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HISTORICAL FACTS: 3 - The Untold Story

“It sold for $937,000 to an anonymous buyer who, we assume, doesn't play punk rock for a living”: From Joe Strummer’s Tele to Johnny Ramone's Mosrite, here are the iconic guitars behind the sound of punk – and the modern-day equivalents you can buy today

The filth, the fury, and '80s Fernandes Strat copies – these guitars, amps, and effects defined the sound of some of rock's greatest, and most rebellious, bands

Guitar World

“The CE has been with us since the very early days of PRS. I love celebrating this model”: PRS radically upgrades its CE range with dashing new tonewoods – and an expansive pickup switch that has never been seen in the lineup before

Choose from Black Limba and Swamp Ash variants, as a PRS mainstay gets some choice cosmetic and tonal updates

Guitar World

“John Mayer had Paul build a guitar for him for the Dead & Company. He wanted one guitar all night. I thought, ‘Let’s see if I can get back to that’”: Keith Urban on working with PRS on a ‘do-it-all’ guitar build –and why SRV is still number one

Country icon reflects the feeling of bonding with a single instrument – and says you should give up playing and become an accountant if you’re missing his special ingredient

Guitar World

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“I’ve seen some unplayable instruments made in this country. I’ve also played some real gems not made in the US”: Paul Reed Smith explains why the country a guitar is made in doesn’t matter

Though the provenance of a guitar can have a huge sway on its price and perception, the PRS founder himself has leapt to the defence of overseas builds

Guitar World

“I would use the semi-hollow and get a lot of comments about it. And I’m like, ‘Well, you can’t buy one. It was made in Private Stock, and it’s just a one-off’”: PRS has teamed up with David Grissom for a new DGT Semi-Hollow – but it’s seriously limited

The DGT Semi-Hollow is limited to 200 models worldwide, and hand-signed by both PRS founder Paul Reed Smith and David Grissom

Guitar World

“Paul was like, 'Good God, what are you asking for?' I'm like, 'I'm just asking for a little struggle!'” Keith Urban is working with PRS on a new Tele-style guitar – and he wants to break the company's rules

The country rock great's go-to guitar since 1989 has been a Fender Telecaster called Clarence, but John Mayer has inspired him to join the PRS ranks – and he's working on a T-type like no other

Guitar World

“You plug into a great Dumble and it is this awe-inspiring warm feeling you get”: Mark Tremonti reveals how he bought one of his sweetest-sounding Dumbles at a swap meet and explains why they are the holy grail of tube amps

The Alter Bridge and Creed guitarist is the proud owner of four Dumbles, confessing that he now has a whole room dedicated to amps and he'll just go in there to look at them

MusicRadar

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PRS has dropped its objection to Gibson’s Theodore trademark – but the dispute continues outside of the courts

The McCarty-era sketch that Gibson recently brought to life has caused ruptures with the McCarty estate

Guitar World

“When it comes to building guitar necks, there’s a quick way to do things and there’s a right way to do things”: Ever wondered how PRS makes its necks? This video walks you through a process where every detail matters

This behind the scenes video shot from the factory floor at PRS's factory in Maryland documents a meticulous build process in which there are no shortcuts

MusicRadar

“It’s used for fence posts in Guatemala, and somehow that has given it a low-class reputation on the internet”: Paul Reed Smith says the materials used to make a guitar absolutely do make a difference – but not for the reason you might think

The six-string scientist has once again stressed that certain woods do in fact change the tone of your guitar, and he's drawn attention to an oddly spec'd custom build to prove it

Guitar World

“We’ve also talked about doing replicas, beaten up so they look like mine”: Mark Tremonti says a relic’d recreation of his Dimebag-stickered PRS is on the cards – could artificially aged PRS guitars become a reality?

PRS has yet to officially release a relic'd guitar, but that could all be about to change

Guitar World

“‘I’ve never picked one up and it’s never moved me’ – that’s not fair”: Paul Reed Smith hits back at critics who say PRS guitars are “too perfect and have no soul”

The guitar engineer designs some of the finest instruments money can buy – but for some, they're just “too good”

Guitar World

"'I’ve picked one up and it didn’t move me' is fair comment. But 'I’ve never picked one up and it’s never moved me' - that’s not fair": Paul Reed Smith takes on the PRS doubters

Paul Reed Smith addresses criticism of PRS guitars as ‘too perfect'

MusicRadar

“Paul Reed Smith wanted to do something, but I had to explain it was my dream as a kid to have an Ibanez signature. Paul said he’d do anything to make it happen”: Herman Li on his switch to PRS – and the perils of shredding on waterslides

Paul Reed Smith wanted to do something but I had to explain it was my dream as a kid to have an Ibanez signature. Paul said he’d do anything to make it happen

Guitar World

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Guitar World

“He preferred what was readily available – and affordable. And when he measured responses, he didn’t really see differences between woods”: Leo Fender didn’t think tonewoods made much difference to solidbody guitar tone

The electric guitar pioneer used pine, alder, ash, poplar, mahogany and more, but apparently deemed the tonal differences negligible

MusicRadar

“The lesser amount that the guitar shuts the string down the better the guitar is”: Paul Reed Smith explains what makes a good guitar – does yours pass his test?

There are all kinds of factors that go into making a great guitar but the PRS Guitars boss explains how telling good from bad can be as simple as taking out a stopwatch

Guitar World

“John had to send a text with a photo of a piece of paper, where he scribbled, ‘Yes, it’s me!’” Before the Silver Sky was built, John Mayer cold-called PRS to discuss working on a guitar together – but the phone operator hung up on him

Session pro Tim Pierce recounted the tale on his YouTube channel, recalling how one of the most popular guitars of this generation got off to a rocky start

Guitar World

“Anything that touches the string is God”: PRS has re-engineered the shape of its tuners – and the new design could have a game-changing impact on tone

The Maryland brand is certainly no stranger to guitar innovations – its latest development may physically be its smallest, but could in fact make the biggest tonal difference

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Guitar World

The world’s most influential guitar gear designers: meet the pioneers behind the innovations that changed the electric guitar forever

It’s not just star guitarists who have changed the way we play – these are the innovators whose inventions forever altered the course of the guitar itself

MusicRadar

“People say it’s like going to Wonka’s candy factory”: PRS Guitars is offering tours of its Maryland factory

Get up close and personal with the 27-fret Sorcerer’s Apprentice and other rarities in the PRS archive and see what goes on behind-the-scenes at a high-end guitar brand

Guitar World

The ‘90s was a watershed era for gear, and set the template for the future of the electric guitar – these are the retro designs, digital innovations and misfit toys that defined a decade and beyond

The invention of the seven-string, emergence of digital modeling and rise of the boutique pedal industry all took place during the ‘90s, and provided the blueprint for the sound of guitar music to come

Guitar World

PRS Modern Eagle V review – 17 pickup options and a jaw-dropping guitar build that’s impossible to fault

While PRS has been making its mark on the bolt-on market, we finally get a new Core model, the shape-shifting modern Eagle V. But is it really new?

Guitar World

“On a quick trip to interview Paul Reed Smith I was told we were going to the White House so I’d better pack a suit”: Celebrating 500 issues of Guitarist, one of the world’s greatest guitar magazines

From playing Eric Clapton’s Strats to narrowly avoiding knocking out Slash, Guitarist editors past and present share their favourite – and sometimes most embarrassing – memories of working for the esteemed UK publication

Guitar World

“We’ve been talking about it for a decade – our artists want ‘that’ sound in their arsenal”: How Myles Kennedy and Paul Reed Smith reinvented a classic with the NF 53

Satisfying an artist is one thing, creating a new version of an old favorite is another. With the new Myles Kennedy signature and NF 53, PRS has attempted to do both

Guitar World

"For me, it’s perfect": PRS drops stunning new Private Stock John McLaughlin model

Limited to just 200 examples in 2023, McLaughlin's new signature guitar has one of the most stacked spec sheets we've seen all year, including a neck made of hormigo – a tonewood often used on marimbas

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