Paul Reed Smith began making top-of-the-line guitars in Maryland in 1985. At the time of publication, the guitars are being made in the United States and South Korea. To properly identify a model, locate the model number and determine which country the guitar was made in. The information for making this determination is contained on the front and rear sides of the guitar headstock, and in the serial number. One exception is the signature models, such as the Santana I and Santana II guitars. In addition to model numbers these guitars have artwork on the fretboard showing a soaring bird.
Determine the Model and Country of Origin
Examine the front of the headstock for the model number, which appears there in large letters. This identifies the model of the guitar.
Home All Guitars Paul Reed Smith (PRS). This Is A Very Simple Formula. PRS serial numbers are very easy to figure out. The only slightly confusing thing is. 1985 guitars start with the same number as a 1995 guitar. 1986 guitars start with the same number as a 1996 guitar 1987 guitars start with the same number as a 1997 guitar etc.
- Hey guys, the other day I played one of the most beautiful playing and sounding guitars I've ever played and I want to buy it from my friend, but I wa.
- All guitars and basses have serial numbers which start with a year prefix. The prefix is the last one or two digits of the production year, and it applies to all models below. You can also look up your PRS guitars MODCAT code. Which is the long strange number that looks like this: SLM2FAHFIETFRHB-BS.
Look for the word 'Korea' on the front and on the back side of the headstock. If it appears on either side, the guitar is a South Korean-made model.
Examine the serial number on the back of the headstock for the letter K. The K indicates that the guitar is a South Korean-made model.
Determine whether the serial number is handwritten or is a graphic reproduction. A handwritten serial number indicates that the guitar was made in the United States.
Tip
In 2001 Gibson Guitar Company obtained an injunction against PRS, prohibiting it from making its Single Cut model because it infringed on on the Gibson trademark. This was later reversed by appellate courts. Players and collectors often differentiate between Single Cut models made before and after the injunction. When the injunction was vacated, PRS resumed making the same Single Cut. This is one model, not two.
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This Is A Very Simple Formula
PRS serial numbers are very easy to figure out. The only slightly confusing thing is
Prs Se Serial Numbers
1985 guitars start with the same number as a 1995 guitar.1986 guitars start with the same number as a 1996 guitar1987 guitars start with the same number as a 1997 guitar etc. etc.All you have to remember is, guitars built in 1985 would have a very low number, while guitars built in 1995 would have really high numbers.Examples
Prs Serial Number Identification Lookup
| Serial Number | Year | Guitar # |
| 5 0037 | 1985 | 37th guitar built |
| 6 0649 | 1986 | 649th guitar built |
| 7 2376 | 1987 | 2376th guitar built |
| 5 23567 | 1995 | 23,567th guitar built |
Prs Serial Number Identification
Numbers starting with:
Presumably 1999 will be the same formula; I don't know what they'll do in the year 2000. Were all gonna die then anyway so I guess it doesn't matter. Ha Ha !! I have heard that in 1999 PRS is building over 100 guitars a day. So the numbers are climbing fast now. The Classic Electric or CE model has one extra number inserted after the year designator and before the number of the guitar Example 3 917542 = 17,542nd guitar off the line, it would have been made in 1993. Possible exceptions Important changeover years 1991 -- PRS stopped offering Brazilian rosewood fingerboards. Opinions vary here but I feel that the Indian Rosewood they use is still OK and shouldn't be a reason not to buy a guitar made after 1991. 1991 -- PRS stopped offering real abalone shell as the inlay material on the fingerboard. They went to a high quality, less expensive, but real mother of pearl. 1993 -- PRS came out with their version of a one piece stop tailpiece. This tailpiece is made from white metal with absolutely NO saddle adjustment (not recommended.) The ones used previously were the excellent quality Gibson style Nashville 2 piece system with fully adjustable saddles. I really hate the new PRS Stop Tail Piece 1995 -- PRS stopped using the mother of pearl inlay in favor of an artificial laminate known as “Abalam”. Still, you have to remember Gibson uses “Mother of Toilet Seat”, which is nothing more than plastic. 1995 -- PRS changed the tremolo system dramatically. The saddles are no longer highly polished and they tend to dull up and tarnish. The original tremolo was a single piece casting made in the USA, VS. the newer one that is a 2 piece bolted together unit. 1995 -- PRS went to a large long neck heel. This affects the playability of the guitar adversely and also reduces the value of the guitar greatly. (I offer a conversion back to original; on this call for details) 1995 -- PRS changed the wood on their Classic Electric “CE” model from Alder to Mahogany. In this writer's opinion, that was a huge mistake. The guitar lost all of it's high end snap. This cost cutting move was especially dastardly, because it's impossible to visually tell the difference: The wood is painted opaque on most of the models. I would classify this change as downright dishonesty and fraud. They could have changed the name or something but they did not do that. 1995 -- PRS had several hefty price increases, due to the increasing popularity of the guitar and their inability to produce enough guitars to satisfy the market. That was also the year they moved to a new large modern factory and upped their production tremendously. CNC manufacturing techniques allows PRS to build more guitars than ever but a lot of the original soul of the guitar is lacking. Also when you produce huge amounts of guitars there are other problems with wood for example. A small company can go and handpick their wood but a large company has to literally buy wood by the ton and hope for the best. 1998 -- PRS introduced their new low mass tuners... These tuners appear to be smaller and lighter than the older ones. I assume they are also considerably less money also. I have also heard they are made in Japan by Gotoh. EEEEEEEEEEEEEkkkkkkkkkkkk Later on PRS introduced imported models which totally destroyed the cache value of their original guitars. I was sorry to see that happen. Their imported guitars are quite nice but there are tons of guitars out there for 30% less money that are better. |