Paul Gilbert
The joyful shredder who made blinding speed sound playful and melodic
Paul Gilbert grew up in western Pennsylvania and was obsessed with the guitar from early childhood, practising for hours and absorbing hard rock records alongside the pop melodies of the sixties and seventies. As a teenager he was already sending demo tapes to magazines and labels, and his raw speed attracted attention well before he was old enough to tour. In the mid-1980s he moved to Los Angeles to study at the Guitar Institute of Technology, where he quickly went from student to instructor, teaching technique to players who were often older than he was.
In Los Angeles he formed Racer X, a hyper-technical metal band whose debut Street Lethal (1986) and follow-up Second Heat (1987) became cult favourites among aspiring shredders. The band's twin-guitar harmonies and relentless tempos made Gilbert one of the most talked-about young players of the decade. Yet he was also restless, and by the end of the eighties he wanted to write songs with hooks as strong as the solos, which led him toward a very different kind of group.
In 1988 he co-founded Mr. Big with bassist Billy Sheehan, singer Eric Martin and drummer Pat Torpey. The band blended virtuoso playing with radio-friendly hard rock, and the album Lean Into It (1991) produced the acoustic ballad To Be with You, which topped the US singles chart. The same record featured the famous electric drill song, in which Gilbert and Sheehan used cordless drills fitted with picks. Mr. Big became especially popular in Japan, a market that would remain loyal to Gilbert for decades.
Gilbert left Mr. Big in the late nineties and launched a prolific solo career that ranged from power-pop albums with vocals to all-instrumental records such as Get Out of My Yard (2006) and Fuzz Universe (2010). He reunited Racer X for new albums, rejoined Mr. Big for a reunion in 2009 and took part in the band's farewell touring in the 2020s. Living in Portland, Oregon, he has also become one of the most respected online guitar teachers, and in 2023 released an instrumental tribute to Ronnie James Dio.
The 10 greatest Paul Gilbert solos
- 1Racer X · solo by Paul Gilbert, Bruce Bouillet · 1987
- 2Racer X · solo by Paul Gilbert · 1999
- 3Mr. Big · solo by Paul Gilbert · 1991
- 4Mr. Big · solo by Paul Gilbert · 1993
- 5Mr. Big · solo by Paul Gilbert · 1989
- 6Mr. Big · solo by Paul Gilbert · 1991
- 7Racer X · solo by Paul Gilbert · 1986
- 8Racer X · solo by Paul Gilbert · 1986
- 9Paul Gilbert · solo by Paul Gilbert · 2006
- 10Paul Gilbert · solo by Paul Gilbert · 2010
The sound
Gilbert's playing is built on astonishing alternate picking and string-skipping patterns, but what separates him from many shredders is a sense of humour and a songwriter's ear. He favours wide intervals, pentatonic runs played in unusual fingerings, and fast repeated licks that sound almost like a drum fill. His later work leans heavily on vocal-style phrasing, often imitating a singer's melody note for note, and on vibrato he has studied obsessively. His tone is usually bright, midrange-heavy and only moderately distorted, so every note of his rapid runs stays clear and articulate.
- Ibanez PGM signature (guitar) His long-running signature model, famous for its painted-on fake f-holes on some versions.
- Ibanez Fireman (guitar) A reversed Iceman-style body he adopted in later years and used heavily on solo records.
- Makita cordless drill (effect) Fitted with picks and used for the rapid-fire intro and solo of the Mr. Big drill song.
- Laney amplifiers (amp) Associated with his Mr. Big era, supplying a punchy, mid-focused crunch.
- DiMarzio-loaded Ibanez models (guitar) His signature guitars have typically carried DiMarzio pickups voiced for clarity at speed.
Covers
- Wild World, originally by Cat Stevens Mr. Big turned the folk song into a harmony-rich rock ballad with tasteful guitar support.
- Shy Boy, originally by Talas A reworking of a song from Billy Sheehan's earlier band, played at full shred velocity.
- Back in the Saddle, originally by Aerosmith Gilbert sings the vocal line on guitar, turning a riff classic into a phrasing study.
- Working for the Weekend, originally by Loverboy An affectionate instrumental take that shows his love of arena-rock hooks.
- Holy Diver, originally by Dio Every vocal inflection of the original is recreated through bends and vibrato.
- Rainbow in the Dark, originally by Dio He keeps the song's urgency while letting the guitar take the singer's role.
Timeline
- 1966 Born in Carbondale, Illinois; raised in Pennsylvania
- 1984 Moves to Los Angeles to study at the Guitar Institute of Technology, soon teaching there
- 1986 Racer X releases Street Lethal
- 1988 Co-founds Mr. Big with Billy Sheehan, Eric Martin and Pat Torpey
- 1991 Mr. Big releases Lean Into It
- 1992 To Be with You reaches number one in the US
- 1998 Launches solo career with King of Clubs
- 2006 Releases instrumental album Get Out of My Yard
- 2009 Rejoins Mr. Big for a reunion tour
- 2023 Releases The Dio Album; Mr. Big plays its farewell Budokan shows
Facts
- He was teaching at the Guitar Institute of Technology while still in his late teens.
- The Mr. Big drill song features picks attached to Makita cordless drills.
- Mr. Big's To Be with You, a mostly acoustic ballad, was a US number one single despite the band's shred reputation.
- Mr. Big has enjoyed some of its greatest commercial success in Japan.
- Racer X's early albums were released on Shrapnel Records, the label behind many eighties shred players.
- His signature Ibanez PGM is known for decorative f-holes painted on a solid body.
- He sings lead vocals on many of his solo albums.
- He has long been a popular online guitar teacher with his own lesson programme.
- He released an entire album of instrumental Dio covers in 2023.
- Racer X reunited in the late nineties and recorded Technical Difficulties.