Creating a successful 40-year-old company is far from an easy thing to do, not least in the fickle, often fashion-led world of the electric guitar. But it won't be long before PRS's SE division hits its mid-20s, and in many ways it now seems like a guitar company within a guitar company-not least, of course, that the SEs have always been made 'offshore', originally in Korea and now primarily in Indonesia.
The SE acoustics and Hollowbodies are made by Cor-Tek in China.
But when the SE line kicked off with a single-guitar introduction in 2001, plenty of people thought it was the beginning of the end, the 'race to the bottom' in terms of price and probably quality, and the opposite of the high-level instruments that PRS had been producing in the USA since 1985. Even Paul Reed Smith was hesitant, and models with maple tops (albeit figured maple veneer over solid maple) weren't initially offered.
But 24 years on from the range's inception, the revenue that the SEs bring to PRS's total is now about 45 per cent, PRS's COO, Jack Higginbotham, tells us. “I'd say the two tides, if you like, have risen very equally between what we've done in the US and what we've done in SE," he says.
Bearing in mind the lower cost of the SE guitars (a quarter, often less, compared with the USA models), presumably to meet those revenue figures, a lot more SE guitars are made annually.
"Yes, by a factor of... a lot!" laughs Jack.
"Something like seven or eight times as many, obviously because of the different price points. It's a lot of units! Until you get used to thinking about it, it's pretty overwhelming when you start talking about 8,000 of these and 9,000 of those.
I remember a party we had back in the day [27 June 1986, The Night of The 1,000th Guitar]. It was a hard economical time in the world and we were like, 'Oh, this is a celebration of making 1,000 guitars.
What are we going to do now?""
Making It Work
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Denne historien er fra November 2024-utgaven av Guitarist.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
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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...
1965 Fender Jazz Bass
\"They made them later on, but it's not something I've ever seen this early.
Boss Cube Street II
Regular readers will know that the last time I took the Boss Cube Street II out, I was in rehearsal for a debut gig in London.
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
