Paul Reed Smith Guitars, also known as PRS Guitars or simply PRS, is an American guitar and amplifier manufacturer founded in 1985 in Annapolis, Maryland by Paul Reed Smith. After dropping out of college, Smith began making guitars by hand and found early customers in players like Peter Frampton and Carlos Santana. Smith achieved wider success with his namesake company's first production model, the Custom, and the ornate Dragon series. PRS has continued to build its reputation with models like the vintage-inspired McCarty, affordable SE range, and signature models for players including Santana, Mark Tremonti, and John Mayer. PRS also produces acoustic guitars, basses, and amplifiers. The company is currently based in Stevensville, Maryland. History[edit]Founder Paul Reed SmithPre-factory era[edit] Paul Reed Smith (born February 18, 1956) built his first stringed instrument, an electric bass, in 1972 while a student at Bowie High School.[1] After graduating, Smith briefly attended St. Mary's College of Maryland,[2] where he completed his first electric guitar at the age of 19. The college awarded Smith four credits for the guitar, which was deemed "of professional quality."[3] Smith dropped out of college to open his own repair and luthier shop in Annapolis, from which he and several employees built on average one guitar per month. In 1976, Smith built a custom guitar for Peter Frampton and took it to several concerts, where he knocked on backstage doors to try and show it to guitarists. Ted Nugent bought an early guitar from Smith. Al Dimeola ordered a 12-string model. Howard Leese bought Smith's first maple-topped guitar, the Golden Eagle. Carlos Santana requested a guitar similar to the one owned by Leese, and it was delivered in 1980.[3] By the end of 1984, Smith had refined his early designs, creating what would become his brand's signature design elements, including its Strat-meets-Les Paul body shape, headstock design, birds-in-flight fretboard inlays, and dual humbuckers with rotary, five-way pickup switching.[4][5] Smith debuted his new guitar model, the "Custom," at the 1985 NAMM Show, and afterwards traveled to retailers along the East Coast, collecting enough preorders to open his own Annapolis factory that same year.[4][6] Breakthrough[edit]PRS's primary headstock style Paul Reed Smith Guitars launched with two factory production models, the Custom and what was then simply known as the "PRS Guitar," an all-mahogany version of the Custom—which would be renamed the "Standard" in 1987.[3] Demand escalated quickly, and the brand produced its 1,000th guitar in June 1986.[4] With its reputation growing, a friend remarked to Smith that he was not charging enough money for his guitars, so Smith went upmarket with the "Signature" series, which was produced from 1987 until 1991 and cost so much that PRS started developing a reputation among critics for building guitars for "doctors and dentists."[3] In 1988, PRS introduced a more affordable option, their "CE" (Classic Electric) models, which were characterized by bolt-on necks, alder bodies, and maple necks, similar to Fender guitars. The CEs were originally produced until 2009, and then reintroduced in 2016.[7] These were followed in 1990 with the even more affordable, 22-fret "EG" (Electric Guitar) models and the more successful "EG II" of 1992, which included PRS's first left-handed offering.[3] PRS introduced the "Dragon 1" model in 1992, with only 50 units made and an $8,000 price tag. It featured an intricate dragon inlay which ran down the fretboard, a wide 22-fret neck, a non-vibrato stop-tail bridge, and a new pickup design. The changes from previous models added a noticeable tonal improvement, which led the company to create a mass production model in 1993, the Custom 22.[8] PRS then launched the "McCarty" model in 1994, offering a more vintage-feeling and sounding PRS guitar in honor of former Gibson president Ted McCarty, who had become a friend and mentor to Smith.[3] The following year, PRS began producing a signature model for Santana, who became the brand's first formal endorser. In 1996, the company moved to its present facility in Stevensville on Kent Island, launched its website, and opened its "Private Stock" custom-build service.[5] Expansion[edit] All of PRS's guitars were produced in the company's Maryland factory, but this changed in 2000 with the introduction of the "SE" (Student Edition) range of guitars, which offers more affordable versions of many of the brand's popular models.[9] SE models are manufactured in Korea by World Musical Instrument Co. Ltd. In 2008, PRS expanded its catalog to include acoustic guitars. Two years later, despite the economic downturn, PRS released 20 new models, 13 of which were anniversary editions, alongside new models like a singlecut McCarty and SE versions of the Singlecut and Santana models. With the S2 range introduced in 2014, PRS began offering less expensive, American-made versions of their guitars. The S2 range launched with an S2 version of the Custom 24 and two new models, the Starla and Mira.[3] In 2007, PRS began offering amplifiers with its Archon model and subsequently added to its lineup signature models for Mark Tremonti (MT series) and David Grissom (DG Custom 30). PRS also produces the HDRX series, an amp series based originally on a Marshall Super Lead used by Jimi Hendrix and housed at the Museum of Pop Culture in Seattle, Washington.[10] PRS offers multiple signature model guitars and amplifiers, most notably designing the Silver Sky with John Mayer.[11]