Enter the Dragon: 10 PRS Dragons at Sweetwater!

A PRS Dragon is a stunning instrument. The incredibly beautiful, intricate inlay work that brings an English Water Dragon to life instantly grabs your attention. First, you marvel at the spectacle, then you ponder the craftsmanship, and as you look closer, you discover the iconic instrument that is the reason for the Dragon. These instruments represent Paul Reed Smith’s dedication to excellence and his ability to make dreams a reality.

In the 40-year history of PRS Guitars, only ten Dragon models have been made. Released periodically, PRS only creates a limited number of each model, making them very rare and instantly collectible. All the Dragon prototypes are housed in the PRS Vault and have never been anywhere else as a collection — until now! Sweetwater’s close relationship with Paul and the team at PRS affords us the unprecedented opportunity to have the nine prototype Dragons from the PRS Vault. On top of that, we have the new PRS 40th Anniversary Dragon. They’re all together at the Sweetwater campus!

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The concept of putting a dragon on a guitar started as a dream for Paul Reed Smith when he was 16 years old. Paul said that his friend had drawn a picture of an English Water Dragon, and Paul’s initial reaction was that he wanted to “put that on a guitar fretboard.” In 1992, when PRS Guitars was a seven-year-old company, Paul learned of a method to laser-cut inlay with a CNC machine, which would allow the level of precision needed to bring his vision to life. For Paul, this was an opportunity to raise the visual brilliance of his guitars to a level equal to their sonic, performance, and build qualities; it was an opportunity to reach a new pinnacle of guitar making.

Note: You can click on the pictures for an expanded view that allows you to see the beautiful design and craftsmanship that went into these PRS Dragon Guitars.

Dragon I

The original Dragon I prototype was Paul’s personal instrument that he played with his band named, appropriately, the Dragons. The amazing fretboard dragon has 201 pieces of abalone inlay and pure gold. It was the first PRS to feature 22 frets, a one-piece bridge, and pickup covers, and it was the predecessor to the PRS McCarty. Paul wired a second output jack to experiment with separate pickup outputs, and before it was archived in the Vault, it received a full refinish. Dragon I was also featured in the movie Airheads. In total, there were 50 Dragon I guitars produced.

Dragon II

Dragon II was crafted in 1993, and only 100 of them were made. The inlay process got a boost when Larry Sifel of Pearl Works took over. Dragon II featured all the same, great attributes of Dragon I with the added touch of the PRS headstock signature inlaid in gold.

Dragon III

Dragon III debuted in 1994, and 100 were made. Larry Sifel remarked that every Thursday for months, Pearl Works received $4,000 worth of gold deliveries. Eventually, the delivery people asked, “What are you doing in there?” The Dragon III prototype was on tour with the National Guitar Museum.

Dragon 2000

The fourth version came six years later, in 2000, and was dubbed the Dragon 2000. Only 50 of these were created. It featured the dragon inlaid into the body. This presented a new challenge: the inlay had to be stepped to different thicknesses to accommodate the shape of the body carve. The Brazilian rosewood neck and fretboard struck a sharp contrast by having no inlay at all.

Dragon 2002

The Dragon 2002 also featured the dragon inlaid into the body, this time on a Singlecut. The dragon design was inspired by the scene in Jurassic Park when the T-Rex looks into the car window, and the view from inside the car reveals just how large and frightening a T-Rex is.

20th Anniversary Dragon

In 2005, PRS celebrated their 20th anniversary in a big way: with a double-neck Dragon featuring two battling dragons that extended from the body onto the fretboard. This incredible design required 863 pieces of shell, stone, metal, and wood to craft.

25th Anniversary Dragon

The 2010 25th Anniversary Dragon featured a Santana body, 24 frets, and a tremolo bridge. The dragon design and inlay were the most intricate to date. Paul likened it to a 3D photo or something you don’t immediately see until you “see it.”

30th Anniversary Dragon

Dragon artist Jeff Easley, of Dungeons & Dragons fame, has been designing the PRS Dragon inlay since Dragon III, and for the 30th anniversary, his fantastically intricate design was embedded into the body of the guitar and concluded with the tail whipping onto the fretboard. This highly limited edition of 40 guitars featured extraordinary Private Stock woods and the then-new 85/15 pickups.

35th Anniversary Dragon

The 35th Anniversary Dragon was a return to the Dragon I concept in look and function: a McCarty guitar made from premium woods, featuring the latest electronics, with the dragon inlay on the fretboard, pointing toward the headstock. However, the detail in the inlay stepped up to another level. It took over 255 pieces, some of them laid over each other, to create the incredible depth of this dragon design.

40th Anniversary Dragon

“When I was a teenager, I had a dream about a guitar with a dragon inlaid down the neck. That dream became reality for the first time in 1992 and has since become an important part of our history. For our 40th anniversary, we have chosen a McCarty model as the foundation of the Dragon, which is only fitting considering the original 1992 Dragon was the beginning of what would became the McCarty model. I’m proud to bring these two, now-historic, PRS designs together.”

– Paul Reed Smith

The PRS McCarty model was first introduced in 1994 and was essentially PRS’s first 22-fret, vintage-leaning instrument. Featuring a slightly thicker mahogany back, a stoptail bridge with brass inserts and steel studs, and PRS’s new McCarty III pickups, the Private Stock 40th Anniversary McCarty Dragon is not just a work of art — it is a professional-grade musical instrument. Every inch of the stoptail bridge is designed to maximize the transfer of the strings’ vibration through the instrument, and the McCarty III pickups amplify that tone with a lush, vocal quality that is warm, clear, and open.

The visual draw of this guitar is the extraordinary dragon inlay drawn by Jeff Easley then designed and re-created as inlay by the team at Aulson Inlay. The Dragon is comprised of more than 200 pieces of inlay in an array of materials, including Pacific blue opal, brown scale Juma, and gold, black, white, and brown mother-of-pearl. The inlay extends onto the truss rod cover and visually leaps off the pale moon ebony fretboard. The Private Stock Eagle inlaid on the headstock is black with gold web and outlined in gold mother-of-pearl.

“I feel fortunate to have worked on PRS Dragons since 2002. Being part of this endeavor has made me feel connected to something greater that will endure beyond my time. Moreover, I have thoroughly enjoyed collaborating with Paul through the years. His ability to challenge me to step outside my comfort zone has facilitated the development of innovative techniques that make the previously impossible achievable. Through Paul’s unwavering support, our team at Aulson Inlay has evolved into an exceptional collaborative [sic]. I often wish Larry Sifel could witness the significant progress Paul and the Dragons have made since the inception of the Dragon in 1992.”

– Jaime Aulson Myers, Co-founder & Co-owner of Aulson Inlay

The 40th Anniversary is the newest member of the Dragon family. Only 165 of these beauties were created and are currently available for sale, but of course, they will disappear quickly, much like their mythical namesake.

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Sweetwater: Your Ultimate Destination for PRS Guitars

Sweetwater’s ongoing close relationship with PRS Guitars means that we have an unprecedented supply of Private Stock, Wood Library, Owls in Flight, custom-designed, and exclusive PRS instruments. We can also work with you to design your personal dream PRS guitar. Give your Sweetwater Sales Engineer a call today at (800) 222-4700 to get started.

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