Dashboard Confessional to Sell Prized Guitars, Amps, and More on Reverb

When first beginning to perform as Dashboard Confessional, Chris Carrabba had to bring his own PA system to the DIY spaces that would host his shows. He opted for a Fender Acoustisonic amp, because it could handle his guitar and vocals. When he first upgraded from the cheap acoustic guitar he had been playing to a few Guild F65CEs, he then wrote and toured in support of The Places You Have Come to Fear the Most with them.

Those Guilds, that amplifier, and many other pieces of gear from throughout Dashboard Confessional's career will be sold on Reverb in The Official Dashboard Confessional Reverb Shop on Monday, September 23.

In the video above, Carrabba shares stories about just a few of the prized instruments he's parting with. About that Acoustisonic and the first years of touring, Carrabba says:

"Picture my early days, when basements, living rooms, garages, and driveways were the only venues that would have me. I needed something to make a show happen, since there would never be PAs at any of these 'venues.' So this combination vocal and acoustic guitar amp was the perfect tool. I literally could not have done my shows without this amp."

Carrabba's Reverb shop will feature nearly a dozen guitars from throughout his career, including the blonde Gibson J-185 that he used for Dashboard Confessional's 2002 MTV Unplugged performance. There's also a 1940s archtop featured in the "Saints and Sailors" video that Carrabba used to write and record "Ghost of a Good Thing" and "As Lovers Go."

The Official Dashboard Confessional Reverb Shop will also feature:
  • A Vox AC-30 HWH Carrabba used to record "Vindicated," "Stolen," and "Reasons to Believe;" a Fender Twin Deluxe and Bogner Shiva used on every song on A Mark, A Mission, A Brand, A Scar and every tour and record since; and a Line 6 Vetta II used while writing and touring for Dashboard Confessional and Further Seems Forever's reunion shows.
  • An Ernie Ball Music Man Axis that Carrabba says saved A Mark, A Mission. "There was a moment of panic that set in when the producer Gil Norton decided that all of the finished guitar tracks on the entire record were out of tune. We made a mad scramble and bought 15 guitars to have a shootout. The Ernie Ball Music Man won by a mile."
  • A blonde 1974 Fender Telecaster Custom, a sunburst 1972 Telecaster Custom, and a sunburst Epiphone FT-90 Dorado that have appeared on every record since Dusk and Summer. "I am a Tele guy, and these are two of the best I have ever laid my hands on."
  • A black Gibson Melody Maker that was the first electric guitar Carrabba ever purchased and a Red Gibson ES-335 that was the first electric he played with Dashboard Confessional. "I love this guitar," Carrabba says of the 335. "It made me brave enough to play the songs the way I heard them in my head—not just as I was expected to play them. Plug it into a Fender Twin Deluxe and play 'Hands Down.' I did."
  • A Gibson Songbird Deluxe acoustic guitar that Carraba used to write songs so frequently that he became terrified that he would lose it and then he wouldn't be able to write songs on it ever again. "Part of the reason I'm parting with all of these guitars—and this one is the biggest example—is to upend my own methodology in my approach to writing. I know there are songs and songs and songs in here to be found by the next owner," he says.

    • With such eyes on the future, Dashboard Confessional will celebrate its 20th anniversary with a tour, following the recent releases of three re-imagined albums in a collection called Now is This is Now and the brand-new collection The Best Ones of the Best Ones. For tour dates and more info about the upcoming plans, visit the band's website here.

    The Official Dashboard Confessional Reverb Shop opens September 23.

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