Carmel Magazine

104-107 Rumbleseat Music_152-161 Garcia story 4/26/13 10:50 AM Page 3 in today's slightly depressed market, certain Gibson Les Paul model guitars "The '59 was a perfect storm of materials and build quality." regularly change hands for more than one thousand times their original Also, "Gibson made some tweaks to the design that year, such as wider cost—a 1959 Gibson price sheet lists the instrument at $295 plus case— frets and a different color in the sunburst finish," Michael says. It's minuti- and sometimes much, much more. ae like that that can make the difference in thousands of dollars—some- As with any collectible in this price range, counterfeits abound. It takes times scores of thousands—on a price tag. a sharp eye, honed over years of examining instruments to spot the sub- "About 1,800 '59s were made," says Michael. "Perhaps 900 to 1,000 tle nuances that separate the authentic from the ersatz. So, naturally, in this survive." Some were broken (Michael's first one was destroyed by a business, trust and rela- cymbal tionships are everything. Ramone's drummer; The "Everything about Eliot is Who's Pete Townshend is honest and above-board," probably responsible for Mancina says. "And he has the demise of one or a natural sense for dealing two), some were lost. flung by The with guitars." That senti- Carmel's Rumble Seat ment is echoed by virtu- Music isn't about guitars oso blues-rock guitarist on display behind glass, Joe Bonamassa. "The trust however. When all is said factor is huge. There are and done, these are still forgeries and fakes out musical instruments, meant there. I've known Eliot as to be played. Can you walk long as I've been collect- in and actually belt out the ing; he was responsible for solo from "Stairway to my first collectibles. He's a Heaven" on that '59 Paul straight shooter." on the wall? Sure. "We So why do these planks want to make the experi- of wood come with such ence of coming into this high price tags? "Crafts- shop to be like going to a manship," Michael states museum where you can simply. "These instruments play with the displays," were built with a different Mancina says. "We're aim- mentality than exists today. ing Those artisans believed gallery-like that what they were mak- Michael ing should last a lifetime." instance, we have Eric Case in point: the Holy Grail of the electric guitar In 1958, two Detroit brothers visited the Gibson factory, purchasing this Explorer and Flying V— the only period Flying V factory modified for a left handed player. for an unhurried, feel here," adds. "For Clapton's Gibson Explorer hanging on the wall in the collecting world is the 1959 Gibson Les Paul in the "sunburst" finish. Carmel shop. One guy was looking at it with awe. I said 'go ahead, play it,' These instruments, named after a wildly popular entertainer of the day, but he was hesitant. I pulled it down and handed it to him. It's a guitar. were lovingly handcrafted in that Kalamazoo factory by master luthiers. That's what it's for." They used only the finest materials—aged wood from the company's Another Carmel resident, Barry Manilow guitarist Michael Lent, paid a vast storehouse of planks—and the expertise gained over Gibson's visit to Rumble Seat recently. "The first word out of my mouth was 'Wow!' decades of guitar-building excellence. It's a gorgeous looking thing, its That back wall is a rare and impressive sight…an awesome collection of physical beauty only surpassed by the tones it produces at the hands of some of the most valuable guitars in the world." He played a somewhat the Guitar Gods who play them: Jimmy Page, Jeff Beck, Eric Clapton, Joe pricey instrument. "That was the only time in my life I've played a $400,000 Walsh, Duane Allman…and Joe Bonamassa. "In 1958 Gibson had revital- guitar," Lent laughs. "I was pretty nervous hanging it back up on the wall." ized the line by adding sunburst and using highly figured woods," he says. 106 C ARMEL MAGAZINE•SPRING/SUMMER 2013 Inventory isn't limited to uber-high end collectible electric guitars; there

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