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Duesenberg Starplayer TV Richie Sambora
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In the beginning, Duesenberg was a sports automobile brand between 1913 and 1931. Then in 1986 a german designer bought the rights to this American brand and turned it into one of the biggest alternative guitar brands.
Duesenberg does not copy from Gibson or Fender's book, instead they gather inspiration from several legendary references, including Gretsch, but ultimately make it into their own. The brand's identity includes an art-deco visual approach (the shape of the headstock and the output jack), a great coherence in hardware selection, and a hot rod culture-inspired exuberance when it comes to finishes.
The Starplayer TV is Duesenberg's best seller, a modern classic that has been played by Bob Dylan, Ron Wood, Dave Stewart and Mike Campbell (Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers) who even has his own signature model. Undoubtedly, this hollow body Les Paul fully deserves its success, with smart features like its compact shape, its light weight and the big sound produced by the combination of a bridge humbucker and a neck P90. The two pickups are made by the brand itself, further proof of their impressive know-how.
This 2009 Starplayer TV belonged to Richie Sambora, Bon Jovi's historical guitarist, and a songwriter responsible for many of the eighties' biggest hits. Indeed, this guitar's beautiful silver sparkle finish sports the musician's autograph. Sambora has used it in the studio, most likely for the extreme stability of its tremolo system. Indeed, Duesenberg is the only brand who developed its own version of the famed Bigsby, a modern interpretation of a classic that preserves the original's look and smoothness, but allows for a much better tuning stability, which is a very precious asset when you're trying to record a solo in a studio that charges by the hour.
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Richie Sambora
(1959)
Band : Bon Jovi
Main guitar : Fender Stratocaster signature
Compulsory listening : Livin’ On A Prayer
Such is the history of rock: for every Mick Jagger, there is a Keith Richards. For every Steven Tyler, there is a Joe Perry. For every Robert Plant, a Jimmy Page. For every superstar that gets the crowd going, there is a moody, infinitely cool guitar player that has the singer’s back and only takes the front of stage for quick assaults of thirty seconds.
Richie Sambora joined the New Jersey band Bon Jovi in 1983, a few months after its creation. Right from the start, Sambora’s playing and personality perfectly matched the image of founding singer Jon Bon Jovi. Together, they created a songwriting duo that would come up with hard rock classics that remain mainstays of every radio station playlist. The true explosion happened in 1986 with the Slippery When Wet album, on which Sambora co-wrote nine out of ten songs, including mega-singles Livin’ On A Prayer, You Give Love A Bad Name and Wanted Dead Or Alive. The guitar hero’s virtuosic, precise and energetic playing are in full force on that album. Sambora has integrated Van Halen’s influence to his style like any soloist of the time, but he added his personal twist to it. His talent for arranging can be head on the twelve-string parts of Wanted…, the pitch shifted solo to You Give Love A Bad Name or the talkbox for Livin’ On A Prayer.
After the release of the album, the band gets huge and starts touring around the world for sold-out crowds of entranced fans. Bon Jovi’s genius is that they achieved mainstream success at several points in their career, which makes them relevant to several generations of fans. They once again topped the charts with Always in 1994, then with It’s My Life (co-written by Sambora too) in 2000. That last song earned them a new audience that still follows them to this day.
A victim of his demons, Sambora had to quit the band in 2013 in the middle of one more world tour. Since then, he has launched the RSO band with his ex Orianthi. Over time, he seems more and more interested in the Telecaster and the Esquire, whereas he was the poster boy for superstrats in the glory days of Bon Jovi. Sambora’s musical future probably has a few great surprises in store.
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