Paul Reed Smith (born February 18, 1956) is an American

luthier A luthier ( ; AmE also ) is a craftsperson who builds or repairs string instruments that have a neck and a sound box. The word "luthier" is originally French and comes from the French word for lute. The term was originally used for makers o ...

and the founder and owner of

PRS Guitars Paul Reed Smith Guitars, also known as PRS Guitars, is an American guitar and amplifier manufacturer located in Stevensville, Maryland. The company was founded in 1985 in Annapolis, Maryland by Paul Reed Smith. Products manufactured by PRS inc ...

, a high-end guitar maker.

Early life

Smith graduated from Bowie High School in 1974. He also attended

St. Mary's College of Maryland St. Mary's College of Maryland (SMCM) is a public liberal arts college in St. Mary's City, Maryland.Maryland State Archives, Online Manual, "St. Mary's College Of Maryland: Origin & Functions" http://msa.maryland.gov/msa/mdmanual/25univ/stmarys ...

where he began his guitar-making career. He subsequently left the college.

Mentorship under Ted McCarty

Smith contacted

Ted McCarty Theodore McCarty (October 10, 1909 – April 1, 2001) was an American businessman who worked with the Wurlitzer Company and the Gibson Guitar Corporation. In 1966, he and Gibson Vice President John Huis bought the Bigsby Electric Guitar Company. At ...

, former president of

Gibson Gibson may refer to: People * Gibson (surname) Businesses * Gibson Brands, Inc., an American manufacturer of guitars, other musical instruments, and audio equipment * Gibson Technology, and English automotive and motorsport company based * Gi ...

and creator of the

Explorer Exploration refers to the historical practice of discovering remote lands. It is studied by geographers and historians. Two major eras of exploration occurred in human history: one of convergence, and one of divergence. The first, covering most ...

ES-335 The Gibson ES-335 is the world's first commercial semi-hollowbody electric guitar, sometimes known as semi-acoustic. Released by the Gibson Guitar Corporation as part of its ES (Electric Spanish) series in 1958, it is neither fully hollow nor fu ...

, and

Flying V The Gibson Flying V is an electric guitar model introduced by Gibson in 1958. The Flying V offered a radical, "futuristic" body design, much like its siblings: the Explorer, which was released the same year, and the Moderne, which was designed ...

guitars, and McCarty became his mentor and advisor. The result of their collaboration was the current line of PRS Guitars, which include

solid Solid is one of the State of matter#Four fundamental states, four fundamental states of matter (the others being liquid, gas, and Plasma (physics), plasma). The molecules in a solid are closely packed together and contain the least amount o ...

and hollow-body guitars. The Private Stock line of PRS guitars are made utilizing a range of exotic materials including various stones, elaborately figured tonewoods, and intricate shells for

inlays Inlay covers a range of techniques in sculpture and the decorative arts for inserting pieces of contrasting, often colored materials into depressions in a base object to form Ornament (art), ornament or pictures that normally are flush with th ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Smith, Paul Reed American luthiers Businesspeople from Maryland People from Bowie, Maryland 1956 births Living people St. Mary's College of Maryland alumni People from Stevensville, Maryland