Not every great guitarist has the name recognition of Slash or Yngwie. All around the world, there are undiscovered or soon-to-be discovered guitarists blowing away audiences nightly on small, smoky stages in clubs and roadhouses. This is the story of one such international player who came to our attention at the recent Frankfurt Musikmesse.

Paul Rose is without doubt one of the most unique and talented guitarists in the world. Fundamentally a rock guitarist, his extraordinary playing style touches on blues, country, jazz and folk, blended together into a style that is entirely his own. And the tone comes from Seymour Duncan Alnico II Pro pickups for Strat® guitars and Five-Two pickups for Tele®. Says Paul, “I love the grain the Alnico Pro II’s give to my tone. I feel more connected to the wood of the guitar through these pickups.”

Born in Newcastle, England, Paul’s natural gift shone through at an early age. By age 16, he was hailed as one of the best guitarists in the region playing regularly on the Newcastle live scene with the most popular local bands of the day. Rory Gallagher awarded Paul a Fender® ’62 Reissue Strat® with a Vox® AC30 in a Fender-sponsored competition that invited guitarists from all over the UK to appear in local music shops. Out of 1,000 guitarists, Rory selected Paul as the winner and described him as “a hot player with a hot future.” He also won “Guitarist of the Year” in Guitarist magazine a couple of years later.

Since then, Paul has recorded 10 solo albums including a just-released “Best Of” CD. This remarkable album comes straight from the heart of this highly talented and experienced artist. Coupled with his stunning live shows built on 25 years of tough performing experience, Paul is now gaining the worldwide recognition he deserves.

Thanks to his awe-inspiring playing at the Frankfurt Musikmesse, Paul has now broken into the German market and is playing custom made Framus guitars loaded up with a Seymour Duncan JB in the bridge and Alnico II and Cool Rails pickups in the middle and neck. Check out Paul’s website for biography, merchandise, mp3s, video and contact details. If you want to sample of Paul’s soulful playing on a slow blues tune, click here.