On Friday January 24, PRS Guitars celebrated its 40th anniversary in style with a who’s who of the brand’s loyal artists coming out in force to pay homage to the firm’s founder and all-round guitar genius, Paul Reed Smith.
David Grissom, Orianthi, Herman Li and Mark Lettieri were among the stars performing at Anaheim’s House of Blues, but it was John Mayer who brought the house down – and afterwards, the company’s highest-profile endorsee paid homage to Smith, beginning with a few choice words for anyone who paradoxically criticizes his guitars for being “too nice”.
“How did PRS make it to 40 years? Number one, they make great guitars,” Mayer said. “You talk about PRS and some say, ‘They’re too nice.’ Yeah, they’re really fucking nice!
“What’s too nice for a guitar? You want that special vibe that only tuning every song can give you onstage? You want that grit, just like your heroes? Bad intonation?! The guitars are incredible, the product is incredible.”
Mayer went on to detail what has kept him loyal to the firm since he parted ways with Fender to design his own signature model with PRS, the Silver Sky.
“The first time I called PRS was 10 years ago in 2015. What is the sign of a great company? The sign of a great company is that the same people you spoke to the first time you ever made contact are still working there at the company today.”
But ultimately, Mayer says, it’s Smith’s drive to try new things – and succeed, no matter how long it takes – that continues to inspire him. It’s something the guitar hero puts down to the guitar builder’s lack of ego, noting he is “only concerned with innovation”.
“If you share an idea with Paul – I go, ‘What if we could just do this and that?’ And the phone goes dead silent. ‘…Are you there, Paul?’ ‘I’m thinking, John.’
“It’s not a guy who’s worried about whether he says a yes or a no and what you’ll think about it. He thinks about the problem. He goes dead silent. He’s concerned with innovation.
“He is a genius, which is rare, but he is a subsection of genius, which is even more rare, which is that he is a joyous genius. And he spreads that joy, and he spreads that creative burst and you take it up as well and you bring it on stage with you.
“Dare I say he is the hidden member of everyone’s band all the time, no matter where you’re playing.”
Smith was moved to tears by Mayer’s words – and hailed his performance that evening as “some of the most beautiful guitar playing I’ve ever heard”.
To celebrate its 40th anniversary year, PRS has refreshed and refined several of its lineups, as well as launching a 40th Anniversary edition of perhaps Smith’s most extravagant creation, the Dragon.
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