What artists influenced or what prompted you to get PRS gear?

This guy that worked at the music store I visited ordered a PRS 10 top in purple. He let me play it. I knew then, I was 13 give or take so this was 93-ish, that I wanted one. I didn't buy one until I got a McCarty HB. I was super into HB's because Emil had one.
 
Carlos Santana probably got me interested at first.

I first tried a PRS (with the sweet switch!) in 1988 at Rockin' Robin Guitars in Houston, TX. Admired them for many years.

With my Christmas bonus in 2003, I bought my first PRS, a used Standard 22. 15 year wait!
 
None.

To me, PRS actually had a pretty big stigma because of the guys who played them, and to date none of my heroes play one.

I was pretty into Gibson (three Les Pauls, an SG and Explorer) when I decided I wanted a shredder guitar with 24 frets and a whammy bar. I play through Mesas and I'd always heard how well PRS and Mesa went together so I went out to try Custom 24s, but it was a McCarty that I fell for. I initially didn't buy it because it wasn't what I was looking for, but I kept thinking about it and it became what I kept comparing all the other guitars to, so I eventually gave in and went back to get it.

Now its a little over a year later and I own one Les Paul and three PRS.
 
Seeing 311 and Tim Mahoney around 2004 probably sparked my interest most. I was stationed in DC 2006-2008 and all the music stores had lots of PRS. I bought a used 90s CU 10 top, but didn't really bond with it. I've had a few SEs over the years, and I'll report on that gold beauty in a few days
 
No artists influenced my decision! I was persuaded by the original Guitar Player magazine review of the "PRS guitar" in '85 or '86 or thereabouts. I was in college at the time and all my gear added up to about $475. I saw a few hanging in fancy stores that I drooled at but never thought I could afford one. That changed! :D

For the longest time I couldn't think of a PRS-wielding artist who influenced me. Steven Wilson and Mikael Akerfeldt came along and finally changed that!
 
I grew up the the 90’s-00’s with prog rock all around, but I’ll never forget the first time I saw the music video for “In the End” with Brad Delson rocking a blue Custom. I totally didn’t even know anything about PRS at that moment, but loved it enough to go investigate. Fast forward to mid 20’s when I could afford my first real guitar and it was love at first chord.

 
Steven Wilson / Porcupine Tree became an obsession for me in the 2000s and really pushed up my interest in PRS. But I'm not very skilled and could never justify buying at premium guitar prices. But then two things happened:

First I found an old ABR-1 in a box for sale for $5 at a flea market and the box looked old so I bought it thinking it might be worth something, got it home and did a little research and found out it was a new old stock 1959 no-wire ABR-1 bridge in the original box. I sold it to a guy with a 1960 burst that needed an original bridge and got a LOT more than $5. Right after that a dirt cheap Cu24 was advertised locally and I thought I'd check it out. Love at first sight. Got my 1990 10-top Cu24 for just a little more than the profit I made on that bridge. And man, it's been in my hands ever since. Instantly became my #1 and probably always will be.

But if anyone wants to sell me a Stradivarius for $20 I'll finally be able to get that wood library artist series one I've had my eye on...
 
First of all was a Guitar World buyers guide that showed a beautiful tobacco burst swamp ash special and I became massively intrigued in PRS.

As far as artists go, Carlos Santana was a big one, but it was Michael Einziger of Incubus who influenced me to get a Hollowbody. I actually bid on his HB on eBay back around 2005 when it was for sale to benefit a charity but I didn’t have $10k. Tim Mahoney of 311 was an influence as well, but that bolstered my want of a Santana model which he was using then.

But to be honest Paul’s band The Dragons did a great job of getting me on board. He and Ralph Perucci really made those guitars sound fantastic. Such a great sales strategy, and great music as well.
 
Santana at first then John Mayer when he started playing with Dead and Company. He was never on my radar for being a guitar player before that. That's the reason I have a 594.
 
In 86 or 87, I was just starting to take bass lessons - hadn't picked up guitar yet. I started late on guitar. Anyway, the store where I was taking lessons had just started carrying this new line, PRS, and I just thought they were so dang beautiful, but way out of my price range.

Started playing guitar in 93. Started with a Strat, then a Les Paul Studio, then I went to a large store with a huge selection of PRS. Played one and was hooked, bought my Custom 24 and I've had a love affair with PRS ever since. I'll get happy when I see someone playing PRS, but no PRS players influenced my decision, I play them because I found my own voice on PRS guitars.
 
Walked into Guitar Center in LA right after the 1993 NAMM show and they had what I think might have been a prototype McCarty on display. I played it and just fell in love right there. It was SOOO different than anything else out at the time, and the build quality was off the charts. Saved my tips from waiting tables and bought one when they came out in ‘94. Have been a fan ever since. There weren’t really any artists famous for playing them yet, I just thought they were cool.
 
Count me in as another Steven Wilson and Mikael Akerfeldt fan. I knew of PRS because Santana was the most visible guitar player that sported one. Although Lifeson was also into them, to me I identify him more of a Gibson guy.

Being a metal/prog metal guy, seeing guys like Wilson and Akerfeldt, and Mark Holcomb rocking PRS guitars really made an impression.
 
Never had PRS on the radar. I was a Ted Nugent fan from my teens and saw him (gasp) not playing a Byrdland. It was a then-new band called Damn Yankees, and I thought the tiger striped guitar he was playing looked and sounded awesome. Years later, I was ready to move on from the “standard” guitar brands and saw a guy on TV covering a crazy range of music with an orange guitar I had never seen, which turned out to be a 513. I had to have one of those. It did not disappoint!
 
It was definitely Mark Tremonti on that first Alterbridge record One Day Remains. I was born in 87 so grew up a 90s rap kid, that's what my Dad was into although he was also a big GnR fan and Warrant haha I remember opening the CD cover and seeing the backside of the cover wondering what was going on there!

Anyways years later my cousin who was big into metal was a guitar player and I decided to get into guitar music, i always looked up to him. The first record I bought was One Day Remains, because Creed seemed some what tame and I figured same band different singer should not be to scary, great album and all the harmonic dive bombs and the solo on Down to my Last was it, I had to know what guitar that was.

I love all guitars, but there is definitely a special feeling towards my 2 Tremonti 10 tops. But man oh man do I need a Special 22 Semi-Hollow!
 
I first encountered a PRS sometime around 2012 - 2013. I was looking at some of the used guitars at Guitar Center and I saw a used SE 245 on the shelf...Tobacco Burst with PRS on the truss rod cover and felt really solid. I went to one of the employees and asked ‘What’s PRS?’ The guy looked at me like I had five eyes! I explained to him that I haven’t heard of PRS until that moment and I was still somewhat new at guitar. He didn’t explain much but told me to plug it in to amp... and I did. I was shocked over how that guitar sounded. At the time, I owned an Epiphone Les Paul and a Sheraton, and two weeks later I went back to Guitar Center looking to trade both of those guitars for that used SE 245. However, that guitar was sold but they had a new SE 245 on the shelf. Needless to say that those Epiphones were history when I walked out of the store with that SE 245!!!
 
Prs was one of the brands I really didn’t like - all the 2000 numetal bands used back in the day. Went with Ibanez, ltds, fender teles. And fast forward to 2018 I was looking for something new. And somehow prs came to my mind. I was in this state that I was looking for a different thing all the way - gave an Se cu24 trampas green a
Shot. Gotta say felt like home. For the first time. Been using them ever since. Se Paul’s next and now a ce 24. The only thing I wanna try now is a strandberg.

Oh and almost forgot. Saw some Paul Reed Smith’s interviews and this reeeally changed how I viewed the company and their product.
 
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