There’s a long-running joke in the guitar industry that PRS guitars are for dentists and lawyers. The sentiment is that those who fork out $7,000+ for a PRS McCarty are rich hobbyists, rather than hard-working touring musicians.
In a recent fan-led Q&A with UK music store Andertons, firm owner Paul Reed Smith was asked about his firm’s reputation head on. “Hey Paul,” write Getthefunkout46, “why do you make guitars exclusively for dentists?”
It’s a pointed question, and one that Smith embraces with a smile. But he’s not in the mood to simply laugh it off. He wants to set the record straight, and actually insinuates that there are other firms more deserving of that affiliation.
Latest Videos FromGuitar World
“I didn’t know Carlos Santana and John Mayer were dentists,” he first chuckles. Then the laughter subsides.
“The question implies that only dentists and doctors buy the guitars. It’s just not true anymore,” he says. “I mean, there was a time in the late ’80s [when] maybe that was true, but Sweetwater did a thing: the most expensive guitars. We weren’t in the first 10. We’ve done everything in our power to make the SEs affordable.”
He has a point. Coming from Cort’s massive – and impressive – Indonesian factory, most SEs offer great value for money, such as the NF 53 SE, which was one of 2025’s best sub–$1k electric guitars. The Silver Sky SE has been selling like hot cakes, too. Herman Li’s signature SE, though, is something of an outlier at $1,999.
Still, Smith isn’t done pleading his case.
“These S2s are really affordable,” he continues. “Look, you can say that to some people, a Private Stock’s not affordable [at $8,000 – $14,000], but that’s an awful lot of time and energy and skill level for what we charge for them. So I’m okay with it.”
Elsewhere in the Q&A, Smith was quizzed on tonewoods, having previously offered an interesting take on the debate, and had his first Greggs sausage roll [a budget UK fast food staple]. So it was quite the day for him.
Smith has just been inducted into Guitar Center’s RockWalk of Fame, after a heartfelt speech from John Mayer.
