Jared James Nichols stopped off at GuitarPoint in Frankfurt and did as any guitar nut would do in his position and tried out a whole bunch of vintage electric guitars with the German gear emporium filming it all for posterity.
It’s a proven formula. Give a pro like Nichols an guitar with some old-school mojo and stories behind it, a warmed-up tube amp, turn him loose on it and shoot it for YouTube. We are fully here for that.
But the sight of the Gibson Brand Ambassador and Epiphone signature artist applying his patented Blues Power fingerstyle to a Fender Stratocaster that was once owned by the late, great Lester Williams, is something extra. And this guitar is special.
This guitar is an O.G. Strat from 1954 with a hardtail bridge and all the signs of a guitar that’s spent night after night in a smoke-filled venue. Of course, banning smoking in live venues is a public health measure that benefits us all, but there is something about what all that smoke does to a guitar’s finish.
Just look at the headstock on this thing; it looks like Cosmo Kramer after he set up a smoking club in his apartment. The wear and tear on the maple fingerboard – mostly below the ninth fret, where all the money is – bears testimony to its importance to Williams, who was pictured with it on the cover his 1987 album Texas Troubador.
You might also recognise it from Yasuhiko Iwanade’s book, The Galaxy Of Strats, which is also a collector’s item now it is out of print. The guitar is in all-original condition except for the knobs, which have been replaced for reproductions. And Nichols, who is not averse to fixing up a vintage guitar of his own to make it playable, approves. “This thing’s f***ing sick,” he says. :This one’s good!” And for a player whose teenage years were spent trying to be Stevie Ray Vaughan, a Strat is as good as home coming
If it had only been through a tornado, he may even have taken it home. But at €79,000, it is not going cheap. You can see more of the Lester Williams 1954 Strat at GuitarPoint. And for those looking for some Jared James Nichols x vintage Gibson Les Paul content, point yourselves to the GuitarPoint YouTube channel, where Nichols has tried out a number of stunning examples – most recently a 1957 Les Paul Custom.
Both demos were recorded using a Cornell 50 Plexi tube amp head with an open-back 2x12 loaded with Celestion V30s. They stuck an Ibanez Tube Screamer in front because why the heck not. Check it out above!
