Q: Who’s the most impressive guitar player you saw play live in 2017?
Nancy Wilson — Heart, Roadcase Royale
A: Ryan Waters. I ought to know because I’m in a band with him! Ryan has incredible restraint as a player. He has the amazing instinct to know when to lay out and create space inside a song. Then when he rips into more lead playing it becomes more meaningful by contrast.
Current obsession:Muscle Shoals, the documentary. There’s so much rich magical lore connected to that studio room and the signature sound of those recordings. It became a Mecca for so many great rock artists to record there, and those artists are interviewed, revealing their experiences making some of the world’s greatest rock music.
John G. Seabolt — Reader of the Month
A: Charlie Starr and Paul Jackson from Blackberry Smoke. They aren’t out there trying to melt your face with speed sweeps, but what you do get is intricately laid-out rhythms and progressions with some awesome soulful leads. They can rock or they can groove; either way you get some awesome songs and playing.
Current obsession: Pedals, especially the time-based ones. I love playing with the various sounds I can create. Tone is a beast I’m sure I’ll pursue until I die.
Joe Gore — Contributing Editor
A: Twenty-one-year-old San Franciscan Matt Jaffe. He isn’t flashy—he seems more interested in channeling James Burton and Luther Perkins. His tones are lovely. His rhythms are definitive. He’s a prolific writer, a fine singer, and a passionate performer, and he’s been making good records since age 16. I hate the little bastard. (Just kidding—Matt is a charming young gentleman.)
Current obsession: The Kala U-Bass. I just did a tour with Jane Wiedlin’s band, Elettrodomestico, playing this ukulele-sized, rubber-stringed wonder throughout. It needs tons of downstream processing to blunt the nasty piezo characteristics, but once you perform some corrective sonic surgery, you can feel the lows in your nether regions.
Tessa Jeffers — Managing Editor
A: Hearing the Edge in the flesh was the most mesmerizing guitar “event” in my life this year. It’s had a lasting impact because, yeah, technical prowess is something, but less common is a feeling of “greatness” from hearing playing that is beautiful to your ears. He’s not a fretboard gymnast—he’s a tonal master. And U2 isn’t really one of my top bands, either. Lukas Nelson’s playing is pure fire, as well. Lookout for that guy.
Current obsession: I’m loving the bolder designs from big-daddy manufacturers. I don’t hate the PRS SE Standard 24 Multi-Foil or the Gibson Modern Double Cut. Do different!
Rich Osweiler — Associate Editor
A: Peter Townshend on a cold August night in San Francisco’s Golden Gate Park. Townshend said how good it was to be in the Bay Area 50 summers after the Who’s first run of shows in ’67 at the Fillmore before playing the Monterey Pop Festival. Damn, was he good. To see him wind countless windmills, hear his unmistakable sound, and feel the energy from his playing—all at age 72—was remarkable.
Current obsession: Haven’t had a piano at home in more than 20 years, but now that we do, I’m remembering how much I love playing and how many creative windows can open when you step away from your main instrument.
Truetone 1 Spot Pro XP5-PS 5-output Low-profile Isolated Guitar Pedal Power Supply
The XP5-PS is a package containing the 1 Spot Pro XP5, along with a 12Vdc 2.5A adapter, which allows you to power the XP5 without having a CS11. The adapter comes with an array of international plugs so that you can take it with your pedalboard anywhere in the world. Some musicians may even choose to get one of these, plus another XP5, to distribute their power around the pedalboard and have the dual XP5s acting as two pedal risers.
PRS Guitars today announced the 2025 PRS SE Series lineup, bringing sophisticated new instruments, new colors, updated player-centric appointments, and new left-handed signature models to players.
New Models
SE Custom 24
2025 brings two stunning new electric models to the PRS SE Series with the PRS SE Custom 24-08 Quilt and the PRS SE Custom 24 Semi-Hollow Piezo. While the SE Custom 24-08 is an aesthetic update, the PRS SE Custom 24 Semi-Hollow Piezo is an all-new instrument for players seeking acoustic and electric tones in one instrument.
“Veneering is an artform our partners have mastered and branching out into more veneer materials like quilted maple, and further developing our staining operations, brings visual art to players while we also continue to advance the tactile elements of guitar making at PT Cort,” said PRS Guitars Chief Operating Officer, Jack Higginbotham. “Meanwhile, the SE Custom 24 Semi-Hollow Piezo model represents our continued quest to bring innovation, sophisticated versatility, and value regardless of where a guitar sits inside of our lineup. The piezo system developed with Lloyd Baggs and his team truly shines in this guitar.”
Also debuting for 2025, the PRS SE T60E is the newest addition to the SE acoustic-electric family’s Tonare Grand body shape. Built to exude full, vintage tone, the SE T60E pairs ziricote back and sides with a solid spruce top, PRS hybrid “X”/Classical bracing and a PRS-voiced Fishman Presys VT pickup.
Left-Handed Signature Guitars
PRS SE Zach Myers
As teased earlier this year, three new left-handed signature models are also now available: PRS SE Silver Sky, PRS SE Silver Sky Maple, and the PRS SE Zach Myers.
“We put years into creating guitars that meet the exacting specifications from our Signature Artists. For them to attach their name to a model means it must be everything they need and everything other players, from beginner to pro, will need,” said PRS Guitars Director of Artist & Community Relations, Bev Fowler. “We are pleased to finally offer these two artist models for left-handed players.”
Updated Appointments & New Colors
SE McCarty 594 Singlecut
Updated appointments and new colors across much of the lineup also continue to elevate the playing experience of the PRS SE Series. For 2025, many of the guitars in the SE Series will now feature lampshade knobs (replacing speed knobs), and guitars that sport a 5-way blade electronics switch will be upgraded to PRS’s proprietary flat-tip switch design. Both of these designs are modeled after appointments found on PRS’s Maryland-made electrics and give players a more ergonomic, player-friendly experience.
“We are happy to bring our latest efforts to the guitar-player community. It almost feels like we are presenting a song we wrote instead of a guitar we’ve designed. It’s a personal effort and our team has all the right kinds of pride around sharing these new instruments and enhancements. Paul can often be heard saying ‘this is our time,’ and I feel that across the spectrum of our instruments, from our Maryland-made guitars through our SE Series,” said PRS Guitars Chief Operating Officer, Jack Higginbotham.
Many models have also been updated with new colors, like Cobalt Blue and Fire Red acoustic models as well as new blue, gold, and silver satin metallics on the $499 USD PRS SE CE Standard, a model introduced earlier this year.
For more information, please visit prsguitars.com.
