Harmonia / S-type Ex-Billy Gibbons / 2006 / Pinstripe / Guitar For Sale
We all have our couch guitars, those instruments that you don’t necessarily bring on tour or in the studio but are perfect for noodling endlessly without even thinking about it. Therefore, a couch guitar has to be highly playable, inspiring and comfortable to hold, and no guitar is more comfortable to hold than a Stratocaster.
This S-shaped Harmonia used to be Billy Gibbons’ couch guitar, and as such it has probably inspired a few great riffs or licks. It isn’t a noble guitar by any stretch of the imagination : no vintage pedigree here, no Custom Shop reissue of anything, but a modest, simple, very playable version of Gibbons’ other favorite guitar. As true ZZ Top fans know, The Reverend’s main two guitars for most of his early career were his ‘59 Burst Pearly Gates and a ‘54 hardtail Stratocaster.
Obviously, even for a couch guitar, this Harmonia had to be flashy and highly distinctive. Gibbons had it painted in a beautiful copper color and has designed some very cool pinstriping patterns applied by Vic. The pickguard has been changed to a kind of purple pearloid model, and the control knobs have been changed to blue, pink and green knobs for a very fun and striking effect, not unlike what Steve Vai does with his JEMs. Finally, the pickups are single-coil format Pearly Gates humbuckers made by Seymour Duncan, the production version of Billy’s favorite hot PAF. Even for someone who’s not aware of its story, this guitar screams Gibbons.
Like all the guitars from the Billy Gibbons collection sold by Matt’s Guitar Shop and bought straight from the man himself, this unique Harmonia has been signed by the Reverend at the back of the headstock and it comes with a signed certificate of authenticity, a picture of Billy holding the guitar, a picture of Billy signing the guitar and a picture of Billy signing the certificate. This is your way of knowing you’re buying the real deal.
Matts Guitar Shop, France 
In a milieu where desirable objects are generally locked away in a safe or behind glass, Matthieu Lucas’ collection is a refreshing exception to the rule.
He represents a new generation of guitar lovers, for whom music comes first and the sound is more important than the serial number. Like any fine collection, Matthieu Lucas’ one has a speciality: he tracks down instruments that have belonged to artists, from Jeff Buckley’s Telecaster to Tal Farlow’s Gibson, not to mention Spot - one of the few sunbursts to be found in France and which belonged to a certain Joe Bonamassa.
Through perseverance, Matthieu managed to open doors that are generally kept well shut and gained access to instruments that were not even supposed to be sold. And true to the principle that the love of music comes first, Matthieu is not the type to prevent a guitarist from enjoying his or her prized jewels.
Out of that desire to share, he finally created the Matt’s Guitar Shop showroom, a special place for selling and trading that gives Paris back its reputation for excellence in the area of beautiful guitars. Inspired and inspiring instruments, which continue to bring beautiful notes to the ears of music lovers.
