“It was my first cover. I knew Slash would use a great vintage Les Paul, so I had to up my game”: Gilby Clarke on the story behind his modded ’69 Fender Telecaster, immortalized on the cover of Guitar World

This month on Cover Stars we pick up the phone to ask Gilby Clarke why he chose his 1969 Fender Telecaster for the cover of Guitar World’s November 1992 issue – and more to the point, where is it now?

Would he even remember? This was a wild time in the history of Guns N’ Roses. Use You Illusion parts one and two had established them once more as the biggest rock band on the planet, and the circus of the live show had brought controversy, riots, all kinds of nuttiness.

But of course he remembered. He’s still got it, and Clarke says this is one electric guitar he is not parting with.

How’d you get this guitar?

“I worked at Hogan’s House of Music in Hawthorne, California, when I was younger. I bought it there. I paid $300 for it in 1980.”

Did you modify it? And what sort of rig did you pair it with?

“It was modified by Jim Foote at Music Works in Lawndale, California. I had it painted black, and they added binding along with a 1959 Gibson PAF pickup. Then I found the pickup in a drawer, but it wasn’t working, so they gave it to me. I sent it to Seymour Duncan to rewind it to the original specs. And, of course, jumbo frets were de rigueur back then. I played it with a 50-watt Marshall JMP and a 4x12 cabinet.”

Was this Telecaster part of your main Guns N’ Roses touring arsenal?

“I actually never played it live with Guns N’ Roses, but I used it on a lot of recordings. I used Teles quite a bit back then; the middle pickup would be for verses and the bridge for choruses.”

What notable recordings did you use this guitar on?

“I used it on Guns N’ Roses’ The Spaghetti Incident? and the 1995 Slash’s Snakepit record, It’s Five O’Clock Somewhere. I always tried to use the opposite of Slash. I would use a Tele, Gibson Les Paul or my [Silvertop Custom Deluxe] Zematis through a ’62 Fender Deluxe. And I usually had to run a Marshall Bluesbreaker [overdrive] pedal to add a little more gain. I also used it in the music video for the Kill for Thrills song Brother’s Eyes. You can find it on YouTube.”

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Why did you choose this guitar for your GW cover shoot?

“It was my first cover, and Slash had already been on a lot of covers. I knew he’d use a great vintage Les Paul, so I had to up my game. But I only owned four guitars when I got the Guns N’ Roses gig, and, of course, I got more for the Use Your Illusion tour. But all of those guitars were on the road, so this was my only guitar at home in L.A., where the shoot took place. I’m glad, though.”

Do you still have this guitar?

“Of course! But I only record with it. It sounds so good with the original PAF pickup. I haven’t modified it since back then; it’s exactly the same. It still feels like a vintage Tele, even with the humbucker in there.”

Editor’s note: In the November 1992 issue of GW, this guitar is identified as a Fender Custom Shop Tele. “They got it wrong,” Clarke says today.

• This article first appeared in Guitar World. Subscribe and save.