PRS Guitars

Paul Reed Smith founded his guitar company, PRS Guitars, in Annapolis, Maryland in 1985. In the time since, the company has relocated to Stevensville, Maryland and become one of the world’s most recognizable guitar manufacturers. Their innovative designs, quality materials and craftsmanship, and strong endorsements have set the brand apart, and Blues Angel Music is proud to offer the full line of PRS guitars, basses, and amplifiers in Pensacola and online.

At the NAMM Show in 1985, Smith introduced the PRS Custom. This initial offering into the guitar market featured a mahogany neck set into a mahogany body with a maple cap and lots of custom and patented parts and pieces. By and large, the nuts, tuners, and pickups on PRS instruments are designed and produced in-house. 

In 1988, PRS introduced a more affordable model with a bolt-on neck called the classic electric, or CE. These guitars were discontinued in 2009, but their absence was felt in the market, and in 2016 the CE was brought back.

Paul Reed Smith collaborated with Ted McCarty in 1994 to produce the McCarty Series. These guitars have a more vintage sound and feel. The McCarty Series guitars are still in production today and are highly sought after. 

A more affordable model was needed to fill in some gaps in PRS’s line, so in 2000, the SE Series was introduced. The SE guitars are produced in Korea by World Musical Instrument Co. Ltd. The SE Series includes the Custom 24, SE245, SE Kestrel, and Kingfisher bass as well as many signature models.

The next year, PRS introduced the Singlecut, which strongly resembles the Gibson Les Paul. This led to legal trouble and the temporary halting of production, but the Singlecut was only out of production for a few years before the United States Court of Appeals reversed the order to stop production on copyright claims. 

In addition to these models, PRS also offers the Silver Sky model based on some of John Mayer’s favorite guitars, the S2 Series, amplifiers, and acoustic guitars. Blues Angel Music offers PRS Guitars in Pensacola and Spanish Fort. Check out our PRS Guitars online and then come in to play them yourself.