verification . please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources . unsourced material may be challenged and removed . february 2008 learn how and when to remove this template message prs guitars type private industry musical instruments founded 1985 ; 31 years ago 1985 founder paul reed smith headquarters stevensville maryland united states area served worldwide key people paul reed smith products electric & acoustic guitars guitar amplifiers subsidiaries prs se prs s2 website prsguitars.com prs guitars also known as paul reed smith guitars is an american guitar manufacturer headquartered in stevensville maryland founded by guitarist and master luthier paul reed smith in 1985 . 1 prs has a reputation as a manufacturer of high end electric guitars made in the us and known for their custom shop instruments . 1 however since the 1990 s they have expanded production to asia where they manufacture the more affordable se line of instruments . as of 2013 they have begun making more affordable guitars in the us with their s2 line . 2 prs guitars also manufactures guitar amplifiers . two of prs s most notable endorsers are carlos santana and gustavo cerati . 3 in addition to this many other artists endorse the company including mike oldfield who has used a prs artist custom 24 for studio recordings and live shows since the late 1980s ; clint lowery ; mikael kerfeldt ; paul allender ; dave navarro ; ted nugent ; al di meola ; mark tremonti steven wilson and orianthi . 4 contents 1 history 2 construction 2.1 materials 2.2 fingerboard inlays 2.3 10 top guitars 2.4 hardware 2.5 pickups 2.6 se models 2.7 s2 series 2.8 the dragon models 2.9 private stock 3 factory tours 4 legal issues 5 references 6 external links history edit trademark prs headstock and logo . carlos santana guitars . prs se custom semi hollow . steven wilson s gold guitar . 20th . anniversary dragon double neck . mike oldfield with his custom 24 in 2006 . paul reed smith was a guitar player who began building guitars while he was in college in the mid 1970s . 1 early guitar players to use his hand built guitars were stanley whitaker of happy the man derek st. holmes of ted nugent s band and howard leese then with heart but smith s big break came when carlos santana began playing the still hand built guitars which at the time looked like a gibson les paul with a double cut away and were made of expensive woods like curly maple . 5 he used the custom as a prototype to raise orders on the road worth nearly 300 000 . smith set up a limited partnership with his wife barbara and business man warren esanu and set up a factory in virginia avenue annapolis . 6 smith produced 20 guitars for the 1985 namm show those guitars are now known as the namm 20 and managed to find a niche in the guitar market the mid 1980s was the time of the superstrat and there was little competition for the higher quality upscale guitars prs was building guitars with an elegant modern vintage inspired design the kind of guitar one might have expected fenders and gibsons to evolve into . 7 at first there were eight workers taking up one third of the building which they shared with a furniture stripping shop . after three years prs had taken over most of the building with 45 people producing 15 guitars every day and as time progressed a separate woodshop was added . by 1995 the factory was making 25 30 guitars daily and employed 80 people . in 1996 production moved to a new factory in stevensville on kent island just across a bridge from annapolis . by the end of 1998 prs was producing 700 guitars a month with a staff of 110 people . 6 construction edit materials edit the bodies of most 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 . a small number of bodies feature white limba referred to as korina by luthiers . 8 prs necks are usually made from mahogany although some models feature maple or indian or brazilian rosewood necks ; fingerboards on production models are normally made of rosewood . fingerboard inlays edit prs s signature fret markers include the standard moon inlays and the optional and sought after birds often fashioned from pearl or paua abalone shell . the moons appear similar to standard dot inlays but have a crescent more prominent than the rest of the dot . the bird inlays feature representations of the following species ; peregrine falcon 3rd fret marsh hawk 5th fret ruby throated hummingbird 7th fret common tern 9th fret coopers hawk 12th fret kite 15th fret sparrow 17th fret storm petrel 19th fret a landing hawk 21st fret and a screech owl on a branch 24 fret models only . 9 20th and 25th anniversary edition production models feature updated and stylized versions of this standard inlay . 10 top guitars edit a very small percentage of maple trees cut in north america are actually figured . according to their website to make 10 top status a prs top must have clearly defined figure across its entire top with no dead spots . 10 as such the term 10 top refers to specimens of maple with distinctive and notable figure as opposed to a specific grade of timber . prs guitars which feature a 10 top feature a written or stamped 10 on the upper right headstock when viewed from behind . hardware edit close up of the 5th 7th and 9th fret bird inlays . nuts are synthetic and tuners are of prs s own design although some models feature korean made kluson style tuners . prs guitars feature three original bridge designs a one piece pre intonated stoptail vibrato and wrapover tailpiece.the vibrato was designed with the help of guitar engineer john mann . it was an update on the classic fender vibrato and used cam locking tuners which offered wide pitch bending with exceptional tuning stability . 6 the pre intonated stoptail is unique to prs however this design does not allow intonation to be adjusted to compensate for variations in string thickness or drop tuning . the prs vibrato resembles a vintage fender stratocaster unit and the more recent compensated wrapover tailpiece allows for minimal intonation adjustment . an adjustable wrapover bridge is available as an extra . 11 pickups edit pickups are designed and wound in house . while most of the pickups are humbuckers some are actually a pair of single coils wound in opposing directions one intended for the neck and one for the bridge position . through the use of a unique rotary pickup selector switch prs pickups offer 5 different sounds a combination of thick humbucking gibson like tones and thinner single coil stratocaster like tones . 6 the standard treble and standard bass pick ups use magnetic pole pieces in the non adjustable inner coil and a rear placed feeder magnet in order to achieve a more authentic single coil tone when split by the rotary switch 6 prs developed pickups for the aggressive rock market offering pick ups such as the chainsaw and the hot fat screams hfs initially used on the special model . 6 the vintage treble and vintage bass humbuckers were used on the classic electric model and a combination of hfs and vintage bass pick ups were used on the ce maple top models the standard and the custom models . in 1998 an electronic upgrade kit was released for pre 1993 instruments which included lighter weight tuner buttons nickel plated brass screws for saddles and intonation a simulated tone control and a high capacitance hook up wire . 6 in 2012 prs released the 408 pickups used on the 408 and paul s guitar models . these pickups include innovations that allow no loss of volume when in coil split mode . 12 they have an exclusive agreement to use wire drawn from the same machine that made wire for les paul and stratocaster pickups in the 1950s . 13 se models edit prs introduced a new affordable line of guitars in 2000 14 referred to as the se which are manufactured in korea by world musical instrument co. contrary to popular belief citation needed se does not stand for student edition . the incorrect assumption was even published in the prs book . prs produce a large range of models in the se series including the custom 24 se245 se kestrel & kingfisher bass guitars as well as signature guitars such as the bernie marsden tremonti zach myers & santana amongst others . s2 series edit in 2013 prs added the s2 series which added a more affordable american prs that are built in their maryland factory . the s2 series features proprietary pickups and hardware and a more beveled and flat top as opposed to the arched top of the private stock . currently the s2 lineup has a standard 22 24 and singlecut the custom 22 24 and 22 semi hollow singlecut and singlecut semi hollow starla mira and mira semi hollow . also in 2015 prs added the s2 vela . the dragon models edit in 1992 prs introduced the dragon 1 model . only 50 units were produced . it featured an intricate dragon inlay which ran down the finger board a wide 22 fret neck and a non vibrato stop tail bridge and a new pick up design . the changes in design from previous models added a noticeable tonal improvement which led the company to use the same characteristics in later models such as the prs custom 22 . 6 the dragon 2 was released in 1993 and the dragon 3 in 1994 . both featured dragon inlays which became more extreme with every year . only 100 of each of the 2 models were made . 6 in 1999 prs released the dragon 2000 which featured complex body curves and a 3 dimensional dragon inlay . just 50 dragon 2000 s were ever produced . 6 private stock edit in 1995 prs began producing highly customized versions of the guitars dubbed guitars of the month . each featured select ultra grade woods and custom finishes . in 1996 prs released the first private stock guitar . today the private stock team produces one of a kind pieces costing upwards of 10 000 . each guitar is built with unique finishes custom inlays and unparalleled detail . whereas a standard production guitar has an average build time of six hours one private stock acoustic guitar can take up to three weeks to complete . many premium exotic woods such as brazilian rosewood and quilted maple are commonly used . notable private stock players include dweezil zappa john mayer neal schon and carlos santana . factory tours edit prs guitars conduct an hour long factory tour all year long . this tour is free of charge and covers the electric guitar manufacturing line amplifier department and the acoustic shop . tours are limited to groups of eight and are reserved on a first come first serve basis . there is also a museum and the west street east store where one can buy prs apparel parts and accessories . tours are offered on tuesdays and thursdays at 10 00 am and 1 00 pm est. the factory is located at their headquarters on kent island stevensville md united states . the factory also has a store full of their current offerings where one can actually play the guitars . group tours are also available on request . more details can be found here . 15