PRS has made a major play in the metal guitar market by introducing the Tekton lineup.
Dubbed “a whole new family of guitars”, the Tektons fill a gap in the PRS catalog and look to go toe to toe with the heavyweights of the metal guitar world.
The Maryland brand is no stranger to heavy music. Mark Tremonti, Mark Holcomb, and Herman Li are all PRS artists who have signature guitars designed for hard rock, metal and shred.
Some of the specs rolled out here will be familiar, too. Floyd Rose tremolos and seven-string configurations are available in the PRS lineup.
But PRS says the Tekton family has been purpose-built from the ground-up to meet a very specific design brief: to be the most modern spec’d electric guitars they can be, “designed for the most technical of modern players”.
The company has therefore pulled no punches: radical body carves, ultra-thin neck profiles, longer scale lengths, and all-new Stylus pickups engineered to get the most out of digital rigs.
Four Tektons are available: the OG hardtail, ‘T’ two-point tremolo, “Floyd” Floyd Rose trem, and “SVN” seven-string. Each features a new Tekton body silhouette that is a halfway house between the Custom 24 and Vela designs.
But while the shape itself might not be too radical, PRS has compensated for that with the contouring. The belly carve is huge, and the neck heel is heavily sculpted. It is the thinnest body PRS has ever designed.
Elsewhere, the bolt-on maple necks – also the thinnest that PRS has ever made in standard production – feature a 16” radius ebony fingerboard with stainless steel frets. 16” is a new one for PRS, and this is the first time the company has used stainless steel frets, too.
Notably, the Tektons feature the same string spacing found on John Mayer’s Silver Sky and Mark Lettieri’s Fiore. Slightly wider than usual PRS guitars, it’s said to be better for sweeps, arpeggios and precise pick attack.
The Bird inlays have also been ditched for offset dots and Luminlay side dots. The necks feature hormigo strength rods for stability and resonance, taking cues from the carbon fiber rods found in Li’s Chleo signature.
As for tonewoods, the Tekton “Floyd” has an all-alder body, while the others have mahogany backs with highly flamed mango tops.
PRS has also debuted its new Stylus humbuckers. Complete with coil-splitting, they feature alnico 5 magnets and are voiced for “clarity, articulation and character”.
They promise to deliver “aggressive tones without sacrificing note definition”, and that improved definition is said to be present whether playing through an amp or a modern modeling rig.
Interestingly, they offer a flatter output than most humbuckers in a bid to cater to digital gear. Given that much of modern metal music is recorded using digital modelers, it makes sense, but this might be the first time we’ve seen a mainstream brand build a pickup with modelers in mind.
The flatter output offers some of its own character, but the aim of the game here is to keep your amp and modeler tones fully intact.
“These pickups are exceedingly well-judged – crisp, clear delivery that lets your carefully dialed tones shine through,” Guitar World's review of the Tekton T notes.
“The output doesn’t overpower a clean signal, and helps to keep higher gain tight and defined, with great string separation.”
It’s a big move from PRS. For a firm largely associated with classic builds, the Tektons represent a radical lane change.
“This is not just introducing a new model. We are planting a flag for a whole new family of guitars,” PRS Director of Sales Jim Cullen says. “Since day one, PRS has been built around a combination of player feedback and our experience as guitar makers.
“Listening to musicians while continually refining our craft has helped us create instruments that serve as tools for a wide range of players. Over the years, we have heard a growing call for more modern spec’d PRS guitars. The Tekton is our answer to that call.”
Price-wise, the Tekton and Tekton T will list for $2,899, while the Floyd and SVN variants will be priced at $2,999.
Read our full review of the Tekton T and Tekton SVN models, and head over to PRS Guitars to find out more.
