Jimmy Page's Double-Neck Guitar Replicated For Collectors

I was reading about the Jimmy Page Gibson VOS and Aged Double-Neck guitars today. Wow. A replica of a piece of history – one you can hold in your hand for $8000 to $30,000. (Where are a new crop of gals and guys like Led Zeppelin and Jimi Hendrix now? That's another subject for another day.)

Problem is this: All those fabulous double-necks will be in cases, in framed-shrine-glass-door cabinets, in temperature- and humidity-controlled rooms, in safes and lockups. They'll most likely be away from hands, picks, amplifiers, sweat, careless hands, and EARS.

I'm not against collecting guitars – quite the contrary. Collectors provide a valuable service – in preservation of musical artifacts… no doubt an expensive and unsung task. Collectors are vital, particularly when the collected instrument is the original, working person's guitar. What I'm getting at is this: Instruments have a voice. One that is only heard when played or recorded.

Zakk Wylde has his "Rebel" Les Paul. Malmsteen has his "#1" Strat. Frank Zappa had his (not really a Gibson, but labeled as a Gibson) SG "Baby Snakes." Clapton had his "Blackie" Strat… the list goes on for days (not in order of importance). These particular instruments have been played to death – they've been covered in sweat, (probably beer and smoke), palms, picks, and countless knocks from roadies, techs, and the players themselves. They weren't museum pieces, although they have become museum pieces. Their sounds are in our ears when we think of them, and they're imprinted in recordings for future generations. The originals should be collected, cared for, and preserved – no doubt about that.

I just think that the common Jane and Joe player should be able to afford a meticulously-built instrument like those originals – decent replicas. And they should be played.

Maybe "Amber" (my modified, re-wired, tinkered-with, and tone-monster Epi quilt-top Les Paul) won't be "replicated" by Gibson or Epiphone off in the distant years (one actually has to do something memorable and remembered for that to happen – not likely in my future, methinks). Perhaps there won't be a ceremony in which the replicas will be hand-signed by the old doddering Bear for collectors to snap up… maybe not - that's OK with me. But, the greatest compliment would be to see replicas of Amber made in quantities where people could actually afford to play and enjoy them. They have a voice. I like to listen. Guitars want to be played.

P.S. Jimmy Page - thanks for the sounds, man! An influence to me and mine, always.