The expensive look of the original PRS models created a demand for even more expensive guitars and, within two years, Paul Reed Smith was making Signature models featuring the best woods available.

He personally signed each one, but as the business grew he found himself traveling at times when guitars needed to be signed, so, in 1991, after 1,000 Signature models, he retired the Signature and replaced it with the Artist. The Artist, standardized the Signature’s high-end appointments.

By this time, the optional “10-top” – a highly figured maple top cap – had become PRS’s calling card, and the Artist went a step beyond, with a “10-plus” top. Bird inlays, another popular option, were standard on the Artist’s Brazilian rosewood fingerboard. The only thing missing was Paul Reed Smith’s personal signature, but he made up for it by inlaying the headstock signature with abalone pearl. The longer neck heel and the “wide fat” neck profile signaled Smith’s dissatisfaction with his original design and were the first steps toward PRS’s 22-fret models.