Ronnie Montrose

Ronnie Montrose's 1943 Gibson J45 acoustic guitar in sunburst. Owned by Montrose since 1968, this was his main acoustic guitar throughout his career. It was used as a backup guitar on the first Montrose album and was featured on the song "Connection" from his Paper Money album in 1974. The finish shows some checking, and there has been extensive custom work done to the guitar. CJ Hutchins did the fret work, Glen Quan did the structural work, and Hideo Kamimoto did finish work on the guitar. Includes a photo of Montrose with the guitar and a hardshell case.

After passing from Montrose’s hands this guitar then went to Peter Weihe of Hamburg, Germany, whose studio work with this exemplary Les Paul has been heard more than 20,000,000 times throughout an illustrious global recording career. Now, through the direct and intimate cooperation of Peter Weihe, the Ronnie Montrose Estate, and the guitar’s current owner (an anonymous German collector), Gibson Custom brings to life this coveted ’58 Les Paul in all its current glory, in a Limited Edition not to top 300 guitars. A USB with exclusive video introduced by Mrs. Montrose that chronicles the guitar’s time with Ronnie Montrose will accompany each guitar, along with a Certificate of Authenticity, Ronnie Montrose commemorative picks and pick tin.

This guitar was auctioned off in 2013. One of the very first Baker B1 models, Ronnie Montrose named this guitar "The Beast." This 1997 Baker B1 guitar was Montrose's main stage guitar, built for him by Gene Baker. The 1 7/8" neck was custom made for Montrose. He toured with this guitar and played it at WestFest in 2009. He also played this guitar in the film Guitar Man as well as in the video "Ronnie Montrose - Live at the Uptown." It was the guitar he used on the last concert DVD and on the "Ronnie Montrose and Friends: 10x10" project that is to be released in 2014. It features a flame maple top and solid mahogany body and neck with a rosewood fingerboard. Includes a picture of Montrose with the guitar, a letter of authenticity from Gene Baker, a Custom Spec sheet, and a hardshell case."

Sadly this guitar was put up for auction in 2013 after Ronnie's passing.Here is a description of the instrument...A 1965 Fender Stratocaster guitar, serial number L70612, owned and played by Ronnie Montrose and highly modified by him, including the addition of star inlays on the neck. Glen Quan did many of the other modifications on the guitar in the late 1970s. This guitar was purchased by Montrose in the early 1970s and was originally a burgundy mist color. It was repainted in 1974 and was the guitar used in the studio on the 1974 album Paper Money . It was also played on Montrose's later albums, Gamma 1 , Gamma 2 , and Gamma 3 . It was featured on the cover of BAM magazine and in various advertisements. Comes with the original hardshell case."

Early 70's or late 60's Les Paul

Gibson Lab Series Endorser

$90.00 Garage sale find 3x10 Bandmaster for the first "MONTROSE" album. Ran "Flat out" (full Volume) with Les Paul straight in.

How about your amp?

My amp of choice for the past 15 years has been the Bogner Shiva—it’s my favorite amp on the planet. But if I have to fly to a gig, it’s more practical to have a rental company bring an amp to the venue. The typical choice is a Marshall JCM 900, and while I can still sound like Ronnie Montrose with that amp, it doesn’t give me that same, singing “Ronnie Tone” that I get with my Shivas. So I always take along a Foxrox Captain Coconut 2 pedal to help out the tone. It’s an absolutely amazing pedal—a 3-in-1 device with the most perfect octave driver and phaser/ flanger sounds. It also has a distortion, but I never use it—I just turn the distortion down to zero, and use that part of the pedal as a mute so I can tune my guitar. I’m also a huge fan of the Rocktron Intelliverb. It’s my favorite device ever—so intuitive and easy to use. And I’ve just discovered the Eventide TimeFactor pedal, and I absolutely love it! It’s perfect for the Gamma songs I’m doing on this tour.

"I always take along a Foxrox Captain Coconut 2 pedal to help out the tone. It’s an absolutely amazing pedal—a 3-in-1 device with the most perfect octave driver and phaser/ flanger sounds. It also has a distortion, but I never use it—I just turn the distortion down to zero, and use that part of the pedal as a mute so I can tune my guitar." Guitar Player Magazine February 6, 2012

Bad Motor Scooter was a "Big Muff" into Fender 3x10 Bandmaster

"I’m also a huge fan of the Rocktron Intelliverb. It’s my favorite device ever—so intuitive and easy to use."

"And I’ve just discovered the Eventide TimeFactor pedal"

Ronnie Montrose used this custom Moog on stage for the "Solo"(without a band) live dates he did in the early 80's.