The Fool SG | The Painted Player

The Painted Player is pretty well-known in guitar circles for their faithful replicas of Eric Clapton's The Fool SG. For added authenticity each guitar is handpainted with paintbrushes to mimic the legendary psychedelic artwork on the original The Fool SG made famous by Clapton when he was with Cream.

If you have been following my Les Paul Quest series, my good buddy Sherman recently decided to spring for Painted Player's The Fool SG replica while he sorted out his decision on which Les Paul to eventually get.   

The Fool SG by The Painted Player

The Painted Player offers their Fool custom paintjob on any number of SG-style guitars that they might have on hand at a particular time. 

Which means that the customer has a variety of guitars to choose from depending on their preference and budget. 

The Fool SG - closeup of handpainted fantasy graphic and Maestro Vibrola tremelo, chrome metal cover removed.

A great idea, since the serious player or collector will not have to settle for a cheapo guitar, while the player on a budget, or someone who just wants to hang the guitar on the wall, can get a lower priced alternative.

Closeup of headstock artwork. Note period accurate wide headstock and bell trussrod cover.

When Sherman placed his order with The Painted Player, he had four guitar options to choose from:

Tokai SG75 -- a brand-new Japanese-made Tokai 61' re-issue SG, this is the top-of-the-line Tokai SG model, highly accurate and featuring an ABR bridge, PAF humbuckers and Kluson machine heads 

1992 Orville 61' Re-Issue SG -- from The Painted Player's new-old-stock collection of guitars. Made in Japan by Gibson's Japanese Custom Shop from 1988-1998, the Orville is a faithful replica of the '61 SG featuring an ABR-1 bridge and PAF humbuckers.


1988 Burny SG -- another Japanese-made guitar from The Painted Player's new-old-stock collection. Apparently, the Burny SG's from the 80's are highly sought after by collectors of Japanese-made replicas.

1992 ESP Navigator SG 320-LTD -- also made in Japan and one of the closest Gibson SG replicas, second only to the 1992 Orville.

Sherman decided to go with the 1992 ESP Navigator which is the guitar you see in these pics, which he has generously allowed me to share. Thanks Sherm!

Artwork on the back of The Fool SG

He also went with the worn neck finish option, something which Clapton himself had done to his original The Fool SG, to minimize finish stickiness on the back of the neck.

Interestingly, he had ordered the guitar with the back of the neck fully-painted, but it had somehow gotten misdirected by the postal service in the UK who sent it back to The Painted Player. 

The guitar received its worn neck finish -- normally an option that comes with an extra charge -- as a sort of apology for the delay and the many days of anguish while the guitar was lost in the post. Talk about customer service!  

Worn neck finish option on The Fool SG

Read more about Sherman's Les Paul Quest Part 1, Part 2 and Part 3

Tom Morello | Support For Laid-Off Cort Factory Workers

Following up on my article on the plight of laid-off Cort guitar factory workers, it looks like some prominent guitar folk are getting involved.

Rage Against The Machine guitarist Tom Morello showed his support at a recent Cort Action Solidarity concert on January 13. 

The concert, dubbed A Night of Guitars, was staged during NAMM 2010 week in Los Angeles while guitar manufacturing bigwigs were in town.  In addition to their own guitar line, Cort also supplies Fender, Ibanez, Gibson, Lakland and ESP. 

Morello also issued this statement:

“Guitars should be a means to liberation, not exploitation. I fully support the Korean workers’ demands for justice in the workplace. All American guitar manufacturers and the people that play them should hold Cort accountable for the awful way they have treated their workers. Without us, they would go out of business. Simple as that. No one should have their job taken away because they stand up for their rights.”

Fender apparently, is the first to step up to the plate and will be conducting their own investigations into the Cort guitar factory lay-offs.

(Pic Source: http://cortaction.wordpress.com/)

Nine Inch Nails Selling Tour Gear On eBay!

After playing their last show at the Wiltern Theater in Los Angeles on 10th September, Nine Inch Nails have decided to auction their touring gear on eBay.

According to the band's website NIN.com:


"We've been going through the NIN touring and studio rigs and are getting rid of a large selection of gear and equipment the band is no longer in need of. It's being listed on eBay here.

We do not know which (if any) tour these items are from unless specified, nor can we get any items autographed, so please do not ask. Hundreds of items will be listed over the next several weeks such as guitars, keyboards, amplifiers, drums, staging, anvil cases, cables, rack/outboard gear, guitar effects, and pedal boards.

Check the eBay page regularly for new listings, or follow @nineinchnails on Twitter for updates. More information can be found in the descriptions of each item."

Some items listed are near mint and some are 'tour casualties' -- broken necks and all.

Pictured is a near mint one-off custom shop ESP USA with The Fragile album graphic and Trent Reznor's Roland GK midi-pickup equipped green PRS Custom 22 tour guitar!

Stay tuned!