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

Gilby Clarke plays his metal-topped Zemaitis live onstage, while an inset shot of the GW NOV 92 cover is overlaid on the right-hand side of the image.

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.