Paul Reed Smith - musician, songwriter and the Founder and Managing General Partner of Paul Reed Smith Guitars, was born in Bethesda, Maryland. He made his first playable guitar for extra credit at St. Mary’s College. In 1985, he turned that positive experience into Paul Reed Smith Guitars. Today the company is the third largest electric guitar manufacturer in America, and their list of artist endorsers reads like a who’s-who list of contemporary musicians. Smith holds almost 100 registered and pending trademarks, several copyrights, and nearly two dozen patents.
Paul Reed Smith presides over research and development of new PRS products, serves as a mentor through motivational lectures to Maryland high school students, cherishes his role as husband and parent and is an accomplished guitarist who, despite his very busy schedule, has played with Carlos Santana, Mark Tremonti, the late Chuck Brown and a host of other notable artists and continues to write, perform and record music with The Paul Reed Smith Band.