With the release of PRS’s Paul’s Guitar, evaluated elsewhere in this issue, Dave Burrluck wonders if Paul Reed Smith is actually the ultimate modder…
Maybe you’re lucky enough to have a bench in a shed, but more than likely when you want to set to work on your latest crazy modding project, like me, you clear the biggest table in your house, plug in the soldering iron and open your toolbox. The majority of the time, unless we’re perhaps swapping the body or neck of a bolt-on, we’re actually fine-tuning an already constructed guitar.
It might seem that Paul Reed Smith had sorted his construction by 1991 with the first Dragon guitar. This model introduced a shorter, fatter 22-fret neck and newdesign Stoptail bridge, which led directly to the Custom 22 and, via the considerable input of David Grissom, the thickerbodied, more vintage-aimed McCarty. In reality, he’d only just begun.
Via Paul’s 21 Rules Of Tone document, a manifesto was born that still informs the recipe of the PRS guitar today. Now, while some of that document details the direct construction of the guitar itself, there’s a lot that puts focus on the guitar’s hardware to maximise its primary acoustic voice. When the final piece of the jigsaw was put in place with a new metal-infused nut material on the 408 (in 2012), Paul commented that, “It’s the last piece of the puzzle. It’s all done.”
So, it’s off to the golf course, then, or a spot of fly fishing? No. Paul dives into all sorts of music-related projects. Talk to him about amplifiers or acoustic guitars and within seconds you feel out of your depth. Vintage microphones? Complex digital algorithms for a new method of EQ? Trust someone who has interviewed him countless times: just when you think you have the measure of the man, he’s off somewhere else. Talk to him about any aspect of the guitar and you’d better do your homework. He certainly has.
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QUICK CHANGE
As Gibson finally adds some Quick Connect pickups to its Pickup Shop line-up, Dave Burrluck revisits this simple no-solder method to mod your Modern guitar
Return Of The Rack
A revered rackmount digital delay makes a welcome comeback in pedal form.
Pure Filth
This all-analogue preamp pedal based on Blues Saraceno's amp is a flexible powerhouse with a variety of roles.
Reptile Royalty
From Queen to King - there's another Electro-Harmonix royal vying for the crown of octave distortion
Tradition Revisited
Line 6 refreshes its Helix-based modelling amp range by doubling the number of available amp voicings - and more
Ramble On
Furch's travel guitar folds down so you can transport it in its own custom backpack and, the company claims, it returns to pitch when you reassemble it. Innovation or gimmick?
Redrawing The 'Bird
A fascinating reimagining of one of Gibson's more out-there designs, the Gravitas sticks with vintage vibe and mojo. Oh, and that sound...
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STILL CRAZY
One of the most creative yet reliably great-sounding effects makers out there, Crazy Tube Circuits grew out of a fetish for old valve amps. We meet founder Christos Ntaifotis to find out more