For an artist, it must be quite an honor to have your own
Fender or Gibson signature guitar model. Most of the great guitar gods have had
signature models created for them. JoePass, Tal Farlow, The Everly Brothers,
Johnny Smith, Les Paul, Chet Atkins, The Ventures and Trini Lopez were among
the first. In the 70’s and 80’s, it was George Benson, Paul Stanley and Bob
Weir models by Ibanez. In the 90’s,
there were Eddie Van Halen models, along with a flock of other metal notables.
The turn of the century brought a signature model for super players Eric
Clapton, Pete Townshend and Jimmy Page. Even some greats no longer with us like
Jimi Hendrix, Paul Kossof and Randy Rhodes received the honor of having their
own signature models. One band with the unique distinction of having 4
signature models created for them is still very much alive and rocking. In fact, in 2013 they’re still packing arenas
and recording relevant music. That band is
the Foo Fighters.
The Foo Fighters have had four meaningful signature models
developed in the past few years. First and foremost was a limited edition no
longer available called the “inspired by Dave Grohl” Gibson DG-335. In 2007, another classic was released. This
one, created by the the artisans of the Gibson Custom Shop, was actually a
re-release of the Vintage Gibson Guitar, the“Trini Lopez” signature model that
was popular from 1964-71. Grohl has always been a fan of the Trini Lopez model,
which is a hybrid between a solid body and a hollow body. The limited model was
produced in a rare Pelham Blue color.
The DG-335 has the same classic Firebird-style headstock with six-on-a-side tuners. The body has stylish diamond f-holes. The inlays on the fretboard are acrylic split diamond. This unique feature was inspired by the original Trini Lopez model. The pickups are original Patent Applied for humbuckers, designed to deliver the amazing tones that Grohl has become famous for with the Foo Fighters.
Grohl is not the only Foo Fighter with a signature edition, Fender has recently released the Chris Shiflett Signature Telecaster Deluxe and the Nate Mendel P Bass. The Tele is based on Shiflett’s favorite vintage fender guitar, his 1972 Fender Telecaster Deluxe. It has an Arctic White Finish, a four-ply white pearl pickguard, two custom designed humbucker pickups, a custom stenciled case and Shiflett’s signature on the headstock.
The original Telecaster Deluxe was produced by Fender from 1972. It was designed to produce the thick sound of late 1960’s heavy rock created by humbucker pickups. To do this right, Fender hired Seth Lover in 1967. Formerly from Gibson. Seth was the inventor of the humbucker pickup. Lover created the Fender “WideRange” humbucker, which was featured on the Telecaster Deluxe, Custom and Thinline Models.
The Fender Nate Mendel Signature Bass is modeled after his
1971 Fender Precision Bass. It features a slightly road-worn candy apple
finish, an extra slim neck, a Seymour Duncan Quarter Pounder Split Coil Pickup,
a Leo Quan Badass II bridge and an extra neck plate with a hybrid “Fender/Foo
Fighters” logo. Mendel has expressed his affection for his 71 P-Bass and the
features that make it unique and Fender has gone to great lengths to duplicate
the specifics.
Long time touring guitarist, Pat Smear, formerly of The Germs and Nirvana, has a signature model built for him by Hagstrom. The Pat Smear signature model is a double cutaway mahogany body, set neck, capped with a maple top. Each guitar is said to be built by the same standards as Pat’s guitars. The design is a custom hybrid of a 1970’s Hagstrom model “H-IIN-OT” and the modern day “F-200.”
