Son Volt’s Jay Farrar to Sell Hundreds of Guitars, Records, and More on Reverb

Today, we're excited to announce that Son Volt's Jay Farrar will sell nearly 200 guitars, amps, and pedals—as well as nearly 100 records—through The Official Jay Farrar of Son Volt Reverb Shop and The Official Jay Farrar of Son Volt Reverb LP Shop on December 18.

As you can see in the video above, the gear will include some prime vintage guitars, amps, and pedals, used by Farrar on stage and in the studio for the past 30 years. Many of them have personal stories from a career spanning across folk, country, and rock music.

"I knew that vintage instruments like these were used to create a lot of great music that I grew up listening to, dating all the way back to the '50s. I knew that not a lot of people were using this gear to make popular mainstream music, so I gravitated toward the older stuff," Farrar said.

Among the vintage guitars for sale in The Official Jay Farrar of Son Volt Reverb Shop are a 1959 Gretsch 6119 Chet Atkins Farrar got from Brian Henneman of The Bottle Rockets, in exchange for Farrar's 1962 Mercury Comet. "I'm not sure who got the better deal ... they're both classics," Farrar said.

A white 1962 Gibson SG Standard used on Son Volt's first album, Trace, also reminds Farrar of his youth. "This one takes me back because I started learning how to play electric guitar on a guitar almost exactly like this," Farrar says. "It was interesting learning to play guitar in the 1970s because old, classic guitars like this weren't valued much. This would have cost just a hundred bucks or so at that time."

Farrar's shop will also feature:

  • A late 1950s Fender 1000 8-string pedal steel that Farrar notes is the first he ever purchased. According to Jay, this piece of gear has a few mysteries associated with it. "There's an outline of the guy's name who used to play it—'Red.' I picked it up in St. Louis and there was a famous session pedal steel guitarist named Red Rhodes. It could have been his, but I can't authenticate that. The other mystery is what year it is—a 1956 or 1957—which makes it one of the first pedal steels Fender made," Farrar said.

  • A 1957 Gibson Les Paul Jr. that Farrar picked up on the road. According to him, "When we were touring in the early '90s, there was no internet and we didn't even really have cell phones. So you would spend your time looking through pawn shops and music stores and eventually, you'd find something like this."

  • A Fender Bassman Tweed 2x12 Reissue amp that Farrar picked up in the early 2000s at a pawn shop in Augusta, Georgia. "This Fender Bassman has traveled the continent," Farrar said of the amp, which he used on tours throughout the U.S. and for shows in Canada.

  • Multiple effects pedals, cables, preamps, and other pieces of recording and pro audio gear from Farrar's recording studio, which he's used since the early 2000s when he released his first solo album.

In addition to selling nearly 200 pieces of music gear, Farrar will be putting nearly 100 records on Reverb LP. The Official Jay Farrar of Son Volt Reverb LP Shop will feature roughly 20 Son Volt test pressings as well as country, rock, and truck driving records from Farrar's personal collection.

Be sure to watch the video above for a sneak peek at just some of what will be available when The Official Jay Farrar of Son Volt Reverb Shop and Reverb LP Shop go live on December 18.

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