Fender Unveils 9/11 Tribute Guitars

[AvantGuardian]

After skimming the GW article, I'm at least glad to read that these are one-offs and are being donated to 9/11 first-responder organizations. Still, they look really tacky.

 

[sell2792]

These are absurd and ugly.

 

[Church2224]

Yeah, after reading the article, it is a very interesting story.

 

[vampiregenocide]

Why would the services need the guitars? Why not hold a benefit show with lots of famous guitarists and actually give them something that can help. That would make more sense.

 

[Louis Cypher]

I just think that first why do it in the first place its a weird "tribute" to the services who worked so hard and lost so many in the first place but then if you are gonna do it do it fucking right and put some effort in to it or least make the guitars look like fitting tributes with a decent graphic artist doing the graphics not cheap & ugly with some bizarre Cold War Soviet style image representing what exactly? Superman in a cop uniform....

Someone tbh at Fender needs to get the sack really....

 

[drmosh]

fuck that money making bullshit "tribute". Do something real and donate money to the families and those with health issues due to the attack.

 

[Church2224]

"The guitars are the brainchild of Minnesota firefighter Tommy Clarke, who, a decade ago, was on the scene of the World Trade Center within 24 hours after disaster struck. In the years afterward, he collected pins, badges, medals and other commendation related to the three New York agencies and to Sept. 11. The decorations that adorn the three guitars are from his collection.

Although not a guitarist, Clarke conceived of the guitars in the mid-2000s after receiving an invitation to a New York “Notes For Hope” fund-raising banquet for the city’s Sept. 11 memorial and museum.

“Even though I don’t play guitar, I thought it would a good way for me to honor those who perished on Sept. 11 and those who are still suffering,” he said. “And I always loved sitting back and listening to my son play guitar. That’s when I thought of a guitar. I’ve always felt as if music and art combined together is a good way for a person to express his feelings.”

Clarke also happens to be a longtime friend of Eric Clapton, and it was Clapton that put Clarke in touch with the Fender Custom Shop, where Master Builder Todd Krause was entrusted with bringing the idea to life. Krause had built several instruments for Clapton over the years, and he and Clarke exchanged ideas—one of which led to the custom finish graphics by New York artist Lee Quinones.

“I’m on the West Coast, and I have a list of people who I refer to,” Krause said. “But Tommy and I were discussing artists, and we both felt it was really important that it be a New York artist. It had to be a New York artist.” Quinones was enlisted, and in no time Clarke had a complete set of guitar designs. “I had a strong vision of what I wanted,” Clarke said. “The biggest problem with the guitars was that there’s not a lot of real estate. Each guitar tells a story, and the hardest part was to paint the tragedy while still portraying ourselves as emerging triumphant.”

Is anyone reading the fucking article at all? Why is is so bad a firefighter who was at the scene of the attacks want to create something to honor those that perished and Fender made his vision a reality?

 

[vampiregenocide]

It still seems weird.

 

[Deadnightshade]

Right guys in 10 or so years Ibanez will realease 11 March 2011 Fukushima tribute models.

Of all the crazy shit japs do, i'm pretty sure they won't do that.

That means something about those Fender tributes.

 

[Stealthdjentstic]

Yeah, its good they're being donated and IMO any charity is good charity, but something about those guitars seems very awkward.

 

[Louis Cypher]

"The guitars are the brainchild of Minnesota firefighter Tommy Clarke, who, a decade ago, was on the scene of the World Trade Center within 24 hours after disaster struck. In the years afterward, he collected pins, badges, medals and other commendation related to the three New York agencies and to Sept. 11. The decorations that adorn the three guitars are from his collection.....

....Quinones was enlisted, and in no time Clarke had a complete set of guitar designs. “I had a strong vision of what I wanted,” Clarke said. “The biggest problem with the guitars was that there’s not a lot of real estate. Each guitar tells a story, and the hardest part was to paint the tragedy while still portraying ourselves as emerging triumphant.”

Is anyone reading the fucking article at all? Why is is so bad a firefighter who was at the scene of the attacks want to create something to honor those that perished and Fender made his vision a reality?

Yeah I did read the article and IMO theses guitars are a strange idea in the first place but ones that have been taken up by Fender should have and could have been alot more successful than they are. They have been poorly executed. They do look cheap and tacky and the idea that they tell a story or portray the American people (and every other nationality that died as well inc 67 brits was it?) triumph over the catastrophe.... they fail to do that. A proper memorial in guitar form or any from should speak to both the tragedy and to the hope that people can take out of it, should'nt celebrate what happened that day but mark that day and celebrate the positives that have come out of that ten years on.... All three just look like a Fire Brigade style strat and two police based strats one with dodgy art work of a policeman holding up some wreckage (yes one is for the port service but unless you live in NYC or your american your not gonna know that) To me, i don't see which bit of the design and art work reflects either 9/11 or the ten years since? (and I mean that without having to read the full blurb on each guitar to understand what each part and badge and colour represents....

I think Fender should have taken this guys ideas and done so much more with it than they have....
as an example couple of images off google all I did was do a search for "9/11 tributes"... and on the first page I found theses and theses speak more to me immediately about that day and the memory's, this is what the guitars should have tried to portray...

 

[Church2224]

Yeah I did read the article and IMO theses guitars are a strange idea in the first place but ones that have been taken up by Fender should have and could have been alot more successful than they are. They have been poorly executed. They do look cheap and tacky and the idea that they tell a story or portray the American people (and every other nationality that died as well inc 67 brits was it?) triumph over the catastrophe.... they fail to do that. A proper memorial in guitar form or any from should speak to both the tragedy and to the hope that people can take out of it, should'nt celebrate what happened that day but mark that day and celebrate the positives that have come out of that ten years on.... All three just look like a Fire Brigade style strat and two police based strats one with dodgy art work of a policeman holding up some wreckage (yes one is for the port service but unless you live in NYC or your american your not gonna know that) To me, i don't see which bit of the design and art work reflects either 9/11 or the ten years since? (and I mean that without having to read the full blurb on each guitar to understand what each part and badge and colour represents....

I think Fender should have taken this guys ideas and done so much more with it than they have....
as an example couple of images off google all I did was do a search for "9/11 tributes"... and on the first page I found theses and theses speak more to me immediately about that day and the memory's, this is what the guitars should have tried to portray...

True, they could have done a lot better with the designs. I am just talking more the intent of it all and people calling it a "Money Making Venture" when it has been stated numerous times that they will be donated to the foundations.

 

[Louis Cypher]

True, they could have done a lot better with the designs. I am just talking more the intent of it all and people calling it a "Money Making Venture" when it has been stated numerous times that they will be donated to the foundations.

Thats true dude, I mean I did forget that bit when I did the OP that they were clearly not for sale...

 

[avenger]

Sorry but these are lame as hell.

 

[Pooluke41]

*insert Dean Joke*

But seriously that shit is Tacky.

 

[Thep]

Something subtle would have gone a VERY long way...these are terrible.

 

[Blood Ghost]

"So everyone, I have a wonderful idea. In honor of September Eleventh, Let's make a Stratocaster with inlaid badges and commendations related to the attack."

"Sounds great, Bill! What kind of finishes will we be doing?"

"I think it would be great to have airbrush artwork of a jagged silhouette of ground zero, jutting into the sky, set against an ominous red sky, to symbolize the tragedy and horror of that day."

"...You okay, Bill?"

 

[highlordmugfug]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VJ_E7Vce8vU#t=00m33s

Good that they're being donated, weird that it happened at all.

 

[Rook]

errr that leaves a nasty taste in my mouth...



just...

yuck.

EDIT: Wait, to clear up any confusion, are those badges for real? I assumed not, but if they are that's just, well, horrific

DOUBLE EDIT: inb4 tasteless Dean joke

 

[Grand Moff Tim]

Yeah I did read the article and IMO theses guitars are a strange idea in the first place but ones that have been taken up by Fender should have and could have been alot more successful than they are. They have been poorly executed.

They're custom shop guitars made to the specifications of the person requesting them. Should they have made them the guitars he wanted, or the guitars they think he sould have wanted?