GALLERY: Experience Music Project Guitar Collection
1952 Gibson Les Paul
The Les Paul is Gibson's most popular guitar over their long history and was essentially the company's answer to Leo Fender's massively successful Telecaster. The guitar itself is a solidbody single-cutaway featuring two P-90 single-coil pickups. This instrument was named after and endorsed by the popular and innovative guitarist Les Paul, who was probably the most well-known guitar player in the world at the time.
1950 Fender Broadcaster
One of guitar maker Leo Fender's most impressive and iconic instruments, the Broadcaster was an updated, two-pickup configuration of the earlier Esquire. Just a year after it was introduced, Fender was contacted by Gretsch and asked to change the name of his instrument as it bore too close of a similarity to their Broadkaster drum kit. Fender obliged and the guitar was renamed the Telecaster. This guitar was manufactured as the Broadcaster from October 1950 to January 1951 until the name was changed. For a time the Broadcaster/Telecaster featured a blank space where the model name usually was placed, and these guitars are known as "No-Casters." It is thought that roughly 200 Broadcasters were manufactured.
Kurt Cobain's "Teen Spirit" 1969 Fender Mustang
This guitar (serial number F 279651) was purchased by Cobain prior to recording Nevermind and was one of his personal favorites and probably the one most associated with him. Kurt used this guitar extensively both live and in the studio from 1991-1992, including for the music video of Smells Like Teen Spirit. Despite being a guitar Kurt took special care of, he did smash it out of frustration at a show in Dallas in 1991 breaking the neck joint. Eventually Cobain placed his beloved Fender Mustang in storage for the In Utero tour. It was rarely used thereafter, an exception being at the Hollywood Rock Festival in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, in 1993.
1954 Fender Stratocaster
The Fender Stratocaster is perhaps the most popular guitar ever made and has been used by bedroom players and icons alike in the last six decades. This particular model was made in the guitar's first year of production.
Kurt Cobain's Univox Hi-Flyer
This guitar is notable for being the first guitar Kurt Cobain ever smashed. Nirvana was playing at Evergreen State College in Olympia, Washington, on October 30, 1988, and Kurt destroyed his guitar in a fit of passion at the conclusion of the show.
Jimi Hendrix's 1968 Fender "Woodstock" Stratocaster
Mitchell later sold this guitar at a Sotheby's auction in 1990 to Gabriele Ansaloni. Microsoft CEO and EMP founder Paul Allen eventually bought the guitar from Ansaloni in 1992 for an unknown sum.
Eddie Van Halen's 1984 Kramer
This guitar was custom-made by Kramer for the legendary Eddie Van Halen and was subsequently used on the 1984 tour.
Jimi Hendrix's 1968 Fender "Woodstock" Stratocaster
One of the most iconic guitars of all time, Jimi Hendrix purchased this white 1968 Fender Stratocaster serial number 240981 from Manny's Music in New York City.
Gretsch Bo Diddley G5810 and J Mascis Fender Jazzmaster
The EMP purchased this early version of the Gretsch Bo Diddley Box Guitar purchased from the guitarist himself. Dinosaur Jr.'s J Mascis used this 1965 Fender Jazzmaster on the band's first three albums.
1953 Fender Telecaster
An early example of one of the most recognizable and popular guitars ever conceived, the Fender Telecaster has been consistently in production in various forms for the last 60 years. This guitar was innovative with its single-cutaway design, bolt-on neck, adjustable saddle bridge, and unique dual single-coil pickups prized for their twang and versatility. This was truly a working musician's guitar and has remained so ever since.
Roger McGuinn's 1964 Rickenbacker 360-12
Roger McGuinn of The Byrds purchased this guitar in 1965 after watching George Harrison play a 12-string in the film A Hard Day's Night. The guitar was stolen a year later and didn't resurface until many years later, by which time the statute of limitations for the theft had expired. It was ultimately repurchased for $100,000.
1931 Rickenbacker A-22 "The Frying Pan"
The Rickenbacker "Frying Pan" was the first electric lap-steel guitar ever produced. This instrument is made of cast aluminum and features a pickup made of two horseshoe magnets. The frying pan was the brainchild of George Beauchamp and Adolph Rickenbacker who began selling them in 1932, despite not acquiring a patent until five years later. The guitar was manufactured for only seven years. This is only one of 50 known to be in existence.
1957 Gibson Flying V Prototype
To bring a modern twist to their electric guitar lineup, Gibson introduced the radical Flying V in 1957. The initial run of the instrument proved to be a flop, and only 50 guitars are thought to exist. This prototype was sent to the Geib Case Company in order to craft a new case design to accommodate the odd shape of the guitar.
Experience Music Project Museum
The Experience Music Project located in the heart of Seattle, Washington, was established by Microsoft CEO Paul Allen in 2000 and houses a guitar collection of more than 300 instruments, from all-original examples of classics to stage- and studio-used icons.
Kurt Cobain 1991 Fender Stratocaster
This Stratocaster was purchased by Cobain as a replacement for the Strat Kurt smashed while recording the song "Endless, Nameless" during Nirvana's Nevermind sessions. Cobain would later play this guitar for their iconic performance at the Reading Festival in the U.K. on August 23, 1991.
Jimi Hendrix's 1968 Fender "Woodstock" Stratocaster
Jimi later gave this guitar to drummer Mitch Mitchell in 1970. According to Mitchell, "I had given him a drum kit as a present some time before and I said to him 'I'll have that guitar before you break it up.' I do not think that he would, in fact, have broken this particular guitar. He said, as was his way, 'You got it' and he then gave me the guitar."
1938 Gibson ES-150
This is a Gibson ES-150 is a hollowbody archtop guitar and is most closely associated with the famed jazz guitarist Charlie Christian; indeed the pickup itself is named after him.
Jimi Hendrix's 1968 Fender "Woodstock" Stratocaster
This Fender Stratocaster was one of Hendrix's personal favorites. He used it extensively both live and in the studio from 1968 until 1970, including at the Woodstock Music and Arts Festival on August 18, 1969.
1962 Gibson "Les Paul" SG
After the original Les Paul model guitar was discontinued in 1959, Gibson decided to try again with a completely revamped design. Les Paul disliked the design so much that he asked the company to remove his name from the instrument and it was later dubbed the SG (for solid guitar). Despite the name change, a few models, such as this one, made it out of the factory with the Les Paul truss rod cover still in place.
1888 Martin 2-27
This guitar was built by C.F. Martin Jr. and features rosewood trim, herringbone inlay, and a slotted flat-topped peghead.
1935 Experimental Gibson Electric Guitar
This one-of-a-kind instrument is the earliest example of a Gibson electric guitar. The company was impressed by the success that other manufacturers were experiencing with electric guitars and contacted prominent steel guitar player Alvino Ray. The result is the guitar pictured here. Essentially, this is a prototype that never made it into Gibson's full production line.
Ray Davies' Fender Telecaster and Kurt Cobain's Fender Jaguar
Kinks' guitarist Ray Davies used this 1955 Fender Telecaster for most of the songs played by the band in the early 1960s, including "You Really Got Me" and "All Day and All of the Night." This Fender Jaguar was used by Kurt Cobain for Nirvana's In Utero Tour in 1993.
Kurt Cobain's 1991 Fender Stratocaster
guitar was used by Cobain in the recording of Nevermind and was smashed while Nirvana was recording the song "Endless, Nameless".
1959 Fender Jazzmaster and 1955 Gretsch 6120
The Jazzmaster was an attempt by Fender to siphon off guitarists from Gibson's hold over the jazz guitar market. In that goal it failed, however, it did find a home among players in the burgeoning surf-rock scene in the 1960s and later with indie artists in the 1980s and '90s. The Gretsch 6120 is a hollowbody electric guitar prized by both country and rock musicians alike and has been used by such renowned players as Chet Atkins and George Harrison.
Kurt Cobain's 1960s Mosrite Mark IV Gospel
Kurt Cobain purchased this guitar in San Francisco from a local musician named Chris Cobb. In addition to being owned by Kurt Cobain, this guitar is also notable for being only one of two examples of the Mosrite Mark IV Gospel known in existence. Cobain used this Mosrite from August 1990 until April 1991, utilizing it to write and record many of the songs for the iconic album Nevermind. Cobain used this guitar for a show at the OK Hotel in Seattle on April 17, 1991, when his band Nirvana first debuted the song "Smells Like Teen Spirit".
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