The ’80s were a period of pointy excess when it came to guitars. Guitarists of all shapes and sizes were slinging sharp-edged axes over their shoulders and shredding to glory.
No-one could escape it, nor did they want to. Not even an old-school rocker like Joe Perry could resist, which is why when it came time for Aerosmith to show its mettle to a new generation of rock – and hip-hop – loving fans, he chose the Guild X-100 Blade Runner.
You may remember this electric guitar from the music video for the rebooted version of Walk This Way, in which Aerosmith teamed up with Run-DMC. And since then, while it’s not Perry's main squeeze, he does break it out during his solo shows, and continues to show affection for it when he looks back, which he does below.
Article continues belowI’ve always wondered about the Guild X-100 Blade Runner, which you used in the Walk This Way video with Run-D.M.C. in 1986.
That one falls under the category of, “Holy shit, this is too cool-looking to believe.” [Laughs] It has EMG pickups; I’m not a big fan of those, but I get the philosophy behind them, and they are really cool. That’s just what came in there, and even though I’m not into EMGs, there isn’t a piece of equipment I can put down, because you just never know.
Your philosophy of “there are no wrong tones” comes to mind.
There are no wrong sounds. Even if you put a patch cord in and it’s crackling, you never know! That crackling sound could turn into a rhythm track, so my philosophy, as you said, is that there are no wrong sounds or tones. And with the X-100, I played it because it sounded cool, and there was just something about it.
And for certain sounds, man, those EMGs are great. I can get a great heavy sound out of them, and I tried different versions of them, and for what they are, they’re great.
How did you get the Guild, and what led you to use it in the Run-D.M.C. video?
We were doing Done with Mirrors [1985] when we were getting back together, and Guild was trying to make a comeback. The Guild rep would come by our rehearsal space and show me a few pieces.
And as soon as I saw the Blade Runner, I said, “That’s mine. I gotta have that.” I mean, it’s too cool. It’s the ultimate pointy guitar. [Laughs] That’s why I used it in the video. It’s an iconic shape, and it’s kind of light. They cut the wood all away, and it’s full of holes, so it’s comfortable to play.
I was actually trying to find a spare, but when I looked around, I couldn’t find another original one, so I had a company build me an exact copy of mine. I wanted one I could bring on the road and not be afraid of getting it stolen. That’s another one that checks all the boxes. For certain sounds and songs, you can’t beat it, and for looks, it’s amazing.
- This article first appeared in Guitar World. Subscribe and save.
