Maestro Alex Gregory

Name: Alex Gregory
Born: Unknown

Profile: British composer, multi-instrumentalist virtuoso and inventor. Gregory is credited as the mid-’80s inventor of the solid body electric 7-string guitar, well before the instrument was popularized in modern metal.

History: Gregory was born into a family of musicians and visual artists. After years of strict studies throughout his youth, he graduated from Italy’s University of Milan as a classical composer and was formally titled MAESTRO by HM Queen Elizabeth II in British government in 1983. The classical composer-in-training was also a devoted rock ‘n’ roller.

Gregory’s dual loves for classical and rock led him down an unusual path, he is very likely the world’s foremost heavy metal mandolin player, and he was a pioneer in the design and use of the 7-string electric guitar, an instrument type for which he holds two patents and still vigorously champions. In the late 1980s, along with Eric Clapton and Yngwie Malmsteen, Gregory was one of the original Fender signature artists.

He continues to delight audiences worldwide with his phenomenal musical prowess on both electric guitar and electric mandolin.

Influences: Ritchie Blackmore, Allan Holdsworth Paganini and Jan Akkerman.

Axology: Fender Stratocaster 7-strings, Gibson 8-strings Piano guitar and electric Mandolin.

"Gregory was named one of the world’s 50 fastest guitarists in the July 2008 issue of Guitar World magazine."

Link(s):

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6rwvwl_q4R0

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RPRajRWO7aM