Paul is an amazing, humble, bright, and wonderful person. He is the embodiment of "The American Dream", hard work, effort, vision, and passion for the thing you love can make you rich. Not only rich in a financial sense, but rich with heritage, culture, workmanship, and building a legacy. Congrats PRS!
I love my PRS and am glad I got it! I put on extra thick strings, installed one more tremolo spring, and filed the nut. Then I adjusted EVERYTHING to my favorite specs using a technician kit. For me, it's perfect.
30 years ago a PRS was way beyond my reach. Now thanks to Pauls genius dedication to quality and making his guitars available for everyone I now have the guitar I dreamed of all those years ago.
Happy 30th Anniversary PRS Guitars. . Owner of Three PRS. ..Will continue to buy more, more..Thanks for the building the best-selling guitars in the world. .
This is the reason why i love PRS guitars and i've played 'em my entire "career". The sound. The Story. The proudness. Love ya PRS, happy 30th! I wish i could see another 30 years of this! My love for music goes through your soul which is the PRS guitars i own and I'm proud to be in the family!
Guitar making is the epitome of craftsmanship and creativity, there's so incredibly much that goes into it and it really seems like he's figured out the formula
Congratulations on 30 years. I celebrated 25 at the Experience, hope to see a special one for the 30th. My McCarty and 513 Swamp Ash are wonderful instruments that will always be with me. Thanks Paul!!
Every few years I still try to buy a PRS, I bought my first one in 96 a custom 22 . Identical to the one Paul is holding at the end of the video, apart from the pick ups, it developed an issue, and I had it in for a set up at the store I bought it from, the dealer seen it and said Paul would not like this, 16 weeks later I got a brand new custom 22 identical to the one I had except it was wired how I wanted it the 5 way was gone and they put a 3 way switch in and a pull pot and a wrap over bridge with saddles on it, Very rare guitar its still with me to this day, I have 4 other PRS's including one of the first 500 made of the amazing swamp ash specials with McCarty pick ups, I don't gig those 2 anymore they are both 18 years old now but look like they just walked out of the store. Thank you Paul for bringing a better concept and your never ending desire and passion to improve the instrument we spend years trying to master.
Congrats on the 30 year anniversary! Les Paul player all my life but recently became fascinated with the different sounds that the PRS Guitars are capable of. Mr. Smith is obviously a very cool guy which just makes me a bigger fan of his line of guitars.
Paul, Congrats on 30 years . It was great meeting you up at Mann's Guitar Vault in NH last summer. Thanks for all the innovations you and PRS Guitars have brought forth. I really enjoyed listening to your stories. It's a damn rare thing to see a millionaire offer to stop a seminar and offer to a customer's house to investigate an issue they are having with the product. I hope the next 30 years is even better.
I knew Paul from High school, he worked on some of my first guitars. I have owned over 20 PRS guitars now and really wish I kept my 1991 and 1992 Customs. Hes a great guy and I wished I had to gone to work with him, I look back and think it would have been a great career!
Congrats to your 30th anniversary. Paul is such a pleasant person, I have seen many interviews with him on youtube and it is always a pleasure to listen to him.
Great video of Paul then & now. I watched a very talented band from the front row. play last Saturday night in Sandy Springs, Ga. THE UNCLE MIKE BAND. They were excellent, played for over 2hours. Played a very wide & diverse range of Rock & Roll. And the leader of the Band (Mike) played the entire show with a beautiful burgundy flame maple Pau Reed Smith guitar. Turns out his wife had recently bought it for him. He could’ve had basically any guitar he wanted & he got a PRS. My goal is to get a Flame Burgundy SE Paul’s Guitar!
This is why I love PRS Guitars. Paul is one of the most inspiring people in the guitar world, and I've heard from Larry Brooks that Paul has always been doing the right thing
Congratulations! I've always enjoyed watching Paul's enthusiasm when he speaks of his craft and it's awesome to see the same level of excitement in his voice in the old footage.
Love the SE Paul’s Guitar so much, like butter and silk in my hands. Bought an SE Paul’s guitar just because I loved the way it looked on the wall of the shop not knowing a thing about electric guitars. Played acoustic in my twenties and now discovering electric in my sixties. The more I watch and listen the more I recognise the sheer genius of this man. Drooled over the Core Paul’s guitar for months then took the plunge and tried to find one here in Australia. Not a single one to be had in the McCarty Sunburst and to order one would I was told take more than a year to be delivered. The only one I could find in amongst all the suppliers listed on the PRS website was Sweetwater (another awesome firm, thanks Randy) who had just the one but as fate would have it they don’t ship PRS to Australia. Against the odds a friend in Indiana agreed to buy it for me. Now I just hope he doesn’t fall in love with it and decide to keep it. Hard to imagine the SE could be improved on but with luck time will tell.....master of the craft. Watch BB King play ‘Thrill is Gone’ along with Eric Clapton and do my best to play along. A PRS would have sounded pretty good in that mix of what look like Fender Stratocasters and BB King’s Gibson Les Paul.
My core model Custom 24 is by far my favorite guitar. The one thing I love about it is that I can play the same guitar for an entire show. Sounds amazing as rhythm and sounds very imposing when I use it for lead.
in 2009 I bought a new SE SC trem, amazed at how at that price point the quality was so good. I now own a 2013 513 w/10 top, just a stunning looking guitar, does everything from heavy rock to gentle twangy stuff, and is so comfortable to play. I had the good fortune of going to a PRS clinic and meeting Paul, such a knowledgeable, funny and passionate guy. He signed my guitar too. Makes all other guitar makes pale in comparison. I so wish I could work there too.
Happy 30th (pearl) Anniversary Paul! Even though I'm a drummer/percussionist I've always enjoyed your fine instruments. Plus two of my favorite groups, (fates warning & porcupine tree) utilize your products. See you next month in Chicago!
A great interview, both past and present. I think I heard from someone that Paul may have been from Bowie back in those early days when that first interview was recorded. That old video sure looks like the upstairs room in a Bowie Cape Cod. I also lived in Bowie back then, on Pennant Lane in Pointer Ridge during the 1980s and I bought and sold used electric guitars about that time. It's obvious from this video that Paul had his stuff together even back then.... and the rest, as they say, is history.
My PRS and I... It was love at first sight! Proud owner of a PRS for over 20 years. I want to keep it forever. It has brought me so much joy. However, the years have taken their toll on the instrument... I need to get it back into shape; I live in Paris France, can anyone here (France) rejuvinate her?
I'm a proud owner of 10 Gibsons and I plan to own many more but let me say this.. I owned a 2014 PRS S2 SC250 that blew my socks off! Unfortunately I sold it about a year back. I'm very eager to start a good size collection of PRS Core models and another S2 SC. You can own both brands and love both. Who know?! Haha Paul is an awesome builder and innovator in the guitar industry!
I'm going to be buying a 30th faded whale blue CU24 with pattern neck and 58/15 pups. To honor a company made in my home state of Maryland PRS guitars! I wish it was in stock and I didn't have to order it though :(
Oscar Ortega no but that's when they closed the Kalamazoo plant and moved everything to Nashville. Norlin owned Gibson at that point and were the reason Gibson wasn't doing well. Once they were sold things turned around.
I've had a lot of respect for PRS but never gave them much thought until recently. I did for a short time own a 1st year S2 Custom 24 that I actually really liked but did not play much as I played more metal with Floyd Rose equipped guitars in that time (still do). But now, in my 40s I feel the need for a more "sophisticated" guitar and definitely considering getting a pair of PRSs to tour with as I feel like my "metal" guitars don't suit me anymore with my expanded experience and more diverse musical taste.
What guitar is PRS holding there in the '14 interview? From the looks of the pickups it seems to be Paul's guitar but I haven't seen that paintjob before(!) - is it available in Pattern Thin?
I could be wrong but seeing as faded whale blue is one of my favorite colors, I'm going to say it is whale blue(not faded). I could be wrong. As to what guitar I think it's Paul's guitar.
I had a CE22, and an EG22. I'm so depressed everyday that I don't have the guitars anymore. Went thru a divorce and was completely broke. So sad. If I could just have the ce back for one night I would be so happy.
Paul is kind of character. He got humour too 😂AS for me, I own a PRS Custom 24 USA from 1998. Greatest gear I can imagine. And I would not no sell it for any Fortune. Never 🎸😂
My guitar-harem includes: a Gibson Les Paul Custom, Gibson SG-Z, Fender Billy Corgan Strat, Fender Mustang '69, Ibanez Prestige 1077XL 7string, ... but... *my N°1 axe = my PRS* I'm from Belgium & I bought that gem when I was in San Diego (in 1997) - secondhand - in a Gibsonstore, of all places ;) I wish I knew more about the history of my guitar, though... What year it was made, who owned it before me, and such... In my humble opinion; PRS is thé best EVER!!! CHEERZZ & WUVS :D
So, as I understand it, Paul’s problem with electric guitars made by the big companies like Gibson and Fender was more about quality rather than design, especially body shapes because he sort of copied them and was actually sued for doing so. I think when you pay a couple thousand for a guitar it should be PERFECT. And guaranteed to STAY PERFECT or the company will either fix it or refund the purchase price. The idea of buying something and then having to bring it to a specialist for set up and adjustment is ridiculous.
Paul you doing good and beauty guitars, but please stop being so greedy! 4000$ for guitar? Holy shit man...reduce that price twice. If you make price at 2000 you will kill both gibson and fender.
Would you actually make the EFFORT TO MAKE MODELS EASY ACCESSIBLE FOR LEFT HANDED PLAYERS , to purchase easier from PRS OFFICIAL STOCKIST'S here in the UNITED KINGDOM PLEASE ,,, IF YOU ACTUALLY GIVE CARE ...., We lefties are continually discriminated against ,
I'm a proud PRS owner, the more a learn about the company and Paul Reed Smith himself, the more respect I have for him and the company
Paul is an amazing, humble, bright, and wonderful person. He is the embodiment of "The American Dream", hard work, effort, vision, and passion for the thing you love can make you rich. Not only rich in a financial sense, but rich with heritage, culture, workmanship, and building a legacy. Congrats PRS!
Paul is great, and he is many things, but humble is not one of them.
@Joe Palladino He deserves to be proud!
Well seeing as I was born 30 years ago and it is PRS's 30th anniversary I will get myself a PRS :).
That is the perfect excuse, you get a new guitar like clockwork every 5 years!
@The House that Jack Built What? lol
My Mentor , Guru and inspriration as a Luthier for the past 40 years
I love my PRS and am glad I got it! I put on extra thick strings, installed one more tremolo spring, and filed the nut. Then I adjusted EVERYTHING to my favorite specs using a technician kit. For me, it's perfect.
30 years ago a PRS was way beyond my reach. Now thanks to Pauls genius dedication to quality and making his guitars available for everyone I now have the guitar I dreamed of all those years ago.
Happy 30th Anniversary PRS Guitars. .
Owner of Three PRS. ..Will continue to buy more, more..Thanks for the building the best-selling guitars in the world. .
POLICE POLICE! HERE IS BANK ROBBER.
Paul outdid himself with the McCarty 594. The best I’ve ever played and I can’t imagine a better guitar. Flawless in every way.
This is the reason why i love PRS guitars and i've played 'em my entire "career". The sound. The Story. The proudness. Love ya PRS, happy 30th! I wish i could see another 30 years of this! My love for music goes through your soul which is the PRS guitars i own and I'm proud to be in the family!
Guitar making is the epitome of craftsmanship and creativity, there's so incredibly much that goes into it and it really seems like he's figured out the formula
Congratulations on 30 years. I celebrated 25 at the Experience, hope to see a special one for the 30th. My McCarty and 513 Swamp Ash are wonderful instruments that will always be with me. Thanks Paul!!
Every few years I still try to buy a PRS, I bought my first one in 96 a custom 22 . Identical to the one Paul is holding at the end of the video, apart from the pick ups, it developed an issue, and I had it in for a set up at the store I bought it from, the dealer seen it and said Paul would not like this, 16 weeks later I got a brand new custom 22 identical to the one I had except it was wired how I wanted it the 5 way was gone and they put a 3 way switch in and a pull pot and a wrap over bridge with saddles on it, Very rare guitar its still with me to this day, I have 4 other PRS's including one of the first 500 made of the amazing swamp ash specials with McCarty pick ups, I don't gig those 2 anymore they are both 18 years old now but look like they just walked out of the store. Thank you Paul for bringing a better concept and your never ending desire and passion to improve the instrument we spend years trying to master.
How can you not like PRS! Happy Anniversary!
I've been in that shop! I walked in late summer of 1984 and got to play one for a couple of minutes. I didn't buy a PRS of my own until 1994 though.
Proud owner of a private stock and a custom 24. Amazing instruments.
A big CONGRATS from Germany and Switzerland. As a proud owner of an ME II, a CE22, two 20th Anniv Std24 and a 25th Anniv Mira245, I salute you!
I got a SE, which led to a S2, which led to a Core. Paul Reed Smith makes a fantastic guitar.
Congrats on the 30 year anniversary! Les Paul player all my life but recently became fascinated with the different sounds that the PRS Guitars are capable of. Mr. Smith is obviously a very cool guy which just makes me a bigger fan of his line of guitars.
Paul, Congrats on 30 years .
It was great meeting you up at Mann's Guitar Vault in NH last summer. Thanks for all the innovations you and PRS Guitars have brought forth. I really enjoyed listening to your stories.
It's a damn rare thing to see a millionaire offer to stop a seminar and offer to a customer's house to investigate an issue they are having with the product.
I hope the next 30 years is even better.
I knew Paul from High school, he worked on some of my first guitars. I have owned over 20 PRS guitars now and really wish I kept my 1991 and 1992 Customs. Hes a great guy and I wished I had to gone to work with him, I look back and think it would have been a great career!
Congrats to your 30th anniversary. Paul is such a pleasant person, I have seen many interviews with him on youtube and it is always a pleasure to listen to him.
Congratulations PRS! Passion and dedication to making great guitars. Wish I could like this multiple times!
Great video of Paul then & now. I watched a very talented band from the front row.
play last Saturday night in Sandy Springs, Ga.
THE UNCLE MIKE BAND. They were excellent, played for over 2hours. Played a very wide & diverse range of Rock & Roll.
And the leader of the Band (Mike) played the entire show with a beautiful burgundy flame maple Pau Reed Smith guitar.
Turns out his wife had recently bought it for him. He could’ve had basically any guitar he wanted & he got a PRS.
My goal is to get a Flame Burgundy SE Paul’s Guitar!
PRS is the best!!! congrats Paul
This is why I love PRS Guitars. Paul is one of the most inspiring people in the guitar world, and I've heard from Larry Brooks that Paul has always been doing the right thing
Congratulations! I've always enjoyed watching Paul's enthusiasm when he speaks of his craft and it's awesome to see the same level of excitement in his voice in the old footage.
Love the SE Paul’s Guitar so much, like butter and silk in my hands. Bought an SE Paul’s guitar just because I loved the way it looked on the wall of the shop not knowing a thing about electric guitars. Played acoustic in my twenties and now discovering electric in my sixties. The more I watch and listen the more I recognise the sheer genius of this man. Drooled over the Core Paul’s guitar for months then took the plunge and tried to find one here in Australia. Not a single one to be had in the McCarty Sunburst and to order one would I was told take more than a year to be delivered. The only one I could find in amongst all the suppliers listed on the PRS website was Sweetwater (another awesome firm, thanks Randy) who had just the one but as fate would have it they don’t ship PRS to Australia. Against the odds a friend in Indiana agreed to buy it for me. Now I just hope he doesn’t fall in love with it and decide to keep it. Hard to imagine the SE could be improved on but with luck time will tell.....master of the craft. Watch BB King play ‘Thrill is Gone’ along with Eric Clapton and do my best to play along. A PRS would have sounded pretty good in that mix of what look like Fender Stratocasters and BB King’s Gibson Les Paul.
My core model Custom 24 is by far my favorite guitar. The one thing I love about it is that I can play the same guitar for an entire show. Sounds amazing as rhythm and sounds very imposing when I use it for lead.
in 2009 I bought a new SE SC trem, amazed at how at that price point the quality was so good. I now own a 2013 513 w/10 top, just a stunning looking guitar, does everything from heavy rock to gentle twangy stuff, and is so comfortable to play. I had the good fortune of going to a PRS clinic and meeting Paul, such a knowledgeable, funny and passionate guy. He signed my guitar too. Makes all other guitar makes pale in comparison. I so wish I could work there too.
Congrats! Wonderful Guitar! Proud to own one. Paul is a great Man! Very Happy for him and the company!
I love this , paul is a hero and put everyone on point to start to make good guitars
Happy 30th (pearl) Anniversary Paul!
Even though I'm a drummer/percussionist
I've always enjoyed your fine instruments.
Plus two of my favorite groups, (fates warning & porcupine tree) utilize your
products. See you next month in Chicago!
Congratulations on the 30th anniversary.
Congratulations all! What an achievement.
Happy 30th to PRS!
Big congrats Paul.
A great interview, both past and present. I think I heard from someone that Paul may have been from Bowie back in those early days when that first interview was recorded. That old video sure looks like the upstairs room in a Bowie Cape Cod. I also lived in Bowie back then, on Pennant Lane in Pointer Ridge during the 1980s and I bought and sold used electric guitars about that time. It's obvious from this video that Paul had his stuff together even back then.... and the rest, as they say, is history.
Thanks Paul.
My PRS and I... It was love at first sight! Proud owner of a PRS for over 20 years. I want to keep it forever. It has brought me so much joy. However, the years have taken their toll on the instrument... I need to get it back into shape; I live in Paris France, can anyone here (France) rejuvinate her?
Felicidades PRS GUITARS por 30 años de fabricar las mejores guitarras y por hacer la mia también...PRS SANTANA 25TH.
Congratulations Paul!
I'm a proud owner of 10 Gibsons and I plan to own many more but let me say this..
I owned a 2014 PRS S2 SC250 that blew my socks off! Unfortunately I sold it about a year back. I'm very eager to start a good size collection of PRS Core models and another S2 SC. You can own both brands and love both. Who know?! Haha
Paul is an awesome builder and innovator in the guitar industry!
I'm going to be buying a 30th faded whale blue CU24 with pattern neck and 58/15 pups. To honor a company made in my home state of Maryland PRS guitars!
I wish it was in stock and I didn't have to order it though :(
Inspiring.
I own quite a few Guitars....... I love my PRS. Intonation and tuning on the PRS well exceeds any guitars I own I have a Custon 22 Semi Hollow.....
I made my first distortion pedal, circuit board in acide and all
@11:37 Paul states that "Gibson isn't doing very well". Has gibson been on the decline since 1985???
Oscar Ortega no but that's when they closed the Kalamazoo plant and moved everything to Nashville. Norlin owned Gibson at that point and were the reason Gibson wasn't doing well. Once they were sold things turned around.
How old are you and where were you in the 90s?
Was the Custom 26 in the old videos a one off, or did he make a run of them?
I've had a lot of respect for PRS but never gave them much thought until recently. I did for a short time own a 1st year S2 Custom 24 that I actually really liked but did not play much as I played more metal with Floyd Rose equipped guitars in that time (still do). But now, in my 40s I feel the need for a more "sophisticated" guitar and definitely considering getting a pair of PRSs to tour with as I feel like my "metal" guitars don't suit me anymore with my expanded experience and more diverse musical taste.
I enjoyed this
man's a goddamn genius. and a sweetheart.
I want a custom 24 so badly!
PRS's have always been my absolute favorite guitars by far, just can't afford one!
mustangtech331 Layaway is your friend.
mustangtech331 Ever tried out an SE series PRS?
Nice glassbottles on your head Paul :-) Amazing guitars
It is! I have it and its hilarious!
When the cure is glasses then it's okay to tease, harden up cupcake.
the most perfectly guitars!
I'll play these guitars until the day I die. Other designs just don't do it for me. PRS has always been my rock. Thank you, Paul.
I didn't know Kenny G started PRS guitars ;D
What guitar is PRS holding there in the '14 interview? From the looks of the pickups it seems to be Paul's guitar but I haven't seen that paintjob before(!) - is it available in Pattern Thin?
I could be wrong but seeing as faded whale blue is one of my favorite colors, I'm going to say it is whale blue(not faded). I could be wrong. As to what guitar I think it's Paul's guitar.
I had a CE22, and an EG22. I'm so depressed everyday that I don't have the guitars anymore. Went thru a divorce and was completely broke. So sad. If I could just have the ce back for one night I would be so happy.
Paul is kind of character. He got humour too 😂AS for me, I own a PRS Custom 24 USA from 1998. Greatest gear I can imagine. And I would not no sell it for any Fortune. Never 🎸😂
AWESOME !!!!!!😁🎈😁🎈😁🎈😁🎈😁🎈😁🎈😁🎈😁🎈😁🎈😁
I love pauls vision...like a 911, the contours, color and feel may be tweeked, but the basic and classy shape remains
Who else has a PRS with a "sweet switch"?
My guitar-harem includes:
a Gibson Les Paul Custom, Gibson SG-Z, Fender Billy Corgan Strat, Fender Mustang '69, Ibanez Prestige 1077XL 7string, ...
but... *my N°1 axe = my PRS*
I'm from Belgium & I bought that gem when I was in San Diego (in 1997) - secondhand - in a Gibsonstore, of all places ;)
I wish I knew more about the history of my guitar, though... What year it was made, who owned it before me, and such...
In my humble opinion; PRS is thé best EVER!!!
CHEERZZ & WUVS :D
18:12
why did 80s paul leave megadeth?
So, as I understand it, Paul’s problem with electric guitars made by the big companies like Gibson and Fender was more about quality rather than design, especially body shapes because he sort of copied them and was actually sued for doing so. I think when you pay a couple thousand for a guitar it should be PERFECT. And guaranteed to STAY PERFECT or the company will either fix it or refund the purchase price. The idea of buying something and then having to bring it to a specialist for set up and adjustment is ridiculous.
It's called intuition Paul.😂
I have had gibsons and fender, which alwYs have a detail or problem of some kind. My prs guitars are a lot better made.
BRIAN FUCKING MAY. DADDY PLEASE.
Paul you doing good and beauty guitars, but please stop being so greedy! 4000$ for guitar? Holy shit man...reduce that price twice.
If you make price at 2000 you will kill both gibson and fender.
The guitar bodies are still too thin! If you made em a little thicker, they would sound fuller.
You don't talk much about potentiometers which I believe to be as important to the sound of the guitar as pickups.
i understand the pressure to keep revenues up but i wish paul wouldn't have done the SE or S2. It cheapens the name imo
Would you actually make the EFFORT TO MAKE MODELS EASY ACCESSIBLE FOR LEFT HANDED PLAYERS , to purchase easier from PRS OFFICIAL STOCKIST'S here in the UNITED KINGDOM PLEASE ,,, IF YOU ACTUALLY GIVE CARE ...., We lefties are continually discriminated against ,