What Else Do You Buy With A PRS Guitar?






by Jack Wogan


If you want a musical instrument that is a landmark of a special quest, you should buy PRS Guitars. The success stories of famous guitar players, the stories of outstanding instruments and the success stories of skillful guitar makers put together make up the history of the guitar, and Paul Reed Smith with his PRS Guitars are undoubtedly a part of it.

Surprisingly, sometimes common traits can be found in guitar-related histories that seem remote. The 1946 born British lead guitar of world famous band Queen, Brian May, and the 1956 born exceptional American guitar maker Paul Reed Smith had a similar musical experience in their early years: small guitars. Two different musical pursuits of the perfect sounds have originated here.

Paul has first learned to pluck strings on a ukulele. This four-corded very small Hawaiian guitar has a mellow sound that is very easy to distinguish. Brian's musical training had started with classical piano lessons which were going smoothly till the boy got a banjolele as a gift. The small banjo body and the ukulele neck of the four-stringed instrument could produce both banjo-like harsh sounds and ukulele-like softer ones. The combination had him completely under its fascination.

Thus Brian started his search for the perfect sound. Aged 16, he would not settle for any guitar that was affordable on the market, but wanted to custom build his own instead. His father, an aeronautics specialist, agreed to help and they piece together parts from an old fireplace and an old motorbike and even a knitting needle, to manufacture the Red Special, which was afterwards to be seen in almost all Queen concerts. And which has a distinctive, both harsh and sweet sound.

Paul Reed Smith went another way in his passionate search for the perfect sound and winded up not as a musician, but as the maker of PRS Guitars. His first guitar was made during college and the experience he got was immediately invested in building a second one. While offering them to musicians backstage, many more instruments followed, on a monthly basis, always one at the time.

The significant advance was made when Paul met Ted Mc Carty, former director at Gibson and the maker of well-known Explorer guitars. Ted became Paul's mentor and associate. Their lifetimes spent in search of the special sound have the modern PRS Guitars as tokens.




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