary models), which are rare today.

Paul Reed Smith began in 1975 in order to build guitars themselves. The guitar was originally conceived as a project in his music studies, however, Smith recognized a talent in and decided to continue this work. In order to draw attention to his models, he stole to great artists backstage to present them his guitars. So he learned in his earliest years, among other Carlos Santana, Al Di Meola and Peter Frampton know that could make for some meetings of him specially-designed guitars. His first guitar had not yet been fully developed due to its agents.

The guitarist Santana wanted to play a PRS guitar after a first test immediately backstage at a concert, but responded the electromagnetic pickup of the instrument with loud feedback noise on the guitar amplifier of the musician. The first sold PRS models had no tone controls, which Smith later changed without consultation. Narratives to Santana wanted to change the sound of his guitar in the studio and asked his sound engineer to turn up the treble; they should have answered: " Take care of your guitar! " - Santana: " My has no tone control. " - " Since when is that? " From 1985, the first ( mature ) Custom -24 models were produced in series, therefore applies 1985 the official founding year of the company.

1985 to today

Had Smith initially produced monthly as a guitar, he expanded with growing popularity in the 1980s. The former Gibson President Ted McCarty - was hired as a consultant. PRS honored him with the McCarty models. Today, PRS Guitars is based in Stevensville (Maryland, USA) and employs around 200 staff.

Hallmark of electric guitars from PRS are the marks of the frets of the fingerboard with inlays ( marquetry ) in the form of different stages of a bird in flight, and the top plate of the instruments with the signature of Smith. Concise is also the shape of the ceiling. The high-quality maple wood commonly used here with striking grain is one reason for the high prices of the guitars. Another is the use of exotic materials such as abalone, which are used as an ornament and for the fretboard inlays.

Since less than 2000 € only a few models were to get, PRS guitars liable sometimes a " Lawyers, doctors and son flair " to. Early models such as the PRS - 513 Rosewood, the Modern Eagle and the Santana II were sold with prices up to 6000 € from the factory. Even more expensive are older private -stock models (special ) Dragon Models ( an edition with limited circulation, often decorated with the depiction of dragons on the fretboard) and Artist models (luxury edition ).

End of the 1990s the cheaper, made ​​in South Korea SE series was introduced, which is made easier ( no vaulted ceilings, plainer wood, opaque coatings, simpler electronics and metal parts, etc.). You will be assessed for their price class as well, according to experts, these guitars can compete with models from other manufacturers in the price range from 1200 to 1600 €. In 2007, Mira Series, which is the mid-priced between the models SE and CE appeared.

Since 2008, Gary Grainger Private Stock bass for the first time made ​​with the mid -1990s, an electric bass guitar model in series, based on a Signature made ​​for the bassist Gary Grainger. In addition, almost all satin finish models were taken ( with nitro lacquer ) from the catalog; as well as the series standard high gloss ( high gloss). New to Mastering Voice Control (MVC ) is the Santana MD and McCarty II models. The clearest is the modification of a PRS hallmark: The famous bird inlays were redesigned after other inlays already had appeared on the 513 models (that are retained as " 513 Birds" and not changed).

As of 2009, the model range was with hollow chambers in the corpus (PRS - name: Hollow Body) expanded and mass-produced. In addition, acoustic guitars and guitar amps and speakers for the first time have been produced in series. PRS thus moves to the competitors Gibson and Fender, which are represented in these market segments for a long time.

Private -stock models

Almost all manufacturers of electric guitars nowadays have a department for special models ( Custom Shop ), artists can even customizable instruments by the. Paul Reed Smith describes his entire company as the only custom shop because they would react very strongly to customer requests in PRS. That's why he called the Custom Shop PRS " Private Stock ". Here, private individuals or instrument dealer models can even customizable. Here are all based on the standard guitar shapes or characteristics of PRS guitars, but with innovative pickup - wiring, new details of design or even special construction features ( Double neck, long scale, siebensaitig, zwölfsaitig ). Since the factory quality of PRS is already very high and the models are very exclusive in itself, the PRS Private Stock instruments of the class have particularly high sales prices. The models belong to the class of instrument-making and place of the production quality of her " so many other manufacturers loose in the bag " (quote from an article in the music trade magazine Guitar & Bass ). Some, especially in the Private Stock models created were found to be as practical and suitable for mass production, they have been further developed into production models. Developing these models (Modern Eagle Singlecut Modern Eagle, 513 Rosewood, 513 and 1980 West Street Ltd. ) But are still relatively expensive. Also signature models were the first private -stock instruments, but were later manufactured as standard.

Sound and technology

PRS guitars are considered to be versatile, which is also reflected in the variety of musical styles represented by their endorser. From blues (for example, David Grissom ) on Latin Rock ( Carlos Santana ), Bluegrass (Johnny Hiland ), rock music ( Ray Davies, Joe Walsh, Orianthi ) to metal (Brad Delson, Emil Werstler, James Root, Mikael Åkerfeldt ) and Hard Rock ( Chad Kroeger, Mark Tremonti, Zach Myers ) is a wide range of styles represented. Special distribution have PRS guitars in the styles of rock, hard - rock and metal, as the PRS pickups have a relatively high output power and thus support an aggressive -sounding tone. However, the PRS sound can also balanced harmonic and " creamy " sound, and it reminds of the sound possibilities of the Gibson Les Paul. Made popular has this guitar sound Carlos Santana.

Almost all PRS guitars (up to McCarty, SC 245 and all SE models ) have so-called locking tuners. The tuners are where the guitar strings are clamped. This technique is firstly to the tuning stability are improved, and on the other hand need the strings by only one or two windings on the vertebrae of the tuners.

Most models have two pickups ( pickups ), mostly in twin-coil design ( humbucker ). Some models wear instead P -90 single-coils or on the 305er model three single-coils in order to stay as close to the sound of a Fender Stratocaster can. In some recent models (eg, NF3 and Studio), so-called narrow -field humbuckers are now used, the same structure from a conventional humbucker, terms of dimensions but narrower, more like a conventional single-coil pickups are built. This in turn results in a distinctive tone quality, new mixes of the characteristics of humbuckers and single-coils. In general, the PRS guitars have some technical features. Particularly well known is the special five- way switching of the two pickups, which provide different sound variants on the Custom and standard models. In many guitars from PRS, a coil-split function ( single-coil operation of a twin-coil humbucking pickup by switching off one of the two solenoids ) is used. Outstanding is the pickup assembly and the circuit 513: In this model, five single - coil pickups are installed, which can be combined by two switches in 13 variants. The pickups are here arranged in groups of two humbuckers and a single coil, which can be used in the circuit and sound variations "Full humbucking ", " Light humbucking " and " single-coil ". The mastering used since 2008 Voice Control (MVC; see above) on the models McCarty II and Santana MD is intended to provide a new sound version. MVC is basically a coil-split function to be close to the single-coil sound of the early 1960s, despite the integrated humbucker.

Current Models

PRS shares its models since 2008 in five new categories:

• Solid Body (models with solid body without cavities )
• Hollow Body (models with cavities in the body)
• Signature (especially for artist -made models in free trade )
• Private Stock (special productions, not officially available on the market)
• SE ( simpler version of the solid-body and hollow- body models ).

The Private Stock models are not listed here since they are not sold commercially. Further models are in circulation or in the country-specific distributors, but will no longer be conducted in the official catalog.

In 2009 were added by the new products in the amplifier and acoustic range and new product categories and expands the range. The amplifiers are available in each case either as top or as a combo amp.