PRS Guitars has launched an auction for a one-of-a-kind guitar made from reclaimed and salvaged woods. Designed as an employee guitar for 40-year PRS veteran Michael Reid, the company’s senior wood buyer, the guitar was built specifically as a fundraiser to protect rainforests. The guitar is a PRS McCarty 594 Semi-Hollow with a top, back, neck, and headstock veneer of mahogany from trees blown down in Puerto Rico during 2017’s Hurricane Maria. It has been hand-signed by Paul Reed Smith. 100% of the proceeds will be donated to rainforest charity Cool Earth, who work with Indigenous people to protect vital rainforests. Puerto Rico, Cuba and Brazil, where the guitar’s materials are sourced, all contain rainforests.
The auction runs September 30-October 10, 2025, from noon to noon (Eastern Time). Interested buyers can bid now at https://www.ebay.com/itm/226999416890.
“Our hope is to give back to the communities that live in the rainforests and to help protect such paramount resources. They’re a special people, and it is extremely rewarding to be able to help with the proceeds from selling this extraordinary guitar. Additionally, the guitar is sort of a physical representation of Puerto Rican poet Lola Rodriquez de Tio’s poem “A Cuba,” where she describes Cuba and Puerto Rico as being like two wings of the same bird,” said PRS Guitars Senior Wood Manager, Michael Reid.
Michael obtained the mahogany from a vendor in Puerto Rico, who salvaged logs from a dumpsite where they were scheduled to be mulched. As the guitar’s main wood is a Caribbean species often referred to as Cuban Mahogany, Michael decided to have the fretboard feature an inlay of the skyline of Old Havana, Cuba. The headstock is emblazoned with the Cuban flag. The fretboard is rosewood reclaimed from old Brazilian homes that were falling down and razed. From the Atlantic Forest region of Brazil, the wood averages between 75-150 years old. The intricate inlay features mother-of-pearl, Paua, and other materials, created in partnership with Maryland-based Aulson Inlay.
“It was a real wow moment when we found out what PRS Guitars had in mind to help raise money. Money raised from this auction will have a real impact on the rainforest as well as the people who live there and protect it. The history of the guitar, made from materials worn by weather and storms, is tragically, but beautifully intertwined with the impact a changing climate has on the livelihoods of people who live in rainforest regions. A huge thank you to PRS Guitars,” said Cool Earth Partnerships Executive, Rebecca Leach.
This auction represents PRS’s commitment to environmental stewardship through partnerships with nonprofits across the globe. Rainforests are critical environments that contribute to a thriving global ecosystem, providing large carbon sinks where they are responsible for storing twice as much carbon as they emit. Hurricane Maria took down swathes of these carbon guardians on its pass of the island in 2017, but what was found on the ground was transformed into a testament to the resilience of the rainforest, the spirit of rebirth, renewal, and the healing nature of music.
Indigenous peoples and local communities manage 54% of the world’s remaining forests. Formed in 2007, Cool Earth exists to give funds and data directly to rainforest communities, to create choice, tackle the root causes of deforestation and protect these vital carbon sinks. 99% of the rainforest is intact where they work. Cool Earth’s work ranges from giving cash to communities so they can adapt to climate change and say no to loggers who want to buy their forest, providing data and training so communities can monitor the health of their forests and supporting local economies so communities can generate sustainable incomes. As of early 2025, 58,000 Indigenous peoples have been supported by Cool Earth, helping to protect 2.1 million acres of forest for future generations, keeping half a billion tons of carbon where it belongs, and ensuring 380 million tropical trees are still standing.
NOTE: As this guitar contains Brazilian Rosewood, which comes with strict regulations that vary by country, the winner of the auction must be in the United States.
This special auction follows last week’s launch of the PRS S2 Special Semi-Hollow Reclaimed Limited Edition, of which only 700 will be made in 2025.
PRS Guitars continues its schedule of launching new products each month in 2025. Stay tuned to see new gear and 40th Anniversary limited-edition guitars throughout the year. For all of the latest news, click www.prsguitars.com/40 and follow @prsguitars on Instagram, Tik Tok, Facebook, X, and YouTube.
