Modern Guitars Talks with Joe Knaggs of PRS Guitars

by Rick Landers.

While visiting Paul Reed Smith Guitars last year, Joe Knaggs, Director of R&D and Private Stock, took us on a tour of the new PRS operations building and spent time showing us some of the company's new models, including a sweet little custom-made mandolin. Joe has been an integral member of the PRS Guitars team for a few decades now and his legacy as the Director of Research and Development, coupled with his oversight of the Private Stock line, give him some impressive credentials and have offered him opportunities most guitarists can only dream about.

We were impressed with the stunning acoustics that not only were visually appealing, but had the feel and sound to meet the needs of guitarists, whether they like to flail or caress music out of their guitars. Our first impressions were confirmed when the new PRS acoustics won the Musikmesse International Press Award (MIPA), known as the "Grammy" of the Musical Instrument/ProAudio industry, for Best Acoustic Guitar.

Rick Landers: How did you find yourself partnering up with Paul Reed Smith Guitars?

Joe Knaggs: I grew up with Paul in Bowie, Maryland. We knew each other as kids. But, the way I really ended up joining with Paul was through my '61 Strat. I was playing all the time with a jazz group and needed my guitar set up. Paul and John Ingram did the most amazing job setting my guitar up. At that time I was also doing finishing work, and I had coated a guitar with blue lacquer and asked Paul if he needed some guitars sprayed and finished. He didn't at that time because Bud Davis was painting his guitars. About a year later he started the business and needed someone that understood finishing. He gave me call.

Rick: What traits did you exhibit growing up that would have informed your parents that you’d end up in the guitar design arena?

Joe: Probably my fascination with the shape of human anatomy. It's the one with curves that I'm talking about. My mom was always yelling, “Joseph, what are you doing in there?” I was studying shape!

In all seriousness, I was an artist. My family used to encourage me, but my art teachers were the ones that really got me to pursue the traits that would allow me to design later on. They would take me out of other classes to work on murals and other art projects for the schools. I owe them a lot. Robert Shiver and Mr. Enkiri are two people I will always remember, because they also taught me about confidence. I was also really into music and my sister and brother-in-law added money to buy my first guitar, an acoustic Nagoya.

Rick: Woods have long played a key role in guitar building, offering different tonal qualities, durability and strength characteristics that lend themselves to acoustics and electrics. What are your favorite woods for your own guitars and what attributes do you like of those particular woods?

Joe: The guitars I play all the time are my original prototypes of the Chesapeake “Choptank” and my Chesapeake “Patuxent”. Electric and acoustic respectively. Swamp Ash body with a Rock Maple neck and Brazilian fingerboard. For acoustic, I like crisp Mahogany sides and back, a Red Spruce top, and a Mahogany neck with an ebony fingerboard.

I like the combinations for these particular guitars because they give the range of frequencies I am looking for, with good articulation and a lot of snap. I like that in acoustics and electrics. This doesn't mean that I like them to be over trebly. I like the low end as well. But, I like it to be clear. It's all about good combinations.

Paul and Steve Fischer have been making some acoustics, the PRS models now known as the Angelus Cutaway and the Tonare Grand, with Dark Mexican Rosewood. We made a Chesapeake with that too. They have all sounded great. Our classic combination of Mahogany with Maple and Rosewood is perfect for our Customs, McCarty’s, Singlecuts and others. I also play an SC – J archtop, hollowbodies and the new PRS Starla.

Rick: How does a guitar design originate and come to an “aha!” moment? From some marketing interest or from you doodling around with guitar designs that catch yours and the company’s fancy?

Joe: Both. I have drawn shapes that just came out and looked good. I have drawn shapes that took 100 redo’s to get where it was “Aha”. The Mira was one that was driven by conversation and marketing ideas, as well as a desire to draw a new guitar.

The SC – J was not really approached that same way. The other side of that is the design has to go well in the market. So somewhere in the back of your head you are always thinking that way. You also have to be thinking about how it will be manufactured. That can be tricky, combining the two.

I think the original PRS shape came from Paul’s want to feed the market with something it didn't have at the time. A carved, double cutaway which combined two strong entities in the market. It obviously worked well. That is something you would have to ask Paul though. The bottom line is the stuff that really lasts comes from your inner desire to create. Music is an obvious example of this.

Rick: How about an example of the process, like with the Mira model?

Joe: The Mira began with Sales and Marketing saying that we needed a different shaped guitar. It had been many years of us building Paul’s original shape, which is an awesome shape. The trend in the younger bands was more simplicity and as usual in markets the younger generations like to separate themselves from their parents, but still stick with the stuff that lasts. Like Jimmy Hendrix, Led Zeppelin etcetera. We had built a Santana with less of a carve, and Jack Higginbotham [President, PRS Guitars] and I talked about that guitar. We felt it could be a little bigger, which also fit into a thing that Peter Wolf said, "Kids are getting bigger.”

So, I started with that shape and drew a new shape that gave the guitar a different look, not so circular. I also envisioned the guitar to be in between our carved model and a slab body. We used a lot of existing parts and put a pickguard on it to make it more manufacturing friendly along with giving it a completely different look and feel. Then we go through our Product Development group, consisting of people from sales,marketing, R&D, production, purchasing, and, of course. Paul. Here we fine tune everything to go into production and have a product launch on the marketing side.

Rick: You’re also involved in designing the pickups, bridges and other hardware or are these outsourced to others?

Joe: As far as the pickups go, I just mention what I think will fit that model. Paul is the one that comes up with the pickups and I think he has been coming up with some truly awesome pickups. The Starla pickups and the PRS 1957/2008 Pickups are beautiful sounding. I do work on bridge designs. Paul, myself, Winn Krozack and Jon Wasserman have all been in on the bridge designing side of things. Of course, Paul was the one that designed the original tremolo and he is involved in all the different functions.

Rick: How does the PRS design team function? Do you bring a design to the table and others weigh in with ideas or critiques?

Joe: Absolutely. Many people have input, which I think is a big part of the thing working. Everyone in Product Development has a say in the designs. I will also ask people out on the production line. We have lots of great players working here. When I do a drawing, I will hang it up on the wall, so that people can look at it as they are passing by. If seven out of ten people mention something about a certain area, then chances are the rest of the world will also think the same. It is fun and safer doing it this way.

Rick: How long does it typically take PRS to grab a design and get it into production?

Joe: It can be as quick as 3 to 5 months or it can take a few years.

Rick: Were the Double Dragon designs some of the most challenging and in what ways?

Joe: Yes. One of the challenges that you face from the beginning is to take an artist sketch and connect all the lines to make it into inlay. You can ruin a look if you are not careful. The bigger challenge is how to manufacture the guitar itself. Pearlworks does an awesome job. They are the masters. Larry Sifel was the one that continually pushed the envelope on these types of things. Jamie Aulson has taken that torch and was the one that handled all the Dragons. Larry threw her into the deep end. Then it is a major challenge to figure out how to make it here. Rob Carhart and the production team are incredibly flexible and Bill Oertel and the R&D team work hand-in-hand with production to figure out all the nuances to make the project a success.

Rick: Do you still have the first guitar you ever designed and built and how does that compare with what you’re making today?

Joe: The first guitar I designed and built was the original E.G. There are a few of those around. I built the first archtop and hollowbodies. We don't have these. We have to make money. I do have some of the first Chesapeake guitars. As far as how they compare, I would say, "They are all just a part of the evolution."

Rick: What do you think you’d be doing today, if you hadn’t met Paul Reed Smith?

Joe: I am pretty damn sure I would be playing music for a living. Either that or landscaping, maybe both. I love plants. I was a very serious guitar player and do still play, write and record. That is my true passion and always will be. But, there is also something pretty cool about playing the guitar you built. It would be like building a boat and sailing across the bay in it. PRS has been a good living. Thanks to Paul and everyone else.

Rick: What are some of your favorite old vintage guitar styles or style characteristics that you like to build into your own guitar designs?

Joe: I played a '61 strat and an ES-125 most of my life. I like pickups that are flat in the frequency response, high fret wire, deep not so wide neck shapes and longer scale guitars. I like the bass to be really snappy and the highs to be very round. I am into highs and lows with a little bit of mids. When it comes to acoustics, I like a lot of sparkle. Those are the things that I like. It doesn't mean that these things are any better than other preferences.

Rick: You’ve recently shown us some new PRS models. Please, tell us about how they came about and what kind of players you think will find these exciting?

Joe: I talked about the Mira already. The Starla was in the same fashion. Paul has been working on the Modern Eagle II and we are also running a limited model based on the Experience 2008. The SC-J thin lines stemmed from the original Private Stock SC-J archtops. All these most recent guitars come from discussions that we have as a business.

I believe the Starla and the Mira will appeal to everyone, but mostly the new Indie type generation. I think the other guitars are excellent continuations of the original theme and will satisfy our wonderful, loyal customers, and also continue on with the tradition that got us here. That would be the hope. But, of course, the market will decide.

Rick: PRS Guitars has a new operations building that should add a lot of capacity to the PRS line. What involvement have you had in making that become a reality?

Joe: The part that I play is on the Product Development end mostly. I am also in meetings about line layouts, processes, personnel numbers, product numbers and targets. It is a massive undertaking. Jack Higginbotham is the one that has been dealing with the money and big picture side of things with Paul. We also have a Project Building Manager named Dave Witt that has been dealing with the construction. Along with these folks, we just brought on two more high level people. Frank De Fina and Jamie Mann to help carry the workload and help get us to another level. It is all a huge undertaking and we are all constantly discussing and working on this.

Rick: PRS has just begun to build amplifiers again.

Joe: Yes, Paul worked with Doug Sewell and Gary Gilbert on an entire line of production amps. They have also worked on Private Stock amps. They are all great amps!

I want to use this opportunity to express how impressed I am with the job these three guys have done. It is the first time in my life that I have considered using a different amp than what I have been using my entire life. The one amp called the “Dallas” sounds like a cross between a great old Blackface amp and a Dumble. The other cool thing is that we have different amps to match different guitars.

Rick: In 2007 PRS started its own Experience PRS trade show; I believe the first of its kind. What role did you play in the last Experience PRS event?

Joe: I am handling the Private Stock area. The Private Stock team met with everyone and had a lot of “hands-on” work stations, so that everyone got a chance to see and get a “real” taste of what we do. Our production crew kicked butt to have the guitars ready for the 2008 event. Bev Fowler coordinates the entire event and knocked the ball out of the park.

Joe: Have you ever worked with celebrity guitarists to build them guitars?

Rick: Yes, Mark Tremonti, Johnny Hiland, and to some extent Carlos Santana., and Al DiMeola to name a few. I have also spoken with John Scofield and John McLaughlin which was really great. The person I had a lot of fun with was John Fogerty. What a great guy! Janet called me on my extension and said, “John Fogerty is on the phone. Do you want to take the call ?“ I said “The John Fogerty? Put him on voice mail!" Just kidding.

With John Fogerty we discussed what he was looking for, which was a guitar that did many different things. We discussed pickups, woods, neck shapes, etcetera. He ended up liking a Singlecut with tremolo the most. The cool thing about all these guys is that they are all just people like the rest of us. They are all great to deal with and you have normal conversations with them. We treat them good, they treat us good.

Rick: Most of us consider your position with PRS a “dream job” and want to believe that you wake up excited about going into work every day. Tell us that’s true.

Joe: I would say that it is true for the most part. I am very fortunate and I probably take it for granted. The job is a good one that allows me to use my talents and passions, and also provides for my beautiful wife and three kids. I would have never dreamed I would be doing interviews for magazines. At the same time it is not always “peaches and cream”.

I enjoy the people mostly more than the work itself. Everyone from Paul to the people I see at five o’clock in the morning. It is a great environment and I believe we will be able to continue with good stuff as long as this environment is the way it is. I also have an incredible team of people, like Tina Benson, Paul Miles and Dave Hazel, that I work with in R&D and Private Stock. I am blessed.

Related Links
Paul Reed Smith Guitars
PRS Receives the MIPA Award for Best Acoustic Guitar

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