Guitars
Gibson Les Paul Playboy Ex Billy Gibbons
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Playboy has been an institution for 65 years now. Of course Hugh Hefner’s magazine has been an endless supply of dreamy centerfold bunnies, but it has also been a strong instrument of the sexual revolution, and a symbol of quality journalism and legendary interviews. The Playboy bunny is a strong universal symbol, so much so that it can be found on nearly every merchandising product that can be imagined, including guitars.
The first Playboy Les Paul was made in 2000, and even though it is really hard to actually tell how many were made, rumour has it that as little as 15 guitars were sold at the time, back when limited-edition-custom-shop-Gibsons were not as popular as they have become. That very classy tuxedo-like Les Paul was based on a Custom Black Beauty model, albeit with a flat top and chrome hardware instead of the usual gold. The bunny logo is inlaid on the headstock and painted on the top, and the magazine’s name graces the fretboard in huge inlays.
This particular Playboy Les Paul is a replica, not a real Gibson, that used to belong to Billy Gibbons. The ZZ Top man probably could have gotten his hands on the real thing if he had wanted to, but he has always been a fan of copies and replica, as his heavy use of Tokai guitars proves. This Les Paul has obviously been modded with Seymour Duncan Pearly Gates pickups, and it comes in Gibbons’ own case, complete with very cool hardcore stickers.
Like all the guitars from the Billy Gibbons collection sold by Matt’s Guitar Shop and bought straight from the man himself, this sexy Les Paul has been signed by the Reverend at the back of the headstock and it comes with a signed certificate of authenticity, a picture of Billy holding the guitar, a picture of Billy signing the guitar and a picture of Billy signing the certificate. This is your way of knowing you’re buying the real deal.
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Billy F Gibbons
(1949)
Group : ZZ Top
Main guitar : Gibson Les Paul Standard 1959
An absolute “must-hear” track : Just Got Paid
Billy Gibbons is the boss. The boss of guitarists with his sensual tremolo and the fat sound like a burrito he gets from his Les Paul. The boss of singers with his rocky and twangy sound. The boss of bandleaders with ZZ Top, his trio whose lineup has remained the same since 1969. The boss of engineers, with an impeccable sense of staging. And finally the boss of collectors, with several hangars filled with several thousand guitars that he has acquired over the years. Legend has it that he would have a copy from every year of every model from the major brands, and that may not be just a legend... In any case, the guitars that we know he has are enough to turn heads. From “Mistress Pearly Gates”, the famous Les Paul 59 that has always been with him, to his 54 hardtail Strat that we often hear in addition to Pearly Gates, along with his many custom hotrod guitars.
His career began in 1967 with The Moving Sidewalks, one of the few psychedelic Texas rock bands inspired by the 13th Floor Elevators. They opened for Jimi Hendrix before breaking up in 1969, when Gibbons founded ZZ Top.
The trio began with rich and traditional blues rock before going in a more electronic direction, starting with Degüello in 1979. That direction was confirmed with the Eliminator/Afterburner/Recycler trilogy. Three albums where the blend of Gibbons’ blues with the synthesisers and drum machines of the time produced a result that won over many fans, whether they came to trio’s music through singles like Gimme All Your Loving and Rough Boy, or through the band’s excellent videos that were often played on MTV. Since then, ZZ Top has reinvented its music once again with a fatter, more organic, and fuzzy sound. Gibbons has made multiple appearances as a guest star on other musicians’ albums. He has also released two albums under his own name: Perfectamundo, which explores Cuban music, and Big Bad Blues, which returns to his first loves, between Muddy Waters and Bo Diddley. The circle is complete.
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