ELECTRICIZED

Duane Allman

1946-1971

Hard not be under the spell of the Skydog. The guitar prodigy that is Duane Allman has granted us with flawless studio work, sublime live improvs and electrifying slides, throughout a career interrupted way too early. Besides his talent, he made guitar playing look and feel so effortless, and that grants him a prime seat in the pantheon of guitar gods, very close to Hendrix. 

Duane Allman is mostly remembered as a Les Paul Standard player. He also played a 61 SG for slides and Strats during his pre-Allman brothers session work.

Photo: Richard Hombre

Gibson Grabber

1973-1983
Maple, Alder

Released at the same time as the Gibson Ripper, the Gibson Grabber broke even more the EB series mold.

The Grabber was Maple head to toe up until 1975, when the body got swapped with Alder. Same headstock as on the Flying V.

A single pickup, modular, could be easily moved to a neck or bridge position. In parts due to the wood choice, Its tone is brighter than what you could expect from a Gibson humbucker. Hear it

A limited edition re-run was produced in 2009.

Gibson Ripper

1973-1983
Maple, Alder, Ebony

Gibson EB bass series was very popular, but getting old. They freshened up in 1973 with the release of two basses that would clash with the Gibson tradition: The Gibson Grabber and the Gibson Ripper.

Instead of the Mahogany body, the Ripper was built with Maple (and alder in 1975), woods usually found on a Fender Production line. The bass was kept at low cost by keeping it cosmetically basic. In 2009, Gibson released a limited edition reissue called the Gibson Ripper II.

Photo: BCR Music

Gibson Byrdland

1955-Present
Spruce, Maple, Ebony

The name Byrdland is a mashup of the names of Billy Bird and Hank Garland the two guitarists who participated in its design. They had requested a short scale archtop that would be less bulky than the traditional hollowbody, and this is basically what they got: A short-scale thinline L5CES.

P90s, PAF pickups, venetian or florentine cutaway, the Gibson Byrdland went through several phases, but was always seen as a remarkable and prized instrument. Some of Gibson’s finest. Hear it

Photo: Georgesmusic

Bo Diddley

1928-2008

The Stones, the Beatles, the Who, Hendrix… You name it. Everyone has been influenced by the simple yet feverish rhythms of Bo Diddley. “The Originator”, as they called him, defined the genre and is unmistakably considered a cornerstone of blues rock. He was also famous for having female guitarists in his band. 

His two main instruments were the cigar-box shaped Grestch Twang Machine and the Gretsch Jupiter Thunderbird. Both were designed by Diddley himself, respectively in 1958 and 1959. Yes, Bo Diddley was a man, and a remarkable one.

Rickenbacker 4001

1961-1981
Maple, Walnut, Rosewood

Hard to keep track of all the bass legends that played the Rickenbacker 4001 at some point in their carreer. To name a few: Paul McCartney, Roger Waters, Phil Lynott, Paul Simonon and here is how Cliff Burton mastered it.

Neck through, triangular inlays, crescent wave body shape, the 4001 is iconic in many ways. Its successor, the 4003 model, remains very similar in features and definition.

For sale by Vintage & Rare

Gibson ES-175 CC

1978-1980
Maple, Rosewood

This is officially the first model featuring a Charlie Christian pickup since the ES-150, on which the pickup made its original introduction in 1936. Although the ES-175CC was an instant success among jazz players looking for a vintage sound, only 479 units of the Kamalazoo crafted instrument were ever produced. Hear it jazz

Carvin DC 150

1976-1992
Maple, Ebony

Jewel of versatility, the the Carvin DC-150 is Gibsonesque only in appearances. Each pickup can be turned to single coils via a mini-switch, and a third mini switch acts as a phase inverter. Combined with stereo output, imagine all possibilities…  Hear it.

Both DC-150C (blonde) and DC-150C (black) were exclusively made out of maple. An optional ebony fretboard was eventually offered. In 2002, Carvin reintroduced the DC-150 with a lot of changes that turned it officially into a Gibson clone: New pickups, rounder body shape, mahogany / maple top construction, no mini-switches, 22 frets.

Hound Dog Taylor

1915-1975
Flesh, Bones, tons of soul

From a guitarist point of view, having six fingers on your left hand is not a malformation, it’s a gift. Hound Dog taylor was definitely gifted. He has pulled more bewildering slide blues and raw boogie than anyone ever did out of a Teisco.

Hear him play “Wild about you Baby”

Dunlop Tortex Pick

1972-Present
Thermoplastic

Since an international ban on tortoiseshell in 1973, Dunlop has been successfully offering the most iconic and recognizable pick in guitar history. The variety of colors/thicknesses makes any decently obsessed guitarist want to try them all. And that logo is spot on. Keep smiling, Turtey.

Fender Princeton

1947-1986

Here is one of the most popular studio amps Fender ever made. The Princeton was introduced in 1947 as an entry level amp, along with the Fender Champ. The Princeton was a fairly basic 15 Watts amp that has been particularly priced for its recording qualities. The Princeton Reverb was added in 1964, which was basically a version with reverb and vibrato. That amp is also the home of the very first Mesa Boogie mods.

While the classic model was discontinued in 1979, Fender kept the popular Princeton Reverb in the catalogs until 1982. It was then replaced by a 22 watts version, the Princeton Reverb II. 8000 units of the version 2 were produced before Fender dropped the series from the catalog. Fender reissued some of the Princeton series in 2006. Hear the Fender Princeton roar

For sale

Guyatone LG-23R

1970s

Made in the early seventies, this amazing Guyatone has an integrated drum machine with five preset drum rhythms that come out straight to the amp! Yours to choose between Slow Rock, Fox Trot, Twist, Bossa Nova and Rock ‘N’ Roll. These are probably cheesy and outdated, but got to try, just for the hell of it…

Rick Turner Model One

1979-81 / 1990-present
Mahogany, Rosewood

Impossible to dissociate this model from Fletwood Mac’s guitarist and singer, Lindsey Buckingham. Turner produced a first batch of 200 before stopping production in 1981. He then resumed in 1990, full steam ahead. Two feats make this guitar unique: First, its body shape was directly inspired from 19th century viennese guitars. Second, an advanced EQ and a rotating humbucker pickup were considered, at least at the time, groundbreaking. How cool can a ro-ta-ting pickup be?

If any of you is interested, it is for sale on Gbase. Ed Roman also came up with a new and improved version with a neck thru construction and ebony fretboard.

Gibson Les Paul Deluxe

1968-1985
Maple, Mahogany, Rosewood

Pushed out by the SG, the Les Paul Model which hadn’t said its last word came back for another round of production in 1968. Along with Standard and Custom, a new brat joined the family: The Les Paul Deluxe.

The brighter, snappier sound juiced out of its two “New York” mini-humbucker was favored by some well known guitarists, and was famed by Pete Townshed who played a few during his career with The Who.

Victim of the 70s Norlin era, the Deluxe model lived through many variations in construction. Early models even featured the heavy “pancake” body (layers of maple and mahogany)

1975 Fender Starcaster

With its very unique and recognizable headstock. (although production has officially started in 1976)