PRS Guitars
 | This article needs additional citations for verification. (February 2008) |
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| Company type | Private |
|---|---|
| Industry | Guitar manufacturing |
| Founded | 1985 |
| Founder | Paul Reed Smith |
| Headquarters | , |
Area served | Worldwide |
| Parent | self-owned |
| Website | http://www.prsguitars.com |
PRS Guitars is an American guitar manufacturer headquartered in Stevensville, Maryland. PRS Guitars was founded by guitarist and luthier Paul Reed Smith in 1985. Paul Reed Smith Guitars is a leading manufacturer of high-end electric guitars. PRS guitars, originally crafted for local guitar players, have become highly prized by musicians and collectors around the world.
Construction
Materials
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 | This article reads like a press release or a news article and may be largely based on routine coverage. (February 2009) |
The bodies of PRS guitars are crafted of mahogany, with a maple top on most models. They often feature highly figured tops, including flame maple, quilt maple and figured maple creating the effect of tiger stripes. PRS necks are usually made from mahogany, although some models feature maple or Indian or Brazilian rosewood necks; fingerboards are made of rosewood. PRS's signature fret markers include the lower end moons, and the higher end birds. The moons appear similar to standard dot inlays, but have a crescent more prominent than the rest of the dot. The bird inlays feature nine or ten different birds inlayed at the appropriate frets. Inlay materials have included semiprecious stones; iridescent shells, including abalone and abalone laminates; gold; and even unearthed ivory from the (extinct) woolly mammoth.
Hardware
Nuts are synthetic; tuners are of PRS' own design, although some models feature Korean-made Kluson-style tuners. PRS guitars feature three original bridge designs: a one-piece pre-intonated stoptail, an intonatable is unique to PRS and can be used because PRS manufacturing tolerances are so tight, guaranteeing that the distance between witness points will be within a few thousandths of an inch from guitar to guitar. This design does not however allow intonation to be adjusted to compensate for variations in string thickness or drop tuning. Two other designs are the PRS vibrato, which resembles a vintage Fender Stratocaster unit but with much better tonal stability due to less friction, and the more recent compensated wrapover tailpeice, which only allows for minimal intonation adjustment. An adjustable wrap over bridge is available as an additional extra. [1]
Pickups
Pickups are designed and wound in-house; PRS is more secretive about magnet and wire type and construction than some aftermarket pickup manufacturers. PRS humbucking pickups have gone by many names, including HFS (Hot, Fat, and Screams); Vintage Bass; McCarty; Santana I, II, and III; Archtop; Dragon I and II; Artist I through IV; #6, #7, #8, #9, and #10, RP (after the initials of the designer, Ralph Perucci) and Soapbar. Further adding to the obscurity, many of the above pickup types are actually a pair of pickups wound in opposing directions, one intended for the neck and one for the bridge position.
Finishes
PRS is known for "popping the grain" on their figured maple topped instruments, a process that accents the '3D' quality of the maple through a multistep staining process. Finishes are transparent, translucent (often with bursts), or opaque and are automotive-grade polyurethane or satin nitrocellulose, meaning that in some instances, the paints were intended for automotive use.
Student Edition (SE) models
To keep up with demand, PRS introduced a new low-end budget line in the late 1990s. The Student Edition line, is manufactured in Korea and is notable for opaque finishes and lower quality tone-woods though some models also include figured maple veneers such as the Soapbar II. The PRS SE models are increasing in popularity among hobbyists, whereas the higher-end PRS models tend to be geared towards professional musicians.
Artists who use PRS Guitars
- Pete Loeffler of Chevelle uses mainly PRS guitars
- Mikael Akerfeldt of the Swedish Progressive Death Metal band Opeth. He now has his own SE singlecut signature model.
- Ted Nugent was the first big-name guitar player whom Paul Reed Smith persuaded to play one of his guitars.
- Carlos Santana was another recipient of some of Paul Reed Smith's early instruments. Santana's unusual 24-fret, 24½"-scale signature model was one of PRS' earliest special models.
- Alex Lifeson of Rush has used PRS guitars since 1990, and continues to use them today, in addition to other brands.
- Al Di Meola, from Return to Forever, mainly uses a Private Stock McCarty PRS as a solo artist.
- Mark Tremonti of Alter Bridge has two signature PRS models.
- Dave Navarro from Jane's Addiction has his own PRS signature
- Larry LaLonde of Primus
- Paul Allender of Cradle of Filth has his own signature PRS SE model.
- Mike Mushok of Staind recently switched from Ibanez to PRS and now has his own signature SE baritone.
- Tim Mahoney (guitarist) of 311 has many PRS guitars, most notably his customized Standard 24 that he calls "Blue."
- Brad Delson of Linkin Park has many various PRS guitars, his favourite the custom 24 with his own custom printed winged soldier.
- Chad Kroeger of Nickelback uses many PRS guitars on the Nickelback albums as well as on their Dark Horse Tour.
- Benjamin Burnley of Breaking Benjamin uses a custom Hollowbody II
- Ben Averch, solo progressive rock artist, primarily uses the PRS Swamp Ash Special model
Legal issues
In 1998 PRS released their "Singlecut" guitar, which bore some resemblance to the venerable Les Paul, Gibson Guitar Corp filed a trademark infringement against Paul Reed Smith. An injunction was ordered[2] and PRS stopped manufacture of the Singlecut at the end of 2001. Federal District Court Judge William J. Haynes, in a 57-page decision ruled "that PRS [Paul Reed Smith] was imitating the Les Paul" and gave the parties ninety days "to complete any discovery on damages or disgorgement of PRS's profits on the sales of its offending Singlecut guitar."[2]
In 2005, the United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit reversed the lower court decision and ordered the dismissal of Gibson's suit against PRS.[3] The decision also immediately vacated the injunction prohibiting the sale and production of PRS’s Singlecut Guitar. Paul Reed Smith Guitars announced that it would immediately resume production of its Singlecut guitars.
Paul Smith, the founder of PRS, stated "We are delighted that the appellate court affirmed what we and the industry have long known: the PRS Singlecuts are musical instruments of the highest quality that would never be confused with a competitor’s product."
Gibson tried and failed to have the case reheard by all twenty-four Sixth Circuit judges (denied in December 2005)[4] and then by the United States Supreme Court (denied June 2006),[5] which was their last chance to have their original injunction upheld.
In the litigation, Gibson alleged that concert goers in a smoky concert hall might not be able to differentiate a PRS Singlecut from a Gibson Les Paul. The appellate court rejected that trademark theory out-of-hand, emphasizing Gibson’s concession in court arguments that “only an idiot” would confuse the two products at the point of sale.
While no changes to the design of the Singlecut occurred as a result of the lawsuit (given that Gibson lost), some Singlecut owners and sellers have erroneously adopted the term 'pre-lawsuit' to differentiate their Singlecut from others. [6][7][8]
As of January 2010 PRS no longer manufacture the single cut.
References
- ^ [1]
- ^ a b Gibson Guitar Corp. v. Paul Reed Smith Guitars, L.P., 325 F. Supp. 2d 841 (M.D. Tenn., 2004)
- ^ Gibson Guitar Corp. v. Paul Reed Smith Guitars, LP, 423 F.3d 539 (6th Cir. 2005).
- ^ En banc rehearing denied by Gibson Guitar Corp. v. Paul Reed Smith Guitars, Ltd. P'ship, 2005 U.S. App. LEXIS 29220 (6th Cir., Dec. 30, 2005)
- ^ Certiori denied by Gibson Guitar Corp. v. Paul Reed Smith Guitars, LP, 126 S. Ct. 2355 (June 5, 2006)
- ^ Gibson Guitar Corp. v. Paul Reed Smith Guitars, LP, 423 F.3d 539 (6th Cir. 2005), footnote 13.
- ^ Marchisotto, Paul Anthony (2006) "Note: Gibson v. PRS: the Applicability of the Initial Interest Confusion Doctrine to Trademarked Product Shapes" Cardozo Arts & Entertainment Law Journal 24: pp. 883-917
- ^ Haggerty, Thomas P. (2006) Note: "A Blue Note: The Sixth Circuit, Product Design and the Confusion Doctrines in Gibson Guitar Corp. v. Paul Reed Smith Guitars, LP" Tulane Journal of Technology and Intellectual Property 8: pp. 219-230
Modern Eagle II has been discontinued. http://www.prsguitars.com/moderneagle2/index.html
External links
- PRS Guitars - official company website
- 2005 Paul Reed Smith Interview
- Santana PRS Guitars
- 2005 Peter Wolf Interview - Director of Sales & Marketing for PRS Guitars
- PRS Factory Tour Video