“Al Di Meola would call Yamaha and other companies, and say, ‘I think you need to pay attention to what’s going on here’”: Paul Reed Smith remembers his attempts to build guitars for other brands before starting his own company

Paul Reed Smith in 2020.

Paul Reed Smith has opened up on the origins of PRS Guitars, admitting that initially, he wanted to build for other companies, rather than have his own business.

In a new conversation with Zak Kuhn, Smith asks his interviewer to “come out swinging,” and so Kuhn obliges. He hit the matter straight on: is it true he pitched a guitar to Kramer and that, originally, he was going to sell the PRS guitars to other manufacturers?