Sick of all the hype around vintage guitars. The idea that your not a great guitarist until you’ve sold your kidney to obtain one?
Well, start thinking outside the box, be original and make your own mark. Here’s how some of the greats have tried and have done it.
The Wayne Charvel ‘Hydra’.
Before Eddie Van Halen changed the course of DIY guitar customization he would try all the tricks in the book to get noticed.
Hence the use of the ‘Hydra’ guitar by Wayne Charvel.
This beast features a bolt on maple neck with rosewood fingerboard. Also note the pre Floyd Rose Strat trem with brass saddles.
I’m not quite sure when Eddie received it, but something I am sure about is he was never coked-up enough to use it live regularly and the only photo I can find of him with this crazy curiosity is the pic below which looks like a promo shot.
Somehow I’ve never seen a reissue of it. He got there in the end though with his incredible musical skills and his unique ‘Frankenstein’ Strat creations.
Take care Eddie. We love ya.
ZZ Top’s ‘Fur’ Guitars.
Billy and his Texas plank spanking partner in crime Dusty have more in common than a fine collection of bird twigs in their facial hair, they’re both up for having some fun with the wood in their hands.
The bearded ones original Dean Explorer Fur Guitars were an instant WTF moment when they showed up on their MTV smash video ‘Legs’.
Their fur fetish didn’t stop there and they still play their fur-boding instruments live.
This version was made by John Bolin and is inspired by another of our featured artists Bo Diddley’s iconic square Gretsch.
Prince ‘Symbol’ Guitar.
Mad Musical Midget Prince was no stranger to the wacky world of original crazy guitar shapes.
Through his life, his originality shone through all he touched and that included his guitars with his famous ‘Cloud Guitar’ that now resides with all the other Alien artifacts at the Smithsonian Museum.
He reached his zany pinnacle of lunacy with his ‘Symbol’ guitar that was shaped surprisingly like the symbol he once replaced his name with.
This instrument was custom built by German luthier, Jerry Auerswald and is most well known when he played it at his iconic Super Bowl XLI Halftime Show performance through a rain and wind storm.
For those too busy practicing speed masturbation techniques to fully appreciate the Purple One’s genius just watch the amazing emotional solo as he joins Rock N Roll Royalty to perform “While My Guitar Gently Weeps” in tribute to George Harrison at the 2004 Rock N Roll Hall of Fame Inductions.
This time he’s playing on his famous tortoise-shell pickguard Hohner Tele. The solo kicks in at 3.30 but it ain’t like you probably got anything else to do so sit back and enjoy the whole song.
Rick Nielsen’s ‘Hamer 5 Neck’.
Slapstick slaphead Rick Nielen of rock legends Cheap Trick is a confirmed guitar nut in most people’s eyes.
Reportedly having a running collection of about 500 guitars and having been quoted as having owned at least 2000 guitars since his collecting started around 1964.
He doesn’t let us down when it comes to being a user of offbeat guitars to get noticed and is especially fond of multi neck madness.
Rick has 3 custom made 5-necked Hamers.
This one, his favorite which was built in 1981 includes a fretless neck (bottom), one with T-style pickups, one with a Kahler vibrato, one with humbuckers and a hardtail bridge, and one that’s a 12-string on the top.
If you look carefully you can see the 5 way rotary just under his wrist for selecting which neck he’s using.
Rick has stated that he had them made to make him look normal (Hmm) after playing with 3 different guitars around his neck at the same time. God bless his back.
Rick estimates that he has 100 or so custom-made guitars in his collection, including the five-neck Hamer guitar.
“Originally, I wanted a guitar that had six necks on it,” he says. “I wanted it to spin like a roulette wheel. But around that time, Billy Gibbons from ZZ Top came out with a guitar that spun, so I decided to come out with something more conservative, a five-neck.”
He even had a double neck made in his likeness that he calls ‘Uncle Dick’ that he loves to play just in case you were wondering about his personality.
Rock on Rick. It’s good to see he knows it’s all about having fun.
Bo Diddley’s “Twang Machine” Gretsch.
Bo Diddley, the self-acclaimed founder of Rock N Roll first created the rectangular-shaped guitar with Gretsch in 1958.
He drew his inspiration from old homemade instruments by folk musicians, who made guitars out of cigar boxes.
According to Diddley himself, the necessity for an instrument with a smaller body came after an incident with a Gibson L5, where he jumped around the stage a bit too much and eventually hit his groin with the guitar.
We’re not sure how the Twang Machine’s sharp corners are any safer, though.
How not to do it.
Sorry, I don’t know who this regulation folk-beard nut job is but he chose the wrong letter of the alphabet for his choice of guitar.
It should have been in the shape of a capital C.
Finally My Favorite.
The Wangmaster!
Just remember it’s all a load of ‘Guitar Bollocks’ that having a vintage guitar is the be-all and end-all. Being original is more important and fun. Especially if you’re skint.
Please send me your offbeat guitar pics and I’ll post the best.
guitarbollocks@gmail.com