PRS and Guild...what might have been...

Just doing some research on PRS since I bought my PRS guitar. According to their history, in the early '80's Smith went to a few manufacturers - Yamaha, Hamer, and Guild - asking them if they wanted to manufacture his early models, team up with him, etc. By then he actually had a well known reputation, the guitars had the classic "PRS look" they still have, and he had sold guitars to Santana, Howard Leese of Heart, Peter Frampton, and others.

Of course, all three manufacturers, including Guild, said "No". So he got the financing to start his own facilities, etc.

One wonders what might have been...

walrus

I'm not a big PRS guy, but it seems to me that fortune favors the bold in this case and given that he found his niche, I'd say he would have been constrained by working with an existing company set in their ways.

Good point - agreed! Given the number of times Guild changed hands it seems probable Smith would have eventually taken over Guild, not the other way around...

walrus

walrus said:

Good point - agreed! Given the number of times Guild changed hands it seems probable Smith would have eventually taken over Guild, not the other way around...

walrus

Click to expand...

Which raises a whole different discussion!

walrus said:

Good point - agreed! Given the number of times Guild changed hands it seems probable Smith would have eventually taken over Guild, not the other way around...I

walrus

Click to expand...

Smith is still relatively young as major guitar brand founders go. He's in his early 60's.
He might have been a major force in Westerly. Who knows?