Super shredder John 5 is currently stepping out on his own in support of his 11th solo album, Ghost, and, as fitting for a guitarist of his caliber, he has an impressive portfolio of guitars on rotation during this tour.
Perhaps one of the flashiest offerings is a single-pickup LED Telecaster (yes, an LED Tele). So how did this oddball guitar come about?
“This guy, Ken Meyer, built it, and he's so brilliant, because he was at the NAMM show, and he's like, ‘Oh, I'll build you anything,’” John 5 tells Premier Guitar.
“He was a fireman in Macomb County [Michigan], and he's like, ‘I make guitars with my dad, and I'll make you anything you want.’ And I was like, ‘Okay, how about a light-up guitar?’ He's like, ‘Done.’ And I was like, ‘Okay…’ and he made it!”
The process of building a light-up guitar that not only fully works, but – more importantly – can withstand the rigors of touring, came with a few challenges.
“It's interesting, because if you look at it, all the lights are underneath this plastic, kind [of a] large pickguard, if you will,” 5 explains.
“So the original version was just lights, and then they just put a lacquer over the lights, which didn't work because it bled into the lights and knocked the lights out. And you couldn't fix any of the lights because it was all lacquered.”
He continues, “Me – not so smart – but for this, I was like, ‘We should put just like a plastic thing so we could take this off.’ But I've had this for so long. And I've never replaced a light. It's been, like, 15 years since I've had this.”
And, speaking of off-kilter guitars, Meyers further outdid himself when he built the queasy-green ‘Lava’ T-style for John 5 – which, as you’ve probably guessed from the name, is a lava-lamp-inspired model made from two pieces of Plexi fused together, lit from within, and filled with antifreeze. That's one way to stand out in a crowd.
In a recent chat with Guitar World, the virtuoso explained what made him the perfect fit for Mötley Crüe – and what’s next for his signature Fender Telecaster.
