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Smashing guitars on stage.. Yay or nay


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So I had posted this The Who video on the other thread and was watching it admiring Petes lovely Les Paul (I got one that colour :)) and then and the end (as he does) he decided to throw it about the stage.. Each smash sends a shiver down my spine and makes me cringe.. I know its like a "ROCK" thing and part of the show.. But man I just dont think I could do that to one of my guitars.....

 

the end of this vid (about 8:30)

 

The the most famous one ever (and I dont seem to mind when its a Fender lol :P)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z4QghNBwyt8

 

 

So guitar smashing.. Yay or nay?? Would you ever do that even if you could afford it?

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And its not just electrics .. This is what the description says

 

because it was out of tune, i was there, he was going to start everlong and he realized it was out of tune so he was geting ready to give it back to a groupie then some1 yelled break it, and he asked if it was ok with the manager, and then he broke it and gave its 20 peaces to the crowd :D then everything got dim and they played everlong

 

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In bad times you'd kill for a cheap guitar, so I find it disrespectful to have-nots to smash an instrument.

An instrument is to be loved and cherished, and cheap one is to be given to a less fortunate person.

 

If someone else does it it isn't something I judge them on, but their level of cool doesn't go up. It stays where it was...all abotu how you play the thing.

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Only pic I've got of it is this pic of my studio

photo-1400.jpg

Don't look at the bong.

 

you should sell it. I'm sure someone would love to use it to the full extent. You should get a first act and smash it. those deserve to be smashed. Or one of those paper jam things. Dannies are too cool to be destroyed.

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I hate Pete townsend for doing that. I would like smack him one for it [cursing]. No just kidding, i dont hate him but the smacking part, yeah. Frankly, he wasnt playing very well before smashing it but it wasnt the guitars fault. Pete is a great musician but that is totally lame and gimmicky.

 

The Foo Fighters one is even lamer. He asked permission from the manager first? How Rock N Roll is that? He would have been cooler to give it to the groupie like he started to. I like Foo Fighter, but again, lame.

 

The only way I would evr consider smashing a guitar would be if it was a totally unfixable piece of junk. There is a First act guitar at the bottom of my daughters toy box that would be a good candidate for a smashing. She wants to be a zombie Rock Star for halloween and we may give it a few whacks for effect.

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sometimes, in the heat of the fight...a guitar may be smashed. It is the fakers that I don't like. Pete did it the first time without knowing he was going to smash a guitar. Then he got critisme about that and he planned to do it again. The first time was genuine all the rest fake in my opinion. So, no normally you do not destroy your guitar at the end of a gig. But...once in a while the feeling, the admosphere is correct and it demands a smash up.

Play once and destroy!

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I've always thought it was pretty lame. I used to be manic once in awhile when I was a kid. No artistry there.

 

The guys that broke their guitars - it wasn't cool at all. They were cool so we tolerated their indulgences.

 

If I was able to get as high as Jimi, I'd be breaking stuff left and right. [thumbup]

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I was always uncomfortable with Pete's smashing of top-end LP's etc...often with custom modifications...

 

Arguable whether it was influenced by the very astute Kit Lambert/Chris Stamp management

 

It certainly heightened The Who's original and slightly dangerous image...along with Keith Moon's wild playing and lifestyle

 

As 'auto destructive' art it made for great dramatic pictures (like no one else's)

 

Apart from their friend Jimi's...any post Who destruction is IMO faux and a bit silly...

 

V

 

:-({|=

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There have been times, at really drunken rehearsals/parties, where I've really gotten into a "thing" and working feedback and shaking the guitar madly and whatever, when the impulse to smash it into something has come up. I've never done it since I'm usually playing Gibsons. I would NEVER smash a Gibson. But something like a cheapish Fender (where you can replace the neck easy and cheap), or an Asian made cheap copy or low price brand, sure. If it builds up to that and becomes a "natural" conclusion to the wanking session.

 

It's not something you can plan to do. I've heard both Jimi and Pete felt uncomfortable by the expectation to do stuff like that at every gig.

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I vote NO Smash. I never thought it was cool when P.T. or Jimi smashed/burned their guitars back in the 60's and I was still a young kid then. Still don't. Give it away to someone or donate it for a charity sale, CUZ to me you don't get cool by doing things and that all seems like some dumb stunt to look/be cool or your too "doped up/drunk" to know noth'n! Just me

 

Aster

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I have a small (25 watt?) KMD amp that I picked up in a guitar/amp ebay flip. I tried to get $25 or $30 out of the amp and couldn't do it. Cheap amps are dime a dozen nowadays, not like when I grew up in the 70s when we bought adaptor cords so we could plug into the friggin' stereo. Anyway, the amp was up on a tall bookshelf and one of the cats knocked it over. It was a long ways down and the cabinet took a pretty good whack. It still works but every once in a while cuts out and squawks. Not worth pursuing.

 

Soon there will be a youtube video with a friend playing my Les Paul through aforementioned amp. He will be playing Smoke on the Water. I will walk onto the scene with a 12 gauge.

 

Neither he nor the Les Paul will be injured.

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I recently did it. I didn't mean to really break it. It was my white gibson SG.My singer stepped on my cord and unplugged me from my pedal board a bit. I was smashing the heel of the guitar on the board to try to get it to cut back on. It was our last song and I started smashing my drummers cymbols with it and next thing I knew I threw the guitar down and the headstock snapped ! It actually turned out to be a really EPIC ending to the set !!! I'm really glad it was a very,very packed set and Rex from Pantera was in the house. ( he's actually a friend of our band )He came up and said I was bad *** !!!! It was worth it to me hahaha. People loved it and it turned out to be an awesome set. That being said, I'll never do it again. I had the headstock reapaired and I actually love the guitar alot more now. It has a few cracks and scars, but still kicks much *** !!! Reliced in one night ! LOL [thumbup]

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you should sell it. I'm sure someone would love to use it to the full extent. You should get a first act and smash it. those deserve to be smashed. Or one of those paper jam things. Dannies are too cool to be destroyed.

I'd really rather smash it.

 

Like I said, everyone keeps telling me it's cool but I'm quite familiar with it and I promise you it's not.

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