Somebody's going to wake up and their job in life is going to be to make guitars. There are a lot of good, talented people.
Paul Reed SmithIn the camera business, you won't survive if you don't innovate. In the guitar business you may or may not. The guitars being sold were designed between '48 and '59, Gibson SGs in '61.
Paul Reed SmithI'm pretty good at letting people do what they are good at, that's why they're experts.
Paul Reed SmithI see money as a reflection of how much impact you're having on the world. I see money as a metaphor in a way.
Paul Reed SmithPeople will pay exactly what things are worth give or take a few bucks. You might pay a few bucks more if you like the dealer and think the dealer will take care of you, but most people are going to the internet and don't care about that. I don't think that hard earned money is given away.
Paul Reed SmithPeople by themselves can be pretty stupid. People working together can be very powerful.
Paul Reed SmithI don't see any rock stars playing an electric guitar from some new maker like you see in the acoustic guitar world.
Paul Reed SmithIt used to be that I could talk to someone in Texas and nobody would hear about it. Now, the moment I open my mouth it's all over the world. The second I say something, guys in Germany know about it. It's basically a wonderful thing because more information is spread, but you have to keep your mouth shut.
Paul Reed SmithThe world is in great need of more music education. When students play music, it allows a part of their artistic mind to express itself, which is very important in helping to balance a child intellectually, spiritually, and emotionally.
Paul Reed SmithI tried to make guitars that were close to what my heroes played. That's the way it's done. My experience is that you have to do it like a musician. You have to learn the language before you can learn to be a novelist.
Paul Reed SmithI change guitars as they come and go. I have one I played for almost a decade, but I've put it away. It was the first McCarty. Now, I'm playing one I grabbed off the line. I've been playing it ever since.
Paul Reed SmithThere are times when product is more important than people and sometimes the people are more important than the product.
Paul Reed Smith