I think the difference with Paul is that after thirty years building guitars, he is still incredibly passionate about building guitars.

This is why I love PRS guitars so much. I truly believe there is no other guitar company that loves their guitars as much as PRS does. They’re truly incredible instruments as well as works of art

hes passionate about guitars and music, and its no coincidence that he produces some of the finest guitars out there

I just started playing the guitar recently. As an mechanical engineer I appreciate the insight into the guitar design process. As a former combat soldier I really appreciate his support for my brother in arms. I'm thinking my next guitar might just be a PRS.

Great talk Paul. I have owned 5 PRS guitars and still have 2 in addition to Gibsons and Fenders. Without a doubt the PRS' are the best built and most playable of the lot. Sound is top notch. I say that because a Tele, a Strat an LP all have unique sounds. If I had to choose only one guitar it would absolutely be a PRS.

I am surprised at the reaction here. I've met and talked to Paul on a number of occasions and find him very compelling in a nerdy kind of way. His true passion is to build the best guitars on the planet and I think he has got to 5.9 out of 6. I have four of them and they are truly fantastic instruments. He may be a bit aloof but he builds great guitars. Have they had some duds, yes, but they also did not put self tuning gears and crayon logo's on their guitars either.

I'm not very patriotic but that anthem sent chills down my arms. The guitar is such a beautiful instrument

His point is how HE tries to make the perfect guitar. Notice the title of his talk, "Building the Perfect Guitar." He then gives a talk that basically says, other manufacturers can do what they want, but WE consider and use the very best, most resonant part at every place on every guitar. Then, when the guitar is finished, you get out of that guitar via tone and volume, almost all the energy you put into it when you strummed it. WE build our version of the perfect guitar by incredible attention to detail in every step of construction, i.e. we want you to put in, say 6 Joules of energy and want you to get 5.9 Joules of energy back from the guitar in volume, harmonics, and tone.

Paul Reed Smith is the Steve Jobs of guitar manufacturers in my opinion. The mans a genius

I visited his haunted 20 foot square workshop in 1983 to ask him to work on my vintage 1968 Gibson EB2D bass. I was enthralled with having played his #7 hand made bass he made for Rick Kennell in 1977. Rick would let me play it sometimes during lessons in 1978. Paul started by making incredible instruments and has continued to add scientific experimenting to his artistic craft. I finally bought my first PRS about 6 years ago and instantly all of my other guitars sat idle as I preferred picking up my PRS SE Soapbar II. Since then I have bought 2 more SE's and an American made Custom 22. I even have a cassette of his band in 1983 that he gave me. You can have preferences on your guitars, but nobody can deny that so many professional guitarists are given one of his and they convert over to PRS guitars, buying a whole stable of them. This is how Santana started. Paul handed Santana one around 1979 or so, and Santana became a convert.

Always a pleasure encountering excellence.

I just received my PRS and I confirm: WOW. This guitar has a soul, the sound and the possibilities are just incredible. Not only these guitars sound beautifuly but they are magnificent pieces of Art. Thank you Mr. PRS ❤😊

I love the passion that this man has towards music and the instruments that he produces. His company is the only company that I think justify their price tags. If I had the money I would buy a PRS.

I think it's funny some of these comments - "PRS guitars have no "character" or lack real tone like a Les Paul or a Strat"

Mr. Paul Reed Smith you are an absolute genius.

I don't understand all the negative comments about his delivery... PRS was just being himself.

The Captain has this shirt.

His point is by applying physics to create instruments that can continue to resonate sound which makes them superior.

Thank you Paul Reed Smith for your great contributions and Ted Talks ..!!

Far be it from me to a critic of PRS, but he is merging principles of acoustic guitars with electric guitars - they are different beasts. Les Paul knew this when he grabbed a pine 4X4 in the Epiphone factory in 1940 and made an electric guitar body from it. He was not concerned with 'tonewood' because he knew that the pickups and strings give an electric guitar it's sound, not the wood. Wood density will make a difference in sustain, but that's about it. Recently a cardboard Stratocaster was made and played by Fender folks in Corona, and it sounded like a strat because of the hardware, and not the 'toneboard' of the cardboard. KZfaq it and check it out - very enlightening.