Mike Ponce enjoys managing the Suhr Guitar factory at JS Technologies Inc. in Southern California as the job allows him to apply his expertise in all aspects of guitar building. Mike was...
Ramon Portal moved from Cuba to the United States in 1962 and heard of an inventory job at Guild Guitar and, as he often has said, his American dream came true. Ramon worked his way up w...
Porter Howell recalls with a smile that his piano playing mom strongly encouraged young Porter to play the guitar. He participated in choir and a school pop band called PT Express. Future...
Andy Powers began working with wood as a kid and soon realized he had a strong interest in building. With the guidance of his father and the use of his tools, Andy built a guitar and lov...
Allen Prather, known throughout the industry as Lowell, became a well-respected sales rep for the Kaman Corporation. He stayed with the company for over thirty years and helped move the c...
Andy Preston has a great philosophy regarding his music store, “Our staff are all repairmen and women first, not salesmen. We want them to know all about the instrument before they begin...
Warren Price’s father started a small Canadian music retail store when Warren was just 17 years old. Soon after Warren purchased his first drum kit and discovered he wanted to join his fa...
John Primer was born in Camden, Mississippi, where he learned to play the guitar before moving to Chicago to play an important role in the city's blues culture. While recording Magic Slim...
Ron Pritchett began playing the guitar when he was young, with a focus on Jazz. He played in supper clubs and local events until he was drafted into the army in 1957, after which he conti...
Mario Procida formed a music distribution company in El Salvador in 1958 that soon expanded into several surrounding countries as well. His strong understanding of musical traditions and ...
Jerry Proctor worked for the Alvarez Guitar brand, owned by St. Louis Music, almost from the very beginning of that product. St. Louis Music owner, Gene Kornblum, was looking to create a...
Chris Proctor has always been inspired by his instruments and the craft of music making. As a result, he has sought out opportunities over his career to enhance and expand the range, sty...
Jerry Puckett is a studio musician for Malaco Records in Jackson, Mississippi who played guitar on the hits “Groove Me” by King Floyd and “Mr. Big Stuff” by Jewel Bass, among many others....
Pat Quilter is a man with a vision. Pat built his first guitar amp after reading about a new technique for bridging using solid state transistors. Quilter Sound Things transitioned into Q...
Trevor Rabin was raised in a musical household, with a father who was a musician and he encouraged Trevor to play the piano at an early age. Later, his father gave him a guitar as a gift ...
Sam Radding is the founder the famed American Musical Instrument Manufacturing Company, which was the training ground for several future iconic luthiers including Bob Taylor, Kurt Listug ...
Paul Raley is the President of Paul Raley & Associates Inc., as well as PRA Audio Systems Inc. The focus of his company was to allow ease of use when it comes to wireless systems for ...
Don Randall met Leo Fender before World War II when both men worked in radio repairs. After the war they decided to form a business together that would allow Leo to focus on developing a ...
Ted Rasch was one of only a handful of music retailers who began using the Internet for commerce as early as 1996. He was asked many times in those early years to explain the Internet and...
Owen Ray recalls his father buying him a ukulele when he was a kid and his passion for string instruments began! Owen played a vital role in the Australian guitar market when he started r...
Charlie Redden played guitar in bands when he was in school and always has had a passion for playing. After working for Amazon in the early days of that company's history, back when they ...
David Reid is a guitar luthier who not only designs, builds and repairs guitars, he also teaches the art of instrument making. Located in London, David designs and builds both acoustic an...
Bill Reim is the Founder of Reim, Graham & Associates. He was also the CEO of Hoshino USA, based in Pennsylvania. He can remember watching the Beatles on TV when he was in the secon...
Earl Remaley began working for the C.F. Martin & Company before World War II. His long career with the company included nearly every phase of production and assembly. During the 1950s...
Alvino Rey tinkered with putting a phonograph pickup in his banjo to increase the volume in 1927. His inventive mind also led to early guitar pickups and the design of a pedal-steel guita...
Leon Rhodes was one of the most beloved country music guitarists in history. He established himself as a clever and hard driving musician as part of Ernest Tubb’s Texas Troubadours. Leon’...
Herbert Riedl was born into a family of violin makers and grew up on the street where Höfner produced guitars including the world-famous Beatles bass. With his friends he earned money sta...
Bob Riskin started working for McCabe’s Guitar Shop in Santa Monica just a few years after it opened in 1958. Before long the shop was abuzz with the folk music boom and later played an ...
Bob Rissi was the founder of Risson Amplifier Company, which produces Made-in-America products based on Bob’s own designs. He began designing amplifiers in 1960 when he was hired by Leo ...
Lee Ritenour was exposed to jazz music in Los Angeles as a youth thanks to his parents. He developed a great knowledge of guitar techniques having watched and or worked with many of his ...
Jens Ritter is the innovative luthier who gained wide attention after a three page article about his instruments ran in a 1996 issue of Guitar & Bass magazine. A few years later, he a...
Jimmy Rivers was known in the world of Western Swing as an innovative guitarist who played a double neck and brought to life a hard driving style known as the Brisbane Bop. Jimmy was a c...
