Paul Reed Smith
Paul Reed Smith (born February 18, 1956 in Bowie , Maryland ) is an American guitar maker and entrepreneur. He is the founder and owner of PRS Guitars .
Smith constructed his first guitar while at St. Mary's College of Maryland . After graduating from college , he built one instrument a month. Together with John "Orkie" Ingram, he created the basis for what would later become the musical instrument manufacturing company PRS Guitars.
Smith brought his guitars to the backstage area at concerts and persuaded musicians to test and evaluate his guitars. On this basis, he refined the design of his instruments. Paul Reed Smith's breakthrough came in 1976 when guitarist Carlos Santana tried one of Smith's guitars. Allegedly Santana described the guitar as an "accident of God" because it looked so good and played so well. He then ordered two more instruments.
Smith contacted Ted McCarty , who was then President of Gibson Guitar Corporation and who had developed the Flying V , Explorer and ES-335 electric guitar models in the late 1950s . McCarty became Smith's mentor.
PRS guitars
The result of the cooperation with Smiths McCarty is the range of PRS guitars, both the instruments with solid body ( solid body ) and those with partial hollow body ( Semi-hollow ) comprises. The design of the guitars is characterized by the use of exotic materials such as various stones, woods and shells as inlays. For example, South American mahogany is used for the body . On certain models, a maple is ceiling (engl. Maple top ), which as according to the quality of the grain "Top 10" is referred to, and causes a significant additional cost. The name 10-Top was derived from the film Ten - The Dream Woman with Bo Derek , in which Derek represents the most beautiful woman possible, i.e. a 10.
Another special feature of some guitars is the metal bridge (one-piece-stoptail) cast from a workpiece , which should be 100% octave-pure - at least as long as you do not use very different string sizes . By using this stop tail , it is possible that much more sustain (sound length) can be generated than with a vibrato system .
Guitars by PRS Guitars are played by many famous guitarists, among others, Carlos Santana , Al Di Meola , Dave Navarro , Brad Delson , Lüpüs Thünder , Wes Borland , Mark Tremonti , Chad Kroeger , Mikael Åkerfeldt , Orianthi , Chris Henderson ( 3 Doors Down ), Fredrik Åkesson and John Mayer .
Web links
Individual evidence
- ↑ Heinz Rebellius : Paul Reed Smith - 25th Anniversary Santana in Guitar & Bass - The musician's magazine , Bulletin March 2010, pp 114 et seq MM-Musik-Media-Verlag, Ulm.. ISSN 0934-7674
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Smith, Paul Reed |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | American guitar maker |
| DATE OF BIRTH | February 18, 1956 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Bowie , Maryland |