“The best times of heavy metal were over… My concept was a new guitar design in the style of the ’40s or ’50s”: How Duesenberg Guitars became a major player with original old-school designs – and a little help from Mike Campbell

Duesenberg Starplayer CBR in Catalina Green.

If things had gone differently, Duesenberg would have been a heavy metal guitar brand, which it essentially was from 1986 until nearly a decade later.

But founder, Dieter Gölsdorf, had a different view: “The best times of heavy metal were over and the guitarists were more into traditional values again. My concept: a new, extremely high-quality guitar design in the style of the ’40s or ’50s. I was overcome by a feeling that I was going on a journey through time.”