From pizza to partnership

Jack Higginbotham met Paul Reed Smith eating pizza in 1983. He joined PRS Guitars at minimum wage in 1985, falling in love with guitar building instead of finishing his engineering degree.

“There was something driving that guy that I was fascinated by.”

PRS gets its first CEO

After 41 years, Higginbotham becomes PRS's first-ever CEO. The role focuses on turning PRS from an international business into a truly global one with consistent leadership.

Half his time outside America

Higginbotham now spends about 50 percent of his time traveling outside the United States. He's working to understand international markets better as PRS expands globally.

The devil in the details

PRS obsesses over critical infrastructure like nuts, tremolo units, tuners, and wood drying. Higginbotham runs dealer trainings on these details that define PRS quality.

“The bridge, the pickups, the nut, the tuners, drying wood... The devil is in the details.”

Paul's supernatural ear

Paul Reed Smith can listen to a guitar and diagnose exactly what's wrong, whether it's pickup potting, a tight truss rod, or high action. He'll prescribe fixes that immediately improve the instrument.

“He'll just listen and go, 'Do this, this and this,' and then you do it and that guitar is better.”

Twice your money's worth

PRS wants customers to feel they got double the value, whether it's a $649 CE Standard or a $20,000 Private Stock. A $600 guitar that feels worth $1,200 is a home run.

“If we've made a $600 guitar and you're like, 'I'd have paid $1,200,' that's a home run in my book.”

SE line triples in size

The SE line has grown to about three times its 2022 size, approaching a $75 million business. More importantly, the quality of the instruments has risen, not just stayed flat.

Vintage doesn't interest him

Higginbotham doesn't care about PRS guitars as investments on the vintage market. What matters is that people value the company's roots and history enough to care.

A death party for guitars

When writing his will, Higginbotham held a 'death party' where his kids claimed instruments with sticky notes. His daughter chose his 1986 Custom 24, the first guitar he built completely himself.

“My lawyer was like, 'This is a very bad idea.'”

Rebuilding his first guitar

Higginbotham completely rebuilt his 1986 Custom 24 with new pickups, electronics, tuners, bridge, and even redid the fingerboard. It transformed from a case queen into one of his favorite guitars.

“The real magic is in the performance.”

Stevie Ray with a Silver Sky

If Higginbotham could put a PRS in any player's hands, he'd give Stevie Ray Vaughan a Silver Sky. That would be quite interesting, he says.