This article is about Paul Reed Smith, a luthier. For the article about the company that bears his name, see PRS Guitars.

Paul Reed Smith (February 18, 1956) is one of the world's premier luthiers and the founder and owner of PRS Guitars. His electric guitars are played by the likes of Mike Shinoda, Brad Delson, Alex Lifeson, Carlos Santana, Al Di Meola, Dave Navarro, Mark Tremonti, Mikael Åkerfeldt, Peter Lindgren, Steven Wilson, Tim Mahoney, Marcos Curiel, Larry Lalonde, Pete Loeffler, Benjamin Burnley and Chad Kroeger. This article does not adequately cite its references or sources. ... A luthier is someone who builds or repairs stringed instruments, ranging from guitars to violins. ... This article does not adequately cite its references or sources. ... An electric guitar is a type of guitar that uses pickups to convert the vibration of its steel-cored strings into electrical current, which is then amplified. ... Michael Kenji Shinoda (born February 11, 1977)[1][2] is an American musician, record producer, and artist from Agoura Hills, California. ... Bradford Phillip Delson (born December 1, 1977, in Los Angeles, California), is the lead guitarist for the band Linkin Park. ... Alex Lifeson OC (born Alexander Zivojinovich on August 27, 1953, in Fernie, British Columbia, Canada), is a Canadian musician, best known as the guitarist for the rock group Rush. ... Devadip Carlos Augusto Alves Santana (born July 20, 1947), known simply as Carlos Santana or Santana, is a Grammy Award-winning Mexican-born American Latin rock musician and guitarist. ... Al Di Meola (born Al Laurence Dimeola July 22, 1954 in Jersey City, New Jersey) is an American jazz fusion and Latin jazz guitarist. ... David Michael Navarro (born June 7, 1967) is a guitarist who has played in the rock bands Janes Addiction and the Red Hot Chili Peppers. ... Mark Thomas Tremonti (born April 18, 1974)) is the lead guitarist for the band Alter Bridge and former guitarist for the band Creed. ... Mikael Ã…kerfeldt (IPA: ) (born April 17, 1974, in Stockholm, Sweden) is a highly influential Swedish musician, best known as the current lead vocalist, guitarist, composer, and lyricist for the progressive death metal band Opeth. ... Peter Lindgren In Concert With Opeth Peter Lindgren (March 6, 1973) is a guitarist for the Swedish progressive death metal band Opeth. ... Steven Wilson (born Steven John Wilson on November 3, 1967 in Hemel Hempstead, Hertfordshire, England) is the lead guitarist/singer/songwriter and the founder of progressive rock band Porcupine Tree. ... To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article or section may require cleanup. ... Marcos Curiel, former guitarist of P.O.D. during the filming of a video. ... Larry Ler LaLonde (born Reed Lawrence LaLonde on September 12, 1968 in Richmond, California) is a guitarist who currently plays in Primus along with Les Claypool and Tim Alexander. ... -1... This article does not cite any references or sources. ... This article does not cite any references or sources. ...

Smith is originally from Bowie, Maryland. He made his first guitar while at St. Mary's College of Maryland, and continued to build guitars after he finished college, making them one at a time, one a month. Together with another local, John "Orkie" Ingram, they formed the nucleus of what would become Paul Reed Smith Guitars. Motto: Growth, Unity and Progress Location of Bowie in the State of Maryland Coordinates: Country United States State Maryland County Prince Georges County Established 1916  - Mayor G. Frederick Robinson Area    - City 41. ... For other uses, see Guitar (disambiguation). ... St. ...

Smith would often bring his guitars backstage at concerts, and eventually got his break when Derek St. Holmes, of the Ted Nugent Band, agreed to try out #2, the second guitar Smith had ever made. St. Holmes played the guitar for the first few songs of his set, and Smith told him that after he showed it to some other musicians, he would fly out to Detroit and give it to him. St. Holmes eventually sold the guitar for $200, not realizing how big Paul Reed Smith was going to get.

Smith then contacted Ted McCarty, former president of Gibson and creator of the Explorer, ES-335 and Flying V guitars, and McCarty became his mentor and adviser. The result of their collaboration was the current line of PRS Guitars, which include solid- and hollow-body guitars. The Private Stock line of PRS guitars are made utilizing a vast range of exotic materials including various stones, elaborately figured tone woods, and intricate shells for inlays. To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article or section may require cleanup. ... This article does not cite any references or sources. ... The Gibson Explorer (now marketed as X-plorer and Explorer Pro), made its debut in 1958, then known as the Futura. ... The Gibson ES-335 was the worlds first commercial semi-hollowbody electric guitar, released by Gibson Guitar Corporation in 1958. ... The Jackson Flying V Standard, the model used by Dave Mustaine. ... This article does not adequately cite its references or sources. ...

External links

http://www.prsguitars.com

• Paul Reed Smith Talks Guitars - Guitar Jam Daily
• Paul Reed Smith Interview and Factory Tour DVD and video excerpts

Paul Reed Smith Interview at Modern Guitars Magazine -http://www.modernguitars.com