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Tag: PRS

  • How Paul Reed Smith’s Mom Had an Obsession that Led to an Iconic Guitar Look

    How Paul Reed Smith’s Mom Had an Obsession that Led to an Iconic Guitar Look

    I have a confession to make: I love the birds.

    This can be a bit of a polarizing statement, I realize. Some people absolutely love the birds, while others hate them. But I think I’m in good company. John Mayer seems to be in the former camp, as does Mark Tremonti. Even Carlos Santana has jumped on the “birds” bandwagon.

    But whoever designed my “unicorn” guitar, the Vela, seems to prefer dots.

    I’m talking, of course, about the now-famous birds on PRS guitars — specifically, the bird inlays that are found on many of the guitars they sell.

    A brief recap of fretboard inlays

    I’ve written about guitar inlays before, but the gist of it is these are the markers on the guitar’s neck that help orient the player to where he or she is on the fretboard. To put it simply, inlay markers tell you what note you’re playing.

    Historically, while there have been ornate fretboard inlays for decoration purposes for centuries, functional markers have almost always been simple dots, rectangles, or trapezoids, with very few exceptions.

    But then a guitar maker named Paul Reed Smith came along and shook things up.

    Paul Reed Smith, luthier and…bird watcher?

    Paul Reed Smith was much more successful at 20 years old than I was. (For that matter, he was more successful at 20 than I am now.) The young luthier had built a number of guitars but now, in 1976, he had just managed to secure one of his first major contracts: building a guitar for Peter Frampton.

    “When it came time to put inlays on the fretboard,” Paul said, “I didn’t even have to think about it, I just went down to the store, bought a bird guide, and started designing inlays.”

    A close-up of a PRS guitar’s bird inlays.
    A close-up of a PRS guitar’s bird inlays.

    If you’ve ever seen an interview of Paul, you know that he’s a bit of a weird guy. (I’m not saying that’s a bad thing, by the way.) He can be very picky and esoteric about the methods, designs, and materials he uses for his guitars, having amassed a vast amount of knowledge and experience after decades in the business.

    But why were birds an obvious choice for Paul for inlay markers, right from the start?

    The answer is that Paul’s mom was an avid bird watcher. In fact, she would often take young Paul and his siblings out with her to bird watch. Being somewhat close to Washington, D.C., she would even take the family to the Smithsonian from time to time to view bird exhibits.

    Birds and bird watching were a regular part of Paul’s family’s life, so when it came time to design inlays for his guitars, using an avian theme was a natural choice. And he worked with a small team to come up with a bird theme that really worked well artistically on the fretboard.

    Bird inlays on a PRS SE Custom 24 guitar.
    My PRS SE Custom 24 with bird inlays.

    Paul continued to utilize his bird inlays after Frampton’s guitar but assumed they would not be a popular feature. He expected about 25 percent of his customers to prefer the birds, but that isn’t what ended up happening. Instead, the bird inlays became an iconic part of PRS’s look and have been featured on a majority of the models over the years.

    What kind of birds are they, anyway?

    And by the way, in case you were wondering, the inlays on PRS guitars are illustrations of actual birds. Starting from the top of the neck, they are (with fret number in parentheses):

    • A Peregrin Falcon (3)
    • A Marsh Hawk (5)
    • A Ruby-Throated Hummingbird (7)
    • A Common Tern (9)
    • A Cooper’s Hawk (12)
    • A Kite (15)
    • A Sparrow (17)
    • A Storm Petrel (19)
    • A Hawk (21)
    • A Screech Owl sitting on a branch (24)

    Love them or hate them, it’s hard to imagine PRS guitars without thinking about birds. I’m a big fan, as I think they add class and grace, making the brand’s guitars look even better.

    You can learn more about the backstory of the bird inlay on PRS’s website.

  • The Time Paul Reed Smith Built Santana a Guitar and Changed Rock History

    The Time Paul Reed Smith Built Santana a Guitar and Changed Rock History

    Long before PRS guitars became the mainstream brand that it is today, Paul Reed Smith was just another luthier, living in the Baltimore area, and hoping for his big break.

    Carlos Santana, on the other hand, was a guitar god and household name with exacting demands on his band, his crew, and his guitars.

    When the two met, history was made. But it wasn’t easy.

    Paul Reed Smith, small-time luthier

    In the 1970s, Paul had honed his craft, making his guitars by hand and selling them to musicians. He made a deal with each artist he built a guitar for: if they didn’t absolutely fall in love with the guitar, they didn’t have to buy it. He was so good, however, that this was seldom if ever an issue.

    By this time, he had built custom guitars for clients such as Al DiMeola, Ted Nugent, and Howard Leese. While these were certainly talented musicians, the luthier he needed more star power to really grow his business.

    Paul Reed Smith playing a Paul Reed Smith.
    Paul Reed Smith playing a Paul Reed Smith (Photo by chascar, CC BY 2.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0>, via Wikimedia Commons)

    Around that time he found out that Carlos Santana, one of the biggest acts of the ’70s, was playing a show near Baltimore. Paul went to work.

    Carlos Santana, big-time rock star

    He built Santana a custom guitar, went to the show, and gave it to one of the crew members to take to the rock star. A few minutes passed, and the crew member came back to take Paul to the guitarist.

    Carlos was playing the guitar backstage and seemingly loved it. He ordered a custom electric with curly maple top on the spot, but he wanted to play the guitar Paul brought in the show that night to verify it could handle the stage.

    At the concert, Santana strapped Paul’s guitar on and began to play. After just a few notes, however, he ripped off the guitar in disgust and performed the rest of the song with another instrument.

    After the show, Santana complained to Paul Reed Smith that his guitar didn’t sound good through the live rig and told him, “The deal’s off.” Paul begged and pleaded Santana to give him another chance, blaming the pickup in the guitar for the issue. Reluctantly, Santana agreed.

    “An accident of God”

    Rather than build Carlos a new guitar, however, Smith called Howard Leese (from the band Heart) and asked if he would lend Santana his guitar. Howard said yes, and the guitar went off to Santana.

    Paul called Santana’s tech a few days later and discovered that the guitarist loved the guitar and wanted to keep it. He tried to explain that the guitar was borrowed, but to no avail. Carlos came to the phone and informed Paul that he would give the first guitar back, but not this one — it was too good.

    Paul later stated he told him, “This was an accident of God; we’re done…except I need a spare. Maybe one with a tone control knob.”

    Santana playing a PRS guitar.
    Santana playing a PRS guitar. (Photo by Magikman6386, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons)

    When the new guitar was finished, he brought it to Carlos’s show. His tech gave it to Carlos during sound check. He could not tell that this was a new guitar until he looked down and say the new tone knob — it felt and played identically to like the first one. “Another accident of God,” he said. And then he proceeded to order another new guitar.

    Paul Reed Smith: bonafide guitar maker

    He subsequently ordered several more guitars from Paul, and after the fifth one, he finally told Paul, “Okay, you’re a guitar maker.”

    Paul Reed Smith earned Santana’s respect the old-fashioned way — with lots of hard work and superb quality. That respect paid dividends to both men. Santana received upper-echelon-quality guitars, and PRS found its superstar.

    Paul and Carlos became friends and supporters of each other after that. Santana played PRS guitars from the late 1970s onward, while Paul launched his now-famous company.

    The PRS Santana signature guitar

    In the mid 1990s, the two men worked together to finally release Carlos’ guitar to the public. The original model was only offered from 1995 to 1998, but the Santana line of guitars still continue to roll off the production line to this day.

    Santana playing his signature PRS guitar.
    Santana playing his signature PRS. (Photo by Eva Rinaldi, CC BY-SA 2.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0>, via Wikimedia Commons)

    Paul says that Carlos made him earn his respect, but once he got it, Carlos became his biggest fan. Smith has stated that Santana calls him every Christmas to thank him for his work, and he sends him flowers on his birthday.

    Although the two men’s relationship started out rocky, their combined love of music and high-quality guitars helped start one of the top brands on the market today. PRS players around the world — and I’m one of them — owe a debt of gratitude to what these men have accomplished.