# Ever smashed a guitar to pieces?



## Robboman (Oct 14, 2006)

You know, like Pete Townsend or Paul Stanley used to? 

If not, would you? (say money is no object)

If you actually HAVE, tell us the when, where, how and WHY? And exactly how stoned were you at the time? Did it feel good? Did you regret it later? Did it impress any chicks? 

Which guitars would make good smashing guitars?


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## GuitaristZ (Jan 26, 2007)

I have not...and would not. I could give the guitar to some poor kid who wants to learn, but does not have one. Smashing a guitar is like taking a life. :|


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## Guest (Jun 22, 2007)

Seems a pointless, stupid and wasteful thing to do...


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## Accept2 (Jan 1, 2006)

Guilty, on a couple of occations. Both guitars had been played to the point where there wasnt much left in them, other than do a cover and smashy-smash...................


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## Robboman (Oct 14, 2006)

Accept2 said:


> Guilty, on a couple of occations. Both guitars had been played to the point where there wasnt much left in them, other than do a cover and smashy-smash...................


:bow:

I could never do it! 

One time in my old 4 pc band the bass player was drunk, tripped on stage and landed on top of the other guitar player's Gretch Black Falcon that had been sitting on a stand. That's the closest I've come to seeing a guitar smashed (and a bass player's face smashed), but it's not the same!


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## Tarbender (Apr 7, 2006)

I'm sorry even when it was considered "cool" or "artistic" to burn or destroy your axe on stage I never got it. When Hendrix was lighting his guitar on fire or when the WHO was destroying not just their guitars but the speakers, drums and everything else on stage - it just made me cry. I would have given body parts to have a chance to play that kind of quality instrument let alone own one. I couldn't understand why a crowd would cheer on such destruction. 

I know that Townsend and Hendrix were considered guitar gods at the time - and still today - but even they didn't come from the upper classes and knew what these instruments were worth. 

I own a lot of instruments today, can't play like Hendrix or Townsend and probably never will, but I have the utmost respect for my instruments. They are an extension of me. I made a very conscious choice when I bought them. I didn't just "want" them. I liked them when I saw them, and then when I played them it was either the flirtatious looks or they had that mojo and I bonded with them and bought it if I had the money.

I'm sure guys like Clapton can play any instrument you put in thier hands, but I guarantee that he has guitars he loves to play and would even consider destroying on stage - and I bet Pete Townsend wouldn't destroy a guitar today either unless maybe he was paid to do it?

Anyways, my point at the end of this is, as a collector and builder of guitars it is just wrong to destroy something that is capable of creating beauty and happiness, and at worst will fill that spot on the wall where the hole is when your fist slipped.


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## auger (Apr 23, 2006)

I think that would be considered a sin in my books...
never.....never......never......
bothers me every time I see it....what a waste

Auger


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## Geek (Jun 5, 2007)

Nope and I don't see the logic behind it.

A mechanic wouldn't destroy his tools,
A trucker wouldn't torch his truck,
A chef wouldn't snap his knives,
A logger wouldn't axe his chainsaw....

Why would a musician break his guitar?


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## Accept2 (Jan 1, 2006)

Tarbender said:


> Anyways, my point at the end of this is, as a collector and builder of guitars it is just wrong to destroy something that is capable of creating beauty and happiness, and at worst will fill that spot on the wall where the hole is when your fist slipped.



For those who dont understand smashing a guitar, you just hit the bullseye. Collectors will whine whenever players modify classic guitars to make them better. They will argue about originallity, and they will often say that by collecting they are saving collectable guitars from being destroyed by players. This is pretty much the thought process of George Gruhn and the like. A guitar is a tool. It should be used and abused to the point where it can no longer be abused. I love it when people will complain about dings and scratches. Those things dont affect the guitar at all, but in the collector mindset, its no longer original or 100%, so its ruined. Huh?!? Just remember that people love guitars for very different reasons. We will have collector members here who polish their guitars, keep the hangtags on, and take care of them like they are handling nitro. And of course there are crazy bastards who will put strap locks on their guitars and swing them over their head. And yes, sometimes the locks will break while you do that...............


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## Mooh (Mar 7, 2007)

I've worked too hard for my guitars to want to destroy them. It's wasteful, stupid, and an offense to one's self and others. 

But, to put it in perspective, when The Who and Hendrix indulged their anger with destruction of property they were sort of doing it so no one else would need, want, or otherwise be compelled to do it. Not consciously of course, but in the big picture they were teaching the self aware among us that it was cool once and only once, and that the rest of us need not embarrass ourselves with it. Seriously, folks who do it now are pretenders, followers, posers, and fakes.

Peace, Mooh.


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## Accept2 (Jan 1, 2006)

Well Im glad to be a poser, pretender and fake, but then I must have missed that hidden message those guys were trying to convey. Here I thought they were just having fun............


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## GuitaristZ (Jan 26, 2007)

Smashing a perfectly good guitar would be like burning money just because you had lots of it...selfish, rude, and just plain arrogant.

That money could be used to do a lot of good things in the world.


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## Accept2 (Jan 1, 2006)

I have a better idea than smashing guitars. Maybe we should all be pompous and try to dictate to others how they should act and what they should do. You know like the church ladies and Nazis. Freedom is a very bad thing. Zeig Heil.............
:rockon:


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## Mooh (Mar 7, 2007)

Accept2...Then we agree to disagree, I suppose. But I wonder if folks should feel the same way about smashing other valuables, cars, homes, jewelry, furniture, for example. If an item belongs to you, you are pretty much free to do with it what you want, but others need not be impressed by the destruction.

I suspect we're not going to change any minds here.

Pompously yours,

Mooh


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## Accept2 (Jan 1, 2006)

Right on! Freedom to do with your own property is a basis of Libertarian ways. Besides the destruction of your property after its been used up dates back to the Viking funerals when you would be burned with your property as tribute to your life. It has nothing to do with impressing people at all.........


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## Guest (Jun 23, 2007)

"Freedom to do with your own property is a basis of Libertarian ways."
So's the right to think you an idiot for your behaviour... That's the joys of freedom... If yer free to do what you want, then so am I.

"others need not be impressed"
Worse....

" Here I thought they were just having fun............"
John Wayne-Gacy said the exact same thing... as long as we're going to pile on the slippery-slope fallacies here...


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## GuitaristZ (Jan 26, 2007)

I usually find that people which smash guitars...use it to make up for their sub-excellent playing skills


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## mike7 (May 13, 2007)

I'd do it, no question. Ah that would be badass! Especially at a gig!


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## Marnacious (Dec 30, 2005)

I never have, but I have wanted to smash a few. :banana:


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## Hamm Guitars (Jan 12, 2007)

I had an accoustic guitar that I used to fill up with gas and lite up. It would blow a flame out of the soundhole that would propel it like a rocket when you held it by the headstock. Great fun that was.

The same guitar later fell victim to my Jello experiment - I filled the guitar almost entirely with Jello and put it in the freezer. This didn't do much for the neck and the playability of the guitar and it didn't give me the jiggly accoustic tremolo effect that I was hoping for. It was really heavy and started to stink after a few days so I had to get rid of it.

I've killed lots of guitars over the past couple of years in R&D or just disposing of the evidence.


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## Robboman (Oct 14, 2006)

*I regret NOT smashing one*

Years ago I bought an old beater guitar on a whim. Think I paid $40, which turned out to be too much because it had loose frets, a bolton neck that kept moving in the pocket, cheap hardware and lousy tone.

Thus I was presented with an opportunity - the ideal smashing guitar! I had to do something with it, figured I had three choices:

1). Sell/give it away
2). Try to fix it up and use it
3). SMASH-O-RAMA! How cool would I be if I destroyed this thing at the end of a bar gig with all the feedback wailing, cymbals crashing, singer screaming... oh the glory! 

Of course I chickened out (I was never that cool anyway). I shoulda done #1, but I opted for #2. 

The irony is I took the guitar apart, started to re-paint the body then got distracted for 5+ years. Then one day I found this half-sanded body and realized I lost all the parts. So I threw it out. Two years later I found the box of parts. Threw them out too.

7 years to wind up in pieces in the garbage. Damn! I could have accomplished that in a few SECONDS and had a much better story to tell!


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## Robboman (Oct 14, 2006)

Hamm Guitars said:


> I had an accoustic guitar that I used to fill up with gas and lite up. It would blow a flame out of the soundhole that would propel it like a rocket when you held it by the headstock. Great fun that was.
> 
> The same guitar later fell victim to my Jello experiment - I filled the guitar almost entirely with Jello and put it in the freezer. This didn't do much for the neck and the playability of the guitar and it didn't give me the jiggly accoustic tremolo effect that I was hoping for. It was really heavy and started to stink after a few days so I had to get rid of it.
> 
> I've killed lots of guitars over the past couple of years in R&D or just disposing of the evidence.


Hamm, you are some kind of evil genius! Hilarious


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## david henman (Feb 3, 2006)

...i threw a vintage strat across the room one time because i could not get it in tune.

looking back, it was me, not the guitar, of course.

sigh...

-dh


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## simescan (May 15, 2007)

By the way,...if anyone has guitars they no longer want or need, I can find them good homes. My neighbor teaches guitar to young and old and she will take whatever she can get....(just a thought)...!
thanks,...


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## Robboman (Oct 14, 2006)

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Smashing_guitars


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## Mooh (Mar 7, 2007)

I'm with simescan. I've serviced lots of guitars that most of us would reject, so that someone without the buying power could have something to play.

Peace, Mooh.


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## noobcake (Mar 8, 2006)

Hamm Guitars said:


> I had an accoustic guitar that I used to fill up with gas and lite up. It would blow a flame out of the soundhole that would propel it like a rocket when you held it by the headstock. Great fun that was.
> 
> The same guitar later fell victim to my Jello experiment - I filled the guitar almost entirely with Jello and put it in the freezer. This didn't do much for the neck and the playability of the guitar and it didn't give me the jiggly accoustic tremolo effect that I was hoping for. It was really heavy and started to stink after a few days so I had to get rid of it.
> 
> I've killed lots of guitars over the past couple of years in R&D or just disposing of the evidence.


ahaha that actually made me laugh out loud  How very utterly evil and amusing of you.


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## Hamm Guitars (Jan 12, 2007)

simescan said:


> By the way,...if anyone has guitars they no longer want or need, I can find them good homes. My neighbor teaches guitar to young and old and she will take whatever she can get....(just a thought)...!
> thanks,...


Someone should start a website that accepts instrument donations and gives them to needy Canadian kids or musicians. I send factory seconds and R&D guitars out as free-bees every now and I wouldn't mind diverting a few in such a direction. It might make up for the Jello experiment.


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## RIFF WRATH (Jan 22, 2007)

Guilty as charged.
Last summer at a friends outside gig between sets I got up on stage and pretended that I was to play a "little bit of rock & roll, and a whole lot of blues". The crowd encouraged me, but as pre-arranged, I was ordered off the stage. Again as pre-arranged I swung the guitar at buddy, missed and smashed it on the stage.
Well, you should have seen the look on everyones face until they realized they had been had.
The guitar by the way was a POS with a cracked neck, warped accoustic that I had retrieved from the garbage for this sole purpose. The guitar face was turned away from the crowd and was without bridge, tuning pegs and strings.It was burned later.
can i ever be forgiven?
cheers
RIFF WRATH


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## Robboman (Oct 14, 2006)

*Youtube: best ever guitar smashing*

"TOGA! TOGA! TOGAAAA!"










*http://youtube.com/watch?v=wzEpIm71x1A*


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## simescan (May 15, 2007)

RIFF WRATH said:


> Guilty as charged.
> Last summer at a friends outside gig between sets I got up on stage and pretended that I was to play a "little bit of rock & roll, and a whole lot of blues". The crowd encouraged me, but as pre-arranged, I was ordered off the stage. Again as pre-arranged I swung the guitar at buddy, missed and smashed it on the stage.
> Well, you should have seen the look on everyones face until they realized they had been had.
> The guitar by the way was a POS with a cracked neck, warped accoustic that I had retrieved from the garbage for this sole purpose. The guitar face was turned away from the crowd and was without bridge, tuning pegs and strings.It was burned later.
> ...


Good one!,....I can imagine the crowd's faces. :smile:


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## Renvas (May 20, 2007)

its makes me cry to see ppl wasting their money just smashing a guitar just for fun..


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## I_cant_play (Jun 26, 2006)

> I had an accoustic guitar that I used to fill up with gas and lite up. It would blow a flame out of the soundhole that would propel it like a rocket when you held it by the headstock. Great fun that was.
> 
> The same guitar later fell victim to my Jello experiment - I filled the guitar almost entirely with Jello and put it in the freezer. This didn't do much for the neck and the playability of the guitar and it didn't give me the jiggly accoustic tremolo effect that I was hoping for. It was really heavy and started to stink after a few days so I had to get rid of it.
> 
> I've killed lots of guitars over the past couple of years in R&D or just disposing of the evidence.


wow...you went way beyond simply destroying the instrument. 

a while ago I was at my friend's house and he called me over to his computer telling me he had to show me something. He put on a video showing his dad taking an acoustic guitar and smashing it. needless to say I was 
I could tell that my friend was enjoying my agony since he spent five minutes laughing at the look on my face...


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## Ripper (Jul 1, 2006)

A person's property is their's to do with what they want. I know I've seen some gorgeous equipment destroyed that made me cringe but it wasn't mine and it's not up to me to judge. From working on as many amps over the years as I have, I've seen some "mods" (ones that were previously done, I won't drill or cut old amps for guys) that made me want to cry, but the owners love it so isn't that what matters. 

We did the juicy fruit thing one time. I picked up a complete POS plywood acoustic from a pawn shop for $10 bucks. Glued the bridge back down so it could be played somewhat (neck was all twisted and bent). So at the next gig, when it looked like we were taking a break, the bassist brought it out and started to do a Terry Jacks song. The drummer walked back up, took the guitar and smashed it. The crowd loved it.


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## I_cant_play (Jun 26, 2006)

I don't think breaking guitars should be "forbidden" or anything. People can do what they want with their own stuff. But I do wonder about the people that break guitars (good ones anyway..). Common sense would lead me to think that they can't impress the crowd with their playing so they just have to resort to damaging something and in our society there is never a shortage of people who are amused with such destruction...


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## esp_dsp (Feb 27, 2007)

for those that havent ever smashed a guitar i think you need too... me and my buddy were walking home one day and we saw 2 acoustics with no name on the headstock one had no tuneing pegs and the other was missing the bridge and had a crack in the body me and my buddy had convinced the guy to give them both to us for 5 bucks and we went aroudn the coner to the giant tiger parking and had at it smashed them to bits the first hit was just about the funnest time of my life it is such a cool feeling..

now dont get me wrong i would never smash a guitar thats worth something but still these acoustics where garbage anyways

maybe if i see another ill light it on fire or something for fun lol


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## adamthemute (Jun 18, 2007)

I smashed and lit my first crappy and warped acoustic guitar on fire. Good times.


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