PRS Product Series: The Breakdown

Whether you’re new to PRS, or preparing to buy your 10th PRS guitar or amp, this guide is designed to help you understand our product series more clearly!

Here’s the 30,000 foot view:

• SE: Affordable instruments designed by PRS that play well beyond their price tag. Built by our partners to our exacting specifications.
• S2: Made in our Maryland factory, reimagined shapes and styles ranging from classic PRS designs to new and unique layouts.
• Bolt-On: Made in our Maryland factory, singlecoil and humbucker designs made with bolt-on construction.
• Core: The series that started it all in 1985, our core lineup features Maryland-made modern, vintage, and specialty stylings.
• Private Stock: The pinnacle of PRS design, craftsmanship, and materials. Private Stock instruments are built by a dedicated team of luthiers.
• Amps: PRS amps are built with extreme attention to detail, all-tube construction with offerings ranging from vintage tones to modern metal.

Ready for a deeper dive? Let’s dig in.

To stay organized in our approach, we’re going to sort our Series by general price point (low to high) - though there can be some small pricing overlap between each series! (Prices here are in USD’s)

$500 - $1000+

The SE story began with one model and one desire: offer PRS quality and attention to detail at an extremely affordable price point. We partnered with Carlos Santana to introduce the very first SE model in 2001, the SE Santana. Today our SE series has grown to include a diverse selection of classic PRS models reimagined like the SE Custom 24 and SE Hollowbody, to artist signature models, basses, and acoustic guitars.

In 2019, we were excited to announce the opening of a new dedicated manufacturing facility for our SE instruments in Surabaya, Indonesia. In that shop, we have a dedicated staff of engineers and guitar builders who are focused solely on building our SE guitars.

Watch the SE factory tour below:

$1000 - $1700

Meaning “Stevensville 2,” the S2 Series is named for a second manufacturing line created inside our Stevensville, MD shop. This line, introduced in 2013, blends new manufacturing techniques with our practiced quality control and workmanship to create instruments at a new price point for players. S2 offers both reimagined versions of our classic ‘core’ model designs like the Custom and McCarty, as well as uniquely retro-inspired designs like the S2 Vela and Standards.

Many (but not all!) guitars within our S2 series utilize a similar electronics system offering wonderful sounding humbucker and singlecoil tones in one guitar.

Watch our S2 Series Coil Split demonstrated below:

$2000 - $2500

As the Series name suggests, this lineup features all bolt-on neck construction. Within this series we offer models like the CE 24 and popular artist signature models like the John Mayer Silver Sky and Dustie Waring’s Floyd Rose equipped DW CE 24 “Floyd.” Humbucker and singlecoil options for fans of the unique bolt-on neck!

Watch the PRS Silver Sky demo below:

$3700+

The PRS Core Series has origins dating back to the earliest years of our company, when Paul Reed Smith built his first production models in 1985. These designs embody our spirit of high-quality craftsmanship, teamwork, and innovation. Our Core Series are made in our Stevensville, Maryland factory and range from modern, vintage, to ‘specialty’ designed guitars and basses.

Take a look inside our Maryland factory in this factory tour:

Pricing varies by selection.

Our Private Stock team operates as a ’shop within a shop’ within the walls of our Stevensville, Maryland factory. They use the highest quality materials to build the most personally crafted instruments with the greatest level of customization available from PRS. Whether you choose one of our Private Stock models or spec a Built to Order instrument, every Private Stock is carefully conceived and built with a “one-off” mentality. Through this program, we strive to deliver heirloom-quality, musical instruments.

Watch the making of one of our Private Stock limited runs below:

$729+

At PRS our desire for high quality, reliable, and great sounding products continues into our amplifier department. PRS amps are built with all-tube construction and offer a fresh approach to a number of classic amplifier ‘mother tones.’ From modern high-gain amplifiers to vintage-focused designs, our amplifiers are built to get the job done on stage or in the studio.

Hear from musician Mark Lettieri on one of our amp offerings, the Sonzera 20w Combo, below: