Founded by the gifted Paul Reed Smith in 1985 , PRS Guitars is an American guitar and amplifier manufacturing company . Headquartered in Stevensville , Maryland , PRS Guitars ’ product offering now includes electric and acoustic guitars , amplifiers , effects pedals as well as diverse musical accessories such as tuners and guitar strings . “ Paul loves music ,” begins Director of Supply Chain , Meghan Efland . “ As a teenager , he loved listening to music and playing guitar , which led him to repairing and creating his own instruments . He then officially started the business in the mid-1980s . There are many stories going around about him , some of which he would occasionally share himself . For instance , he would recount how he snuck into concerts back when security was not as stringent as it is today , promoting his guitars to the artists . During the early days , Paul was able to get quite a few supporters in this way . The company started off with a small factory that had a handful of employees in Annapolis , Maryland . As PRS Guitars grew , it moved to the eastern shore of Maryland about 25 years ago . When I joined the company two decades ago , PRS Guitars had approximately 100 employees . Today , our workforce has grown to around 500 employees ,” she details .