Paul Reed Smith (born February 18, 1956) graduated from Bowie High School in 1974[1] and then briefly attended St. Mary's College of Maryland, where he began his guitar-making career.

Smith then set up a partnership to create a factory in Annapolis, Maryland[3] and began work on producing guitars.

Later through the years, in 1996, the company moved its base of operations from the original Virginia Avenue building to a new facility in the Chesapeake Bay on Kent Island.

PRS guitars feature three original bridge designs: a one-piece pre-intonated stoptail, a vibrato, and a wrapover tailpiece.

It was an update on the classic Fender vibrato and used cam-locking tuners, which offered wide pitch bending with exceptional tuning stability.

While most of the pickups are humbuckers, some are actually a pair of single coils wound in opposing directions, one intended for the neck and one for the bridge position.

[3] PRS developed pickups for the aggressive rock market, offering pick ups such as the chainsaw, and the Hot-Fat-Screams (HFS) initially used on the Special model.

[3] In 1998, an electronic upgrade kit was released for pre-1993 instruments which included lighter-weight tuner buttons, nickel-plated brass screws for saddles and intonation, a simulated tone control, and high-capacitance hookup wire.

[10] Over time, the inlays have undergone several revisions, with the standard solid birds joined by hollow versions, as well as more artistic depictions.

[12] In 1988, Paul Reed Smith introduced its more affordable Bolt-On series known as classic electric (CE models) which were discontinued in 2009.

It featured an intricate dragon inlay which ran down the finger board, a wide 22 fret neck, a non-vibrato Stop-tail bridge, and a new pick up design.

[12] PRS introduced a more affordable line of guitars in 2000[14] referred to as the "SE" which are manufactured in Korea by World Musical Instrument Co. Ltd. for the electrics and Wildwood for the acoustics.

Paul Reed Smith also provides lower-priced instruments under the PRS brand that have been produced through exclusive license agreements with manufacturers in Korea, Indonesia, and China.

Gibson Guitar Corporation filed a trademark infringement lawsuit against the owner, Paul Reed Smith.

Federal District Court Judge William J. Haynes then ruled the Singlecut was an imitation of the Gibson Les Paul.