Marty Friedman, the legendary guitarist, will be selling nearly 20 guitars, amps, and other instruments through the Official Marty Friedman Reverb Shop on Tuesday, October 23.
The sale will feature guitars, Japanese folk instruments, and amps from throughout his time with Megadeth and his solo career, which has spanned more than a dozen albums.
"If you saw me on tour from around 1993 until the end of the decade, these are the actual cabinets and amps that I was playing through. If you’ve heard any of the work that I’ve done on albums from the same time period, it was done on these amps and cabs," Friedman says. "They are workhorse amps that I used for hundreds of shows."
"Instead of sitting around and collecting dust, the gear should be in the hands of a fan or a musician who will take it and create something great with it."
The sale will also include a clone of a Black 1990s Fernandes Strat-style guitar that Friedman prizes for its tone. During a recording session, Friedman was trying to find a great clean tone, when a serendipitous visit by a Fernandes rep with a new guitar in tow made his day.
"It didn’t sound like any guitar I ever played before. I plugged it in and it was like the heavens parted—it had the most beautiful, glassy, clean, melodic, full of pitch, full of beautiful resonance tone that I’d ever heard in an electric guitar," Friedman says of the original Fernandes. He liked it so much he had Fernandes make him another—and it’s this second version that will be available in his Official Reverb Shop.
"This clone is the closest anyone will ever get to matching the clean tone of that magical guitar," Friedman says.
Other items that will be available include:
A Black 1999 Gibson Les Paul Standard electric guitar and a Black 1999 Gibson SG electric guitar that Friedman purchased in the mid-90s after recording two Megadeth albums with producer Dann Huff and playing several of his Gibsons. "I used them on tour quite a bit. I’ve also done a lot of recordings with them in the late ‘90s," Friedman said.
A Bradley Firebird-Style Copy electric guitar that has been with Friedman and his family since he was 15 or 16. "I’ve played this guitar more than anything, but I’ve probably never played it in front of anybody but my family."
Several traditional Japanese musical instruments, including a shamisen that Friedman used for the solo on "Nastymachine" from his fifth solo studio album, Music for Speeding, and a koto. "Japan has always been a big influence on my writing and playing, even before I moved here. It’s been a big force in my music altogether," said Friedman, who has lived in Japan for the past 15 years.
A Tech 21 Trademark 60 amplifier that Friedman used on many recordings throughout the 1990s.
"Each piece of gear that I’m selling in my Reverb Shop has helped shape my career, whether it was used on stage and in the studio with Megadeth or to create one of my solo albums," Friedman says. "Instead of sitting around and collecting dust, the gear should be in the hands of a fan or a musician who will take it and create something great with it."
Check out the gallery to see more of what will be available in the Official Marty Friedman Reverb Shop when it launches Tuesday, October 23. Sign up with your email address in the box above to be notified as soon as it’s live, and check out Friedman’s brand-new solo album, One Bad M.F. Live!, which will be released tomorrow.