SPIDER-GUITAR
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I started reading Spider-Man comic books in the mid-1960s and he has been my favorite super-hero ever since. My art classroom was filled with Spider-Man memorabilia and the kids usually helped contribute to the theme by furthering my collection every Christmas or during teacher appreciation week. So it should come as no surprise that my acoustic guitar is also a tribute to the web-slinging wall crawler. This is a 1967 Gibson J-50 model guitar which my father-in-law gave me. It may seem like a generous gift until you find out that it was basically in two pieces when I got it. The neck had been snapped in half when two kids had attempted to use as for a bridge between two twin beds. My father-in-law, being a body and fender man, drilled two holes in the heel and screwed in two lag bolts to repair it. It worked (somewhat) except that occasionally the bolts needed tightening and it was an aesthetic eyesore. Being an amateur luthier, I repaired the guitar by replacing the bolts with hardwood dowel rods and refinishing the joint. Although the repair was successful the basic integrity of the guitar was compromised so I decided to add the spider web motif to the body and the black costumed Spider-Man logo to the headstock. I also added Schaller machine heads and a Fishman pickup. It is now a wonderful guitar to play and has a beautiful tone.
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