PRS Employee Guitar Program // Q&A

Several organizations offer special rewards for employee milestones ranging from plaques to watches; but at PRS Guitars, tenure grants employees guitars to acknowledge their time spent with the company. At 2, 7, 15, 20, and so on years, employees are given the opportunity to customize a guitar to memorialize notable anniversaries with PRS.

We asked a few of our employees more about the process, why they selected a particular model, and more in the Q&A below!

Mikko Dumadag // Design & Content Producer // 2 Year Guitar

Q. What model and color did you choose for your employee guitar? Why?

A. McCarty in Black Gold Burst. I’m a less is more kinda guy, so I think two humbuckers is all I need and it sounds amazing. The McCarty and Black Gold Burst combo is also so classy aesthetically.

Q. What is your favorite aspect of your employee guitar?

A. For me, the sentimental value outweighs the material aspect. It’s an awesome reminder that things worked out. That taking the risk of dropping out of nursing school to pursue art and design was worth it. Working as a graphic designer here at PRS is already pretty radical and getting this employee guitar is the cherry on top. The top wood is also pretty sweet.

Q. What do you love about working at PRS, and what does this milestone in your career meat to you?

A. The people, the type of work, the subject matter, my team, so much more. Being able to combine my two favorite things — electric guitars and graphic design, is pretty rad and super rare and I’m hella grateful for it. And being able to work with fellow artists, musicians, and other like-minded people is such a treat.

Like I said, this is such a nice reminder that I am where I’m supposed to be. I’ve been playing guitar since I was 14 and have always been into art and now my job is a combination of both. 14 year old me would be really stoked if he knew, haha!

Chase Illig // Basecoat Prep // 7 Year Guitar

Q. What model and color did you choose for your employee guitar? Why?

A. I chose a Special Semi-Hollow 22 in blood orange smokeburst with a natural back. It's a very versatile guitar, and it looks super hot.

Q. Tell us about the process of selecting the woods for your instrument, was it difficult to choose?

A. Ian Cole from the woodshop made it super easy by picking out some great options for me. Then I just went with my gut so I didn't overthink it.

Q. Do you play guitar? Have you gigged or recorded with it?

A. Yes--I've played a couple gigs at Cult Classic and Big Bats with it!

Mary Phillips // Electronics // 15 Year Guitar

Q. What model and color did you choose for your employee guitar? Why?

A. I selected a McCarty 594 in Violet Blue Burst for my 15 year employee guitar. Ever since I started working at PRS I have wanted a hollowbody, plus I just think the color is pretty!

Q. What is your favorite aspect of your employee guitar?

A. I really liked the combination of sound quality and the shape of the hollowbody.

Q. What do you love about working at PRS, and what does this milestone in your career meat to you?

A. The best part of working here is the atmosphere surrounded by people who are passionate about quality.

Eric Granroth // Private Stock Assembly // 20 Year Guitar

Q. What Model and color did you choose for your employee guitar? Why?

A. I chose a P22 for my employee guitar, because the Custom 24 has 5 useable sounds, and the addition of the piezo trem makes the combo a great musical Swiss army knife. The color is called Dragon's Breath Glow. I've liked this color since I first saw it. It reminds me of an explosion with the quilted maple top. The rest of the guitar was aesthetically designed around the top color. The orange of the Chaltecoco neck, the black and orange of the Cocobolo Fingerboard, the synthetic opal of the 12th fret inlay, the gray swamp ash back with red grain filler, and the smoked black hardware make the whole package, for me.

Q. Tell us about the process of selecting the woods for your instrument, was it difficult to choose?

A. I was lucky enough to be able to choose some woods from the vault for this guitar. It didn't take long. Go into the process knowing that your wood will choose you...

Q. What do you love about working at PRS, and what does this milestone in your career mean to you?

A. My favorite thing about working at PRS is that, for me, it's like I ran away and joined the circus. A bad day at work still means that I get to mess around with guitars!

A good day at work for me is the dream job for a lot of folks who are into guitars. Apart from being able to play some killer instruments as part of my job and constantly learning how to make better guitars, there are other days where I get to chat with artists, help design new products, and other experiences like playing a PRS Dragon through a Klon into Paul Reed Smith's amp. There are days like these that I try to have the presence of mind to sit back and realize how awesome it is to be here.

20 years at any job is a very long time, the employee guitar program is a great perk. I think it's important for the employees at PRS to be able to own the instruments they work on. Folks, we do an excellent job here, and a better instrument will make you a better player, if only because you want to play it more often.

Greg Pope // Master Scheduler // 25 Year Guitar

Q. What model and color did you choose for your employee guitar? Why?

A. I chose a Natural Modern Eagle V with a Piezo trem. The model because of the pickup and controls, and the color because of the quality of wood.

Q. Do you play guitar? Have you gigged or recorded with it?

A. I've played guitar since I was eight years old and have used this particular guitar at a few gigs, but haven't recorded with it yet.

Q. What is your favorite aspect of your employee guitar?

A. The tone is magical and the sustain is incredible, plus the satin finish is super smooth.

Katie Sullivan // Demand Planner // 30 Year Guitar

Q. What Model and color did you choose for your employee guitar? Why?

A. My 30 year employe guitar that I recently received is a Special Semi-Hollow, I wasn’t sure what I wanted I just knew I wanted it be different than my past employee guitars. After speaking with a few people around the company I decided on the Special Semi-Hollow, I am huge fan of the f-holes.

Q. Tell us about the process of selecting the woods for your instrument, was it difficult to choose?

A. When selecting my woods for my guitar I knew I wanted a zebra wood top with a curly maple top binding and curly maple f-hold binding, as well as curly maple bird inlays. I knew for a fact I wanted as many wood features as possible. The rest of the wood selection became easy with guidance of Paul Miles.

Q. What do you love about working at PRS, and what does this milestone in your career mean to you?

A. What I truly love about working at PRS is the people. Over my 33 years with PRS so many amazing people have come through these doors, bringing so much artistic and creative talent into the building. I also really respect that as the business grows they give their employees opportunities to grow and learn within the company.

Jack Higginbotham // Chief Operating Officer // 35 Year Amplifier

Q. What model amplifier did you choose? Why?

A. I chose the HDRX100 head and 2x12 cab for my employee milestone. I picked this for a few reasons; this amp is memorable for me... I was along for the ride while Doug and Paul were developing it and listened to Paul test most of the early 100’s and 50’s. I love the tones that the amp creates and I have some nostalgia from being around it while it was being developed. I picked a 2x12 over a 4x12 simply because I prefer that combination.

Q. What is your favorite aspect of your new amplifier?

A. As of today, the fact that Doug Sewell, Paul Smith and Jeff Taylor signed the amp. (Jeff built it!)

Q. What do you love about working at PRS, and what does this milestone in your career mean to you?

A. I love working at PRS because it is my life…same as a lot of you. I like having a job that doesn’t have a start and stop time and is integrated into my overall existence. This place is an extension of my family and I love the passion that lives inside our world. I can’t think of anything else I could have done with my life that would be as gratifying as this.

I’m going on 38 years of being at PRS. It doesn’t seem that long, so that’s sort of shocking when I think about it. I’m grateful that I have had the opportunity to be here, contribute and watch us grow and mature within the industry. I’m looking forward to the next period of time and already thinking about that next employee instrument!