Thanks to Mark for keeping this segment alive. I think these videos show the world that PRS isnt just a big company making products, but a group of people we can know by name and role and see their appreciation for their jobs and its history.
Paul and his history is not appreciated as much as think it should be, as much he should be... For a regular guy to have built his company to the level it is , to me , is just amazing... So much respect for Paul Smith, so much
I love how Paul always appreciates from where he has come and the memories that he and his father forged while creating something he loves so dearly. So many large companies seem to forget about where they have come from and only focus on the sales margins but Paul seems very grounded in what he has learned from his early days at PRS and uses that knowledge to always innovate and to never become satisfied with the quality of his Guitars. He seems so driven to never stop improving and that is what I love about him. He is the Steve Jobs of guitar making indeed. Thank you for being you Paul and never listening to the naysayers, even to this day. ( And yes I also believe tone wood does make a difference ) :)
Once again, the more I learn from these videos on the history of PRS guitars, I see how I, myself, and other guitarists value this beautiful instrument. Paul, you are a genius and lifesaver. Thank you
@alexdenton6586 yeah, exactly... that's the small part... the bigger picture, when I was 15 my 1st guitar was a Harmony guitar out of a Sears catalog. I wore the enamel off of the fretboard. I learned on crap and was grateful. Then I went to my local Guitar Center and just picked up and played. Probably every guitar on the wall. Only one guitar felt and resonated with passion to me... but.. OMG the price... come on... I was then 16. Cut to the chase, I've always dreamed of owning a PRS. Now 53 and I own two of them. Still, nothing feels or sounds like this masterpiece. Don't get me wrong, I own other brands and love them too, but, PRS gave me drive to PRACTICE. Kept me out of the bad shit that happens in not so good neighborhoods. Bro, Alex.... Lifesaver indeed.
Wow! These are history lessons in the creation of some of the nicest instruments ever built! Simply incredible! It's great to hear Paul's stories and about what inspires him. PRS is a human story as much as a musical instrument company. Paul you are a legend!
I have a 1990 Custom 24, and I have the epoxy around the bird inlays. I was a bit surprised to see it when I first got the guitar, especially when comparing to some of the later models. I thought maybe someone was having a bad day at the factory. (Though not THAT surprised, in truth… we used to do the exact same thing occasionally when I worked in M.V.Pedulla’s wood shop. Though his inlays at the time were less ambitious, there were occasional gaps, and we had cans of both rosewood and ebony dust to add to the epoxy when we set the inlays and fret markers on the fretless basses.) I’m happy to know the full story now.
This is what it looks like to spend your whole life perfecting your craft and passion. I've saved up for a used SE in my youth, now playing a used S2 and saving up for potentially my end game guitar. Either a wood library custom 24 or piezo 24. I have no doubt in my mind that it's going to be the best guitar I'll ever own because of all the thought and heart that went into its conception. I strive to hone my own craft and one day be recognised as the mad man that pushed it so far that people couldn't get used to how perfect it is until they get to know it better.
"... has a chance of being magic when it's done." Paul your thoughts and words hold treasures beyond even what may be locked up in that safe. Thanks for all the beautiful creations and music that springs out of them and your customers. Warm regards from Montreal.
This is just SO good! I could watch it for hours. Amazing to still have his Dad's radar printout too. Now I wish I'd asked him about his Dad's work more when I was over in January
I remember painting the bird jig with graphite paint and routing them out with a dremel. I must have done 1000 that way. The good old days. Thanks for doing this series!
So cool. You look at the state & size of PRS today and forget that this all started with Paul and a small team with some ideas about how to improve the guitar. There it is -- the proof right on paper. I agree with Paul, this stuff is way better printed out and held in your hands.
Very cool, thank you for sharing. The paper plans and plan steps with his dad should all be framed. Idea, maybe make copies and have them Laminated on boards. Could give to factories, dealers, possibly sell to us PRS customers! Love the history and stories. Thank you for sharing Mr. Smith, Cheers from Canada
I really like the episodes when you go through the archives. Please, keep them coming. It would be a lit idea to have a AMA hosted on the forum and answered here. We have a great bunch of guys on the PRS forum, and there's only one guy missing ;)
I really admire Paul. With all he does, he made it almost impossible that things that happened to some other companies happen to PRS as well. Like Gibson chasing its own production methods from 50's. Like fact that Pulsonic cone factory burned out, and they could never make the Pulsonic cone again. Plus this what they are doing now is crucial work. They are making history. In the future, this will be like a documentary of how magic was done now. From other huge companies, all we have are a few small videos. Here, we are getting stuff documented in way more details. Plus, it documents a stride to always improve more and more. At PRS clinic in the Netherlands, I have asked way too many questions. Sorry, Paul. But for me, it would be a dream to spend a week or two talking about a thousand things that are related to tone, starting from the sourcing wood to what we hear from the speakers. We do play guitars, but actually, we are playing the whole chain. Our tone starts from the fingers, but it involves every little thing in the chain. Everything matters. From materials and shapes to cables used. Tone depends on amplifiers and pedals and plectrum. Everything. All the masters of their products can do is maje something that doesn't retract much from the original source. What's not lost is at the end what we hear. Guitar can be perfect, but if your amplifier is bad, you will never hear stuff it is capable of. Your guitar cable can kill the tone. Even internal cables in the guitar can kill the tone. I would love to see that 21-point list. I think I would be able to guess a few of them. Awesome videos. Please keep it coming. If not for us, then for the future generations.
Top level guitars that stay in tune and are the music. I have been lucky enough to have been playing these since 1993 and still reach for my favorite a 2014 Artist CU-22 with an ebony fretboard that is my SG on steroids. The 10 cores, and the 6 SE's, that I have owned were all consistently special. There are a half dozen I would buy back from my horse trading days 2005-2012.Looking back I was too loosey goosey on 4 of them that were magic. (Especially the two Quatro's I stupidly sold). Still, the 3 I have retained are music. That's why I use them after 50 years of daily playing, performing and recording. Quality production, ingenuity and wood procurement and aging.... amaze us all Paul.
I’m very fascinated, it’s just amazing how much his family has done and still doing, we need this history. Never knew his dad did things like that, it’s just something that is fascinating, I see why Paul is so involved and loves what he does. Just do things proper and break grounds, and they know what works but are not scared to do something new. I have a guitar that I love, and prs has always been that guitar that was similar, but was better. I still wish they released that guitar again it was an sig guitar I think. I went to buy it next day and it was sold. It was set up pretty low, like b or c standard, but played like butter. That’s the one that got away for me, a lot of prs are nice, but miss that one, was like 700 used, I’m sure more new, I’d buy it in a heart beat.
In the end. The secrets of tone, otherwise known as, it's not just the wood that makes a guitar rules, are in that safe. Tone wood is ONE part of the overall equation, and is merely a discussion around cellular cohesion, shape, and density of wood composition. Paul's bent for engineering clearly comes from his fathers genetics. I love to see the details that only confirm for me the attention to detail that embodies the company.
For the last 25 years I've had two main squeezes: Taylor and PRS. Come to think of it I've done gigs in Annapolis with it so that's kind of salmon like. And wouldn't blue crabs make a great inlay?! Humm. Somebody's probably done a one off custom with that idea by now.
I love my PRSs but it always hits me a bit when he talks about the Rules of Tone. There is no other guitar on the planet which polarizes people so much where so many people say it sounds sterile and lifeless while others love the tone. I personally love my PRSs for their playability, steadiness and build quality. But have to say sound wise I love my boat anchor Les Pauls better. I think many people feel like that. Maybe some of us love imperfection while a PRS is sound perfection.
Got a set of glasses with a Grey Goose Vodka purchase. A goose is etched on each glass. I was thinking I could sell them on Reverb as PRS Signature Whiskey Glasses 🥃 😂❤🎸
haha, he says amazing, a true yes man. 14:47 when in fact what were looking at is a revision of the fender Stratocaster bridge, nothing new just revisions, right from the start it was either a Gibson revision or a fender Stratocaster revision, in some other videos he'll (prs)actually be honest about it & tell the watching public that's what it was but these days we sit in amazement of the originality of it all, a brilliant thinker to come up with these original ideas.& on and on we go, until the next brilliant original thinker makes their revisions. originality was lost long long ago, occasionally we cross paths with a new idea but its pretty rare these days. not to take anything from the man, at least he did it, its not easy, making it all work & having it endure is another ball game!
Anyone know if there’s a retail store at the factory? I’m going to be that way on vacation and can’t find any conclusive answers. I looked into a tour and they’re 6 months out so I can’t do that 😢
Yes there is a store at the factory where you can buy T shirts, hats, mugs, guitar straps, strings, parts and accessories like guitar straps, pickup rings, pickups. I don’t know if it’s open every day
Hi @mikes062, Thanks for reaching out. We do have a small store and museum room located in the lobby area of our Stevensville, MD factory. You can find PRS apparel, parts, and accessories for purchase there, but we don't sell guitars direct. The store also features a selection of guitars from the PRS archives for you to see up close and a broad line up of our current offerings that you can actually play! Our store hours are Monday - Friday, 9:00am to 3:00pm. Hope this helps! - PRS Customer Service Team
@@prsguitars awesome! Thanks so much! I’m not looking for a guitar right now anyway but wanted to check things out if I can! I appreciate you letting me know! 🤘🏼
One of the closest PRS dealers to the factory is Bay Tunes Guitars in Edgewater, MD. They have a gorgeous selection of PRS's and are great guys to deal with. Check 'em out!
A bit off topic, but if memory serves me right, I seem to remember seeing PRS adverts in the UK around the late 80s and the flagship model being advertised was a quilted maple top (as opposed to a flame) and the colour was a kind of yellow. I remember it being more of a banana yellow rather than an amber colour, but my memory could be fooling me. Anyone remember what is was and does PRS still use this colour?
What if he just pulled out an antique Maxim machine gun and a couple of 1928 Thompsons. “Let’s just get these out of the way… Anyways, then there are these old neck profile templates”
Seminal patent Seminal - strongly influencing later developments Patent - government authority or licence conferring a right or title for a set period, especially the sole right to exclude others from making, using, or selling an invention.
@@waynegram8907 I'd say he meant it's seminal because it's the foundation that influenced their gen2 and gen3 trems. But you can interpret it any way you like.
I traced a prs onto a piece of cardboard, cut it out and taped some pickups to the cardboard cutout. I was astonished when it sounded the same as the actual guitar. I wonder what this means, Paul????
"How DARE you want a physical print-out of the thing you spent years developing and only cost us some paper and a click of the PRINT button! As if computers aren't 100% reliable and eternal!" Uh... yeah. Go ahead and make a coupe of copies, too, while you're at it.
Paul-As a safetech for a living, THAT safe is not that great! The fire rating or security is pretty poor. I'd also recommend you look @ fire ratings and what happens with paper in them,.you will not like the outcome! The fire rating materials release moisture and steam= ruined paperwork
