Walking into any Guitar Center location takes some real willpower. At any given time of day, you’ve got to deal with scraggly-haired pre-teens shredding arpeggios, mashing up their tiny fingers on those minor scales with the store amp turned to 11; grown-ass men doing the same thing; store clerks just working their “day jobs” with no regard as to what pedal it is that you’re looking for. No matter. It’ll all be worth it because Guitar Center is taking its iconic “Legends Collection” on the road for a four-city tour that will be making its first stop in Fountain Valley. The collection showcases three of rock’s most famous guitars: Stevie Ray Vaughan’s “Lenny” Fender Stratocaster plus Eric Clapton’s “Blackie” Fender Stratocaster and Cherry Red Gibson ES-335. (Played from 1973-1985, “Blackie” was used when Clapton laid down hits like “Cocaine,” “Badge” and “Layla.” The guitar was purchased by Guitar Center for more than $2.4 million from the Clapton Crossroads Centre charity auction in 2004.) In addition, the exhibit will also feature some of the most sought-after pieces out there including ‘50s and ‘60s Strats and Les Pauls, handcrafted archtops, Jazz Basses, P-Basses and more.
Sat., May 23; Sun., May 24, 2009
