Searcy Posted April 21, 2012 Share Posted April 21, 2012 Frank Zappa's Les Paul Goldtop Guitar Frank Zappa's customised 1952/53 Les Paul Goldtop Guitar, extensively used during the early to mid 1960s in both studio and stage, this gold top was Zappa's main guitar before his famous SG. The guitar is a 1952/53 Gibson Les Paul with a single cutaway mahogany body. It has a maple top and neck and rosewood fingerboard with crown inlays. It has one P.90 single coil pickup, one single coil pickup one humbucking pickup and six rotary controls a toggle switch, a pick up selector switch, a Bigsby tremelo tailpiece. A Mahogany body with maple top. In it's original case. The Mothers of Invention first single 'Freakin Out features this guitar played by Zappa. The guitar was sold by a guitar dealer known to all of the famous bands at that time in the Bay area in San Francisco in late 1969 or possibly early 1970 for approx $300.00. The current owner was friends with Mike Pendegrass & Howie from Big Brother & The Holding Company and the Grateful Dead and allowed him to jam with them occasionally. He recalls "It must have been painful for them. But I had some great times." He has owned the guitar ever since, but when he took up sailing and became a yacht captain, the guitar ended up in an attic gathering dust with some friends for the last thirty years, and then with an auction house over the last few years. Estimate £80,000 - £100,000 Starting Bid £50,000 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RowdyMoon Posted April 21, 2012 Share Posted April 21, 2012 The one Zappa uses has a p-90 in the neck so someone along the way has altered it...still what a good find..things like this if real should be in a R&R museum somewhere. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zeppelinguy Posted April 21, 2012 Share Posted April 21, 2012 The guitar is priceless in my opinion. It's more of a historical artifact than a collector's item. Agreed, it should be in a Rock museum somewhere. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dem00n Posted April 21, 2012 Share Posted April 21, 2012 I disagree, should be played. Worst thing you can do to a guitar like that is not play it! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Searcy Posted April 21, 2012 Author Share Posted April 21, 2012 The one Zappa uses has a p-90 in the neck so someone along the way has altered it...still what a good find..things like this if real should be in a R&R museum somewhere. I think the humbucker was a later Zappa mod. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
surfpup Posted April 21, 2012 Share Posted April 21, 2012 Worst thing you can do to a guitar like that is not play it! To any guitar! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Malchik Posted April 22, 2012 Share Posted April 22, 2012 I disagree, should be played. Worst thing you can do to a guitar like that is not play it! Yeah, we wouldn't want the inanimate object to get lonely or something. It'd be nice is Zappa fans could see it, as it's a relic to Zappa fans, after all. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.