A picture that's probably too painful for this board

[Blazer]

So don't say i didn't warn you.


These Rickenbacker splinters and one and a half telecaster belonged to Pete Townshend.

The Dark tele looks perfectly salvagable, it probably only needs a new neck. That light colored body however has far more serious damage as it seems that when the neck came off, so did the neckpocket and probably a chunck of wood from the back.

The most ironic thing here is that these remains might probably worth more than examples in pristene condition because of being owned by...

[surfoverb]

The way I see it Pete inspired more people to pick up guitars than he could ever smash in 10 lifetimes.

[voided3]

Originally Posted by surfoverb

The way I see it Pete inspired more people to pick up guitars than he could ever smash in 10 lifetimes.

+1

[Telehackster]

Originally Posted by Blazer

The most ironic thing here is that these remains might probably worth more than examples in pristene condition because of being owned by...

Several years ago when Townshend was on the David Letterman show (either "Late Night" or "The Late Show," I can't remember which one) he played a song and smashed a Gibson acoustic, probably an SJ200. He then explained to Letterman that the guitar was going to be auctioned for a charity and would probably bring more money because he smashed it on television than if he'd just played it.

[Flat357]

I've always kind of held it against him

[gibsonjunkie]

Originally Posted by Flat357

I've always kind of held it against him

+1

I remember a couple years ago they were opening a new Hard Rock Cafe (I think) and they were going to try and break a record for the largest number of smashed guitars at one time. Gibson/Epiphone donated the guitars. I wrote to them complaining saying they would do better to donate them to schools for kids who couldn't afford them than to make kindling out of them. They did say they were only smashing defective guitars and that they were going to donate an equal number of decent ones to kids to learn on.

Still, it hurt to see the phtots...

[Rizo]

I read an interview where he said most of the guitars he smashed were pretty crummy instruments anyway. I don't know how true that is....

But I do recall seeing a picture of him, soldering iron in hand, putting back together one he destroyed.

Kurt Cobain and Nirvana did the same thing, but with "lowly" Japanese Strats.... they kept trunks of necks and various other parts around to piece them back together for the next show.

[stevetat]

This photo always freaks me out....

[RumorsofsurF]

That's always turned me off about Pete, too. Even though I love his music, and The Who.

[TELE_BLUES]

I remember a friend broke the neck pocket outta his '73 tele kinda like the one in the pic. One night in a drunken stupor he tripped on the stand holding it and fell right on top of it,Some how he did'nt get hurt but it left one hell of a bruise on his side.Hard to belive but the neck made it through unharmed.

[e-merlin]

John Haitt said it best:

[Blazer]

Originally Posted by Rizo

I read an interview where he said most of the guitars he smashed were pretty crummy instruments anyway. I don't know how true that is....

But I do recall seeing a picture of him, soldering iron in hand, putting back together one he destroyed.

and from that same website comes this quote by Jim Marshall...

“…When Pete started breaking the guitar, his dad and I thought, ‘The kid has gone stark raving mad.’ But Pete brought the first two Rickenbackers into me and he said, ‘Can you do anything with these? The idea is, I want them to appear to be the ones I’m using.’ What he used to do was, he’d be playing and then at the right time he’d quickly switch to one of the guitars I’d repaired; I had glued it together so it looked to be perfectly normal. And he’d break it again. He was not as stupid as everyone said!”

[boneyguy]

[po-boy]

+ 1 on john hiatt -

the first thing that i thought of was 'perfectly good guitar' -



- i'm not a complete idiot ... some parts are missing -

[Bill]

I seem to recall a guitar shop on Denmark Street in London that had a vintage smashed Les Paul of Townshend's.

[woodman]

you can call smashing guitars "performance art" if you stretch the limits of your imagination, but it always made me slightly sick.

[stevieboy]

When there's a world guitar shortage, and nobody around who could use a job building guitars, I'l worry about it.

[tonewoods]

"That's always turned me off about Pete, too."

As a kid of 16 seeing the Who for the first time at the Shrine in LA in '67, the whole finale thing was just too ****ing incredible...

Well worth the 150.00 Townsend investment that the Strat cost at the time...

[reddogbass]

I don't want the message (it's perfectly alright to smash anything) being sent to my kids, and at this point grandkids. As far as I'm concerned it makes violence look just a little "too cool."

What? You can't make it in music except for catering to those who like this kinda stuff?

OK- I'm just old and set in my ways, but I just don't get it.

[Fatmanstratman]

Originally Posted by stevieboy

When there's a world guitar shortage, and nobody around who could use a job building guitars, I'll worry about it.

Thank you, stevieboy! That was EXACTLY what I was thinking!... I got much bigger things to worry about....

Originally Posted by reddogbass

As far as I'm concerned it makes violence look just a little "too cool."

What? You can't make it in music except for catering to those who like this kinda stuff?

OK- I'm just old and set in my ways, but I just don't get it.

Nope - you're definitely NOT old, reddogbass! But you sure are set in your ways...

If you "don't get it", you probably ought to read the second quote in my signature line.....

[Big John]

Originally Posted by Bill

I seem to recall a guitar shop on Denmark Street in London that had a vintage smashed Les Paul of Townshend's.

And i'll bet you just after you had bought it they would find another one !

Smashing up a guitar does seem spectacularly lame nowadays BUT the first time (if you are old enough) you saw Townshend do it, go on admit it, it gave you a thrill, trouble is now it's expected it's a bit sad isn't it ?.
I guess it's like losing your virginity, it can only happen once and once it's happened, thats it - it's done.

Those old black and white films of him in the 60's have such a savage edge to them, it's almost scary.
I saw The Who live at Charlton FC in the late 70's and he and Entwhistle both wrecked their guitars and it was just soooooooo embarrasing to watch, Pete !!, leave it !!, it would be worth even more for charity if it were the guitar you could have smashed on Letterman but didn't !!

[GEISHA]

Being from humble beginnings I was stunned at seeing an electric guitar played for the first time in my life.
I considered it must be Mount Everest if not ultra high to posses one and play one.

Smashing a guitar is the worst sin in my book.
I understand the spell and atmosphere in which this is done, but I could cry
everytime I see such things.
I have footage of Nicky Wire the bass player of the Manic Street Preachers destroying a Fender bass after their millenium concert in Wales.
Pathetic to watch as the bass was stronger than him for quite a while.

I love the Who, I admire Townsend and Entwhistle, but I hate them destroying guitars and basses when they are doped.

[allen st. john]

http://www.last.fm/music/Loudon+Wain...I/_/Red+Guitar

Here's a user's eye view of guitar smashing--Loudon Wainwright iii's wonderful Red Guitar. "Kate" in the song is his then wife Kate McGarrigle, and Rufus Wainwright would've been a little kid back then.

Loudon's remarkable for staring hard and unflinchingly into the mirror, then and now.

I remember reading Townsend's explanation that he was smashing just "junk" guitars--mostly 60s teles that would now be worth $10K each. But one night someone had dropped off a sunburst Les Paul to John Entwhistle who was a huge collector. Townsend smashed one guitar and called for another one, and the roadie handed him the 'burst by mistake. When he sees what he's about to smash, he "checks his swing" and just clocks the guitar a glancing blow.

In a discussion about Springsteen and whether or not he should subject another vintage tele to his sort of hard use, I crunched the numbers.

If he sells 20,000 tickets at $100 each (fairly typical of his recent arena tour) that's a gross of two million a night before things like parking and merch sales. Even after the considerable cost associated with a rock and roll tour, that's a lot of money.

I looked at the E Street Band's very modest tour rider on The Smoking Gun.com http://www.thesmokinggun.com/backsta...ce/bruce1.html
and it wouldn't surprise me if there wasn't around $15,000 spent on catering for the band and crew every night, which would buy you a very nice vintage tele.

[e-merlin]

Originally Posted