The biggest guitar news stories from 2024
As we close out 2024, Guitar.com recalls the biggest news stories of the year, from the announcement of Trump-endorsed Trump Guitars, to Rory Gallagher’s iconic Stratocaster heading back to Ireland, to weird and wacky gear launches like a guitar pedal which turns your guitar signal into a cat’s meow. Enjoy!
The closure of Sam Ash
Image: Bauer-Griffin / Getty
Some of the biggest industry news of the year came when word got out that US retailer Sam Ash was closing all 44 of its stores across the country. After it was revealed that the firm had declared bankruptcy, its assets valued at between $100 million and $500 million were auctioned off. During this process, Vista Musical Instruments – which is owned by Guitar.com owner Caldecott Music Group – purchased legendary New York music store Manny’s from Sam Ash. Sam Ash itself was later bought by Gonher Music Center for $15 million.
Its closure was seismic as far as the musical instruments industry was concerned, and so many experts weighed in on the reasons for its collapse. Music Trades editor Brian T. Majeski said it reflected “just how dramatically the internet has reshaped the retail landscape”.
“With approximately 50% of music products sales now transacted online, generating [enough revenue to break even] at a brick and mortar store has become difficult, bordering on impossible,” he wrote.
Trump Guitars
Credit: Trump Guitars
After Trump’s second presidential term was secured in the 2024 US election, a fledgling guitar company – named Trump Guitars and seemingly endorsed by the president-elect – reared its head. Among its product lineup are an acoustic and electric guitar – both sporting American Eagle and US flag decals and signed by Trump himself – selling for $10,500 and $11,500, respectively. In the case of the electric guitar, due to its aesthetic similarity to the Gibson Les Paul, we asked whether Gibson – a notoriously litigious guitar company – would get involved.
And lo and behold, that it did. Gibson quickly issued a cease and desist order to Trump Guitars, which then subsequently altered its body shape and added a disclaimer to its website, confirming it was not in any way affiliated with Gibson.
Rory Gallagher’s Strat headed back to Ireland
Image: ullstein bild / Getty Images
Famous guitars regularly make their way to auction, but no such case was more significant than when Rory Gallagher’s iconic ‘61 Strat – dubbed “one of the world’s most recognisable guitars” – went under the hammer. At the time, the six-string was expected to fetch between £700,000 and £1 million.
Shortly after, some folks saw an opportunity, with a Crowdfunder launched to bring the guitar back to his Irish hometown, Cork, and even the Irish government “exploring possibilities” to purchase the guitar and bring it home.
The guitar was ultimately bought by Live Nation Gaiety Ltd with the intention of donating it to the National Museum of Ireland.
Catherine Martin, Minister for Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media expressed her appreciation of the “special effort made to ensure the guitar will return to Ireland on a permanent basis”.
“I am absolutely delighted that Rory’s guitar is coming home to Ireland,” Martin said. “I look forward to hearing more of the museum’s plans to showcase the famous Strat, which I understand will include Cork, where the legendary musician grew up.”
Saying goodbye to legends
Credit: Javier Bragado/Redferns
The guitar world sadly said goodbye to a host of irreplaceable legends of the instrument this year. John Mayall – pioneer of the British blues scene – died surrounded by his family on 22 June, prompting an outpouring of tributes from the guitar community. We also lost country legend Kris Kristofferson, who died aged 88, iconic producer Steve Albini – who worked on the likes of Nirvana’s In Utero and Pixies’ Surfer Rosa, to name just a couple – longtime Allman Brothers Band member Dickey Betts, and MC5’s Wayne Kramer, who died aged 75. Vic Flick, guitarist on the classic James Bond theme, also passed away aged 87.
We thank each and every one of the guitarists who have died this year for their immeasurable contributions to the guitar community over their illustrious careers.
Alex Lifeson partnered with Godin to launch Lerxst Guitars
Credit: Richard Sibbald
Announced at this year’s NAMM show, Lerxst – the brand headed up by Rush guitarist Alex Lifeson – launched its first guitar, the Limelight. Inspired by Lifeson’s iconic Hentor Sportscaster guitars from the mid-’80s, the Limelight reimagined that original concept with “modern part selection and craftsmanship to create a high-quality, forward-thinking instrument designed for today’s players”.
And last month, the brand followed up with its second offering, the Grace, which honoured the 40th anniversary of Rush’s 1984 album, Grace Under Pressure.
“Working with Alex to craft and refine these signature instruments has been an amazing opportunity to push the boundaries of what we believe a modern, versatile instrument should be capable of,” Godin Guitars President Simon Godin said.
A pedal launched which makes your guitar sound like a cat
Image: B’s Music Shop via Instagram
These days, it seems there’s a pedal for everything. And with the arrival of the Meowdulator – which makes your guitar signal sound like a cat – that statement has never been truer.
Developed by B’s Music Shop in collaboration with Cusack Music, this pedal is essentially a cat in a stompbox, bringing all the feline charm straight to your guitar. With three control knobs all labelled “meow”, you can crank up the intensity of your guitar’s meows to your heart’s content.
Dubbed a “monophonic synth” which “lets you explore a range of bizarre and delightful cat sounds”, the Meowdulator boasts eight voicings, each with its own meow. Whether you want the sharp chirp of the Staccato Kitten, the electronic purr of the Acid Kitty Synth, or the erratic squawk of the Kitty Scream Synth, there’s a sound for every occasion.
Gibson/Dean lawsuit overturned
Image: Deborah Brock / Alamy
Two years after Dean was found guilty of trademark infringement and counterfeiting of Gibson’s body shapes, the brand won the chance for the case to be retried, after the original verdict was reversed on appeal.
The United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit ordered the case to be retried, as according to the three-judge panel, the original judge in the case was wrong to restrict certain evidence from being presented to the jury, stating that the jury “was not presented with a complete picture of what happened”.
In that original verdict, the jury found that Dean had infringed on Gibson’s body shape trademarks for the Flying V, Explorer and SG, as well as separate trademarks for the Dove Wing headstock and the Hummingbird acoustic guitar. The jury also found that Dean marketed counterfeits of the Flying V, Explorer and SG body shapes, and the Gibson Hummingbird.
Sammy Hagar recalled what Eddie Van Halen was like on Van Halen’s 2004 World Tour
Images: Daniel Knighton / Mindy Small
Former Van Halen frontman Sammy Hagar reflected on the band’s 2004 tour, and it painted a sorry picture of Eddie Van Halen’s issues with addiction at the time. In a 2016 interview with AXS TV, which was published online this year, Hagar even claimed that his experience on the tour was “the worst experience” of his life.
The reason for this, according to Hagar, is because of EVH’s drug and alcohol abuse, and the impact it had on him both emotionally and physically. “Eddie was completely whacked out off the charts on alcohol and drugs,” Hagar says.
“Poor guy… he was really in bad shape,” Hagar says. “I thought he was going to die. I’ve never met a person like that in my life,” he says. “[He tried] to bust windows out of a G5 airplane at 4,000 feet with a wine bottle… it ain’t even our plane, it’s a rental plane!”
A Taylor Swift fan was going to sell a signed guitar to pay for her wedding – until fellow Swifties stepped in to help
Credit: Gareth Cattermole/TAS24/Getty Images for TAS Rights Management
Off the back of her monolithic Eras tour, this year, the world got a better picture of the intensity of Taylor Swift’s fandom. And one fan was the recipient of its generosity, after fellow Swifties stepped in to help pay for her wedding. As the story goes, she had intended to sell a guitar signed by Swift to help pay for her big day, until Swifties caught wind of it, and ended up raising thousands for the cause via a GoFundMe.
“I have definitely teared up a couple of times because, again, I was like ‘let’s look into selling it, how much we can get it for,’” Emily Harris said. “The fact that it completely turned away from that has been a reminder that there are genuinely good, kind, generous people in this world who just want to help others just for the sake of helping others.”
Man who bought Kurt Cobain’s Mustang for $4.5m said it “doesn’t make any sense” that the Nirvana frontman’s Martin sold for $6m
Credit: Frank Micelotta/Getty Images
Jim Irsay, owner and CEO of the Indianapolis Colts and one of the world’s most notable guitar collectors, expressed his thoughts on Kurt Cobain’s Martin acoustic selling for $6 million. Of course, he himself purchases Cobain’s Mustang for $4.5 million.
Irsay asserted that the price “doesn’t make any sense”. Irsay paid $4,550,000 for Cobain’s iconic left-handed Fender Mustang – just $1.5 million less than the “nonsensical” price of Cobain’s Martin D-18E.
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