How long have PRS guitars been around?

[StratTom]

I don't know much of anything about PRS guitars, but I thought I heard that they started out in '94. I came across this on ebay and just wanted to see if this was some false info. http://cgi.ebay.com/PRS-Paul-Reed-S...ryZ33045QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

 

[Luke Duke]

Re: How long have PRS guitars been around?

http://www.prsguitars.com/inside/story.html

I don't think it says the exact date of his first guitar but it was long before 94. The ad is a misprint it's supposed to be 20th anniversary I'm guessing.

Luke

 

[willy2763]

Re: How long have PRS guitars been around?

In 2005 they had the 20th anniversary special models, so the 25th hasn't exactly happened yet. I'm guessing they started in '85 then... That might really be a 20th. That is the only anniversary models I have seen for sale recently.

 

[StratTom]

Re: How long have PRS guitars been around?

I thought that it may have been a misprint, but I guess I didn't realize he's been making guitars that long. I guess they were not as available as they are now.

 

[Innocent_Bystander]

Re: How long have PRS guitars been around?

They've been around since '85. In '94 they moved to the larger factory in Stevensville, MD that they are in now.

 

[Mr 9finger]

Re: How long have PRS guitars been around?

They did start in 1985 in bascially a small garage. They didn't move to "standardized" production until 95. Thus many consider the pre 95 PRS guitars to be better and more worthwhile.

 

[aleclee]

Re: How long have PRS guitars been around?

They've been around since '85. In '94 they moved to the larger factory in Stevensville, MD that they are in now.

Just to clarify, the new factory started operation in January '95.

All '94 guitars were completed in the old factory. As for the myth of handmade status, that was never really the case and use of CNCs started in the old factory. Before CNCs, they used duplicarvers, which were basically routers with physical instead of digital templates.

 

[StratTom]

Re: How long have PRS guitars been around?

Thanks for the info!

 

[Skarekrough]

Re: How long have PRS guitars been around?

I thought that it may have been a misprint, but I guess I didn't realize he's been making guitars that long. I guess they were not as available as they are now.

Not so much.

PRS used to be top-dog for what players would consider the "Wine and Cheese" crowd which typically are hoarding the really nice topped Gibsons, or "LawyerBursts."

Sometime in the early part of the nu-metal explosion they made a concerted effort to hand out axes to anyone that they thought might have a shot at making it big, having a single hit or even end up being used in a movie soundtrack. At that point it wasn't unheard of for multiple PRS' to just show up at a recording studio for the band to "evaluate and consider." They made a huge push to sign endorsees and very quickly managed to get alot of attention from a much younger crowd.

Before then they were mostly seen being played by cats like Carlos Santana and D1ckey Betts. The one guy I can think of previous to that era that was playing one was one of the guys in the Nine Inch Nails touring band during the Downward Spiral tour. He had a McCarty with the bridge duct-taped down.

 

[JB_From_Hell]

Re: How long have PRS guitars been around?

Before then they were mostly seen being played by cats like Carlos Santana and D1ckey Betts. The one guy I can think of previous to that era that was playing one was one of the guys in the Nine Inch Nails touring band during the Downward Spiral tour. He had a McCarty with the bridge duct-taped down.

Yeah, prior to Invasion of the Nickelbacks, there was a lot more "Oooh, cool.... a PRS" to it. As for the NIN thing, didn't Danny Lohner (the PRS player in question) have a distortion pedal taped to the guitar? I remember all my friends seeing that video going, "Oh my god, he put tape on THAT guitar??!?!?!?" and me going, "Wow, what a great idea!"

 

[Skarekrough]

Re: How long have PRS guitars been around?

Yeah, prior to Invasion of the Nickelbacks, there was a lot more "Oooh, cool.... a PRS" to it. As for the NIN thing, didn't Danny Lohner (the PRS player in question) have a distortion pedal taped to the guitar? I remember all my friends seeing that video going, "Oh my god, he put tape on THAT guitar??!?!?!?" and me going, "Wow, what a great idea!"

Yeah...it was Lohner. Finck was playing Les Pauls, usually Goldtops on stage right. He was visually tough to miss.

Lohner handed guitar, bass and keys. I believe he had a MusicMan for the bass stuff.

God as my witness I never picked up on the fact that it was a pedal taped on there. I always thought it was something to keep the trem more stable.

All things being as they are, that was a dangerous band to be playing in at that time. As a safety precaution I can easily see why he might do something like that. I watched Reznor check Finck eight rows out into the mosh pit from behind. He never saw it coming.

 

[JB_From_Hell]

Re: How long have PRS guitars been around?

All things being as they are, that was a dangerous band to be playing in at that time. As a safety precaution I can easily see why he might do something like that. I watched Reznor check Finck eight rows out into the mosh pit from behind. He never saw it coming.

I couldn't imagine a pedal surviving a 1990-94 NIN show. Hell, most of the keyboards, guitars, mic stands and whatnot didn't either

Did you catch any post-Downward Spiral era shows? Kicking the heroin and booze REALLY calmed Trent down. I caught one of the Fragile shows, and while still an energetic performance (musically), there was absolutely no onstage violence.

 

[Rich_S]

Re: How long have PRS guitars been around?

They did start in 1985 in bascially a small garage. They didn't move to "standardized" production until 95. Thus many consider the pre 95 PRS guitars to be better and more worthwhile.

Ha ha ha! Back in 1994, I went down to Baltimore to interview for an engineering job with Paul Smith. He gave me a complete tour of the old factory, then we sat down and discussed manufacturing methods. After that, we drove over to look at a big building he was thinking about buying. We toured it, then he took me out to lunch. Over crab cakes, I told him that building was all wrong for him. It was all high-bay warehouse space, with no way to wire equipment and workstation without a lot of concrete-floor-sawing or dropping conduit and cable down from the very high roof. I thought retrofitting a big warehouse for his light-manufacturing needs would be needlessly complex and expensive.

He bought the building, I didn't get the job, and the rest is history.

Loser!!!

 

[Skarekrough]

Re: How long have PRS guitars been around?

I couldn't imagine a pedal surviving a 1990-94 NIN show. Hell, most of the keyboards, guitars, mic stands and whatnot didn't either

Did you catch any post-Downward Spiral era shows? Kicking the heroin and booze REALLY calmed Trent down. I caught one of the Fragile shows, and while still an energetic performance (musically), there was absolutely no onstage violence.

Ya know...I didn't really....although I've been offered tickets.

It was very much a heyday sort of thing. I saw them the first time about three months after Downward Spiral came out in a venue that maybe held 250 people. Three weeks later they played the Woodstock show and then a few months after that I saw them at the Boston garden from nosebleed seats and realized that I got in while the getting was good.

No matter how good the show is or will be it's never going to match a 250 person venue. And truth be told I'm just not as much a fan of his newer material. For that Jones I really look to bands like Skinny Puppy and find ti to be more of what I'm looking for.

And I thought he didn't kick smack until post-Fragile?

Funny though...he and Jourgenssen kick the arm-candy and look what happens....Trent calms down and Al gets more pissed off!

 

[aleclee]

Re: How long have PRS guitars been around?

It was all high-bay warehouse space, with no way to wire equipment and workstation without a lot of concrete-floor-sawing or dropping conduit and cable down from the very high roof. I thought retrofitting a big warehouse for his light-manufacturing needs would be needlessly complex and expensive.

 

[Lake Placid Blues]

Re: How long have PRS guitars been around?

Celebrity players, such as Al DiMeola, began showing up with pototype PRS guitars (the PRS body shape, not the LP Jr type) in around 84. I recieved a slick PRS brochure in the mail, in about Oct 1985, that I still have. The first time I encountered a PRS guitar, and played one, was in the spring of 1986 in Atlanta Ga. It was a fine guitar, but well beyond what I could afford. I have always considered them to be outstanding instruments.

 

[Rich_S]

Re: How long have PRS guitars been around?

:laugh2: :laugh2: :laugh2: :laugh2: Yeah! Like that!

 

[StratTom]

Re: How long have PRS guitars been around?

Cool pic! Makes me wish I would have a career building guitars.

 

[Evan Skopp]

Re: How long have PRS guitars been around?

We toured it, then he took me out to lunch. Over crab cakes...

Paul gave me a tour and took me out to a crab cakes lunch as well. But for me, it was probably '96 or '97. I bet it was the same restaurant.

 

[Luke Duke]

Re: How long have PRS guitars been around?

Paul gave me a tour and took me out to a crab cakes lunch as well. But for me, it was probably '96 or '97. I bet it was the same restaurant.

I'd bet so.

I'm really surprised that he won't use any of your full size humbuckers but will use the vintage rails. You'd figure a high profile builder like PRS would have it as an option or something. For goodness sake even GIBSON has offered guitars with Duncans!

Luke