Matt's Guitar Shop has developed quite a reputation for acquiring high-profile guitars and then giving them a new lease on life in the hands of current touring musicians.
After last year's successful experiment of lending out Steve Jones' 1974 Les Paul Custom to not one, but three musicians – Yungblud, Green Day's Billie Joe Armstrong, and Sum 41's Deryck Whibley – Matt's Guitar Shop is now replicating that proof of concept with their recently acquired Yardburst: Jeff Beck's circa ’59 Gibson Les Paul, which fetched $496,484 (£403,200) at auction earlier this year.
“To me, with my taste for Jeff Beck’s journey and my love for the British Blues Explosion, this guitar was the sleeper hit of the whole auction,” says Matthieu Lucas, the owner and curator of the guitar menagerie.
“Everyone was focused on other pieces, but the Yardburst showed up early in the sale – and that’s what made this beautiful, unexpected story possible. It felt like fate. A moment where everything aligned.”
However, Lucas didn't just store it in a safe somewhere, collecting dust. Instead, he conspired with Lenny Kravitz's longtime guitarist, Craig Ross, to take it out for a spin on the entire European leg of the Blue Electric Light tour.
“Funny thing – this is actually the first time I’ve ever lent one of my guitars out for an entire European tour,” confesses Lucas. “I called Craig – I think he was in Germany – and told him the idea. He was immediately into it, super-happy.
“We locked it in a few weeks before the Paris show. Actually, just days after the auction, I sent Craig a photo of the guitar, and he had the same reaction I did – this guitar is a living icon.
He continues, “Lending him the Yardburst meant as much to me as if it were going to Slash, Billy Gibbons, Lenny… you name it. People don’t always realize how lucky they are to hear Craig Ross live right now.
“Craig even mentioned that Jeff Beck used to love seeing him and Lenny play live! So it feels full circle. Especially when Craig played the Yardburst at Paris La Défense Arena – 45,000 people hearing that epic solo on Bring It On. Unreal.”
The Yardburst's tenure with Ross may be over, but that doesn't mean the guitar will be locked away, never to be seen again. On the contrary, Lucas' real plan is to “make sure this guitar keeps living. Breathing. Being played.
“It’s not meant to sit in a case – that’s not the Jeff Beck way,” he concludes. “So yes, it will be played again. On stages. In front of people. That’s the only future I see for it.”
Last January, Jeff Beck's guitar collection sold for an astounding $10.7 million at auction, which saw some of the icon’s most noteworthy guitars – including his 1954 ‘Oxblood’ Gibson Les Paul – go under the hammer.
