Coming up on 40 years, PRS has been a frontrunner in pushing the guitar industry forward to greater heights. And the AMS gang was lucky enough to be able to chat with the one and only Paul Reed Smith about how guitar building has changed, what makes a good guitar sound, and how guitar players can choose the right one for them.
The new era of PRS
During our chat, Paul Reed Smith pointed out that his focus is no longer on looking back but moving forward into a new era of guitars, amps, and pedals.
It’s no question that each guitar has its own unique sound, and Paul believes that it’ll talk to you if you just sit and play it. Try listening to players such as David Gilmour, John Mayer, or John McLaughlin; you can hear the guitar and the player side-by-side.
Over the past 40 years of guitar-making, PRS has done extensive research on classic models like Stratocasters, Les Pauls, Telecasters, and many more. But for PRS guitars, it’s no longer about perfecting what was in the past but rather looking forward and finding the “new” sound. As a very forward-thinking guitar maker, he places importance on PRS guitars, pedals, and amps being musical first. After all, it’s ALL about the music, not necessarily the legacy of the gear.
I think it’s safe to say that any chance of reissue models coming out anytime soon are a negative. Sorry folks…
PRS made a good point though, “The guitar business is slow to catch on”. For instance, the NF3 wasn’t a prize-winner until Jimmy Herring made a case for it and started using it with Widespread Panic. Then in 2010/2011, it received the Musikmesse International Press Award for “Best Electric Guitar.” Now you can see this guitar being played everywhere! It also recently has become PRS’s best-selling model.
The same thing happened to Les Pauls and Stratocasters back in the day. They couldn’t give them away until guitar players like Jimi Hendrix and the Allman Brothers started using them.
Remember everyone lashing out against the PRS Silver Sky guitar when it first came out? Over time, many grew a liking to it and thought it offered a great sound for guitarists, which are completely independent of its obvious ties to the Stratocaster.
This might even be considered foreshadowing for newer models that aren’t necessarily seen on stage very often. Which brings us to our next point: Don’t take someone else’s word for it when it comes to guitars or music gear in general. See what strikes your fancy and go for it — critics be damned!
Trying out new gear is important
Finding the perfect sound is a quest we’re all on. PRS strongly suggests that you play everything first. Don’t just take the internet’s word for it (or worse, leave it in the case as a part of a collection). Try it out. Music equipment is meant to be played!
Developing your own tone and style will ultimately come from trying out gear and deciding if you like the sounds you get from it. Paul Reed Smith’s Mary Cries Optical Compressor Pedal was based on the LA-2A compressor to help thicken up your tone. While initially meant for compression, people started using it as a boost pedal, and it works great! People used the gear and found that it worked for more than what it was designed to do, creating their own sounds.
The same goes for guitars. Plug it in and see what suits you best. At the end of the day, the tone will come from not just the player but also the gear they’re using. Experiment and have fun. Be creative!
Do guitar tonewoods make a difference?
Okay, this one is a bit touchy. The tonewood debate has gone on for almost as long as guitars have existed. And everyone has some pretty strong opinions on the matter, especially Paul Reed Smith.
Does tonewood make a difference? To PRS, the answer is absolutely, positively, definitively, unquestionably, YES!
Every piece of a guitar affects the tone. Do you think swapping the tuning pegs, saddle, bridge, or nut will affect the tone? What about changing the fret material? Why would the type of wood not impact the tone, too? Violin players rely on the cavity of the instrument to be their amplifier, which ultimately affects their sound. And that’s all about the tonewood.
And no matter where you stand on this highly controversial topic, PRS has decades of experience building, studying, and listening to guitars professionally. Who are we to argue with his findings!?
But really, why would you want to argue? At the end of the day, it gives us all an excuse to buy more guitars because we need to find out which tonewood best suits our tone. And isn’t that really what it’s all about, playing more guitars…?
Are PRS guitars too good?
There’s been a lot of talk about PRS models not having enough character in them or that they sound too consistent compared to the competition. Even Smith agreed to the fact that there’s a pretty narrow gap between the lower end and the higher end PRS models; they’re all great! However, his job is to continue pushing the high-end models further up the scale with their quality and sound.
What does PRS say about anyone who doesn’t want to get a PRS because they’re “all the same and have no character?” Play it! If you don’t like PRS guitars, Smith is perfectly fine with that — as long as you gave it an honest shot and actually picked one up. You can’t say you don’t like something you’ve never tried!
PRS would rather have players go test a guitar and come up with their own opinion to see if the guitar speaks to them, rather than keeping it in the case and never picking one up.
The success of PRS
So, by now we know that Paul Reed Smith keeps a high standard when it comes to building guitars, pedals, and amps. He mentioned that if a rockstar isn’t going for one of your guitars out of the pile, then you haven’t done your job — and that goes for pedals too.
With legends like Carlos Santana, John McLaughlin, John Mayer, and Mark Lettieri all playing his gear, it’s enough to back him up on that statement.
Over the years, PRS has managed to tune out the opinions of others and continued to follow and perfect what he believed was “the sound.” And that’s an example we should all follow.
If you’re thinking about trying out a new guitar, whether it be a PRS or any other model, remember to play it and form your own opinion about how it plays. It’s way more fun to decide for yourself anyway, and you get to learn about the different characteristics that a variety of guitars has to offer.
We want to thank Paul Reed Smith for joining us for this interview and for his “coaching” (some might call it derailing…) on our Game of Tones episode — which you definitely should check out.
When it comes to quality instruments, pedals, and amps, you’re in good hands with anything made by Paul Reed Smith. You can check out a wide variety of gear that’s available on the PRS product page here at American Music Supply.
And as always, don’t forget to subscribe to the AMS YouTube Channel where we post all of our exclusive interviews, product releases, and all things music!
