Imagine: you're the head of a guitar company and the estate of David Bowie comes knocking...

[Blazer]

..Telling you they want to enlist your company to make a commemorative Bowie model.

What would you end up making?

For me personally I would go with an electric and acoustic range both of them reflecting the "Ziggy era"

That red Hagstrom made Kent guitar would be the Bowie signature electric

And his refinished Egmond 12 string would be the Bowie signature acoustic.

 

[geoff_in_nc]

In my mind you'd have to do a 12 string acoustic. Don't know about electrics.

 

[dsutton24]

What would you end up making?

I'd quit making guitars and go into the picnic table business.

 

[Artslap]

I think you are right about the Ziggy guitars, but I quite like this one too.

 

[studio1087]

Supro Dual Tone from the Reality Tour. I've seen him 4 times. My favorite artist. It's a very cool guitar and it was his final tour. I saw the show in Milwaukee with the Stereophonics. He was the best.

 

[Steve Holt]

Please tell me this is a real thing happening and not a hypothetical!!

My vote would go for the red hagstrom. the 12 string acoustic would also be great, but I'd never play one if I owned it. I always thought it was such an odd guitar choice for bowie. but then again all his guitars were a few steps away from mainstream.

 

[Geoff738]

I'll add another vote for the Supro. The real ones are weird beasts and mine, like Bowie's, has a Bigsby added. Eastwood have a look alike model, but I think it has humbuckers and doesn't have the massive neck the Supro did.

I do like the idea of an acoustic 12 as well.

Cheers,
Geoff

 

[Rich_S]

What about the Diamond Dogs-era Tele? This is the TDPRI, after all.

 

[Steve Holt]

What about the Diamond Dogs-era Tele? This is the TDPRI, after all.

I'm not familiar with this one. can you post a picture?

 

[Blazer]

I've been thinking this one over and another thing I would do is name them after Bowie songs or Bowie persona’s, in a show case on when and where Bowie used them.

So the Hagstrom would be called "The Rebel"

image removed
The Dan Armstrong would be "The Duke"

image removed
His Les Paul would be "Genie"

His 12 string would be either "the Major" in a sunburst finish or "the Starman" in blue.

The Supro would be "Spaceboy"

 

[Blazer]

What about the Diamond Dogs-era Tele? This is the TDPRI, after all.

image removed
I assume you mean this one.

H'mm what name would that one get?

I know, rather obvious really "The Hero"

 

[Radspin]

I'd do an electric with the "Aladdin Sane" lightning bolt logo on it. To me it's the iconic Bowie symbol.

 

[rich815]

 

[Guitarzan]

I would not do one at all, unless they paid me and then re-sold them on their own. Bowie never had any real gravitas as a guitar player in the first instance, and his work was very much historic when he died.

I don't see how a Bowie signature model would be economically feasible.

 

[kingoflimbs]

i would 'respectfully' decline.

 

[brookdalebill]

What was that odd-duck 12 string acoustic he played early on?

 

[william tele]

Regardless of the question...I want that Supro. Putting DB's name (or anybody's) on a guitar does nothing for me. But I love the Supro!

Regarding the red one...the only Kent I ever played sucked as bad as any of the Japanese knock offs of my youth. Couldn't love that one..

 

[xafinity]

"Telling you they want to enlist your company to make a commemorative Bowie model."
I would tell them '@#$% off'

 

[Jumbotronic]

The best was when he played a one-string flying V with a Floyd Rose. That's the one to build.

 

[jayyj]

I'm already all over this one!

For me a Bowie tribute guitar would be less a replica of something Bowie would have played (although he wrote some pretty great riffs for someone not really regarded as a guitarist, Rebel Rebel being a good example) and more something that paid tribute to his spirit of innovation and the thoughtfulness with which he considered the aesthetics of his art. The artwork to Blackstar was made public domain at Bowie's request anyway, so this project takes that as the starting point and throws in a few tricks for creating sonic textures beyond anything in my existing stable, including a Fernandes Sustainer.

Here's the Blackstar graphic cut into the body:



And there's a full build thread here:


http://www.tdpri.com/threads/all-kinds-of-weird-a-bowie-inspired-guitar-build.686997/#post-7295527