I think the difference with Paul is that after thirty years building guitars, he is still incredibly passionate about building guitars.

This is why I love PRS guitars so much. I truly believe there is no other guitar company that loves their guitars as much as PRS does. They’re truly incredible instruments as well as works of art

How can you not want a guitar from someone who takes the building process this seriously

hes passionate about guitars and music, and its no coincidence that he produces some of the finest guitars out there

I just started playing the guitar recently. As an mechanical engineer I appreciate the insight into the guitar design process. As a former combat soldier I really appreciate his support for my brother in arms. I'm thinking my next guitar might just be a PRS.

Great talk Paul. I have owned 5 PRS guitars and still have 2 in addition to Gibsons and Fenders. Without a doubt the PRS' are the best built and most playable of the lot. Sound is top notch. I say that because a Tele, a Strat an LP all have unique sounds. If I had to choose only one guitar it would absolutely be a PRS.

Paul Reed Smith is the Steve Jobs of guitar manufacturers in my opinion. The mans a genius

Always a pleasure encountering excellence.

I am surprised at the reaction here. I've met and talked to Paul on a number of occasions and find him very compelling in a nerdy kind of way. His true passion is to build the best guitars on the planet and I think he has got to 5.9 out of 6. I have four of them and they are truly fantastic instruments. He may be a bit aloof but he builds great guitars. Have they had some duds, yes, but they also did not put self tuning gears and crayon logo's on their guitars either.

I think it's funny some of these comments - "PRS guitars have no "character" or lack real tone like a Les Paul or a Strat" Are you serious? What a bullshit statement. Are you actual guitar players? If so, how long have you been playing? I've literally never saw or have known a single guitar player that picked up and played a really nice PRS and felt that it didn't meet their standards simply because it doesn't have legend status like some other instruments (as if that even fucking means anything when it comes to a quality instrument (it doesn't)). I like Strats and I like Les Pauls, and yes we all know the history those two legends have, but it's such an asinine thing to say that PRS guitars aren't relevant because nobody can "hear one and know it's a PRS like you know it's a Les Paul or a Strat." The truth is, Les Pauls look pretty and sound fantastic, but that's pretty much where it ends for me - they're fucking heavy (unnecessarily heavy), and honestly their body shape is just not as comfortable to work with - the reason people still play them is because almost every guitar player they grew up listening to/trying to emulate played one also - not because they're the best guitar ever and nothing compares to it. Because trust me, they're not THAT great. In terms of playability, it's pretty much not even a contest in my mind - I own a Les Paul Standard because it's an iconic guitar - I own a PRS Custom 22 because it plays better than almost any other well known brand I've ever played.

I just received my PRS and I confirm: WOW. This guitar has a soul, the sound and the possibilities are just incredible. Not only these guitars sound beautifuly but they are magnificent pieces of Art. Thank you Mr. PRS ❤😊

I'm not very patriotic but that anthem sent chills down my arms. The guitar is such a beautiful instrument

The Captain has this shirt.

I visited his haunted 20 foot square workshop in 1983 to ask him to work on my vintage 1968 Gibson EB2D bass. I was enthralled with having played his #7 hand made bass he made for Rick Kennell in 1977. Rick would let me play it sometimes during lessons in 1978. Paul started by making incredible instruments and has continued to add scientific experimenting to his artistic craft. I finally bought my first PRS about 6 years ago and instantly all of my other guitars sat idle as I preferred picking up my PRS SE Soapbar II. Since then I have bought 2 more SE's and an American made Custom 22. I even have a cassette of his band in 1983 that he gave me. You can have preferences on your guitars, but nobody can deny that so many professional guitarists are given one of his and they convert over to PRS guitars, buying a whole stable of them. This is how Santana started. Paul handed Santana one around 1979 or so, and Santana became a convert.

Mr. Paul Reed Smith you are an absolute genius.

I don't understand all the negative comments about his delivery... PRS was just being himself.

I love the passion that this man has towards music and the instruments that he produces. His company is the only company that I think justify their price tags. If I had the money I would buy a PRS.

PRS's terms "Subtractive" / or "unsubstractive" is the same thing as saying that materials either absorb or conserve energy, which is how Ken Parker looks at it.

His point is how HE tries to make the perfect guitar. Notice the title of his talk, "Building the Perfect Guitar." He then gives a talk that basically says, other manufacturers can do what they want, but WE consider and use the very best, most resonant part at every place on every guitar. Then, when the guitar is finished, you get out of that guitar via tone and volume, almost all the energy you put into it when you strummed it. WE build our version of the perfect guitar by incredible attention to detail in every step of construction, i.e. we want you to put in, say 6 Joules of energy and want you to get 5.9 Joules of energy back from the guitar in volume, harmonics, and tone. I met Mr. Smith at a guitar show in Clearwater, Fla., years ago and had the pleasure of talking to him a little while. It was before the company became a monster and he was just standing there alone with his guitars when the place first opened. I had been one of the first through the door. Everyone else seemed content to come in later. But in talking with him one on one, you get the exact same Paul Smith as seen here in this video. Just a great guy with a massive passion for guitars. He also did a show later with his band and I found that he's also a great player. One of the favorite chance encounters in my life was speaking with him.

Thank you Paul Reed Smith for your great contributions and Ted Talks ..!!

His point is by applying physics to create instruments that can continue to resonate sound which makes them superior.

Paul's commitment and enthusiasm are a great thing to see. Also, the electric tone at the end is fantastic. The acoustic sounded wonderful as well. I think PRS is trying to improve their instruments, making better ones than before. Most other makers are just trying to do it cheaper.

Thanks for making such awesome instruments! I have 2 and I love them both. I feel like I put in 6 and they give me back 10!

Brilliant.. every musician is always telling each other how the "charred maple wood" or the "vibranium neck" makes the sound so rich and adds so much to the tone. I can't believe I never thought of this myself, but his idea of merely subtracting less as opposed to adding is pretty deep. Makes total sense instead of saying some single part of the guitar adds a magical quality to the sound... they're (the parts) all working together in unison to reduce subtraction of energy output. Cool stuff

I had the chance to play as an opening act for "The Paul Reed Smith Band" in Thomann Sommerfest few years ago and meet him. He is an awesome guy!

i'll make my own guitar and call it SRP - Suggested retail price, cheap, but i'll love it.

Wonderful. I'm getting my first PRS guitar for Christmas and words can't describe my excitement.

What a tone and gorgeous guitar, wow. Great bends as well

"I couldn't decide whether to pick up the Strat or the Les Paul for the next tune, so I made a guitar that was a combination of both and called it "my new thing." That includes the scale length, found right in between the other two. Then I just put in better materials." In a nutshell that is the whole PRS philosophy. For all who play corporate guitars including his, you will find out one day that a single luthier build is vastly superior (to a factory stock model) to fit your needs once you find out what they are over time and experience. I'm not kidding about this. Once your needs are defined- Sell your six telecasters and buy a single guitar to your spec and you'll be happy. Meticulous love is the key ingredient. Brian May and his dad weren't even builders and the testimony and legacy of that piece has stood the test of time. -as one example.

The more you expose your humanity the more cheap shots jerks are going to hit you with. You don't see most company heads do this kind of thing because they want to avoid getting jaded from this backlash. The comments are mostly hey I'm better than Paul. Like a bunch of narcissistic adolescents that lack respect and culture.

Far be it from me to a critic of PRS, but he is merging principles of acoustic guitars with electric guitars - they are different beasts. Les Paul knew this when he grabbed a pine 4X4 in the Epiphone factory in 1940 and made an electric guitar body from it. He was not concerned with 'tonewood' because he knew that the pickups and strings give an electric guitar it's sound, not the wood. Wood density will make a difference in sustain, but that's about it. Recently a cardboard Stratocaster was made and played by Fender folks in Corona, and it sounded like a strat because of the hardware, and not the 'toneboard' of the cardboard. UKposts it and check it out - very enlightening. There are plenty of acrylic electric guitars that sound just fine. Leo Fender used pine in his early Broadcaster bodies because it was cheap and plentiful, not for the tone. Leo used maple necks because of the wood's stability and strength, and for quick and easy production with relatively unskilled workers on his assemble line. PRS makes excellent guitars - their quality control is exceptional, and far better than Fender and Gibson, IMO. Of course, that is reflected in their prices also. I like the scale of 25" for a lot of PRS guitars, as it's a nice fit between Fender and Gibson. I'm not trying to dis on PRS and this presentation - I have tremendous admiration for the man and his instruments. However, this video seems a lot like a sales pitch to me.

Total respect for this man sharing his great experience, personal success along with his struggles.Most people in his position wouldn't take the time.

I used to own a PRS custom guitar, and Wow did that thing sound amazing.

From a former Gibson player (which I still love), PRS all the way. Stunning guitars, both visually and sound.

glad he's still kicking and with so much passion :)

How awesome. Thank you so much!

Find it hard to agree with Mr. Smith. To quote Top Gear's James May "Adding more chillies to a curry doesn't make it better". Simply adding more and more tone through using the best resonating parts isn't necessarily the answer. Jack White's Airline is one of the most iconic sounding guitars in the world and is made of fibreglass. Jimmy Page's danelectro which he used to record kashmir is made of cheap plastic parts. Seasick Steve's guitar only has three strings and has tones of tone! Many musicians' favourite guitars are not the ones made of the best parts but are often the ones with the most character.

seeing as he is a pretty smart man, i love how he chose to do the jimi hendrix version of the song... "for the troops"

I like his point about instruments taking on the persona of those that play them. I made my own electric guitar and did so out of my dream materials. It's close to one of the typical shapes for a guitar but has just enough difference that you'll never find one like it on a store shelf. This guitar has had me poured into it when I was at my best, at my worst and just bored trying to have some fun. The crazy thing is when I hand the thing to other people. I find as they play it, their style begins to take on elements of my style even if they haven't ever heard me play. It's a very eerie feeling, almost like they are channeling me. This was particularly eerie meeting my fiance's honorary niece's boyfriend play on my guitar. I never met the dude before then, barely got to know him before they left us alone and I busted out the guitar as a common point seeing his interest in it was one of a musician. Yet he was mimicking my style. I hadn't so much as held the guitar for more than the time it took to pass it to him and show him that the volume knobs are kinda scratchy. Instead of using the tricks I showed him to get rid of the scratchiness he simply did like I do, embrace it as part of the sound. I could tell however from what he played that his style was so much different from mine normally but he was playing in my personal style.

man that was awesome! I don't own a PRS yet but I love Paul and love the company what a dude! His passion is second to none!

"Give me any guitar and I will make it sound the same in five minutes" Keith Richards

Paul is incredible as a guitar maker, who took production onto a whole new level. But I don't agree to all his opinions. First, if you play a guitar in an ensemble with other instruments (AKA rock band), the guitar doesn't have to sound like an orchestra. The band sounds better, if everyone has his range of frequencies. I played PRS guitars for years and I found out more often than not, that thin sounding guitars like a Telly fit better into complex scenarios like a 10-piece band with brass section. Conclusion: the tool has to fit into the scenario. Second, PRS states that the ultimate goal is to trigger the right feelings in the musician and the audience. Now, that has nothing to do with physics. But very much with socialization and chemical state of the brain.

Kanami Tono from Band Maid plays PRS and after seeing them live, she makes it wail through her Mesa Boogie Triple Rectifier with 4 X 12” drivers. Totally amazing ! Paul has such passion, Love it !

I have never had an instrument inspire me to play as much as both my PRS guitars. A 93 CU24 10 Top and 2016 CE24. Thank you Paul.

I thought he was going to build a guitar with those pieces of wood. Am I alone?

I always try to go to 11.

Regarding the tone quality of an electric guitar, some have correctly stated that a main contributor to the tone quality is the fingers of the player. I'd like to point out that Paul Reed Smith has put a lot of effort into making his guitars comfortable to play, which translates directly to the fingers of the player, and therefore indirectly affects the tone quality of his guitars. Also, for those of you who don't understand his explanation of "subtractive", he is speaking of energy losses due to poor design choices (like using a PVC nut, for example) which would subtract (or absorb) vibration energy from the strings. Great talk, thank you Paul Reed Smith !

Brilliant lecture Paul . Thank you

This strikes me as an enormous commercial for PRS guitars rather than an educational way of sharing his wisdom. The whole point of the TED talk is for experts and smart/wise people to share their work and discoveries with people, to help raise them up to the level of the speaker. Paul's famous 21 Rules of Tone would have been a wonderful thing to share and explain here; they would have enriched the experience of guitar-making for all the luthiers and wannabe luthiers watching... as well as making a better commercial, exactly, by revealing just what makes a PRS guitar superior to a standard Strat. But of course, he's holding that information back because these Rules of Tone are supposedly a trade secret. Contrary to the talk title, he doesn't want to help you build a better guitar yourself. He wants to convince you he can build a better guitar, so that you buy his. PRS is undoubtedly a clever guy and a master builder, even if the guitars themselves are factory built now rather than hand luthiered by him. But the point of TED talks is to share your gifts with others. By keeping his best and most specific advice to himself, and only sharing very vague general statements about his philosophy of tone, he's not actually giving us his knowledge in a meaningful or helpful way--which is pretty much the whole point of a good TEDtalk.

I put 6 into my girlfriend and got out in 5.9

Bought a PRS AE60 this year and it is one of the most beautiful acoustic guitars I have played and by far the nicest at that price point. The tone is even and delicious, and shines even brighter than the guitar.

I really admire his love and passion for the guitars no wonder he is the third most important guitar builder in history of electric guitar ! RESPECT

When you play a perfect guitar in your own opinion, which could differ to somebody else, it's not going to sound great unless you make love to it. You need to feel it and be into it in the moment.

I've been playing his guitars professionally for over a decade and I can say with confidence...if anyone should be making a presentation of this kind, it should be paul reed smith

Awesome! Great job Paul!

I love this guy.A passionate innovator creator

I don't own a PRS, but I know musicians that do. They are upper-end stock models. The quality is good, but overpriced (IMO). These guitars all sound really good. They don't have an iconic sound, as some have mentioned, but they have a very good and malleable sound. I own Carvin guitars which, like a PRS, don't have an iconic sound. They are high-quality, high-value, and malleable. The 'iconic' guitars people have mentioned, were the first-comers. They broke new ground in a big space of sound. But after enough iconic guitars filled that space, there wasn't room left in that space for something far enough away from other guitars to be 'iconic'. That said, I think there's great value in having a guitar that can cover a decent chunk of the sound space, even if it can't claim it as it's own. And, it's got to feel good to play, and make you happy. A happy player is a better player.

"That's made out of the same PVC pipe you hook your toilet to your septic tank with". ha Classic.

Incredible!!!

im a Vet and now, Im an even prouder owner of a PRS, cheers Mr Smith, ty for the shout out!

dammit Paul you have made me very interested in your guitars

Got reverb?

I love how Maryland ornery he sounds. We need more of that out there.

PRS guitars are not overpriced. They are magnificent. A US built PRS is a guitar that will last your entire life, and get passed down through generations. For someone whos passion lives with guitars, it is a non issue to pay a premium for a premium build that will become a life long friend. People throw money into fleeting ventures all the time and don't think twice about it.

There is more to a guitar than just sustain and volume. His guitars are pretty nice, but I swear he can not stop trying to sell them.

I think that the use of the term 'subtractive' is a purely semantic distinction in relation to instruments. One could just as well describe it in reverse: i.e. that is a process of addition of different éléments which produce the best performance.

Very enlightening! Thank you!

i didn't know he played. the electric guitar part was great. little bit more gain than i'd use, but gotta hand it to him, he made that thing sing like a violin.

PRS: great guitars, strange presentations

every guitar is different, even the same brand and same model, from the same factory.

Amen, to Paul for his armed services appreciation. it is Memorial day in the USA in 2017 when I am watching this. My father has served 3 tours. 2 in Afghanistan and 1 in Iraq, and I have several close friends going into different branches of the armed forces. No matter how much controversial stuff goes on with the USA military, I will always respect and support the, because I know first hand what, our military, has been through.

WOW! Thank you Paul.

I really like Paul and I reeeeally appreciate his love for quality instruments, but I do think he is kind of incoherent. Like he doesn't really explain EXACTLY what he means. At least to the point where people who maybe aren't into music, more specifically guitars, would be able to understand our passion for it. He's got great ideas and he pays attention to every little detail, and it shows in his products. But I really don't think he's the best at explaining it in a way everyone can understand.

Wow - Everyone is so negative. 1-Obviously you do not own a PRS guitar. If you did you would totally understand the quality he is talking about Yes he understands physics more than you. He fuilly understands material science. 2-Just because he plays the anthem on electric, that means he has to play the song for the same reason as Hendrix? No one can just enjoy something these days w/o forcing their idelogy into it. The guy built a company from nothing but passion and wood from grand ma's dresser. He has a list of players-Santana, Page, Lifeson, and so on use his stuff. That is what the American Dream is all about. Not to whine about everything and the fact that a bunch of voluntiers go out and protect the very freedoms that you enjoy like saying stupid un informed comments. When Motzart was my age, he been dead for like 15 years, now that is how little I have accomplished, so shut up and play your guitar.

For everyone that keeps saying he doesn’t know what he’s talking about...he owns and created a multi million dollar company so obviously he does.

If all Americans had the passion and energy and focus of Mr. Smith, it would be a different country.

I think PRS made a mistake when they built and shipped my guitar. It says it's made in Korea and labeled as a Tremonti SE, but this guitar is too good to be a "low-end" PRS guitar. In fact, I purchased my Tremonti SE barely used, the guy had it for 3 months and thought the neck was too chunky and sold it to me for $350. Well, as far as I'm concerned, this guitar is as good as any guitar I've ever played and I hang out a guitar stores and have no inhibitions about asking the sales guys/gals to take down that $8,000 guitar so I can check it out. The finish and fret work is damn perfect and although there was nothing wrong with the pups, I replaced the bridge with a SD JB-4 because that is my fav pup. I hope to some day purchase a custom from PRS, but in the meantime, my Tremonti SE is more than fine and I don't I'll ever sell this one.

My impression was that Ted Talks had a higher rhetorical standard. PRS is a genius and his guitars renowned to be sure--but it's not often clear what this man is talking about. He seems unable to understand what his listener wants to know in order to read him clearly. The concepts are there, but he seems unable to put them into words.

Gotta agree that this isn't one of the better TED talks. I've been fortunate to attend a TED and two TEDMED conferences in person, and watched a number of TEDx presentations on the web, and the caliber of presentations is usually off the charts. Paul's very passionate about his craft (I own 2 of his guitars), and I've seen him speak in other venues, but this came off as a little scattered. Maybe a little more prep time, Paul?

So I was a total LP guy till I bought my first SE 22 this week, OMG! What was I thinking for all those years..................................

Dropping the parts on the ground makes a different sound, yes but how well does that translate to the sound made while playing?

1:27 Mark Tremonti BABY!! ALTER BRIDGE

After seeing this I see that Paul Reed Smith is just as eccentric as a guitar maker should be.

Even through the pedals, the tone of that guitar is something to die for.

PRS makes some really sexy sounding and fantastic playing guitars. But I gotta say, what the fucking hell is he on about...??

Its really funny that Paul says that great instruments aren't very subtractive but electric guitar pickups by their very design are inductively subtractive. Especially humbuckers. I am not saying he is completely wrong but timbre is a extremely complex subject and some frequencies do need to be subtracted while others need to remain.PRS guitars are fine instruments and do generally have their own sound and appeal these days.

Gibson put nylon saddles on their early 60's 335 to get a warmer sound. It subtracts away more energy but many people prefer that sound. To transmitting back more energy is not always the best thing.

Well done Paul...well done!

Building the perfect sitcom: Larry David at TEDxNewYork

The perfect guitar was already made. Fender Stratocaster.

I've always loved PRS guitars, and now I know WHY I love PRS guitars.

I own a few PRs guitars. I am quite impressed with the tone I can get out of,,,,,,,,, my Danelectro.

so, what was his point?

I love paul reed smith and what he does, I want to make that clear. however I don't fully agree with his 'theory'. it's not really a theory in my opinion. it's a very personal point of view that is in fact the way he does things. he is perfectionist. It's not a matter of subtracting or adding. it's a matter of mastering the art of an instrument. and there is no ceiling, because all guitars are and sound different and that's how it should be. if he believes what he claims, then it means he thinks he has the wolrd's best 'least subtractive' guitars out there. which just isn't true. nobody can claim any guitar manufacturer is better than the other (if we're talking about high quality instruments obviously). I think PRS has his vision on what a guitar should feel, look, and sound like. and that's amazing, it's great. but I just don't think there is a specific ceiling to a guitar. it's a very personal view that different people differ by. I don't agree, but he is still definitely a great thing to have in the guitar world. I am very proud of what he's been able to do with his great guitars.

I literally shivered when he played that clip.

amazing video.i'm an engineer that is trying to learn guitar. I had a discussion with guitar player friend that every wood has a different frequency. so the wood you choose for the body makes a big difference.

I expected him to shout "MURICA" at the end. Disappointed he didn't.

Just a 15 minute long advertisement ....

This blew my mind.

I’ve been playing Guitar 30+years, bought my first PRS 2 weeks ago and realised I used to make Noise(pleasant tho it was) excuse the cliche but it’s true, I’m now making Music… I’m truly flabbergasted The blokes telling and selling The Truth, and long may it continue.