Winter NAMM 2005: Spotlight on Paul Reed Smith (PRS) Guitars

by Rick Messock

Friday, January 21, 2005. Day two of the 2005 Winter NAMM Show. The PRS booth, where the company is celebrating its 20th anniversary, was jammed with artists, players and guitar enthusiasts.

Paul Reed Smith welcomed several performers, including Carlos Santana, Dave Navarro, Mark Tremonti, and Al DiMeola to the booth in the afternoon for a press conference. Smith told the audience that he offered the same deal to each performer - if you don't like the guitar, you can send it back for a refund.

No artist has taken Smith up on that offer.

Santana, Navarro and Tremonti each expressed his appreciation for the PRS line and for their signature models that PRS introduced this year (although the Mark Tremonti model is delayed because of a legal issue).

When asked what could be done to make his guitars less expensive, Smith responded that he is willing to try and make them more budget-oriented, and he has done that to some extent with the SE Korean-made line, but that he will not make them with lower quality. He said that it's the player's decision as to whether the price is worth the music the player can produce from a PRS guitar.

PRS image gallery from day two...