After Dimebag Darrell gave Hard Rock
the guitar, he handwrote a letter of
authenticity. It reads: “THE DIMEBAG
CROWN ROYAL! This is a tough one to
give up. It’s too nice to play live, so I
guess there is no better place than the
Hard Rock to put it on display. Crown
Royal purple to 24-karat gold inlays,
this jewel marks the 40 million gallons
I’ve pounded rockin’ over the years.
Enjoy!” Needless to say, this guitar is
one of the most treasured artifacts in
the Hard Rock collection and a fitting
tribute to an incredible guitarist. It’s
currently on display at the Hard Rock
Cafe in Orlando, Florida. Photo by Adam Chandler“Dimebag” Darrell Lance Abbott
was a rock star’s rock star. On
December 8, 2004, the Pantera and
Damageplan guitarist was gunned down
doing what he lived for—thrashing
onstage with Damageplan and partying
with fans at the Alrosa Villa in Columbus,
Ohio. His untimely passing left a gaping
hole in the metal world, one that will
never be filled with the same fun-loving
personality and musical sensibility.
Dimebag was famous for embracing his
devoted legions and being both generous
and genuine with fans. If it meant answering
endless questions at a guitar clinic,
signing every piece of merch or gear after a
show, or just taking the time to listen to a
metalhead’s compliment and offer a high-five,
Abbott seemed happy doing it.
Some of these intimate gestures involved
sharing a cocktail with fans. Dime’s signature
drink—a shot of Crown Royal whiskey
topped with a splash of Coke—was coined
the Black Tooth Grin, which was a nod to
a lyric in Megadeth’s “Sweating Bullets” off
Countdown to Extinction.
Washburn USA built this custom, one-off
Dime 3 model as a gift for their red-bearded
endorsee. (Sandwiched in between
two different endorsements with Dean
Guitars, Abbott played Washburns from
1994 to early 2004.) This purple-sparkle
axe features gold binding and 24-karat-gold
hardware in tribute to Abbott’s
favorite whiskey. The guitar even came
with a purple drawstring gig bag mimicking
Crown Royal’s top-shelf packaging,
and each inlay on this axe is a detailed
gold crown. It’s loaded with a Seymour
Duncan SH-1 humbucker in the neck and
a Bill Lawrence L500 pickup in the bridge.
This Dime 3 features a mahogany body, a
mahogany neck with an ebony fretboard,
and a 24.75" scale length.
Hard Rock acquired this guitar directly
from Dime in early 2004. “In fact, he invited
our head of memorabilia to his home when
we picked up this beauty,” recalls Hard Rock’s
historian Jeff Nolan. “In a classic Dimebag
moment, he answered the door with a drink
in his hand and two lit bottle rockets (laughs).”
A special thanks to Jeff Nolan and Hard
Rock International for the opportunity to feature
this fine piece of gear and its story.