PRS Year In Review 2021

Another year draws to a close! Below, we recap a few of the exciting aspects of this year, including fun stats, a look back at 2021's new products, and cool projects the PRS team worked on.

In 2021, the PRS YouTube Channel saw more than 5 million views, here are the top 10 most viewed videos:

1. USA Factory Tour
2. SE Factory Tour
3. Pro Guitarists ask Paul Reed Smith 22 Questions
4. The Fiore | Mark Lettieri Signature Model
5. The SE Custom 24
6. Inside Private Stock | Story and Factory Tour
7. The McCarty 594 Singlecut - Joe Walsh Limited Edition
8. PRS Guitars 2021 Launch Party
9. The Studio
10. The SE Custom 24-08

PRS products were more popular than ever this year. Here is a look at our most popular instruments and amplifiers across all of our product categories.

AMPS

1. MT 15
2. Archon
3. HDRX

BOLT-ON GUITARS

1. Silver Sky
2. CE 24
3. Fiore

CORE GUITARS

1. Custom 24
2. McCarty 594
3. Special

^ And for an extra fun fact, our most popular colors for our Core instruments were Black Gold Burst, Faded Whale Blue, and Charcoal Burst!

S2 GUITARS

1. S2 McCarty 594
2. S2 594 Thinline
3. S2 Custom 24

SE ELECTRICS

1. SE Custom 24
2. SE Custom 24-08
3. SE Standard 24

SE ACOUSTICS

1. SE P20E
2. SE A50E
3. SE A60E

In January 2021, we took to YouTube to introduce our newest products in a special 3 hour launch party event! But for a quicker summary, just check out our list below:

• In early 2021, PRS Narrowfield pickups returned to our lineup with the introduction of the Studio and Special Semi-Hollow models! Narrowfields deliver a thick single-coil sound, reminiscent of soapbar pickups, with the benefit of humbucking coils. We dive deeper into the story behind the Narrowfields here.
• Mark Lettieri officially joined the PRS Artist Family with his new signature bolt-on guitar: the Fiore.
• We also announced two additional artist model updates, a 1000-piece limited run of John Mayer Signature Silver Sky models in a new flip-flop, polychromatic finish called Lunar Ice. Additionally, we worked with Zach Myers to revamping his signature PRS SE with an aesthetic overhaul: available now in “Myers Blue” finish.
• The mean, bright green 'Eriza Verde' finish came back to our lineup and was also available for the first time ever on a brand new SE model, the SE Custom 24-08.
• Finally, the SE Custom 24 was updated to include a shallow violin body carve, SE P20 Parlor acoustics were offered in Tobacco Sunburst, and the SE Kingfisher bass guitar added Faded Blue Wraparound Burst complete with a maple veneer!

In the months following our launch event and throughout 2021, even more gear was added to our lineup!

• Together with Joe Walsh we released a 200-piece limited edition "McCarty 594 Singlecut Joe Walsh" model. Watch Joe talk about the model here.
• The SE P20E added two new limited edition finishes, Antique White and Lotus Pink.
• We announced the return of their popular Archon amplifier. The new line-up features both a 50-watt 1x12 combo and a 50-watt head with matching 1x12 and 2x12 cabinets.
• Even more happened in the world of amplifiers with the introduction of our HDRX amps, a passion project that faithfully recreated Jimi Hendrix's touring amp circuit. Learn more about the making of these amps, here.
• We partnered with long time PRS artist Carlos Santana to release the SE Santana Abraxas 50th Anniversary Limited Edition. A model that celebrates the 50th anniversary of Santana’s sophomore album, Abraxas, and pays homage to the iconic album’s cover with special artwork displayed on the top of the guitar. Dive deeper in our blog story.
• Finally, we celebrated 20 years of Mark Tremonti as a PRS signature artist by releasing the Mark Tremonti x Joe Fenton Limited Edition guitar. 20 uniquely hand painted guitars by english artist, Joe Fenton. See them up close here.

Back in 2020, we cancelled our ‘Experience PRS’ event and for the first time went virtual. We had so much fun that we decided to do it again! Just like our in-person Experience events, we sought to offer factory tours, artist clinics, live sessions with Paul Reed Smith, and even an exciting new product announcement - a new Roxy Pink color for the Silver Sky.

The Experience PRS event inspired our newest content series, "From the Factory Floor" - a visual deep dive into select guitar building processes within the PRS factory.

Our “Long Distance” YouTube Series, continued with artists around the globe having candid conversations with Paul Reed Smith. Season 3 included Joe Walsh, Eric Johnson, John McLaughlin and many others!

Our Pulse Artist program - which aims to support local/regional PRS players - continued with the announcement of our 2022 Class!

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Phew what a year! What will 2022 bring? Stay tuned because we're excited to show you! Happy Holidays from your friends at PRS.