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The Latest Breaking News from Paul Reed Smith

“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

Before launching PRS, Smith had another plan, and some high-profile backers

Guitar World

“I knew the Silver Sky would take years to take its place in the world. And I say this cautiously, but it feels like it’s become pretty widely accepted”: How John Mayer and Paul Reed Smith made the Silver Sky

John Mayer talks GW through his acclaimed PRS Silver Sky, while its maker – Paul Reed Smith – reveals the science that went into the guitar’s development

Guitar World

“People don't know this. He loved it”: Jeff Beck secretly played a PRS at home – and the company is trying to get it back

Beck played Fenders, Gibsons, even Jacksons onstage – but he reportedly kept a PRS handy at home for recording

Guitar World

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“Right before we get on stage, Paul said, ‘I don't want to discourage you, but you’ve got 4,000 people in the crowd – and a worldwide stream’”: Meet Magnolia Boulevard, the soulful rockers personally backed by Paul Reed Smith

The PRS founder heard the Appalachian soul outfit at a dealer event and soon became their biggest champion, hooking them up with connections, guitars and custom amps

Guitar World

“We weren’t allowed to talk about it at Guitar Summit, but the signature everyone was asking about is now here”: All the guitar gear that has caught my eye this week – including the crown jewel of PRS’ 40th Anniversary year

Wylde Audio's most metal guitar ever, a new contender for Boss and Fender in the headphone amp space, and GNR bass tones in a pickup set. All that and more landed this week

Guitar World

“It’s less significant than your guitar strap being an inch higher or lower”: John Mayer on why fretboard radius doesn’t actually make that much of a difference

Before he developed his PRS Silver Sky signature guitar, Mayer didn't pay much attention to fretboard radius

Guitar World

“It was something we’d never seen the likes of”: The unexpected discovery in John Mayer’s iconic ’64 Fender Strat that helped shape the sound of the Silver Sky

It took more than 2 years to retool and redesign the classic S-type template – and PRS made a significant discovery along the way

Guitar World

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“The guitar is tragically, but beautifully intertwined with the impact a changing climate has on the livelihoods of people who live in rainforests”: PRS to auction off one-of-a-kind guitar made using woods salvaged from South American hurricane

100% of the proceeds will go to rainforest charity Cool Earth

Guitar World

“Carlos made a comment about the enormous quantities of mahogany trees that had blown down that were now being turned into mulch”: PRS uses wood felled in a Category 5 hurricane for the S2 Special Semi-Hollow Reclaimed

The S2 Special Semi-Hollow Reclaimed is a limited edition electric guitar like no other, literally, with each instrument unique, and it uses exotic tonewoods salvaged and lovingly repurposed

MusicRadar

“I’ve never met you, John, if you’re watching...” Paul Reed Smith invited Mike Dawes to meet John Mayer after his Slow Dancing cover went viral – but he never made the rendezvous

Dawes reimagined one of Mayer’s biggest hits, but he later missed the opportunity to meet the man himself

Guitar World

“Paul Reed Smith sent me two amazing guitars because I lost all but one of my PRSs. That’s been one of the upsides”: Larry LaLonde lost his home in the LA wildfires, but Primus' new drummer, and two new PRSs, are keeping him focused

As a player who always wanted to be weird, LaLonde is in the right band. Recent adventures include saving the guitar Alex Lifeson gave him from a wildfire, dealing with 7,000 drummer applications, and raiding a Guitar Center when Primus' gear got stuck in snow

Guitar World

“Each guitar includes a 40th-anniversary certificate hand-signed byPaul Reed Smith”: PRS swaps maple for mango to give its flagship Custom 24 an eye-popping satin nitro makeover

The Mango tops on the Custom 24 Satin are exquisite, but they’re only making 500 of ‘em

MusicRadar

“Back of headstock reveals:#1 Edward Van Halen Model”: Eddie Van Halen’s 1982 Kramer – also owned by Mick Mars – heads to the auction block. Is this the next multi-million dollar guitar?

Dressed up to look like Frankie, a precursor to the 5150, this transitional Kramer was stage-played by Eddie Van Halen and appeared on Mötley Crüe's Dr Feelgood

MusicRadar

“You could argue that the pickups are the most important thing. But in the end, there’s nothing more important on the guitar than this”: Paul Reed Smith on a guitar's most crucial feature – and how it dictates your tone

Forget pickups and the weight of a guitar – this is where tone really starts, according to Smith

Guitar World

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MusicRadar

“BB held one note for 12 bars… I set my guitar down, and I walked off the stage. That was the biggest musical lesson I’ve ever learned”: Zach Myers on Shinedown’s secret weapon, the limitations of shred, and that time he got schooled by BB King

Signing in from Shinedown's epic summer tour, Myers talks about the band's long-awaited studio album, the controversy over his relic'd Silver Sky and why Eric Bass is the band's ace in the hole

Guitar World

“If you listen to Summer Nights, the Van Halen tune, that’s a headless guitar. It sounded fantastic”: Could PRS ever make a headless guitar?

Strandberg, Ibanez and Schecter have all been flying the flag for headless designs – could PRS be next?

Guitar World

“He called me and said, ‘Paul! Paul! I need your help. Eddie’s coming up”: Paul Reed Smith on the time Kramer asked him to build a guitar for Eddie Van Halen

Smith was asked what he would have made if Van Halen had ever asked for a PRS guitar – but it turned out to be something of a trick question

Guitar World

“We have to ask: canthe electric guitar get any better?” With 40 years of groundbreaking luthierie behind it, the limited PRS Charcoal Phoenix is deserving of its mythical status

One of PRS Guitars’ 40th Anniversary special editions, limited to 150 units, this is the one Paul himself plays, and it’s perched at the summit of our wishlist

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Guitar World

“I didn’t know John had a pink one coming out, so it looked like John had given me a pink guitar and I’d relic’d it. People were mad”: Zach Myers’ heavy relic’d PRS John Mayer Silver Sky has given him so much grief he might burn it

Myers got the jump on PRS when he started playing a relic'd pink Silver Sky – before the official Roxy Pink version came out

Guitar World

“The wood buyers didn’t think we would be able to use it. I went, ‘Oh no, that's going to turn into a ridiculous color’”: PRS turned unwanted wood into some of its best guitar finishes – including the one found on Paul Reed Smith’s go-to guitar

Emerald Green and Charcoal – two of the firm’s most eye-popping offerings – were stumbled upon by accident

MusicRadar

“He talked to me about fly fishing for two hours and never mentioned a guitar”: Shinedown’s Zach Myers on the “genius” Paul Reed Smith, his forthcoming signature model – and THAT relic’d pink Silver Sky

Myers says he caught so much heat for his distressed hot pink John Mayer Silver Sky that he joked with his tech that he was going to torch it onstage

Guitar World

“They’re humbuckers but have an amazing, almost Dumble harmonic range”: Keith Urban offers first look at his Tele-inspired PRS signature model

Urban saw John Mayer with his Dead Spec Silver Sky and set about designing a guitar that he too could use for a whole set – and it has an f-hole shaped after his tattoo

Guitar World

“I said, ‘Ted, you can see inside the horn, it's got a maple cap.’ He goes, ‘Shut up’”: Paul Reed Smith says early Les Pauls were all Goldtops to hide a tonal breakthrough from Leo Fender

The PRS Guitars founder answers the million dollar question: why were all the early Gibson Les Pauls Goldtops?

Guitar World

“Steve Vai goes, ‘I’ve been thinking about this a long time. He’s a really good guitar player.’ That’s unusual’”: Paul Reed Smith on the time John Mayer was hailed by a shred hero – and why he found it strange

Smith recalls Vai singling out Mayer for praise – and reveals what Mayer’s songwriting background means for his overall guitar style

Guitar World

“We had a room full of Nashville session players, and they said, ‘Paul, if we don't use your guitars on the tracks, we get fired’”: Why Paul Reed Smith isn't interested in chasing Fender or Gibson – but is focused on cementing PRS in history

Smith reflects on his decades-long involvement in the guitar making space

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