Gilby Clarke

I have this ’91 Les Paul Classic that’s all burnt up. I’ve had it since it was new. And that’s pretty much my main Les Paul. I got this guitar for the GNR tour and it was just a brand new Les Paul Classic that was completely stock and tobacco sunburst. But I would never play it because it just looked too damn new. It was just too pretty, so I always just used my black Les Paul and my Tele. My tech, Elwood, would keep handing me the guitar and telling me that it sounds great and I should play it, but I never would.

So one day, he comes up to me with it and it looked like it had been in a fire. He just did this artistic work on it, where he kept lighting it on fire and putting it out. He burnt the pickup rings, the knobs – everything. When I first looked at it, my reaction was, “You son of a bitch! You burned my guitar!” But then it was, “Wow! That looks really cool.”

So I changed the pickup rings and the knobs, and just left the finish. But since then, it’s been my main Les Paul. I love that guitar and it’s stock – stock pickups, stock everything, except for the pickup rings and knobs.

In this photo, you can see Gilby Clarke playing with this guitar.

"Clarke’s “holy grail” guitar is this ’94 Zemaitis Custom Deluxe Silver Top. “Tony made it for me in ’94 and it’s the best guitar I’ve ever owned,” he said. “Danny O’Brien did the engraving, it has Seymour Duncan ’59 pickups, an ebony fretboard with medium LP-style frets. Tony used the logo from a GnR pic I left for him to engrave the tailpiece, and I played it when GnR was inducted to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2012. Ron Wood came up afterward and told me, ‘Nice guitar!’ It completes me.”"

"Clarke modded this ’79 Gibson Paul Deluxe with Seymour Duncan ’59 pickups. His most-played LP, it has served in Candy, Kill for Thrills, GnR, MC5, as well as with Heart and Nancy Sinatra. “I grew up with this guitar, so it’s very special to me,” he said."

The photograph from Indexvas shows Gilby Clarke with a Gibson Les Paul SG Custom, illustrating his use of this iconic electric guitar.

"This ’68 Telecaster was Clarke’s first guitar, acquired when he was in his early teens. “It was perfectly stock when I got it, but I routed it for the PAF after I found the pickup while rooting through a parts drawer in the store. I asked, “Hey, what is this?” and they said, “It’s an old Gibson pickup. You can have it.” A bit of research revealed it to be a late-’50s PAF and after installing it, he discovered its sound wasn’t quite right, so he sent it to Seymour Duncan to be re-wound. The guitar was also given jumbo frets, which were popular at the time. “I can’t tell you how many ’50s Teles went through my hands that I put humbuckers in,” said Clarke. “I wasn’t even 20 years old, so I didn’t know anything about the value of vintage guitars. Later, I had a conversation with Seymour, and asked him, ‘Why can’t we have a humbucking pickup that fits in the lead position on a Tele?’ So, Seymour’s Little ’59 was actually my idea, and he gave me the prototype for it.” "

Gilby Clarke is pictured with an Ampeg Dan Armstrong Plexi Electric Guitar.

"Clarke scored this ’91 Gibson Les Paul Junior after scoring the gig with Guns ’N Roses. “I owned only four guitars at the time, and one was my J-45,” he said. “I played this a lot on the GnR tour; it has that classic P-90 sound.”"

"Clarke scored this ’91 Gibson Les Paul Junior after scoring the gig with Guns ’N Roses. “I owned only four guitars at the time, and one was my J-45,” he said. “I played this a lot on the GnR tour; it has that classic P-90 sound.”"

"This ’77 Gretsch White Falcon came from Clarke’s “wish list.” “You can’t beat it for that jangle,” he said. “It’s one of my two guitars with a vibrato.”"

"That came a couple years later. Like with the electrics, once I had an acoustic Zemaitis, I was hooked. Before, my acoustics had always been Martins; I have a ’69 D-35 and a ’46 D-28. But, when I got the heart-hole… there’s just something Tony knew about making guitars."

"That came a couple years later. Like with the electrics, once I had an acoustic Zemaitis, I was hooked. Before, my acoustics had always been Martins; I have a ’69 D-35 and a ’46 D-28. But, when I got the heart-hole… there’s just something Tony knew about making guitars."

In a photo by Gig-photographer, Gilby Clarke is seen with a Rock N Roll Relics Thunders Custom guitar featuring Dallen P51 pickups.

“When I was younger, I had one of these that I routed and put a humbucker in,” Clarke said of this ’59 Gibson Melody Maker. “It started my love for thin, mahogany guitars, and I now have two – this one and a 1960. I gave one to my daughter when she started to play guitar.”

"Clarke loves the feel and classic P-90/“Johnny Thunders in his prime” sound of this ’59 Gibson Les Paul Junior. “I play it a lot; it has a big, baseball-bat neck and it’s not too heavy.”"

In this video from Gibson, Gilby Clarke plays a J-200.

From Gilby Clarke’s official shop on Reverb.com ; “This Fender Telecaster Thinline 1970s is owned by Gilby Clarke.

Serial: 289849 There is a good amount of wear including scratches, scuffs, finish chips, and dings throughout—nothing out of the ordinary for an instrument that's been put to good use since the 70s. There is a prominent finish blemish on the back, as photoed. The pickups sound great, the guitar plays great, it feels great. The action is low and the frets are quite worn down, resulting in a very close-to-the-fretboard feel. It could benefit from a simple setup to dial in the saddles, but overall this vintage piece is an absolute beauty and deserves to be played for many more years to come. Vintage Fender hardshell case included, in worn condition. Ashtray cover included.

All items in The Official Gilby Clarke Reverb Shop ship fully insured with delivery confirmation and a signed and embossed Certificate Of Authenticity.”

This guitar was sold on Gilby Clarke’s official Reverb.com shop. Its description stated; “ This ESP Traditional Telecaster is owned by Gilby Clarke. Played during the G’n’R years & is in many G’n’R live videos & photos. There is a good amount of scratches, scuffs and dings throughout the body. Looks to have been possibly refretted at one point. The frets are the large side and feel great. Overall, feels really nice and sounds nicer. Would benefit from a simple setup to dial in action and intonation. Action is currently quite low, causing some very minor fret buzz. ESP hardshell case with GC stencil included. All items in The Official Gilby Clarke Reverb Shop ship fully insured with delivery confirmation and a signed and embossed Certificate Of Authenticity.”

This guitar was sold on Gilby Clarke’s official Reverb.com shop. The description stated; “ This ESP Custom Shop Hybrid II is owned by Gilby Clarke. Played extensively during the Slash’s Snakepit years & was used on our David Letterman appearance. Serial: 406402 This guitar is setup with a humbucker in the bridge and a typical Fender style neck pickup. It's an interesting combo, but it works great! Single volume knob and a 3-way selector. There are a few areas that have some larger dents in the body, as well as some general scuffs and scratches but overall, a cool guitar that's ready to rock. All items in The Official Gilby Clarke Reverb Shop ship fully insured with delivery confirmation and a signed and embossed Certificate Of Authenticity.”

This guitar was sold on Gilby Clarke’s official Reverb.com shop. The listing’s description stated; “This James Trussart ST 12 is owned by Gilby Clarke. This guitar has a good amount wear including scratches, scuffs and dings throughout. The frets are relatively worn but still have lots of life. The action is currently very low, causing some minor buzz, but can be easily setup to one's liking. The neck is on the slim side and feels comfortable. It appears that Gilby had the active electronics cavity taped off and is currently not working/not powered. The electronics otherwise function correctly. Individual volume pots for each pickup—no tone control. Hardshell case included. All items in The Official Gilby Clarke Reverb Shop ship fully insured with delivery confirmation and a signed and embossed Certificate Of Authenticity.”

This baritone guitar was sold on Gilby Clarke’s official Reverb.com shop. The listing’s description stated; “ This Schecter Tempest Blackjack is owned by Gilby Clarke. Serial: 0706657. This Schecter has some very cool tones, each pickup has a push/pull coil split. This guitar has some very light scuffs from general use, but no major damage or issues. All items in The Official Gilby Clarke Reverb Shop ship fully insured with delivery confirmation and a signed and embossed Certificate Of Authenticity.”

This 12-string acoustic guitar was sold on Gilby Clarke’s official Reverb.com shop. The listing’s description stated; “ This Martin D12-20 is owned by Gilby Clarke. There is some minor wear including light scratches, scuffs and dings throughout, but overall this guitar is in very nice cosmetic condition. It appears that the pick guard was possibly re-glued/replaced at some point, as some of the unfinished wood can be seen around the edges. The tuner hardware has some nice tarnishing. The guitar plays very nicely and has a comfortably low action. The 14th-18th frets are lifting slightly at the bass end—luckily this does not impede playability. Overall, this is a beautiful sounding guitar that could simply benefit from a fret polish and some new strings. Hardshell case included (one broken latch). All items in The Official Gilby Clarke Reverb Shop ship fully insured with delivery confirmation and a signed and embossed Certificate Of Authenticity.”

This Grestch White Falcon is owned by Gilby Clarke

Serial: 115035

From a Vintage Guitar Magazine interview https://www.vintageguitar.com/21281/grit-glory/

This ’77 Gretsch White Falcon came from Clarke’s “wish list.” “You can’t beat it for that jangle,” he said. “It’s one of my two guitars with a vibrato.”