Last week, I attended PRS Guitars' sixth annual open-house event known as Experience PRS.
If you’re a fan of PRS Guitars or just guitars in general, this free event at the Stevensville, Maryland, factory is a must-see. It truly is meant to be “experienced.”
In addition to visiting the facility where they build these exquisite guitars, there were performances by PRS artists, including David Grissom, Brent Mason, Neal Schon of Journey, Mark Tremonti and John McLaughlin. Experience PRS also uses this opportunity to unveil all its upcoming new products.
One that struck me is the SE Custom 24 7-String guitar, which happens to be PRS Guitars' first 7-string production instrument in their SE series of guitars. The SE Custom 24 7-String combines all the familiar PRS features, cosmetics and playability for players who need to reach for more than just six strings.
The SE Custom 24 7-String adds a low-B string to offer more tonal range and features a beveled maple top with flame maple veneer and mahogany back, a 24-fret, 25-inch scale length maple neck with rosewood fretboard and bird inlays — a new addition on an SE guitar. Pickups include a SE HFS and SE Vintage Bass with a volume, push/pull tone, and three-way blade switch.
The SE Custom 24 7-String is a solid guitar with a defined response, and probably the best looking 7-string guitar available.
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Guitar World has debuted a special digital issue dedicated entirely to Paul Reed Smith Guitars. The special issue features a review of PRS' 408 MT and Standard models, plus new-product stories about the SE Angelus acoustic guitar, the 2-Channel "H" Amp, the SE Custom 24-7 String guitar and more. The issue is available now at iTunes.Head here for more info.
I try very hard to remain under the radar despite being on camera as gear editor, but in this age of social media it was only a matter of time before it had to come to this. So with that, I will make my blog painless and a quick and easy read so you can get on to more important things like practicing guitar and sweep picking, or if you’re like me, obsessing how to race the Tour De France and trying to be Kristen Stewart’s next mistake. I will use this blog to inform you of things I find cool; like new gear I’m playing through and what I’m watching, reading or listening to at any given moment. So feel free to ask me anything that’s gear related — or if you have a problem with your girlfriend, you know, life lesson stuff, I’m pretty good at that too — and I’ll do my best to answer or address it here.
Paul Riario has been the tech/gear editor and online video presence for Guitar World for over 25 years. Paul is one of the few gear editors who has actually played and owned nearly all the original gear that most guitarists wax poetically about, and has survived this long by knowing every useless musical tidbit of classic rock, new wave, hair metal, grunge, and alternative genres. When Paul is not riding his road bike at any given moment, he remains a working musician, playing in two bands called SuperTrans Am and Radio Nashville.
