Luthier Paul Reed Smith is at the top of his game. He is first and foremost a formidable blues-rock guitarist who discovered that the guitar was "a way to learn a language to express an emotion." He began building guitars while in college in Maryland and after graduation, he settled into a rhythm of making one per month; he also did repair work to not only pay the bills on his rented facility, but also to learn about the construction methods and mentality of the builders of various leading brands of guitars.

Early in his career as a builder Paul would take his instruments to rock shows where he befriended roadies to gain access to backstage areas; there, he could show his instruments to leading musicians so they could try them out and critique them. With this frontline information he refined his designs and construction methods.

In the Instrumental Innovators/Paul Reed Smith (21610DVD) video Paul recounts how he would make important clients an irrefutable offer that went something like:

"If you buy one of my instruments and don't fall in love with it, I'll refund your money."

"You mean, if I don't like the guitar you'll refund my money."

"No, I mean that if you don't love the guitar, I'll return your money."

Such a deal! Paul sums up his formative years as a luthier saying, "I was born to be a guitar maker."

Paul takes great pride in the fact that it is possible to get a variety of sounds from one of his guitars without touching the amplifier. In the Instrumental Innovators video he ably demonstrates this aspect of his guitars by playing a PRS 24 through an amplifier given to him by Carlos Santana. While he can demonstrate his instruments himself [the music on the DVD soundtrack is by the Paul Reed Smith Band], Paul acknowledges that having instruments in the hands of leading rock-star musicians is extremely important. "Carlos Santana did this business a huge favor. He put his personal stamp of quality on PRS guitars." In addition to three Santana models, PRS Guitars has issued signature models for Al DiMeola, Mark Tremonti, Dave Navarro, Johnny Hiland, and others.

By my reckoning, over the course of the last 30 years Paul Reed Smith has gone from a one-man repair/building operation to actively supervising a factory with some 200 employees working in 35,000 sq. ft.; PRS is in the process of adding another 90,000 sq. ft. to the factory floor. Paul himself never imagined such a degree of expansion.

From simple beginnings to the present complexity of his operation, it is the overall PRS philosophy of building every guitar with extreme attention to detail and sound craftsmanship- from selection of wood to winding their own pickups and final assembly- that accounts for the brand's success. Paul sees the electric guitar simply as "a tool for a musician to make a living." It makes sense to deliver the best possible tools to knowing hands; not only that, Paul senses that he is in competition with "cherry-picked" guitars from the best manufacturers and yet strives to make the best looking, best playing, best feeling, best made guitars in the world.

Paul speaks almost reverentially of his employees, "I have so much respect for the people who work in this factory. I think that what they do here is heroic and I have told them so… The guitar I play is right off the line!"

He also cites gleefully destroying PRS guitar parts that he felt did not pass the company's stringent quality control standards, so he can honestly say that every Paul Reed Smith guitar that leaves the factory is built to a PRS quality standard. Personally, I'd love to be on the list for a factory second.

To learn more about Paul Reed Smith Guitars please visit: http://www.prsguitars.com/

The Instrumental Innovators/ Episode 1: Paul Reed Smith DVD [21610DVD] that served as a resource for this article features an extensive interview with Paul as well as a "Factory Tour" addressing every aspect of the PRS Guitars manufacturing process.