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PRS Guitar Shops
PRS are a relatively modern guitar company founded by luthier Paul Reed Smith in 1985. PRS guitars are made with a certain amount of unique design choices kept in mind at all stages throughout the guitars construction. The first of these choices is in the selection of wood used in crafting PRS guitars. 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. The hardware is of the highest quality on PRS guitars, 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 with the saddles enclosed in to a chromed frame. The
pre-intonated stoptail is unique to PRS and can be used because the companies 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.
PRS are well known for demonstrating the beautiful grain of the wood in the finish of their maple topped designs, process that accents the '3D' quality of the maple
through a multistep staining process. PRS 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 and are used on their guitars instead. Demand for the companies guitars increased in the mid 1990's in part due to the public endorsement of artists such as Carlos Santana and Paul Allender. To keep up with demand, PRS introduced a new budget line of guitars in the
late 1990s. This SE (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 SE guitars are increasing in popularity among hobbyists, whereas
the higher-end models tend to be geared towards professional
musicians.
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