“You could argue that the pickups are the most important thing. But in the end, there’s nothing more important on the guitar than this”: Paul Reed Smith on a guitar's most crucial feature – and how it dictates your tone
Phil Weller
created: Aug. 6, 2025, 2:05 p.m. | updated: Aug. 12, 2025, 8:35 a.m.
Some will argue it comes from the hands, others the pickups, or the overdrive pedal that’s slapped in front of a tube amp.
“You could argue that the pickups are the most important thing, or the weight,” he says on the PRS YouTube channel.
“But in the end, when you're holding the guitar, how it feels, how you change the length of the strings, how it resonates – there’s nothing more important on the guitar than the neck.
“It has tuning pegs at one end, and there are more frets at one end than the other.
Guitar Tone Starts Here | Rules of Tone: Episode 2 | PRS Guitars - YouTube Watch OnPRS is currently celebrating its 40th anniversary and releasing brand-new guitars each month to ensure 2025 is a bumper year.
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