A Guitar And Gear Support Forum

Included in the collection are two 1959 Gibson Les Pauls, a 50 Fender Broadcaster, a 51 Fender No-Caster Butterscotch Blonde, and a 61 LES Paul SG Custom. I'm sure these will all go for big bucks.

https://www.blabbermouth.net/news/journ ... c-guitars/

Neal Schon???

mickey wrote: ↑Tue Jul 06, 2021 7:06 pmNeal Schon???

He's got some acoustics on the auction block too, a couple Guilds from the 70s.

Why does he have so many guitars? Is he related to @tobijohn or something?

mickey wrote: ↑Tue Jul 06, 2021 7:12 pm Why does he have so many guitars? Is he related to @tobijohn or something?

I don't think it's genetic, no one else in my family has an issue with accumulating mass quantities of things. My father though seemed to be pathologically incapable of throwing anything out so maybe I did get a little bit of it from him. On the semi-annual junk days in the neighborhood I grew up in when you could put anything out on the curb and they'd pick it up, he always ended up bringing in far more in than he put out. The summer place we had and which he moved to after he retired turned into the great repository. He somehow managed to fit the contents of a 4500 sq ft house into a 1500 sq ft one. After that, he'd just build garages on the property to hold the overflow. I called it Shanty Town and considered contacting PBS about him hosting a new show called "This Old Warehouse." When he passed away a few years ago, I think it took seven dumpsters to empty the place out...

BTW, I wonder if selling off 120 guitars has something to do with alimony. Fortunately, I started my accumulating after I was divorced...

tobijohn wrote: ↑Tue Jul 06, 2021 9:11 pm BTW, I wonder if selling off 120 guitars has something to do with alimony. Fortunately, I started my accumulating after I was divorced...

Regarding what he might be raising the money for, the comments on Blabbermouth are generally not kind, with several suggesting he needs the dough for more plastic surgery. Neal doesn't seem to be too well liked.

I personally love the man's music, and I'm capable of separating my tremendous affection for his art from whatever personal flaws he may have.

I'm also a believer that if someone is a dick, then that must be expressed in some way in their playing, whether it's through the aggression, or even through the single minded competitiveness they exhibited in order to hone their craft and become a top player, regardless of repercussions to family and friends. If Neal is a dick, then he at least makes that quality sound good. He has harnessed it towards valid creative ends.

Yes, I've heard a lot of negative stuff about him as well. However, my ex-wife was a huge Journey fan and somehow through their fan club got in pretty tight with Steve Augeri when he was with them. On the few occasions that we spent time with him and others in the band, they all were friendly and down to earth, both towards us and other fans. So maybe Neal comes across as an arrogant dick to other musicians but he seams to treat his fans with respect...

I think if Neal has a flaw, its that he wears his heart on his sleeve. He's been married many times, why so many failed, who knows? That man loves to tour, so if any of his wives thought they could get him to settle down, big mistake. He had "problems" when he was drinking of saying exactly how he felt about things...this certainly led to the division between Neal and Steve Perry. Neal would like to forgive and forget his drunken idiot days, but Perry is going to hold that grudge forever, it seems...

What can't be denied is that he is most certainly one of the great guitar players of all time.

Anybody need a PRS Dragon Double-Neck?

That 59 LP is what dreams are made of and makes me a little weak in the knees. Certainly will sell for unobtanium level prices, but if I ever had the realistic means that would be exactly what I would buy.

Oh Neal, what happened? He's so young and fresh in this candid interview from 1984. He was 30 years old here, and in my opinion his best recorded work was already behind him. As his afro diminished over time, so also did his raw bluesy style and fierce tone. I think I'm going to go listen to Journey's album Next so I don't cry. On that record he's playing that 69 Gibson Gold Top that's in the auction.

toomanycats wrote: ↑Wed Jul 07, 2021 6:23 pm ... As his afro diminished over time, so also did his raw bluesy style and fierce tone.

Although a product of the Catholic educational system, I'm not that well versed in the Old Testament but I am well aware of what happened to Samson when he went down that path. It happened to me once too and it took a decade to recover but I learned my lesson and it will never happen again. As George Santyana is credited with saying, "Those Who Do Not Learn History Are Doomed To Repeat It."

BTW, my Jewish friends and relatives refer to Neal's old hairstyle as a Jewfro...

Lol on the Samson reference! On a serious note, I really think that Neal caught the shred bug sometime right around that interview, but possibly before Frontiers. I think the effect of so many shred guitarists showing up kicked up his innate need to compete with them, and he left his glorious tone for speed. I know he can still do it, as I've heard it on his solo albums, but he never should have left that tone. Shredders come and go, but to be able to play like early Neal Schon? That man could make time stop with his soulful playing.

bleys21 wrote: ↑Wed Jul 07, 2021 10:37 pm Lol on the Samson reference! On a serious note, I really think that Neal caught the shred bug sometime right around that interview, but possibly before Frontiers. I think the effect of so many shred guitarists showing up kicked up his innate need to compete with them, and he left his glorious tone for speed. I know he can still do it, as I've heard it on his solo albums, but he never should have left that tone. Shredders come and go, but to be able to play like early Neal Schon? That man could make time stop with his soulful playing.

Yes, Neal definitely has some shred going on by Frontiers, like on the song "Backtalk" for instance. That same year he exhibited even more of it on the HSAS album.

Neal definitely felt the need to compete with the new crop of guitar hot shots, hence his participation in Dio's Hear 'n Aid in May 85.