This bonkers guitarist buried his Les Paul in the desert just to see if it would survive

(Image credit: YouTube/Guitar MAX)

Ever wonder what would happen to an electric guitar if it was buried in the desert for a month? 

Neither did we.

But Guitar MAX has, and now he’s taken to YouTube to answer the age-old question that, to our knowledge, no one has ever asked.

In a new video, MAX heads out to the “middle of nowhere” to dig a hole – and then put a Les Paul in that hole.

And why a Les Paul? “I want this to be an authentic test,” he explains.

Why do it at all? In MAX’s opinion, many of us are too precious with our instruments. “Some guys even keep their guitars in climate controlled rooms so the humidity doesn’t change and affect the wood,” he remarks.

“I’ve always felt that guitars are a lot more durable than we give them credit for. And today I want to really put that to the test.”

MAX then proceeds to bury his Les Paul, sans case. As for how he’ll find it in a month? He leaves a guitar cable poking out of the ground, of course.

“What I’m honestly expecting is I think the guitar is going to be pretty much okay – other than just having a lot of dirt on it,” he says.

Is he right? Who knows! But stay tuned as we revisit Guitar MAX next month for the big reveal.

And for more Guitar MAX, head to his official YouTube channel

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Richard Bienstock

Rich is the co-author of the best-selling Nöthin' But a Good Time: The Uncensored History of the '80s Hard Rock Explosion. He is also a recording and performing musician, and a former editor of Guitar World magazine and executive editor of Guitar Aficionado magazine. He has authored several additional books, among them Kurt Cobain: Montage of Heck, the companion to the documentary of the same name.