Paul Reed Smith is actually a cool guy!

simonhpieman

Just watching this right now. I'm about halfway through. I still have absolutely zero interest in his guitars but Paul is a seriously knowledgeable and passionate guy and I really appreciate what he's getting at - I'm at the John Mayer part where he's saying the guitar is brand new, tuned up, on stage and is playing to thousands of people within a minute because it's been made well. Respect for that confidence in his stuff.

simonhpieman

Okay, I clarify that a bit, there are a few cringey bits in there now I've got to the end. But still a very interesting watch, I definitely wouldn't have expected to watch something like that start to finish.

Off to time all my guitars with a stopwatch now, I'll let you know how bad they all are... Eeek!

guitars4you

I've seen him many times via such clinic/talks, as well as a few one to one's at dealer days - Yes he is very knowledgeable - In many ways he is the trade's Steve Jobs - He own's the company - Talk about it and its products - Yet also still be involved in design etc 

He can be OTT at times and yes a few cringey bits - But overall a good guy 

No mean player either - So he has had to become a builder, a company man/business man and a player 

For any faults others can throw at him, Fender and Gibson do not have an equivalent person/role - The person who is the company - Can talk the business and the product and relate/react with his artists and customers - We are fortunate that we have such guys - But I know not all will agree with me 

EricTheWeary

He does tend to come across as this gee whizz that’s fantastic sales rep kinda guy which I find deeply annoying. None of which is to doubt his abilities as a builder, his guitar knowledge, business acumen or even as a player but I do find him to be unbearably smug (and maybe he has reason to be). People commenting on the Jacob Collier thread that they find Jacob smug, really until you’ve watched Paul Reed Smith talk for half an hour you don’t know what smug is. 

[I still might watch it later, I’m sure it’s fine really] 

Anyway, altogether now:

I wanna know what smug is,
I want you to show me. 

I wanna know what smug is, 
I want you to show me. 

Philly_Q

He's a bit odd, and I suspect he'd be "difficult" if you had a disagreement with him, but despite the salesmanship and occasional whiff of snake oil I have no doubt he's genuinely committed to maintaining and improving the quality of his guitars and other products.

I'm not sure about smug... there's certainly a strong belief in what he does, and he probably thinks he's always right, but in other ways he comes across as quite humble and down to earth.  He might have a flash car, I don't know, but he's not all silly hats and expensive leather jackets...

On the whole I quite like him.  I wouldn't want to hang out with him, but I quite like him.

DavusPG

Definitely a very knowledgeable guy and from my limited experience of PRS guitars I'd say his products live up to hype. I can't help but be reminded of Syd Little when I look at him though.

I think John Suhr is another guitar builder in a similar vein - and someone who I would like to hang out with.

Philly_Q

DavusPG said:

Definitely a very knowledgeable guy and from my limited experience of PRS guitars I'd say his products live up to hype. I can't help but be reminded of Syd Little when I look at him though.

I think John Suhr is another guitar builder in a similar vein - and someone who I would like to hang out with.

Tom Anderson, also, seems a very genuine and nice chap.

Offset

Philly_Q said:

...he's not all silly hats and expensive leather jackets...

Of whom could you be thinking?!

Blueingreen

DavusPG said:

Definitely a very knowledgeable guy and from my limited experience of PRS guitars I'd say his products live up to hype. I can't help but be reminded of Syd Little when I look at him though.

I think John Suhr is another guitar builder in a similar vein - and someone who I would like to hang out with.

Yeah John chips in on TGP from time to time and always seems pleasant and helpful.  He helped me with a question about  specs on a Tom Anderson, which seemed above and beyond the call of duty.

TeleMaster

Okay sure he makes some nice guitars but how much does he charge for a filling? 

OilCityPickups

Most folks who run their own businesses ... little like mine or very large like PRS are focused to the point of being a couple of swallows short of a jug full. I've done my own cringe moments., and this comes very much into focus when you realise you are as much the product as the stuff you make.

You have to add to this ... I think US selling is fundamentally different to British selling - not worse, just different. In the US there is more of a culture of the hard sell - they are really the country that invented mass consumer advertising, and I think they are culturally a bit thicker-skinned to hype and snake-oil. It's a game; hell it's almost expected. 

There would be no PRS guitars without Paul ... so I think that automatically makes him pretty cool. 

soma1975

OilCityPickups said:

There would be no PRS guitars without Paul ...

So you're saying to cut the head off the snake? Nice thinking...

Funkfingers

Philly_Q said:

… salesmanship and occasional whiff of snake oil … there's certainly a strong belief in what he does and he probably thinks he's always right …

I detect that a bit in the man's attitude to pickups. 

Once upon a time, the HFS and Vintage Bass humbuckers were supposed to be where it's at. After those were superseded by newer models, it was if they had never existed. 

The latest pickups are now where it's at. The previous iterations are never mentioned again - like a character written out of a drama serial, never to return.



FWIIW, I am perfectly happy with the stock HFS/VB humbuckers in my elderly PRS Custom.

Rob1742

Yeah but is this 45 seconds for a guitar to sustain correct? 

Not sure the environment to check mine was good last night, but I’ve got some pretty fine guitars and I weren’t getting anywhere near that 45 seconds he mentioned. 

I was thinking that if anyone watched this video, this point about how long a good guitar can be heard would have been picked up 

Boromedic

Blokes a bell end, but he makes nice guitars. Talks like he invented the wheel when he basically finessed long standing manufacturing techniques and then sold it as revolutionary. Very American and basically as capitalist as it comes obviously. Nothing wrong with that of course, but he's very good at it.

I think compared to Suhr, Tom Anderson et al, there's a difference because they dont claim to be reinventing anything, unlike Paul. They're less travelling snake oil salesmen and just great guitar makers who have done very well. 

Also in comparison, corporate buyouts ruined Fender and Gibson and there's no chance they will ever head back to being a company like PRS. If PRS were to suffer the same level of corporate buyout, they would also end up like those companies. Those hedge funds love a buyout and asset stripping.

Rob1742

Boromedic said:

Blokes a bell end, but he makes nice guitars. Talks like he invented the wheel when he basically finessed long standing manufacturing techniques and then sold it as revolutionary. Very American and basically as capitalist as it comes obviously. Nothing wrong with that of course, but he's very good at it.

I think compared to Suhr, Tom Anderson et al, there's a difference because they dont claim to be reinventing anything, unlike Paul. They're less travelling snake oil salesmen and just great guitar makers who have done very well. 

I think he’s just a typical guitar type geek. You listen to him, Chappers, Anderton bloke and loads of others and guitarists get a boner about a millimetre difference on a neck or nut width or whatever.

If I engage with a guitarist I do so with caution incase they want to try and bamboozle me with their knowledge of every little intricacy.

Not all like that, but very many are. I’m trying my best not to turn into one myself, but I do have my moments too 

Boromedic

Funny who you're aligning him with, they're all salesmen and shills same as Paul is. He's not a guitar geek solely, his claims are next level like he invented all this stuff almost. He has refined it, standing on the shoulders of giants. He didn't make any of this stuff or come up with it in any revolutionary ways either. His recent tuning peg rubbish was also embarrassing, complete lack of self awareness. It makes me chuckle because a lot of Americans will state that Brits are really arrogant and conceited as a stereotype yet it's people like Paul that prove it's not just us.

As opposed to the likes of Friedman, Suhr and Anderson who are geeks, but fully acknowledge their guitars are refinements on a theme and are far less conceited. It's night and day/chalk and cheese, Paul's guitars speak for themselves as does his roster, and I can distance his products from the man, but I don't like him particularly at all. His guitars are also not as well made as Andersons and somewhere similar to Suhr. So he's not alone in quality, high level guitar output. 

octatonic

Boromedic said:

I think compared to Suhr, Tom Anderson et al, there's a difference because they dont claim to be reinventing anything, unlike Paul. They're less travelling snake oil salesmen and just great guitar makers who have done very well. 

Tom Anderson has actually innovated.
Blower switch, Switcheroo, and the two screw neck join are some examples.
The latter is a genius idea.

lustycourtier

Met him a few times and hes lovely. 

RandallFlagg

Paul is 68 now, I wonder what his succession plans are? Will he sell up like Randall Smith did?

guitars4you

RandallFlagg said:

Paul is 68 now, I wonder what his succession plans are? Will he sell up like Randall Smith did?

I've thought the same - My gut feeling is he will become 'the president' and face of PRS but back down on the day to day work - Similar to how Jim Marshall and Leo Fender became  - But then who ends up owning it, years later, and who runs it - ie what legacy does he leave to whom and how to preserve continuity and value of the brand/company - Not sure if there are junior PRS's in his family. to come in and take it over 

Sell the company can be a different way of leaving funds/heritage to the family and he still works in an ambassador/advisory role