The red fuzz is from the case. This is from my shop, The Guitar Lounge in Galveston, Texas. Currently on display at the Bryan Museum here. We are the home of tone in Texas!
The one and only star that is on the headstock is there because Texas is known as the "Lone Star" state. That is why there were not "more stars" on there. Same goes for the back of the Neiman Marcus SG...just the Lone Star.
Not a huge ZZ fan, even though I do love their music. More of a casual fan. But, as soon as I saw the shape of that guitar the first thought in my mine was, yup, that's a Billy guitar.
Hey I saw this guitar, I played an event for a museum in Galveston for the start of a billy gibbons exhibit. Edit: I think the fuzz is from the case, it had a red interior
You are most likely correct (IMO). I've seen custom guitar cases eat a guitar's finish alive if the wrong adhesive for the lining was used. Off-Gassing = Destroyed Lacquer Very cool that you got to see it.
I have an early 50's Epiphone archtop that had the red fuzz from the case interior all over the binding when I first got it. I think the celluloid binding off gassing made it adhere to the case lining. I had to scape the fuzz off the binding, and it still happens now, and will continue until I replace the binding. The binding needs to be replaced anyway, because it has shrunk away from the body at the waist on the top and back.
Yep, I read an article about it and it definitely came from the case…and since Billy still owns the guitar, if he were to have it refinished, it would not affect the value because most of the value comes from it being a BG guitar…in fact, IMHO, the value might even go up since it would be in mint condition (of course provided that Gibson does the refin and it’s the same color, etc.)…
I remember seeing this guitar back in the them olden days that I come from. :) The interviewer asked Billy about the size of the guitar and Billy said that it was big enough to hold a dance on. I've used that description a gozillion times since.
Austin, There is a Guitar World magazine issue that had this guitar featured as it's "CenterFold". I can't recall what year and issue number it is but I'm sure someone will chime in with more details. I read about it a while ago and it has a compressor-expander circuit along with other effects that are found in the Gibson RD Artist, which had a bright boost, treble boost and a bass boost along with that compressor/expander. I know a few players who subscribed to Guitar World and I will see if they have an extra copy laying around that could be gifted to you.
A lot of Billy's guitars despite having other brand names on them were built by John Bolin. Those three hollowbodies in the pic at the end were definitely Bolin built. Sometimes luthiers will make you a guitar with a company's logo on it, like how the Slash "Appetite" Les Paul isn't actually a Gibson at all, but a replica built by Kris Derrig
Yeah and builders like him and Max, saved Gibson by building replicas, tributes, and or copies, dare I say counterfeits. Slash is a good player, but it’s not his virtuosity that made him Gibsons first brand Ambassador. He brought the Les Paul back into fashion when everyone else was playing super Strats. Gibson also studied and measured his Kris Derig Appetite Amber guitar, because it was closer to the vintage bursts than Gibson were making. Know days Gibson would issue a cease and desist if someone built a guitar like Slash’s original, not da Gibson. Nobody wanted LPs in the 80s, I’m sure they were used in the studios and on albums, but most working guitarists were playing fender style guitars, unless they were big enough to have a tech keep those Gibsons in order on the road.
@@brandonjackson5865 And many times the known names would just outsource the making of them, because the talent or tooling at the shop wasn't quite there...some people consider this not-straight shooting by the manus, but the truth is the best luthiers are going to be working for themselves, because they make more that way. It works this way in my business.
@@TheNateweaver Yeah exactly in any labor based trade or craft the extremely talented and experienced almost always can make a better product or provide a better service for less than a big company a lot of times and they themselves make more money while offering a superior experience while charging the end customer less. I look at luthiers kind of like an artist, let’s say a tattoo artist for example. They price their work at what they believe it’s worth, I as a consumer can decide if their work is fairly priced or not, but I wouldn’t insult an artist or custom builder by trying to haggle them down or bad mouth their work. I use tattoos as an example because I’ve heard so many people say such an such wanted 300 dollars for this, but my cousin did it for 50 dollars and a box of Sudafed, and I’m thinking yeah I bet he did you should’ve saved up . Great carpenters usually go into business for themselves, auto mechanics too. You name it the best is almost always going to be an individual working in their own shop on their own time and set their own prices.
It amuses me you've been doing this for so long yet were seemingly unaware of all the custom guitars Gibson made for Billy. They were in most of the guitar magazines back in the day.
@@timothycormier3494 Yeah. None of these guitars are a surprise to Gen Xers who grew up reading guitar rags and watching MTV back in the day. Gibbon's collection is (was?) fairly well known. It's just funny to see Austin treat it like some long-lost discovery.
@@ianfurqueron5850 hahaha I know. I lugged my old collection of guitar magazines around for years and then they finally got destroyed in a basement flood. But that used to be our only option to see what the new stuff was and what our guitar heroes were doing. I used to get excited about who was gonna be on the cover of which magazine and all the cool pedals and effect rack mounted units. Aaah the good old days
I think the green "L5" was supposed to be made from lumber salvaged from Muddy Waters cabin that he grew up in. The stripe running from headstock is supposed to represent the Mississippi river I think. I could be wrong on that one. I remember something like that about this guitar. There is a guy that teched for Billy in the late 70's or early 80's living in San Antonio that I spent some time with who is a wealth of info about his earlier gear.
There’s a diffrent guitar that was made out of La ceiling been from Muddy Water’s house. It has the same river design leading to the headstock but the river is brown and the finish is Candy copper. This info is from the same book Guitars That Shook the World
I had a guitar world that featured that guitar it's not the green one in the video it looked more like a Tele but had the Mississippi going down the fretboard just like that green guitar and yes it was made from a roof beam from Muddy Waters home
Gibson used to have their big beautiful picture sales books in the music stores back in early 80’s and one of the first ones they showed was the big America shaped guitar. I’m sure you’ve seen that one. They did it in a natural, and a flag coloring.
They originally did that for an ad that ran circa 82 or 83, but people were so interested in it, they actually built a run of them, in 84, I think. Funny thing was, I've a couple old Guitar Player magazines from around 1980 that show a USA shaped bass, I forget who made it, but I think it was one of the companies that built "guitar kits" and such.
I think I actually defied the laws of physics in the amount of time it took me to see the guitar and think "Billy Gibbons". It's kind of cool when someone has a recognizable esthetic more than a recognizable style. You just go yeah, never seen anything like that before, Billy Gibbons. It's actually not the most ridiculous guitar either. Way too big but a pleasant kind of shape almost. Something you could get used to.
I saw the Top when they were an opening act (for Leon Russell), he played 'Pearly Gates' the whole show and I had binoculars. I'm posting this because of my next statement ... ZZ Top wrung that crowd out like a wet rag ... they left nothing for Leon and to make it worse ... every song of Leon's had a break in it like 'Youngbllood/Jumping Jack Flash from 'Concert for Bangladesh' and he talked about Jesus like a tentshow minister.
I saw Follow For Now wring the crowd out like that. They were opening for Widespread Panic. That crowd moshed and slammed and stagedived and crowdsurfed and generally raised hell. When WP got out there the crowd was tired and just kinda sat there.
Texas is “The Lone Star State” hence, the star. Although the shape is supposed to be the shape of Texas, it’s a ways off. It’s been stretched from left to right. Interesting guitar being from Gibson. But they did do the USA shaped guitar, so it’s not to big of a …..stretch.
Long time friend of Les Paul, Chuck Burge built the guitar. There is a picture floating around with him and BG, handing it to him. Chuck was a great builder.
Yes Billy does like the Flying V headstocks. Corelli Custom Guitars from Honolulu made him a Koa explorer for his bday last December with a V headstock. He's also quite fond of purple, so we put purple heart binding on it too along with purple diamond side markers.
The Super 400 size guitars were made by Jon Bolin. Colin has been making Custom guitars before Billy, Dusty and Steve Miller for decades. I happen to own Steve Miller's "SuperBird" which was build about the same time with the Super 400 size body, semi hollow but with Firebird pickups.
Very enjoyable, thank you! Enjoyed your trip down La Grange lane while laying down some Testors fluorescent paints on my own beast of a partscaster. Guitars can be as much of an expression of personal style as a musical instrument. I absolutely love them. The other day I saw a film of San Francisco 120 years ago. Horses and buggys, no streetlights or lanes, and no electric guitars. Glad I grew up in the 80s!
I have some info on this guitar from a picture book called Guitars that Shook the World. Compressor/expander like the a RD. It states that this was the last guitar made at the Kalamazoo factory. I can send you pics if you like.
The OG fuzzy guitar and bass were Dean Z's. Had the shrimpfork headstock which isn't a good look. I just relieved a childhood video moment and rewatched the Legs video, sooooo 80's but lots of fun
@@hkguitar1984 yeah, those were the ones in the video. I've heard that those guitars were pretty much unplayable because whatever they used for the "fur" whether real or synthetic, would just get into everything and screw it up.
@@WalkenDead I can understand what you're talking about. That said, he manages to keep that beard out of the strings..........so maybe! LOL Obviously a wireless setup for those!
Fun fact, I did a research paper on Jimi Hendrix my junior year of high school, and one of the more interesting things I learned from writing that, was that Hendrix said Billy Gibbons was his favorite guitar player. That’s pretty high praise and yeah I don’t think there’s a guitar company out there that wouldn’t make Billy Gibbons anything he wanted. He’s a living legend and guitar god . Has anyone had more iconic guitars by as many different brands. He’s played Gibson, Fender, Dean, Gretsch and I had never seen the PRS explorer. I’m sure other brands as well. I know he’s commissioned builds from smaller builders too. Awesome player, songwriter, and seems really cool and laid all the way back. I could see him rocking the 10,000 dollar Dean from a couple weeks ago. ZZTop were opening for Hendrix and didn’t have enough original songs to feel a set, so they played some Hendrix tunes, right before the man went on stage. I think he passed Billy as he was coming off stage and said something like “ you got some balls man “ . I know guitar players hold Billy in high regard, but I think he’s under appreciated for all he’s done for music, rock n roll, blues, boogie woogie, southern rock, the state of Texas. He could easily be on anyone’s Mt. Rushmore of guitar players shoulder to shoulder with Jimi, EVH, and the likes. I don’t think the Texas guitar was ever covered in fuzz, but probably came off the obviously one off case, probably built by someone who didn’t normally build cases. He toured it and would’ve had to have a ginormous flight case for it . I bet whoever built the case probably didn’t use the right kind of glue to adhere the lining. That’s just my theory though because I don’t remember seeing the Texas guitar in fuzz, just explorer shapes and tele shapes that I remember.
I remember an old interview with the Rev and someone asked him how many guitars he had in his collection He said no idea. The interviewer said "ballpark?" (as in a rough guess of how many) and Billy's reply was "oh yeah, it'd fill a ballpark..." 🤣🤣
Someone told me the stuff stuck to the guitar was actually from the case it was left in. The case material started to deteriorate.and stuck to the finish of the guitar.
According to Billy F Gibbons' book Rock+Roll Geaarhead it is called the Lone Star Slim Special. There's 1 page dedicated to it. He has many other guitars shown in that book but not all of them. I recently saw an awards show from 1-2 years ago where he was honored with a lifetime achievement award. He played a gorgeous, pinstriped Red SG with a flying V headstock.
Billy’s been a huge influence with my style. I’ve always wanted to meet him. If I ever do,it’d be like meeting Jimi Hendrix. I love the one that Bo Diddly had made for him called the Billy Bo by Gretsch.
Billy’s guitar, car, suit and jewelry collections are legendary. He showed up on an episode of Pawn Stars to buy back a custom made Nudie suit that was lost on a commercial airline flight back in the early 1970’s, years before they acquired the worldwide global recognition and acclaim and started flying to gigs on private jets…
Hey Austin I believe the red stuff on that guitar is from the material from the case because it was sitting in there for so long. They’re originally furry dean guitars where made out of sheepskin. That red material is not fur. Also if you look at pictures of the Texas shaped Gibson ,there was never anything on it to cover the finish. There’s even a picture of it on the Les Paul form in guitar trader mag and it’s clean.
The orange and black Billy Gibbons guitars are Tom Holmes guitars, really cool 70s/80s guitars. During the 2000s you can find Japan made guitars with the same name but that's probably just licenced. Still those are high-end too so worth checking out. They still do sell american made Tom Holmes PAF humbuckers and those are some expensive boutique pickups!
And that don't tread on me thing is the Mississippi river from the Muddywood guitar. For chrissakes do a little research the info on Gibbons' guitars is available.
I saw this guitar when Billy played it on stage in New Orleans. J. Geils started the show. When Lynyrd Skynyrd didn't show up, Billy said ZZ Top would make up for it. They did. It was still a great show.
I once read an article about those fancy white and lime green guitars where it was stated that there actually not real Gibson guitars but custom build by John Bolin of Bolin guitars. As far as I understood, John Bolin build quite a few guitars for Billy Gibbons at the time and Bolin is well known for fancy white fingerboards.
My take away from this episode is there is a really cool guitar shop in Galveston! I have lived in the area 30 years and didn't know about it. Checked their website and will visit this weekend! thanks Trogly!
In 2005 I celebrated Live8 by building a guitar in the shape of Africa, like the Logo (but without the knotted neck!). To save time I used a ready-made Strat-type neck and cut the body from a slab of Alder. I sold it in a charity auction for £250. Unfortunately I lost my photos, so you will have to take my word for it!
just thank you again eversmiling sir :) one more question here, what about tokai guitars? still in business? bad marketing? they have been such a big hype a while ago to build the best affordable les paul copies but never heard much of them until then, les paul custom quality for the price of an average epiphone LP, just check them out you will just love those instruments! 🤟 greetings from germany
Austin the star is a Texas thing, Texas is known as the lone state. The state flag has one star a symbol of their independence from Mexico in the early 1800's. Hence the lone star on the headstock.
Trogly! You should try getting your hands on a custom shop 1987 Slash Les Paul “Jessica”. I know you really dig 80s and 90s Les Paul it would make for a great video and I’d be thrilled to watch!
That very guitar hung on the wall at Texas Tom's Music in Houston before it was delivered to Billy G. I actually held and played that guitar before Billy G go it.
Knew this already. Saw this guitar long ago in guitar player magazine. It had fur on it then. A fine discovery for you. Try checking into Bo Diddley’s Futura shaped guitars from the late 50s
had a 76 Pass i left in the case for over a yr it must have gassed or something and became really sticky but all the felt stuck to the guitar just like this ,, Ace Freely has a star on his Gibson model
He has a very cool Les Paul that I think it might be some limited run of his Pearly Gates that instead of "Gibson Les Paul Model" it's written "Gibbons Lucky Mojo", I'm not quite shure if Gibson made them but I'm sure you'll love it! Even Johnny Depp has one of these.
@@lettuce_spray 100% agree. I've decided I'm going to work on guitars this weekend and play the new amplifier my left for me to use. No Worries, No Politics, just working on guitars and putting the Earasers to use!
Before I watch the reveal, I was guessing it was a Billy Gibbons early fuzzy model pre-Eliminator guitar. The ones that had the "cotton candy" glued to them.
As a ZZ top, gibbons fan, I knew exactly what this was and who it was for. I've considered getting one of my dean z's covered in white fur. The problem is, both of my z's are limited edition guitars.maybe I can buy one of the new Indian made z's for that project. Lol yes. The fuzzy guitars that were played in the legs video, were deans. 🤘
Yeh! I liked the ones he used at the Rock Palast in Germany in 1980. The double neck that reads “Reverend Willy G”. Those were the days man. Love Willy and the Top.
@MARQUIS de QUEENSBURY 5.0 I know what you mean, just one note and you knew who was playing. There was a rig rundown with Robin Trower, with his Uni-Vibe running he just played a single note on his Strat through his Marshall and it was instantly identifiable as Mr. Trower. True classic Players from a time that will never repeat. I consider myself Blessed to be here during that time/this time.
Pawn Stars had a video a while back featuring a suit owned by Billy Gibbons - Billy turned up in the Pawn Stars shop and bought it for a museum in Texas. Could that be the museum where this guitar is heading?
A lot of those “custom Gibson guitars” Billy Gibbons had made are not made by Gibson. They are made by John Bolin and even included Gibson logos/decals.
ZZ had a big Galveston connection. Balinese (song on Fandango!) was about a Galveston bar on a pier out in the Gulf. Used to be popular with the Sinatra/Dean Martin crowd, I think.
As a ZZ Top fan... I might haul out to Twxas for that showcase... I dont even like SGs and I want his signature one! Billy's got some wild models man... Greetings and well wishes from Utah!
Galveston was where ZZ Top had their first paying gig at the Balinese. Ball Room a really old historic famous bar at the end of a pier ..that during the prohibition years ,when the cops would try to bust the speak easy they had a trap door to drop the booze down to the gulf waters below ,to a boat or in a gunny sack into the water on a rope .. they did a song called ..Down at the Balinese
The red fuzz is from the case. This is from my shop, The Guitar Lounge in Galveston, Texas. Currently on display at the Bryan Museum here. We are the home of tone in Texas!
so what are all the internal electronics for, effects?
The one and only star that is on the headstock is there because Texas is known as the "Lone Star" state. That is why there were not "more stars" on there. Same goes for the back of the Neiman Marcus SG...just the Lone Star.
Yup
Right on! It's good to see ya on here, Dr. Groovy!🤟
I hope you're doing well,brother! 💜✌
✌🏽Friend 🪶
Thanks Scott👍🏻🤠🌟
You rule Dr Groovy!
Not a huge ZZ fan, even though I do love their music. More of a casual fan. But, as soon as I saw the shape of that guitar the first thought in my mine was, yup, that's a Billy guitar.
You're not a fan but love their music? C'mon man. You cant throw out a statement like that and not tell us the story behind that! Haha
As soon as I saw the guitar 🎸 I knew it was Billy Gibbons guitar as well cause he has had some crazy guitars 🎸 in the past 😳 🎸✌️🤘
Same but im a kiss fan since of their music
@@WinkenBlinkenAndNod did heard of their drummer that took drugs like crack
@@1980bwc same with me. I will listen to music and not care about who did it.
Hey I saw this guitar, I played an event for a museum in Galveston for the start of a billy gibbons exhibit.
Edit: I think the fuzz is from the case, it had a red interior
You are most likely correct (IMO). I've seen custom guitar cases eat a guitar's finish alive if the wrong adhesive for the lining was used.
Off-Gassing = Destroyed Lacquer
Very cool that you got to see it.
I have an early 50's Epiphone archtop that had the red fuzz from the case interior all over the binding when I first got it. I think the celluloid binding off gassing made it adhere to the case lining. I had to scape the fuzz off the binding, and it still happens now, and will continue until I replace the binding. The binding needs to be replaced anyway, because it has shrunk away from the body at the waist on the top and back.
Yep, I read an article about it and it definitely came from the case…and since Billy still owns the guitar, if he were to have it refinished, it would not affect the value because most of the value comes from it being a BG guitar…in fact, IMHO, the value might even go up since it would be in mint condition (of course provided that Gibson does the refin and it’s the same color, etc.)…
I remember seeing this guitar back in the them olden days that I come from. :) The interviewer asked Billy about the size of the guitar and Billy said that it was big enough to hold a dance on. I've used that description a gozillion times since.
Austin, There is a Guitar World magazine issue that had this guitar featured as it's "CenterFold". I can't recall what year and issue number it is but I'm sure someone will chime in with more details. I read about it a while ago and it has a compressor-expander circuit along with other effects that are found in the Gibson RD Artist, which had a bright boost, treble boost and a bass boost along with that compressor/expander. I know a few players who subscribed to Guitar World and I will see if they have an extra copy laying around that could be gifted to you.
A lot of Billy's guitars despite having other brand names on them were built by John Bolin. Those three hollowbodies in the pic at the end were definitely Bolin built. Sometimes luthiers will make you a guitar with a company's logo on it, like how the Slash "Appetite" Les Paul isn't actually a Gibson at all, but a replica built by Kris Derrig
Yeah and builders like him and Max, saved Gibson by building replicas, tributes, and or copies, dare I say counterfeits. Slash is a good player, but it’s not his virtuosity that made him Gibsons first brand Ambassador. He brought the Les Paul back into fashion when everyone else was playing super Strats. Gibson also studied and measured his Kris Derig Appetite Amber guitar, because it was closer to the vintage bursts than Gibson were making. Know days Gibson would issue a cease and desist if someone built a guitar like Slash’s original, not da Gibson. Nobody wanted LPs in the 80s, I’m sure they were used in the studios and on albums, but most working guitarists were playing fender style guitars, unless they were big enough to have a tech keep those Gibsons in order on the road.
@@brandonjackson5865 And many times the known names would just outsource the making of them, because the talent or tooling at the shop wasn't quite there...some people consider this not-straight shooting by the manus, but the truth is the best luthiers are going to be working for themselves, because they make more that way. It works this way in my business.
@@TheNateweaver Yeah exactly in any labor based trade or craft the extremely talented and experienced almost always can make a better product or provide a better service for less than a big company a lot of times and they themselves make more money while offering a superior experience while charging the end customer less. I look at luthiers kind of like an artist, let’s say a tattoo artist for example. They price their work at what they believe it’s worth, I as a consumer can decide if their work is fairly priced or not, but I wouldn’t insult an artist or custom builder by trying to haggle them down or bad mouth their work. I use tattoos as an example because I’ve heard so many people say such an such wanted 300 dollars for this, but my cousin did it for 50 dollars and a box of Sudafed, and I’m thinking yeah I bet he did you should’ve saved up . Great carpenters usually go into business for themselves, auto mechanics too. You name it the best is almost always going to be an individual working in their own shop on their own time and set their own prices.
It amuses me you've been doing this for so long yet were seemingly unaware of all the custom guitars Gibson made for Billy. They were in most of the guitar magazines back in the day.
Yup...saw this in Guitar Player
That’s because trogley is too young to remember any of that stuff. I do! But I’m old
@@timothycormier3494 Yeah. None of these guitars are a surprise to Gen Xers who grew up reading guitar rags and watching MTV back in the day. Gibbon's collection is (was?) fairly well known. It's just funny to see Austin treat it like some long-lost discovery.
@@ianfurqueron5850 hahaha I know. I lugged my old collection of guitar magazines around for years and then they finally got destroyed in a basement flood. But that used to be our only option to see what the new stuff was and what our guitar heroes were doing. I used to get excited about who was gonna be on the cover of which magazine and all the cool pedals and effect rack mounted units. Aaah the good old days
@@timothycormier3494 I still have a lot of mine, although I lost a couple of boxes in a basement flood as well.
I think the green "L5" was supposed to be made from lumber salvaged from Muddy Waters cabin that he grew up in. The stripe running from headstock is supposed to represent the Mississippi river I think. I could be wrong on that one. I remember something like that about this guitar. There is a guy that teched for Billy in the late 70's or early 80's living in San Antonio that I spent some time with who is a wealth of info about his earlier gear.
I've also read somewhere that it's Mississippi.
That’s a cool piece of information. I think you are right, about the inlay and paint representing the Mississippi River.
There’s a diffrent guitar that was made out of La ceiling been from Muddy Water’s house. It has the same river design leading to the headstock but the river is brown and the finish is Candy copper. This info is from the same book Guitars That Shook the World
The Muddywood was made from a cypress ceiling beam. I think it was made by Pyramid Guitars.
I had a guitar world that featured that guitar it's not the green one in the video it looked more like a Tele but had the Mississippi going down the fretboard just like that green guitar and yes it was made from a roof beam from Muddy Waters home
Great piece of sleuthery. Doubt anyone else could have worked this out from the name plate :)
Waaay before Billy got the Texas Guitar, Bo Didley had one shaped like Colorado!
Nice
good one
Gibson used to have their big beautiful picture sales books in the music stores back in early 80’s and one of the first ones they showed was the big America shaped guitar. I’m sure you’ve seen that one. They did it in a natural, and a flag coloring.
I spoke too soon! You showed it!!! Nice!
They originally did that for an ad that ran circa 82 or 83, but people were so interested in it, they actually built a run of them, in 84, I think. Funny thing was, I've a couple old Guitar Player magazines from around 1980 that show a USA shaped bass, I forget who made it, but I think it was one of the companies that built "guitar kits" and such.
hey everyone hope you're having a great day or evening.
And you as well Beatles Cuber
It's your birthday you just won the wallmart aword for the first comment 🍪 🍪
Congrats BC, excellent work
Congratulations on climbing to the summit of the Mole Hill and earning a Gold Medal.
I think I actually defied the laws of physics in the amount of time it took me to see the guitar and think "Billy Gibbons". It's kind of cool when someone has a recognizable esthetic more than a recognizable style. You just go yeah, never seen anything like that before, Billy Gibbons. It's actually not the most ridiculous guitar either. Way too big but a pleasant kind of shape almost. Something you could get used to.
I saw the Top when they were an opening act (for Leon Russell), he played 'Pearly Gates' the whole show and I had binoculars. I'm posting this because of my next statement ... ZZ Top wrung that crowd out like a wet rag ... they left nothing for Leon and to make it worse ... every song of Leon's had a break in it like 'Youngbllood/Jumping Jack Flash from 'Concert for Bangladesh' and he talked about Jesus like a tentshow minister.
I saw Follow For Now wring the crowd out like that. They were opening for Widespread Panic. That crowd moshed and slammed and stagedived and crowdsurfed and generally raised hell. When WP got out there the crowd was tired and just kinda sat there.
The star is probably because Texas is referred to as the “Lone Star State”
I'm Canadian and I knew that. But then I watched old cowboy shows a lot in the 60s.
Yeah, and I'm from London!
100% correct Nathaniel. Texans are a different breed of individuals, in a mostly good way!
Yes I got that and I'm English
I was yelling at my screen on this one. How do you not know that Trogly! Lol
Texas is “The Lone Star State” hence, the star. Although the shape is supposed to be the shape of Texas, it’s a ways off. It’s been stretched from left to right. Interesting guitar being from Gibson. But they did do the USA shaped guitar, so it’s not to big of a …..stretch.
The fuzz wasn't applied - it is reactive material from the case that burned into the nitro finish.
I remember when this thing was originally produced. I guess that makes me old.
I'm right there with you Myoptik3x10
Long time friend of Les Paul, Chuck Burge built the guitar. There is a picture floating around with him and BG, handing it to him.
Chuck was a great builder.
Yes Billy does like the Flying V headstocks. Corelli Custom Guitars from Honolulu made him a Koa explorer for his bday last December with a V headstock. He's also quite fond of purple, so we put purple heart binding on it too along with purple diamond side markers.
The 'fuzz' would have come from the case. The 'fluffy' guitars weren't made until 1983
The Super 400 size guitars were made by Jon Bolin. Colin has been making Custom guitars before Billy, Dusty and Steve Miller for decades. I happen to own Steve Miller's "SuperBird" which was build about the same time with the Super 400 size body, semi hollow but with Firebird pickups.
Very enjoyable, thank you! Enjoyed your trip down La Grange lane while laying down some Testors fluorescent paints on my own beast of a partscaster. Guitars can be as much of an expression of personal style as a musical instrument. I absolutely love them. The other day I saw a film of San Francisco 120 years ago. Horses and buggys, no streetlights or lanes, and no electric guitars. Glad I grew up in the 80s!
Woot woot Trogly's 🙌
Greetings Toney & Theresa
Greetings from good old Midwestern USA 🇺🇸 my friend!
@@elamon51 Awesome, I'm in Northern Michigan (lower peninsula), sort of the Midwestern US!
Cool love this guitar community I'll send me some pics of my collection 😀 not much but some good players 😀
@@elamon51 That is excellent Toney. Very Cool
And Yes, music has a way of bringing people (and Players) together.
I have some info on this guitar from a picture book called Guitars that Shook the World. Compressor/expander like the a RD. It states that this was the last guitar made at the Kalamazoo factory. I can send you pics if you like.
I’m pretty sure Trogly has the last guitar made in Kalamazoo. It was a custom.
The OG fuzzy guitar and bass were Dean Z's. Had the shrimpfork headstock which isn't a good look. I just relieved a childhood video moment and rewatched the Legs video, sooooo 80's but lots of fun
Where those the instruments that could spin around?
@@hkguitar1984 yeah, those were the ones in the video. I've heard that those guitars were pretty much unplayable because whatever they used for the "fur" whether real or synthetic, would just get into everything and screw it up.
@@WalkenDead I can understand what you're talking about. That said, he manages to keep that beard out of the strings..........so maybe! LOL
Obviously a wireless setup for those!
Shoutout to my fellow Texans
Glad to hear you live in a good place Nathaniel
@@hkguitar1984 hello HK. I hope all is well
My absolute favorite guitar of all time!
Thanks for reviewing a Fender, Trogly.
Fun fact, I did a research paper on Jimi Hendrix my junior year of high school, and one of the more interesting things I learned from writing that, was that Hendrix said Billy Gibbons was his favorite guitar player. That’s pretty high praise and yeah I don’t think there’s a guitar company out there that wouldn’t make Billy Gibbons anything he wanted. He’s a living legend and guitar god . Has anyone had more iconic guitars by as many different brands. He’s played Gibson, Fender, Dean, Gretsch and I had never seen the PRS explorer. I’m sure other brands as well. I know he’s commissioned builds from smaller builders too. Awesome player, songwriter, and seems really cool and laid all the way back. I could see him rocking the 10,000 dollar Dean from a couple weeks ago. ZZTop were opening for Hendrix and didn’t have enough original songs to feel a set, so they played some Hendrix tunes, right before the man went on stage. I think he passed Billy as he was coming off stage and said something like “ you got some balls man “ . I know guitar players hold Billy in high regard, but I think he’s under appreciated for all he’s done for music, rock n roll, blues, boogie woogie, southern rock, the state of Texas. He could easily be on anyone’s Mt. Rushmore of guitar players shoulder to shoulder with Jimi, EVH, and the likes. I don’t think the Texas guitar was ever covered in fuzz, but probably came off the obviously one off case, probably built by someone who didn’t normally build cases. He toured it and would’ve had to have a ginormous flight case for it . I bet whoever built the case probably didn’t use the right kind of glue to adhere the lining. That’s just my theory though because I don’t remember seeing the Texas guitar in fuzz, just explorer shapes and tele shapes that I remember.
I’ve seen pictures of this guitar and it’s definitely a Billy Gibbons model, it really fits the ZZ Top sound
Only Billy G would do something that out there.
Yeah, I knew exactly who it was built for before clicking the video.
I remember an old interview with the Rev and someone asked him how many guitars he had in his collection He said no idea. The interviewer said "ballpark?" (as in a rough guess of how many) and Billy's reply was "oh yeah, it'd fill a ballpark..." 🤣🤣
Someone told me the stuff stuck to the guitar was actually from the case it was left in. The case material started to deteriorate.and stuck to the finish of the guitar.
Correct. This thing was in a case for a very long time. The red is from velour, the gray is from foam
According to Billy F Gibbons' book Rock+Roll Geaarhead it is called the Lone Star Slim Special. There's 1 page dedicated to it. He has many other guitars shown in that book but not all of them. I recently saw an awards show from 1-2 years ago where he was honored with a lifetime achievement award. He played a gorgeous, pinstriped Red SG with a flying V headstock.
oh word the Billy Gibbons first. there are a couple of good videos of him playing it floating around the tubes.
Indeed Yes
Greetings Holstorr, happy Friday
Nice
Hey
Greetings Pacifica
Well done you earned today’s Silver Medal.
Billy’s been a huge influence with my style. I’ve always wanted to meet him. If I ever do,it’d be like meeting Jimi Hendrix. I love the one that Bo Diddly had made for him called the Billy Bo by Gretsch.
Same here,and Trogly didn't even mention the billy bo unless I missed it.for me personayl Gibbons is the best.
Billy’s guitar, car, suit and jewelry collections are legendary. He showed up on an episode of Pawn Stars to buy back a custom made Nudie suit that was lost on a commercial airline flight back in the early 1970’s, years before they acquired the worldwide global recognition and acclaim and started flying to gigs on private jets…
Hey Austin I believe the red stuff on that guitar is from the material from the case because it was sitting in there for so long.
They’re originally furry dean guitars where made out of sheepskin. That red material is
not fur.
Also if you look at pictures of the Texas shaped Gibson ,there was never anything on it to cover the finish. There’s even a picture of it on the Les Paul form in guitar trader mag and
it’s clean.
The orange and black Billy Gibbons guitars are Tom Holmes guitars, really cool 70s/80s guitars. During the 2000s you can find Japan made guitars with the same name but that's probably just licenced. Still those are high-end too so worth checking out. They still do sell american made Tom Holmes PAF humbuckers and those are some expensive boutique pickups!
1979 was the best year ever
I was 14 and had my first job. Really nice.
I LOVE that star on the head stock.... in my opinion the most gorgeous Gibson head stock I've ever seen... Magniffico
The star on the headstock is probably the Lone Star of Texas.
My guess is fuzz and drive circuits in the guitar. Billy is known for his love of them.
Once again, Austin, I'm glad that you are doing this so I don't have to. Great episode.
Now I want a Tennessee shaped guitar... It would be similar to the Billy-Bo with a different butt.
That’s the most elongated west 2 east Texas outline i’ve ever seen.
Yay!!
You made the podium for today and earned a Bronze Medal.
A lot of Billy's guitars are custom built by John Bolin, although they may say Gibson or Fender or Gretsch on the headstock.
And that don't tread on me thing is the Mississippi river from the Muddywood guitar. For chrissakes do a little research the info on Gibbons' guitars is available.
I saw this guitar when Billy played it on stage in New Orleans. J. Geils started the show. When Lynyrd Skynyrd didn't show up, Billy said ZZ Top would make up for it. They did. It was still a great show.
I once read an article about those fancy white and lime green guitars where it was stated that there actually not real Gibson guitars but custom build by John Bolin of Bolin guitars. As far as I understood, John Bolin build quite a few guitars for Billy Gibbons at the time and Bolin is well known for fancy white fingerboards.
My take away from this episode is there is a really cool guitar shop in Galveston! I have lived in the area 30 years and didn't know about it. Checked their website and will visit this weekend! thanks Trogly!
I was just at the guitar lounge a few weeks ago, really small shop but really great and a fun place to stop by if you're down in Galveston!
I wish it was actually the shape of Texas. It is a distorted version but a cool idea for sure.
It seems very much possible that the fuzz is from the case and nitro reacted with it
In 2005 I celebrated Live8 by building a guitar in the shape of Africa, like the Logo (but without the knotted neck!). To save time I used a ready-made Strat-type neck and cut the body from a slab of Alder. I sold it in a charity auction for £250. Unfortunately I lost my photos, so you will have to take my word for it!
just thank you again eversmiling sir :) one more question here, what about tokai guitars? still in business? bad marketing? they have been such a big hype a while ago to build the best affordable les paul copies but never heard much of them until then, les paul custom quality for the price of an average epiphone LP, just check them out you will just love those instruments! 🤟 greetings from germany
3:10 Pretty sure it’d be green on the opposite side? I’ve got quite a few PCB’s like that.
Can't wait for a Florida guitar!
LOL
Austin the star is a Texas thing, Texas is known as the lone state. The state flag has one star a symbol of their independence from Mexico in the early 1800's. Hence the lone star on the headstock.
Trogly! You should try getting your hands on a custom shop 1987 Slash Les Paul “Jessica”. I know you really dig 80s and 90s Les Paul it would make for a great video and I’d be thrilled to watch!
I've been toying with the idea of putting a Flying V neck on an Explorer body for a little while now. Not sure, but I'm thinking of going for it.
Richie Sambora.....owns,plays a northern star..........this Texas guitar is very cool !
One of your best shows yet.
That very guitar hung on the wall at Texas Tom's Music in Houston before it was delivered to Billy G. I actually held and played that guitar before Billy G go it.
Knew this already. Saw this guitar long ago in guitar player magazine. It had fur on it then. A fine discovery for you. Try checking into Bo Diddley’s Futura shaped guitars from the late 50s
Saw Billy play this guitar in the early 80s in Philadelphia. Sounded killer great show.
After I seen the shape of this it only took me 3 seconds to figure out that Billy Gibbons had to have something to do with this guitar.
Yup. I remember seeing Billy Gibbons with this in a guitar mag back in the day.
His SG with the cut out is so cool, love billy.
had a 76 Pass i left in the case for over a yr it must have gassed or something and became really sticky but all the felt stuck to the guitar just like this ,, Ace Freely has a star on his Gibson model
Favorite episode in a while! Nice job!
He has a very cool Les Paul that I think it might be some limited run of his Pearly Gates that instead of "Gibson Les Paul Model" it's written "Gibbons Lucky Mojo", I'm not quite shure if Gibson made them but I'm sure you'll love it! Even Johnny Depp has one of these.
Yeaa
Finally Friday!
@@grantcindrich Indeed Yes, Greetings Grant
@@lettuce_spray Happy Friday ICK.
So far so good ICK. I'm looking forward to the weekend, how about You?
@@lettuce_spray 100% agree.
I've decided I'm going to work on guitars this weekend and play the new amplifier my left for me to use. No Worries, No Politics, just working on guitars and putting the Earasers to use!
@@lettuce_spray ...ooooooooo a ferrel style output jack
get the gearhead book :) Billy was one of my earliest living guitar heroes. Wonderful to see this :D Thank you :D
I'm guessing Billy Gibbons. One of my all time guitar heroes. Taught me how to boogie.
Before I watch the reveal, I was guessing it was a Billy Gibbons early fuzzy model pre-Eliminator guitar. The ones that had the "cotton candy" glued to them.
As a ZZ top, gibbons fan, I knew exactly what this was and who it was for. I've considered getting one of my dean z's covered in white fur. The problem is, both of my z's are limited edition guitars.maybe I can buy one of the new Indian made z's for that project. Lol yes. The fuzzy guitars that were played in the legs video, were deans. 🤘
Yeh! I liked the ones he used at the Rock Palast in Germany in 1980. The double neck that reads “Reverend Willy G”. Those were the days man. Love Willy and the Top.
Billy is a legend
100% agree
Pretty much some of the best tones ever recorded.
Jesus left Chicago
@@markbaum9615 One of my favorites.
Greetings Mark
@MARQUIS de QUEENSBURY 5.0 I know what you mean, just one note and you knew who was playing. There was a rig rundown with Robin Trower, with his Uni-Vibe running he just played a single note on his Strat through his Marshall and it was instantly identifiable as Mr. Trower. True classic Players from a time that will never repeat.
I consider myself Blessed to be here during that time/this time.
Pocket full of change is defining
What a cool story!! Thanks so much for sharing!!
I live in Houston. Totally stoked to check this out
The pink running down the green guitar's length is a depiction of the Rio Grande River
Looks like something B. Ribbons (ZZ Top) would have ordered!
Pawn Stars had a video a while back featuring a suit owned by Billy Gibbons - Billy turned up in the Pawn Stars shop and bought it for a museum in Texas. Could that be the museum where this guitar is heading?
Cool episode
Would love to see the Rev. Billy F. Gibbons playing this Texas “Special” Gibson!
One of coolest videos you've done😁
That is Billy F Gibbons guitar it is at The Guitar Lounge In Galveston Tx. THE HOME OF TONE
this was made during the period of the taos tour, one of the biggest sceneries of the northwest was onstage every night, huge lightinh and scenery
Imagine how much static electricity you could generate playing one of those fluffy guitars. Great for shocking the bassist if he gets out of hand.
Except the bass player has one too!
Sadly, ZZ Top lost Dusty Hill (their bassist) last year.
1:55 Texas is the "Lone Star State"
A lot of those “custom Gibson guitars” Billy Gibbons had made are not made by Gibson. They are made by John Bolin and even included Gibson logos/decals.
I live in Galveston County. Might have to go check this place out next week.
ZZ had a big Galveston connection. Balinese (song on Fandango!) was about a Galveston bar on a pier out in the Gulf. Used to be popular with the Sinatra/Dean Martin crowd, I think.
Destroyed by Hurricane Ike
As a ZZ Top fan... I might haul out to Twxas for that showcase... I dont even like SGs and I want his signature one! Billy's got some wild models man...
Greetings and well wishes from Utah!
Beautif ,beautiful headstock. They should bring it back.
Billy Gibbons has a vault full of great tone woods for whenever he wants a guitar built.
I got to play that guitar at Strings & Things in Memphis in 1980? Very heavy!
Galveston was where ZZ Top had their first paying gig at the Balinese. Ball Room a really old historic famous bar at the end of a pier ..that during the prohibition years ,when the cops would try to bust the speak easy they had a trap door to drop the booze down to the gulf waters below ,to a boat or in a gunny sack into the water on a rope .. they did a song called ..Down at the Balinese
I remembered the page on this in ‘Billy F Gibbons, rock and roll gear head
I'm gonna have to contest the geographical accuracy of that guitar
I said the same thing. A bit stretched from left to right.