There was this issue of Guitar Player magazine that had a review of the "PRS Guitar" (which would later be known as the Custom).
Oh look, here's a link:
https://forums.prsguitars.com/threads/original-guitar-player-review-of-the-prs-custom.5306.
I read that review and thought this PRS thing must have been the greatest guitar ever conceived, and that I'd never be able to afford one. I was a "poor" college student at the time and was convinced there was no sense in spending more than $1000 on a guitar ever (I think I had $800 spending money for the entire year). I knew kids who owned Jacksons, which were considered the pinnacle of luthierie at the time, and I just couldn't go there.
At the time I aspired to buying something (well, almost
anything out of the 1985 Ibanez catalog) so springing more than a few hundred dollars seemed like madness at the time. American Fender Strats could be had for $330 back then.
I lusted after a PRS every time I saw one, then stumbled across a local classified ad for a secondhand Classic Electric in 1993 or so. I couldn't pass up the price, and figured it was the only chance I'd ever have to own one. So I scooped it up. I figured I'd made a good decision when my wife commented "you play better on that one." And so the hook was set.
I didn't buy another one until 2001, and somehow the diabolical machinations of Mr. Smith have ensured that I've bought one a year like clockwork ever since...
Oh, and have you looked at the 1985 Ibanez catalog? There was a lot of cool stuff in there that still resonates surprisingly strongly with this PRS fan:
https://www.ibanez.com/usa/support/catalogs/19850101000001.html.
Note the RS1010SL, RS1300s, AR300s, AR350s, AM205, and AS200. See any similarities to certain guitars we know and love?