PRS has launched its first signature guitar for DragonForce virtuoso Herman Li, who has been prized away from Ibanez to help develop a bold new electric guitar that is unlike anything Paul Reed Smith's firm has ever produced.
Speaking to Guitar World about jumping ship last year, Li admitted, “It was my dream as a kid to have an Ibanez signature, [but] Paul said he’d do anything to make it happen.”
That meet-up was in 2006, two years before his Ibanez EGEN1 dropped, and Smith has been persistent since. In the intervening years, Li realized he “wanted something that could go beyond what I play in DragonForce, covering rock and bluesy stuff,” which is where Smith twisted the guitarist's arm.
And so, after nearly five years of R&D, the PRS Chleo – a limited-edition signature model – is finally here, and, according to Li, it “represents everything I’ve ever needed.”
The Chleo is named after a combination of his children’s names, and is a departure from the usual PRS blueprint in several ways. Of course, the rounder body is the clearest example of Li’s desire to go all-out with this model, but there are plenty of choice developmental tweaks beyond it.
The chief specs unite a solid mahogany body with a heavily sculpted maple top, a one-piece maple neck capped with an 20"-radius ebony fingerboard, and an expansive HSH pickup configuration. But that doesn’t tell the whole story.
The body has radically modified the traditional PRS profile. It’s thinner and lighter to facilitate Li’s high-energy performances and features some peculiar but purposeful contours, and the neck shape and neck joint have been wholly customized, too. Li was gunning for a thin profile, prioritizing comfort and speed.
As a result, the neck joint has increased surface area “to promote build integrity and tonal transfer”, while glow-in-the-dark side dots are a handy bonus.
Li has also put his stamp on the fingerboard, with PRS’ trademark body scoop modified for “ultimate access” to the upper frets, while the last four frets have been scalloped. As the finishing touch, the fretboard does away with those love ’em or hate ’em bird inlays in favor of a more Li-coded Eclipse Dragon pattern.
Tonally, there are no 85/15 or Narrowfield pickups, which is usually the case for PRS guitars. Instead, Li has turned to a copper-free Fishman Fluence set. The signature set – Fishman Fluence Signature Series Omniforce Herman Li, to use its Sunday name – is unavailable anywhere else and uses layered PCBs “for consistent, noise-free performance”.
It’s paired with a five-way blade selector and, with three separate voices built in, a total of 13 tonal combinations are waiting to be unlocked. The covered/uncovered/covered look is also drop-dead.
“Paul gave me access to the best tops and everything,” Li purred during last world's GW chat. “It was hard to refuse! Everything about this guitar is there for a reason.”
They also worked on an innovative stabilizer to give its Gotoh GE1996T floating tremolo, which combines with lightweight PRS tuners, a hardtail-like stability.
“I can bend and everything stays in tune,” he says. “I broke a string the other night, and it was fine, even with a floating system.”
In all, it took an exhaustive design process, plenty of patience and four prototypes to hit the sweet spot.
“I wanted to create a guitar that combined effortless playability, precision craftsmanship, and a versatile tonal range,” he says. “It brings together modern innovation with timeless style, giving players the freedom to explore both classic sounds and new creative possibilities. The Chleo isn’t just a signature model – it’s a guitar built to inspire.”
Rob Carhart, PRS Guitars’ Director of New Product Engineering, calls the guitar “a new evolution for PRS”. It's easy to see why.
The Chleo comes in two colorways – Orchid Dusk and Charcoal Purple Burst – and only 200 pieces will be made in 2025 to the tune of $6,850 apiece.
Head to PRS to learn more.
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