Skip to main content
MusicRadar MusicRadar The No.1 website for musicians
UK EditionUK US EditionUS AU EditionAustralia SG EditionSingapore
Sign in
  • View Profile
  • Sign out
  • Artist news
  • Music Gear Reviews
  • Synths
  • Guitars
  • Controllers
  • Drums
  • Keyboards & Pianos
  • Guitar Amps
  • Software & Apps
  • More
    • Recording
    • DJ Gear
    • Acoustic Guitars
    • Bass Guitars
    • Tech
    • Tutorials
    • Reviews
    • Buying Guides
    • About us
Don't miss these
Mark Tremonti plays a big chord on his signature PRS electric guitar as he performs a 2025 live show with Creed
Artists “If I sit down with a Dumble, the last thing I’m going to do is do any kind of fast techniques”: Mark Tremonti on why he is addicted to Dumble amps
Elton John and Davey Johnstone perform at the piano during their 2012 tour, with Johnstone playing the Les Paul Custom 'Black Beauty' that John originally bought for himself, but gave it to Johnstone after the band had all their gear stolen.
Artists Davey Johnstone on guitar shopping with Elton John – and how he ended up with his iconic Les Paul Custom
Fender has made an exacting replica of Tom Morello's 'Arm The Homeless' guitar, the mongrel S-style made from parts that became the cornerstone of the Rage Against The Machine guitarist's sound.
Artists Tom Morello’s favourite 'Arm the Homeless' electric guitar has just been recreated by Fender
Brian May performs live with his Red Special, and on the right, his old pal, Black Sabbath guitarist Tony Iommi, plays the custom-built Red Special replica that Iommi got him as a festive gift.
Artists Brian May just got Tony Iommi the best Christmas present ever
Gibson Les Paul Special DC
Electric Guitars “Virtually every sound I conjure recalls a classic player or style”: Gibson Les Paul Special Double Cut review
A PRS McCarty 594 on a hard case
Electric Guitars Best electric guitars 2025: Our pick of guitars to suit all budgets
EVH Gear Hypersonic 5150III 6L6: The new all-digital modelling combo offers the same stylings and super-hot tone as its all-tube predecessor but is 16kg lighter
Guitars EVH Gear turns “holy grail” Eddie Van Halen amp Hypersonic with super-lightweight 5150III 6L6 digital modelling combo
An Epiphone Dave Gorhl DG-335 semi-hollow guitar lying on a guitar case
Electric Guitars Who needs the £10,499 Gibson Dave Grohl signature DG-335 when the excellent Epiphone version is just £777 today?
Adrian Belew with the Fender Stratocaster that he and Seymour Duncan relic'd in the back garden
Artists Adrian Belew on how he and Seymour Duncan made one of the first relic’d guitars
Fuchs Audio Joe Bonamassa JB-ODS: the new signature 100-watt combo is inspired by the Dumble Overdrive Special but has key differences, such as reverb – and it has Bonamassa's signature Celestion speaker
Artists Joe Bonamassa just teamed up with Fuchs Audio on a signature tube amp that might just save you spending $175,000 on a Dumble
Steve Cropper in 2007
Artists “My mom said, ‘I’ll lend you a quarter if you become a guitar player.’ I think I did!”: Steve Cropper dies aged 84
Fender and Jackson's Iron Maiden 50th Anniversary Collection: FMIC has unveiled a signature guitar and bass collection to celebrate 50 years of the British metal institution.
Artists Fender and Jackson celebrate 50 years of Iron Maiden with limited run signature collection
Mesa/Boogie Mark IIC+ HRG: the reissued high-headroom tube amp is a cult classic that returns here with a heritage finish.
Guitars Mesa/Boogie reissues a cult classic with a design that takes the amp brand back to the beginning
Cyber Monday deals badge over a neon EQ
Gear & Gadgets These 58 Black Friday and Cyber Monday deals for musicians are still live - but they'll be gone soon
Steve Morse plays live with Deep Purple and takes a solo on on his signature Ernie Ball Music Man, with the band's logo visible in the background
Artists Steve Morse on the time he took power tools to his guitar so he could play a Deep Purple show with a broken wrist
More
  • "The most expensive bit of drumming in history”
  • JoBo x Fuchs
  • Radiohead Daydreaming
  • Vanilla Fudge
  • 95k+ free music samples
  1. Guitars
  2. Electric Guitars

Musikmesse 2010: Clapton's Blackie and SRV's Lenny in pictures

News
By Chris Vinnicombe published 24 March 2010

When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission. Here’s how it works.

Not just any old vintage guitars...

Not just any old vintage guitars...

The Burst Brothers, Dave Belzer and Andrew Berlin, are celebrities in the world of vintage guitar collecting. Although famed for their love of 'bursts - 1958-60 sunburst Gibson Les Paul Standards to be precise - their presence at the International Vintage Show at Frankfurt Musikmesse 2010 is setting Stratocaster lovers' pulses racing.

Why? They've flown over to Germany two of the most valuable and famous electric guitars in the history of popular music: Stevie Ray Vaughan's Lenny and Eric Clapton's Blackie. Priceless? Nearly. Certainly the list of classic recordings on which these Fenders have featured is too long to list here.

MusicRadar was lucky enough to get inside the glass case in which the Strats are housed at the show and get up close and personal with two of the most important instruments in the history of electric blues, still strung with the original strings played by their former owners, battle-scarred and oozing vibe. What follows is vintage guitar porn of the most hardcore kind. Proceed with caution......

Page 1 of 11
Page 1 of 11
Lenny

Lenny

Page 2 of 11
Page 2 of 11
Scratchplate detail

Scratchplate detail

Page 3 of 11
Page 3 of 11
Headstock

Headstock

Page 4 of 11
Page 4 of 11
Bridge inlay

Bridge inlay

Page 5 of 11
Page 5 of 11
Around the back

Around the back

Page 6 of 11
Page 6 of 11
Blackie

Blackie

Page 7 of 11
Page 7 of 11
Fingerboard detail

Fingerboard detail

Page 8 of 11
Page 8 of 11
Headstock

Headstock

Page 9 of 11
Page 9 of 11
Blackie's back

Blackie's back

Page 10 of 11
Page 10 of 11
And then the glass case was locked...

And then the glass case was locked...

To find out more about the Burst Brothers and their love for all things vintage, visit the official Burst Brothers website.

Stayed tuned to MusicRadar for more vintage guitar porn from the International Vintage Show at Frankfurt Musikmesse 2010.

Page 11 of 11
Page 11 of 11
Chris Vinnicombe

Chris Vinnicombe worked with us here on the MusicRadar team from the site's initial launch way back in 2007, and also contributed to Guitarist magazine as Features Editor until 2014, as well as Total Guitar magazine, amongst others. These days he can be found at Gibson Guitars, where he is editor-in-chief.

Read more
Elton John and Davey Johnstone perform at the piano during their 2012 tour, with Johnstone playing the Les Paul Custom 'Black Beauty' that John originally bought for himself, but gave it to Johnstone after the band had all their gear stolen.
Davey Johnstone on guitar shopping with Elton John – and how he ended up with his iconic Les Paul Custom
 
 
Epiphone Joe Bonamassa 1959 Les Paul Custom: a the dual-pickup Custom was a lesser-spotted model in the Gibson catalogue in the '50s – they didn't make many of them. But Bonamassa presents us with one and this 'Black Beauty' is equipped with a Bigsby.
Epiphone raids Joe Bonamassa’s Nerdville archive for another reproduction of a vintage unicorn
 
 
Brian May performs live with his Red Special, and on the right, his old pal, Black Sabbath guitarist Tony Iommi, plays the custom-built Red Special replica that Iommi got him as a festive gift.
Brian May just got Tony Iommi the best Christmas present ever
 
 
Dusty Hill and Billy Gibbons tear it up as ZZ Top play the Aragon Ballroom at Chicago in 1980, with Gibbons playing his legendary Les Paul Standard, Pearly Gates
“"There is something magic in that instrument”: Billy Gibbons on why Pearly Gates is one of the greatest Les Pauls ever
 
 
Gibson and Epiphone's new Back to the Future ES-345s are photographed against the DeLorean as used by Dr Emmett Brown in the movie
Gibson unveils Custom Shop Back To The Future ES-345 Collector’s Edition – and there’s a limited edition Epiphone too
 
 
Fender and Jackson's Iron Maiden 50th Anniversary Collection: FMIC has unveiled a signature guitar and bass collection to celebrate 50 years of the British metal institution.
Fender and Jackson celebrate 50 years of Iron Maiden with limited run signature collection
 
 
Latest in Electric Guitars
Gibson Les Paul Special DC
“Virtually every sound I conjure recalls a classic player or style”: Gibson Les Paul Special Double Cut review
 
 
Fender has made an exacting replica of Tom Morello's 'Arm The Homeless' guitar, the mongrel S-style made from parts that became the cornerstone of the Rage Against The Machine guitarist's sound.
Tom Morello’s favourite 'Arm the Homeless' electric guitar has just been recreated by Fender
 
 
Adrian Belew with the Fender Stratocaster that he and Seymour Duncan relic'd in the back garden
Adrian Belew on how he and Seymour Duncan made one of the first relic’d guitars
 
 
Fender and Jackson's Iron Maiden 50th Anniversary Collection: FMIC has unveiled a signature guitar and bass collection to celebrate 50 years of the British metal institution.
Fender and Jackson celebrate 50 years of Iron Maiden with limited run signature collection
 
 
An Epiphone Dave Gorhl DG-335 semi-hollow guitar lying on a guitar case
Who needs the £10,499 Gibson Dave Grohl signature DG-335 when the excellent Epiphone version is just £777 today?
 
 
Jeff Beck 1954 Epiphone Oxblood Les Paul
Jeff Beck's 1954 Oxblood Les Paul is the most expensive Les Paul of all time. This Epiphone version comes in at a fraction of the price, and with a further 20% off at Thomann, it may be an irresistible deal for the Jeff Beck aficionado
 
 
Latest in News
Howie Weinberg
Mastering engineers reflect on the loudness wars, and ponder whether they really are over
 
 
A laptop in a music studio with Universal Audio plugins running on it
UAD's free plugin offer is the biggest no-brainer I've seen this year – but time is running out to get your hands on a world-class studio weapon for nothing
 
 
Deals of the week
MusicRadar deals of the week: Score big savings on music gear ahead of Christmas from the likes of UAD, Casio, Waves, PRS and more
 
 
GLASTONBURY, ENGLAND - JUNE 28: (EDITORIAL USE ONLY) Danielle Haim of Haim performs on the Park stage during day four of Glastonbury festival 2025 at Worthy Farm, Pilton on June 28, 2025 in Glastonbury, England. Established by Michael Eavis in 1970, Glastonbury has grown into the UK's largest music festival, drawing over 200,000 fans to enjoy performances across more than 100 stages. In 2026, the festival will take a fallow year, a planned pause to allow the Worthy Farm site time to rest and recover. (Photo by Jim Dyson/Redferns)
Danielle Haim names her biggest guitar influences, including the player she calls “the most underrated”
 
 
ABBA VOYAGE
Money Money Money: Abba Voyage has contributed over £2 billion to the British economy
 
 
Ed Sheeran in front of guitars
Council gives go-ahead for Ed Sheeran to convert pig farm into private recording studio
 
 

MusicRadar is part of Future plc, an international media group and leading digital publisher. Visit our corporate site.

Add as a preferred source on Google
  • About Us
  • Contact Future's experts
  • Terms and conditions
  • Privacy policy
  • Cookies policy
  • Advertise with us
  • Accessibility Statement
  • Careers

© Future Publishing Limited Quay House, The Ambury, Bath BA1 1UA. All rights reserved. England and Wales company registration number 2008885.

Please login or signup to comment

Please wait...