PRS Guitars founder Paul Reed Smith pushed back against the long-running joke that the brand’s instruments are only affordable for dentists and doctors, defending the company’s pricing structure across its product tiers during a Q&A session with Andertons, as reported by Guitar.com.
According to Guitar.com, Reed Smith noted that signature artists Carlos Santana and John Mayer are not medical professionals, and said the perception that only wealthy buyers purchase PRS instruments is no longer accurate. He pointed to the SE Silver Sky, launched in 2022 at roughly 800 British pounds, as evidence of the brand’s affordability efforts. Guitar.com reported that the model was the best-selling guitar on Reverb from its release until 2024, when the Fender Player Telecaster overtook it.
Reed Smith said Sweetwater compiled a list of the most expensive guitars and PRS did not appear in the top 10, Guitar.com reported. He emphasized that the company has done everything possible to keep SE models affordable and that S2 models are also reasonably priced. He acknowledged that Private Stock instruments, priced between $8,000 and $14,000, are not accessible to all buyers, but said the labor and skill involved justify the cost.
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