Paul Brandon Gilbert

Paul Brandon Gilbert (born November 6, 1966 in Illinois, USA) is an American guitarist. He started guitar at the age of 5, but gave up soon after being frustrated just learning nursery rhymes. Around the age of 11 he took up the instrument again, but with a totally naïve knowledge of technique he played with only upstrokes, and fretted notes with only his middle finger. Frustrated after trying to play metal songs and failing, he decided to get a teacher which did correct his errors. Now with his technique corrected he continued to practise excessively, and, by the age of 15 he was not only touring local clubs with his band ‘’Tau Zero’’ but was even spotlighted in guitar player magazine alongside fellow up-and-comer Yngwie J Malmsteen.

Paul Gilbert is well known for his highly-acclaimed technical guitar work with Racer X and Mr. Big, as well as many solo albums and numerous collaborations and guest appearances with other musicians. Paul Gilbert has been voted number 4 on a list in GuitarOne magazine of the "Top 10 Greatest Guitar Shredders of All Time", as well as a spot in Guitar World's 50 Fastest Guitarists of All Time list. Around 1981-82 Paul first contacted Mike Varney, founder of Shrapnel Records, asking for a gig with Ozzy Osbourne. At the time, Varney couldn't think why Osbourne would want a 15 year old guitarist, but after listening to his demo he changed his mind. They talked for the next 3 years, until Paul went to L.A. for the GIT (Guitar Institute of Technology), and then was ready to record Racer X's debut album Street Lethal.

When Billy Sheehan left David Lee Roth's band in 1988, he joined with Paul Gilbert, who had left his former band, Racer X. They founded Mr. Big, with Pat Torpey on drums and singer Eric Martin. The band was initially a huge success in Japan, and became famous internationally in 1991, with the release of their second album, Lean Into It. This album featured the ballad "To Be With You", which received strong media play and reached #1 on the Billboard Hot 100. Gilbert continued playing in Mr. Big until the late 1990s. He left the band in 1997 to pursue a solo career, and was replaced by Richie Kotzen. Mr. Big disbanded in 2002.

In June 2009, Paul Gilbert reunited with original Mr. Big members; Eric Martin (vocals), Billy Sheehan (bass), and Pat Torpey, for a world wide reunion tour. They recorded a new album with producer Kevin Shirley.
titled What If.... The album was released in Japan on Dec. 15th, 2010, in Europe on Jan. 21st, 2011 and in the USA in Feb. 2011. A tour to support the album kicked off at The House of Blues, in Hollywood, CA on April 2, 2011, followed by several dates in Japan in the same month. In May and June 2011, the tour continues in China, Korea, The Phillipines and Europe.

Paul Gilbert primarily uses his Ibanez PGM signature series guitars,identified by the unique painted on "F" holes. Although earlier PGM models featured the Ibanez Lo-Pro/Edge double locking tremolo system, many of his guitars (such as his main PGM300) were modified to accommodate a fixed bridge after he stopped using whammy bars in the early 90s, hence the Ibanez PGM301 series. Along with his signature guitars, Paul Gilbert often uses his sticker-covered "Dino" Ibanez RG750, in addition to a wide variety of Ibanez solidbody and semi-hollow electric guitars. Recently, Paul Gilbert has been using Ibanez "Fireman" (a reversed-body Ibanez Iceman with single-coil pickups and an extra cutaway) guitars, which he designed himself. The Ibanez Fireman has been rumored to be mass-produced for consumers at a more affordable price than the Ibanez PGMFRM1 in 2011.