BACK IN 1988, that was how the man born Saul Hudson first came in contact with the Gibson guitar brand. Guns N' Roses had only recently released their debut effort, Appetite for Destruction, an album on which Slash, in what is now rock-guitar lore, recorded most of his parts using a 1959 Les Paul copy built by luthier Kris Derrig. As the band hit the road in support of the record, he took the Derrig with him. Not surprisingly, the axe, one of his only guitars at the time, quickly took a beating from intense onstage use. So Slash retired the Les Paul copy from live work and went looking for the real thing.
Which is what led him to Gibson. "At that point, Guns N' Roses hadn't quite crested that wave. We were sort of still a fledgling L.A. club band that had a record deal, just like all the rest of 'em," Slash recalls. "But I called Gibson and they said, 'Yeah, we'll work something out.' They sold me two Les Pauls at dealer cost. And that's how our relationship started."
That relationship has grown into, arguably, the most visible and fruitful collaboration between an artist and guitar brand of the past 30-plus years. Slash has not only been instrumental in returning the Les Paul to unrivaled prominence in the guitar universe, he has also helped design some of the best-selling and most highly regarded artist models in the marketplace.
And the partnership has only gotten stronger and deeper with each year. In 2017, Gibson named Slash its first-ever Global Brand Ambassador, and today the Slash line of Gibson guitars continues to expand (see, for one, the signature J-45 acoustic offerings). What's more, the brand recently launched a record label, Gibson Records, which issued the 2022 Slash (featuring Myles Kennedy & the Conspirators) album, 4, as its debut release.
Esta historia es de la edición May 2023 de Guitar Player.
Comience su prueba gratuita de Magzter GOLD de 7 días para acceder a miles de historias premium seleccionadas y a más de 9,000 revistas y periódicos.
Ya eres suscriptor ? Conectar
Esta historia es de la edición May 2023 de Guitar Player.
Comience su prueba gratuita de Magzter GOLD de 7 días para acceder a miles de historias premium seleccionadas y a más de 9,000 revistas y periódicos.
Ya eres suscriptor? Conectar
PRS
PREVIOUSLY PART OF PRS's Maryland-built guitar line, the SE NF3 was recently reissued in the company's offshore-produced SE series. The SE NF3 is so named for its Narrowfield Deep Dish (a.k.a. DD) \"S\" pickups. These unique PRS-design units have deeper bobbins to accommodate more windings and extra metal pieces between the magnets to yield a more powerful \"single-coil\" tone, while remaining noise-free because they are in fact humbuckers. A control set consisting of master volume, tone and a five-way blade switch allows the usual selections of bridge, middle and neck pickups by themselves and the neck-plus-middle and bridge-plus-middle combinations that allow the SE NF3 to veer into Strat-like territory in switch positions two and four.
EPIPHONE
Inspired by Gibson Custom 1963 Firebird V and 1959 ES-355
Dobro 101
A look at the iconic bluegrass slide box.
CERTIFIED GREATNESS
Fingerstyle master Tommy Emmanuel combines unique musical instincts and breathtaking technique to become an acoustic tour de force.
MASTER OF HIS OWN JOURNEY
For more than 50 years, David Lindley graced albums and concert stages with his singular talent on a vast range of stringed instruments. In this Guitar Player exclusive, his musical friends — including Jackson Browne, Ry Cooder and Bonnie Raitt - pay tribute to an original.
TRANSCENDENTAL MAN
Luther Dickinson interpreted a priceless work of art in music. In the process, the blues guitarist wrote his own next chapter.
THE BEAT GOES ON
Together with Tony Levin, Adrian Belew and Steve Vai join forces for a Robert Fripp-endorsed revival of King Crimson's groundbreaking 1980s music.
I'M 100 PERCENT HAPPY WITH THE WORK I'VE DONE WITH PINK FLOYD. BUT...'MY FOCUS IS DIFFERENT RIGHT NOW'
Leading a rock group and being a solo artist were \"not what I asked for,\" David Gilmour says. For Luck and Strange, he assembled a team that shared the weight of his creative efforts. The result? \"The best album I've made since The Dark Side of the Moon.\"
DOUG GILLARD IS INDISPENSABLE
His six-string genius has proved vital to the music of Guided by Voices, Nada Surf and other indie-rock favorites. But all he really wants is to make good music.
Sol Salvation
The genius of Sol Hoopii is preserved in 16 timeless cuts on Master of the Hawaiian Guitar.