Sponsorship Spotlight: PRS Guitars
Eastern Shore Land Conservancy is so grateful for Paul Reed Smith Guitars’ sponsorship of our 2024 Bird Conservation Series Spring Migration Bird Banding and for their very generous donation of a signed PRS electric guitar for this year’s LandJam raffle. The lucky winner will receive a brand new beautiful signed PRS SE CE Standard 24 Satin electric guitar in vintage cherry (like a cardinal!) and a PRS Signature Logo 2″ Poly Guitar Guitar Strap. We will announce the winner at ESLC’s family-friendly event LandJam on May 11th. Read on to learn a little more about the SE CE, PRS Guitars’ sponsorship, and Paul’s special connection to bird conservation and the great state of Maryland.
Tell us more about the guitar PRS donated for ESLC’s LandJam raffle!
Originally introduced in 1988, the CE has become an essential part of the PRS line-up, offering the snap and response of bolt-on construction. This workhorse instrument delivers looks, tone, and playability, and is a great option for beginning players through professional musicians thanks to its high-quality build and popular price tag.
This guitar pairs an all-mahogany body with a bolt-on maple neck. The mahogany body features a thin satin finish that results in a highly resonant instrument, and the maple neck’s semi-gloss finish provides a smooth playing feel. The PRS 85/15 “S” pickups provide extended high and low end with clarity and balance, while the push/pull tone control adds the versatility of coil taps.
We are always trying to find ways to attract more people to playing guitar, as we believe it is good for the body, mind, and soul in so many ways. It is our hope that the SE Series offers approachable instruments to beginners while maintaining the high level of quality needed for touring musicians. John Mayer, Mark Holcomb from Periphery, Mark Lettieri, Zach Myers of Shinedown, and David Grissom are among the artists who choose PRS SE’s for their worldwide tours.
What moved PRS to support ESLC’s Bird Conservation Series?
PRS Guitars is always working to support local and national non-profit organizations. While our flagship charity is the Johns Hopkins Kimmel Cancer Center, we believe it is also important for us to support our broader community and we do our best to support a balanced range of causes each year.
When Paul was a young boy, his mother would take him and his siblings birdwatching, and occasionally to the Smithsonian in Washington, D.C. Paul recalled “At the time, the Smithsonian allowed you to take out a record like a book from a library, we would get records of bird songs and listen to them. At night, we would listen to the birds in our rooms with the windows open…”
In 1976, Paul was 20 years old and building a guitar for rock musician Peter Frampton. “When it came time to put inlays on the fretboard, I didn’t even have to think about it, I just went down to the store, bought a bird guide, and started designing inlays.”
The Eastern Shore is a beautiful place to call home and PRS Guitars is proud to support the environmental organizations that help to protect it. Teaming up with the ELSC for their Bird Conservation Series seemed like a perfect fit.
Why did PRS choose the Eastern Shore for its headquarters?
Paul Reed Smith was born and raised in Bowie, Maryland. He made his first guitar as an extra credit project while studying at St. Mary’s College in Maryland. He got an “A” and that’s when Smith decided to follow his dream and make guitars for a living. In 1985, Smith moved into the PRS Virginia Avenue factory where PRS would remain until 1996 when it was moved to a new 20,000 square foot space on Kent Island. The new facility provided a more mature manufacturing space and workflow for PRS’ growing family of luthiers. In 2008, phase two of the building was completed which added 90,000 sq feet of much-needed production and office space.
Maryland has been my home my whole life. I am very proud of what we have all built here. — Paul Reed Smith