A Call from Paul Says it All

Having watched many videos featuring Mr. Paul Reed Smith, I can tell he’s passionate about making guitars. However, I recently watched “Long Distance: Paul calls John Mayer” on YouTube and was disappointed by something Paul said. Toward the end of the video, John asks a question: “Finish this sentence: Hey, guitar manufacturers, cool it with the blank” and Paul’s response is “bad guitars.” He went on to say, “Buy a bad guitar and the kid gets frustrated and gives up because the guitar won’t do its job,” which is the part I found disappointing.

I wrote a letter to Paul saying I admired his work but found this comment disappointing as I don’t feel PRS guitars fit beginner budgets (even the SE series) and that it’s better for a kid to be able to play a guitar, any guitar, than to wait to afford a guitar at the

PRS price point. I didn’t expect a response. I mean, maybe an email from their customer service team thanking me for writing. But…

On Friday, Paul called me! I’m just an average guy from North East England and Paul Reed Smith took the time to call me to discuss my letter. I want everyone to know what a genuine guy he is with real humility and a passion for all things guitar. He thanked me for my letter and for my support of PRS and explained that although it may not be too clear in the video, by “bad” guitars he didn’t mean “cheap” guitars. He added: “It hurts me when I see guitars being made to make money — and not being made to be good guitars.”

The point is, Paul bothered to call me personally and I want everyone to know they can purchase PRS Guitars with absolute confidence in their products, thanks to Paul’s sheer dedication.

— Grant Owen