Whirlwind's Vintage Guitar Collection
"Having too many guitars is just about right."
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1953 Gibson Les Paul®
"Les Paul's Les Paul" The story: I'd always been a fan of Les Paul, not just because he is an amazing guitarist and entertainer but also because he is an inventor and innovator who is responsible for many of the advances in instrument and electronic technology. Back in my MXR days, I used to regularly send Les our guitar effects boxes because I figured that he would be interested in the new technology. Then when I started Whirlwind, I continued to send him our new guitar cords for the same reason. In the late seventies, I was invited to a party at one of Whirlwind's dealers in Maryland. When I arrived, they said that there was someone in the back room that wanted to meet me. So I went in the back and who was standing there but the one and only Les Paul! Why would Les Paul want to meet ME! He told me that a lot of people sent him things but that they usually wanted something from him in return. "You gave me all that stuff over the years but never asked for anything. Why?" I explained that I had always admired him and considered him the father of the solid body electric guitar and just thought he'd find my stuff interesting. So Les grabbed this old brown case and opened it up and here was this '53 Les Paul Goldtop. "It's yours. Gibson had given me some of these back then and I still have a few, so I picked you out a good one." To say I was floored is an understatement! Here was Les Paul giving ME one of his personal guitars! I asked him to autograph it and he spied one of those buzzer engravers on a nearby workbench and etched what you see in the photo below into the back of the headstock. ("Bonnie" is the late Bonnie Gardner, one of my original partners in Whirlwind.) 
This guitar is proudly displayed here at the Whirlwind factory. We're often asked, "What's it worth?". Well first of all, it's not for sale. Second, how do you figure what a 1953 Les Paul might be worth when it actually used to be "Les Paul's Les Paul"? - Michael Photos: Al Keltz |
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1949 Gibson ES-150®
The story: "I'm always on the look out for old guitars or amps and I figured I'd increase my chances of finding stuff by getting my wife and kids involved. They used to go antique hunting often so I told them to always keep a look out for among other things, brown guitar cases. While rummaging through a junk shop, my wife and daughter spotted an old brown case holding this ES-150 sitting in the corner covered with dust. They got so excited about finding it that I pretty much had to buy it. They named it "Jazzbo" and still like to remind me about the day they found it." Photo: Guy Coniglio |
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84 Custom Explorer® / Les Paul®
Highly figured flame maple top with unusual Explorer headstock. The story: "I bought it in 1984 while a senior in high school (on a busboy's salary). I had wanted a Les Paul since I started playing and really wanted it to be a flame top, cherry sunburst. When I decided to take the plunge there was a case full of cherry Les Pauls at Rochester's House of Guitars (affectionately referred to in these parts as "The H.O.G.") but this one was the only one with a figured top. Blaine said I could have anything in the case for $900. I decided on this one without even realizing it was a Custom Shop model with the Explorer headstock (not sure if he knew either). I gave him a hundred bucks or so (they used to let kids make payments) and made payments for the next 8 months before finally being able to bring her home. It was my only guitar for the next 10 years which was cool because we were playing shows in the late '80s when everyone else was playing pointy guitars with locking trems. I never gave her up though. I never knew any details about it but I remember seeing Rick Nielsen of Cheap Trick playing one on TV. "Hey, that's my guitar!" Then, a co-worker remembered seeing the same model in an article in a 1998 20th Century Guitar magazine. According to the article, there were only about 10 or 12 of these made for Aldo Nova for use in music videos. The one Rick Nielsen has sat on consignment in Gruhn's shop in Nashville for some time with nobody interested in it. Of course that changed after Rick bought it! The Guitar is pretty much the same as the early pre-historic reissues with nickel hardware and Tim Shaw PAFs but North of the nut things change drastically!" - Guy Photo: Guy Coniglio |
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1962 Gibson ES-335®
One of the most dynamic sounding ES-335 guitars that you'll ever hear. It's light - under 7 pounds and just sings like it's almost alive. Photo: Guy Coniglio |
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1958 Les Paul® Goldtop
The story: Purchased in 1974 from a butcher shop, snatched from the stage in Atlanta in 1976 during the band's break but recovered by security after they chased the perpetrator several blocks down the street. Weighs 9 pounds. Tuners, strap buttons and jack plate replaced, otherwise original. The rectangular lighter area on the lower cutaway horn is the aftermath of having a nameplate stuck there by the original owner. Photo: Guy Coniglio |
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1955 Stratocaster®
One-piece ash body with birdseye maple "D" shape neck, weighs 8 pounds. The neck is silky smooth on the back where the finish is gone. Date on neck - "7-55", date in trem spring cavity "7-55", masking tape in control cavity with "Mary 7-20-55". Bridge pickup and knobs were missing, pickup covers were worn through to the bobbins so I replaced them but I have the originals laying around somewhere. Frets are original and small by today's standards. The tone is bright and clear - a very lively guitar. Owner: Al Keltz, Whirlwind Photo: Guy Coniglio The story, probably more interesting than the guitar itself: "An older gentleman that I knew inherited this guitar when a friend of his died. He called me up and wanted to sell it for $100.00 so I went to take a look. The bridge pickup was missing and there was a piece of white plastic glued over the hole - the other two pickups didn't work. I just thought it was an old beat up guitar so I offered him $75.00 for it. He said no so I WALKED AWAY FROM IT! About a week later he called again and said he'd trade me for an old Roberts reel-to-reel tape recorder that I had coincidentally bought at a garage sale for $75.00, so I did the trade. Turned out that the glued on plastic was cut from the top of a Cool Whip tub and came off with warm water. I put a cheap $15.00 pickup in the bridge position and it sounds great. I tried a couple of other bridge pickups over the years but always ended up putting this one back in. (I have no idea what it is.)" |
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"The rest of the electronics just needed cleaning. The bridge screws were rusted solid but soaking in some WD-40 freed everything up. It turned out to be a great sounding guitar so I played it at gigs all the time. I didn't realize it was anything special until the following year when I played a showcase in Nashville. Just about every picker there wanted to try it out and they were asking me stuff like, "Is it real?", "Why do you risk playing it out?" and "Boy, the low notes really ring CLEAR!" I decided I better keep an eye on it after that. I now have an American Std Strat that I gig with because I like the modern features like the flatter radius neck and bigger frets but it certainly doesn't have the "spank" of this one." - Al |
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ca. 1934 Martin® Style 1K Soprano Ukulele An extremely clean Martin soprano uke in Koa wood. Although Martin didn't use serial numbers, this instrument should date to about 1933 or '34 as they switched from a stamped logo on the rear of the headstock to a decal in 1933 but they were still using bar frets until late '34, which this uke has. Photo: Al Keltz The story: I was at my brother's feed store one day when a lady came in with a small blue corduroy bag shaped like this uke. She said, "Your brother tells me you know how to play one of these things", and out came this Martin ukulele. This lady worked at a nursing home and she said that a gentleman there gave it to her right before he died as a token of his appreciation for the care she had given him. It had a small crack on one side but that repaired perfectly and I would have to point it out to anyone before they would ever notice it themselves. From a 1930s catalog: "Style 1: Mahogany body and neck, finished dark color. Body bound with rosewood, top bordered with black and white wood. Inlaid soundhole ring. Rosewood fingerboard. Ebony nut and bridge saddle. nickel plated patent pegs. Price: $12.50. Style 1k: Same model and design, but body of Hawaiian koawood, finished natural color. Price: $14.00" |
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"It's a great little instrument and it gets played a lot more now than in its past 70+ years of life!" - Al |
® Fender® and Stratocaster® are registered trademarks of Fender
Musical Instruments Corporation; Gibson®, Les Paul®, ES-335®, ES-150® and Explorer® are registered trademarks of Gibson Guitar Corp.; Martin® is a registered trademarks of C.F. Martin and Co.